Proverbs, Book of. This is a collection of wise maxims woven into a didactic poem, and making up a popular system of ethics. They are a guide of practical wisdom, the moral philosophy of the Hebrews. We may divide the book of Proverbs into four parts. 1. Pro 1:1-33; Pro 2:1-22; Pro 3:1-35; Pro 4:1-27; Pro 5:1-23; Pro 6:1-35; Pro 7:1-27; Pro 8:1-36; Pro 9:1-18, a discourse extolling true wisdom, and specially urging the young to secure so excellent a possession. To this we find prefixed a title and introduction, 1:1-6, intended possibly to apply to the whole book. 2. A collection of maxims generally unconnected, inculcating moral precepts which respect both man’s duty towards God and his behavior to his fellow-creatures. 10:1-22:16. 3. A more connected address, with various admonitions, and a charge to listen to the words of the wise. 22:17-24:34. 4. An appendix, chaps. 25-31, comprising (1) a collection of Solomon’s proverbs which Hezekiah’s servants copied out, chaps. 25-29; many of those which are comprised in the second part are here repeated; and (2) chaps. 30, 31, the words of Agur, etc. The book of Proverbs is frequently cited or alluded to in the New Testament. It is, indeed, a treasure-house of ethical wisdom, filled with choice sententious aphorisms, far excelling those of all secular and uninspired sages, and inculcating all moral duties.
In this book God has furnished, through the wisest of men, principles and precepts for the guidance and security of the believer in passing through the temptations to which he is exposed in an evil world. The admonitions speak in terms of affectionate warning ’as to sons:’ Heb 12:5. Under symbolic terms, such as ’the evil man’ and ’the strange woman,’ the great forms of evil in the world, violent self-will, and corrupting folly, are laid bare in their course and end. Wisdom is shown as the alone guard against one or the other. Wisdom is presented, not as a faculty residing in man, but as an object to be diligently sought after and acquired. It is often personified, and is spoken of as lifting up her voice. In Pro 8, under the idea of wisdom, we have doubtless Christ presented as the resource that was with God from ’the beginning of His way,’ so that God could independently of man establish and bring into effect His thoughts of grace for men.
In detail the book refers to the world, showing what things are to be sought and what to be avoided, and evinces that in the government of God a man reaps according to what he sows, irrespective of the spiritual blessings of God in grace beyond and above this world. It maintains integrity in the earthly relationships of this life, which cannot be violated with impunity. The instruction rises altogether above mere human prudence and sagacity, for "the fear of the Lord is the beginning [or ’principal part,’ margin ] of knowledge." We have in it the wisdom of God for the daily path of human life.
The book divides itself into two parts: the first nine chapters give general principles, and Pro 10 onwards are the proverbs themselves. This latter portion divides itself into three parts: Pro 10: to Pro 24, the proverbs of Solomon; Pro 25 to Pro 29, also the proverbs of Solomon, which were gathered by "the men of Hezekiah king of Judah." Pro 30 gives the words of Agur; and Pro 31 the words of king Lemuel.
The Proverbs is a book of poetry. The proverbs vary in style: some are antithetical couplets, one being the opposite of the other, as "a wise son maketh a glad father; but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother." Others are synthetical, the second sentence enforcing the first, as "The Lord hath made all things for himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil." See POETRY.
In Pro 1 the purport of the proverbs is pointed out: it is that instruction in wisdom, justice, judgement, and equity might be received: the fear of the Lord is the starting point. Satan would of course oppose this, so warnings are at once given to avoid the enticings of sinners. Wisdom cries aloud and in the streets: her instructions are for all. Retribution is for such as refuse her call.
Pro 2 gives the results of following in the path of wisdom, whereas the wicked will be rooted out.
Pro 3 shows that it is the fear of God, and subjection to His word, that is the only true path in an evil world.
Pro 4 enforces the study of wisdom: it will surely bring into blessing. Evil must be avoided and be kept at a distance. The heart, the eye, and the feet must be watched.
Pro 5 warns a man against leaving the wife of his youth (the lawful connection) for the strange woman, which leads to utter demoralisation.
Pro 6 enjoins one not to be surety for another. Wisdom is not slothful, violent, nor deceitful. There are seven things which are an abomination to the Lord. The strange woman is again pointed out to be avoided as fire : there is no ransom for adultery.
Pro 7 again shows the traps laid by the strange woman, which alas, are often too successful. Her house is the way to hell (Sheol).
Pro 8 proclaims that wisdom calls, and invites all to listen: it is valuable for all - kings, princes, rulers, judges. With wisdom are linked durable riches and righteousness: her fruit is better than gold. All God’s works in creation were carried out in wisdom. This introduces Christ as the wisdom of God , from Pro 8:22. He was there before the work of creation was begun. His delights were with the sons of men (Pro 8:31), with which agrees the song of the heavenly host at the birth of the Lord Jesus: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward man." Luk 2:14. Wisdom says, "Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life."
Pro 9. Wisdom is established: she has her house, her food, her bread, and her wine. Her maidens are sent forth with loving invitations to enter. Again the world has its counter attractions by the strange woman; but the dead are there, and her guests in the depths of Sheol.
Thus far are the general principles on which wisdom acts: in Pro 10 to the end are the proverbs themselves. They enter into details of dangers and how they are to be avoided, and show the path that wisdom leads into, and in which there is safety.
Pro 30 has a heading, "The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal." As these names are not known, it has been supposed that they are symbolical, and that Agur refers to Solomon. Whether this is so or not does not in any way affect the value of the proverbs in the chapter. There are six sets of four things:
Four generations that are evil. (Pro 30:11-14.)
Four things that are insatiable. (Pro 30:15-16)
Four things that are inscrutable. (Pro 30:18-19)
Four things that are intolerable. (Pro 30:21-23.)
Four things that are weak, yet wise. (Pro 30:24-28.)
Four things that are very stately. (Pro 30:29-31.)
Pro 32. Here are "the words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him." Who king Lemuel was is not known: this has caused some to suppose that Solomon is again alluded to. The first nine verses speak of the character of a king according to wisdom. The principal things are that his strength should not be given unto women, nor to strong drink, and that his mouth should be opened for those ready to perish, the poor, and the needy. The rest of the chapter is devoted to the description of a virtuous woman. She fills her house with good things, and brings prosperity to the household and honour to her husband. The king and the virtuous woman may in some respects be typical of Christ and the church.
Christians should study the Book of Proverbs, for (even when properly occupied with heavenly things, and the interests of Christ on earth) they are apt to overlook the need of wisdom from heaven to pass through this evil world, and to manage their affairs on earth in the fear of God.
By: Crawford Howell Toy
Title and Divisions.
One of the Ketubim, or Hagiographa, belonging to the group of "Ḥokmah," or "Wisdom" books. The Masoretic superscription to the first and twenty-fifth chapters is "Proverbs of Solomon" ("Mishle Shelomoh"; and so in the subscription to the book in the Alexandrian and Sinaitic Greek MSS.); but in the Greek and in later Jewish usage (and in the A. V. and R. V.) the book is entitled simply "Proverbs" ("Mishle"). The longer title belonged originally to the central collection of aphorisms, x. 1-xxii. 16, and to xxv.-xxix., and may have been extended early to the whole work, but the shorter form became the predominant one, as, indeed, there are other titles to certain sections (xxii. 17, xxx. 1, xxxi, 1). It is uncertain whether or not the name "Wisdom" (or "All-Virtuous Wisdom"), common in early Christian writings (Clement of Rome, "Corinth," i. 57; Eusebius, "Hist. Eccl." iv. 22 et al.), was of Jewish origin; the designation "Book of Wisdom" in the Talmud (Tosef., B. B. 14b) may be a descriptive term and not a title, and the citation of Job xxviii. 12 ("But where shall wisdom be found?") at the beginning of the Midrash merely indicates that the book belongs in the Ḥokmah category.
The following divisions of the book are indicated in the text: (1) A group of discourses on the conduct of life (i.-ix.), comprising the praise of wisdom as the guide of life (i.-iv.); warnings against unchaste women (v.-vii.; with three misplaced paragraphs, vi. 1-19, against certain social faults); the description of wisdom as the controller of life and as Yhwh's companion in the creation of the world (viii.); and a contrast between wisdom and folly (ix.; with a misplaced collection of aphorisms, ix. 7-12). (2) A collection, or book, of aphoristic couplets (x. 1-xxii. 16). (3) Two small groups of aphoristic quatrains (xxii. 17-xxiv. 22 and xxiv. 23-34). (4) A second collection of couplets (xxv.-xxix). (5) A miscellaneous group of discourses and numerical aphorisms (xxx.-xxxi.), mostly in tetrads: reverent agnosticism (xxx. 1-4); certainty of God's word (5-6); a prayer (7-9); against slandering a servant (10); against certain vices and errors (11-33); a code for a king (xxxi. 1-9); a picture of a model housewife (10-31). These divisions, various in form and content, suggest that the book was formed by the combination of a number of booklets.
Not Solomonic.
The ascription of the book to Solomon, in the titles and in tradition, is without valid foundation. In the Prophets and Psalms titles are admittedly not authoritative—they are based on the feeling or guesses of late scribes, not on documentary evidence—and they can not be more trustworthy here. The elaborate heading to the section xxv.-xxix. ("Proverbs of Solomon Edited by Scholars of Hezekiah's Court") is paralleled by the superscriptions to some of the Psalms (li., lix., lx.), which are manifestly untrustworthy. Hezekiah'stime may have been chosen by the author of this heading because he regarded the collection xxv.-xxix. as later than x.-xxii. 16, and therefore to be referred to the Augustan age of Hezekiah, which followed the golden age of David and Solomon. But there is no proof that the age of Hezekiah was Augustan; on the contrary, it was a period of conflict, and the work of editing and combining did not begin till a century or two later. Moreover, as is pointed out below, the thought of the Book of Proverbs is as alien to the Hezekian as to the Solomonic age.
In the first place, there is no trace in the book of the religious problems and conflicts of the pre-exilic period. The Prophets, from Amos to Ezekiel, are in deadly fear of foreign cults, and testify, during this whole period, that Israel is more or less given over to the worship of other gods than Yhwh and to idolatry. The polemic against such infidelity is the dominant note of the prophetic preaching down to the latter half of the sixth century. But in Proverbs there is not a word of all this. Monotheism is quietly taken for granted. There is no mention of priests or prophets (the word "vision" in xxix. 18 is a clerical error); the sacrificial ritual is almost completely ignored. Throughout the literature till the time of Ezra the national interest is predominant; here it is quite lacking—the name Israel does not occur. The religious atmosphere of the book is wholly different from that which characterizes Jewish thought down to the end of the fifth century.
Wisdom.
In no point is the change more noticeable than in the attitude toward wisdom. The wisdom of the pre-Ezran Old Testament writings is shrewd common sense and general keen intelligence (II Sam. xiv.; I Kings iii.); and because it was controlled by worldly considerations it was looked on with disfavor by the Prophets as not being in harmony with the word of God as they understood it (Jer. viii. 9, ix. 23; Ezek. vii. 26). In Proverbs it stands for the broadest and highest conception of life, and is identified with the law of God. Yet it is the utterance of sages, whose counsel is represented as the only sufficient guide of conduct (i.-iv., xxii. 17-21). The sages do not employ the prophetic formula "Thus saith the Lord" or appeal to the law of Moses; they speak out of their own minds, not claiming divine inspiration, yet assuming the absolute authoritativeness of what they say—that is, they regard conscience as the final guide of life. While the contents of the book are various, parts of it dealing with simple, every-day matters, the prevailing tone is broadly religious: God is the ruler of the world, and wisdom is the expression (through human conscience) of His will. In one passage (viii.), animated by a fine enthusiasm, wisdom is personified (almost hypostatized) as a cosmic force, the nursling of God, standing by His side at the creation of the world (comp. Job xxviii.; Wisdom of Solomon vii.). This conception, foreign to the pre-Ezran Old Testament thought, suggests the period when the Jews came under Greek influence.
No Immortality or Messiah.
The theology of Proverbs is the simplest form of theism. The individual man stands in direct relation with God, needing no man or angel to act as mediator (comp. Job v. 1. xxxiii. 23). No supernatural being, except God, is mentioned. Salvation lies in conduct, which is determined by man's will. Men are divided into two classes, the righteous and the wicked: the former are rewarded, the latter punished, by God; how one may pass from one class into the other is not said. Reward and punishment belong to the present life; the conception of the underworld is the same as in the body of Old Testament writings; there is no reference to ethical immortality (on xi. 7 and xiv. 32 see the commentaries). Wickedness leads to premature death (v. 5, ix. 18, et al.); wisdom confers long life (iii. 16). Doubtless the authors, pious men, observed the national sacrificial laws (xv. 8), but they lay no stress on them—they regard conduct as the important thing. The book contains no Messianic element. The description in xvi. 10-15 is of the ideal king, who is controlled by the human law of right (in contrast with the delineations in Isa. xi. 1-5, xxxii. 1, 2; Zech. ix. 9). This attitude may point to a time when there was a lull in the general Messianic i nterest (about 250-200 B.C.), but it is satisfactorily accounted for by the supposition that the sages, concerned with the inculcation of a universal code of life, took little interest in the popular hope of a restoration of national independence.
Proverbs bears witness, especially in the first and the third division, to the existence of some sort of organized higher instruction at the time when it was composed. The frequent form of address, "my son," indicates the relation of a teacher to his pupils. There is no information regarding regular academies before the second century B.C. (from Antigonus of Soko onward), but it is probable that those that are known did not spring into existence without forerunners. The instruction in such schools would naturally be of the practical ethical sort that is found in Proverbs (on the "mashal" form here adopted see Proverbs). The book has been always highly valued for the purity and elevation of its moral teaching. Not only are justice and truthfulness everywhere enjoined, but revenge is forbidden (xxiv. 17), and kindness to enemies insisted on (xxv. 21). The conception of family life is a high one: monogamy is taken for granted; children are to honor parents, and parents to be the guides of children; an honorable position is assigned the wife and mother. Infidelity on the part of a married woman is denounced at length (v., vii.), and the youth is repeatedly warned against the "strange woman," that is, the unchaste wife of another man. There are many maxims relating to thrift and economy (vi. 1-11, xxvii. 23-27, et al.). Excess is denounced, and self-control and temperance enjoined. The motive urged for well-doing is well-being, success, and happiness. In so far the ethical system is utilitarian, but the success presented as a goal, while sometimes merely material (xi. 15; xviii. 2, 18, et al.), rises at other times to the height of an ideal conception of a happy life (iii., viii.). In this higher sense the utilitarian view approaches the idea of a life devoted to humanity, though this idea is not definitely expressed in Proverbs.
Date.
The characteristics described above point to the post-Ezran period as the time of origination of the book; to this period alone can be referred the tacit recognition of monotheism and monogamy, the absence of a national tone, and the marks of a developed city life. These traits are reproduced in Ben Sira (B.C. 190), the similarity of whose thought to that of Proverbs is obvious. But this latter is made up of different parts that appear to be of different dates. From a comparison of thought and form the following conclusion may be regarded as probable: The earliest collections (about the year 400) were the aphorisms contained in x.-xv., xvi.-xxii. 16, xxv.-xxvii., and xxviii.-xxix., from which later editors formed the two booklets, x.-xxii. 16 and xxv.-xxix. (350-300). A little later came the collection of more elaborate quatrains, xxii. 17-xxiv., and, toward the middle of the third century, the sustained discourses of i.-ix. The latest section, probably, is xxx.-xxxi., and the whole may have been edited not long before the year 200. These dates are approximate, but it seems reasonably certain that the book is later than the year 400 B.C. On the objection made to its canonization see Bible Canon (§ 11); on the text and versions see the commentaries. In the Septuagint the order of subsections in the third, fourth, and fifth divisions is as follows: xxii. 17-xxiv. 22; xxx. 1-14; xxiv. 23-34; xxx. 15-33; xxxi. 1-9; xxv.-xxix.; xxxi. 10-31. Whether this divergence from the Hebrew order is due to accident, or to caprice, or to an original difference of arrangement, it is hardly possible to say.
Bibliography:
Text: Baumgartner, Etude Critique sur l'Etat du Texte du Livre des Proverbes, 1890;
Bickell, in W. Z. K. M. 1891;
Pinkuss (Syriac version), in Stade's Zeitschrift, 1894;
Grätz, in his Monatsschrift, 1884, and Emendationes, 1892-94;
Chajes, Proverbien Studien, 1899;
Müller and Kautzsch, in S. B. O. T. 1901.
Translations and Commentaries: Midrash Mishle, ed. Buber, 1893;
Saadia, ed. Derenbourg, 1894;
Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Levi b. Gershom, in Giggeius, In Proverbia Salomonis, 1620.
For other Jewish commentaries see L. Dukes, in Cahen, La Bible, 1847, and H. Deutsch, Die Sprüche Salomon's nach Talmud und Midrasch Dargestellt, 1887;
Ewald, Poetische Bücher des A. T.'s, 1837, 1867;
Delitzsch, Commentary, English transl., 1875;
Nowack, in Kurzgefasstes Exegetisches Handbuch, 1887;
Frankenburg, in Nowack's Hand-Kommentar, 1898;
Toy, in International Critical Commentary, 1899.
See also Bois, La Poésie Gnomique, 1886;
Cheyne, Job and Solomon, 1887;
Monteflore, Notes upon Proverbs, in J. Q. R. 1889-90.
Parallels from other literatures are given by Malan, Original Notes on the Book of Proverbs, 1889-93, and G. Jacobs, Altarabische Parallelen zum A. T. 1897.
PROVERBS, BOOK OF.—The second book among the ‘Writings’ is the most characteristic example of the Wisdom literature in the OT. 1. We may adopt the division of the book made by the headings in the Hebrew text as follows:—
I. Pro 1:1-33; Pro 2:1-22; Pro 3:1-35; Pro 4:1-27; Pro 5:1-23; Pro 6:1-35; Pro 7:1-27; Pro 8:1-36; Pro 9:1-18, The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel (heading for more than this section). See below.
II. Pro 10:1 to Pro 22:16, The proverbs of Solomon.
III. Pro 22:17 to Pro 24:22, … the words of the wise (Pro 22:17-21 forms an introductory poem).
IV. Pro 24:23-34, These also are the sayings of the wise.
V. Pro 25:1-28; Pro 26:1-28; Pro 27:1-27; Pro 28:1-28; Pro 29:1-27, These also are the proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah copied out.
VI. Pro 30:1-33, The words of Agur, etc.
VII. Pro 31:1-9, The words of king Lemuel, etc.
VIII. Pro 31:10 to Pro 31:31, Without heading, but clearly distinct from VII.
Sections I., II., and III. form the body of the book; sections IV. and V. are additions to the earlier portion, and VI., VII., and VIII. are still later additions.
We consider section II. first, because here the typical Hebrew proverb is best seen, especially if chs. 10–15 are taken by themselves as IIa. These chapters consist of aphorisms in the form of couplets showing antithetic parallelism (see Poetry). The couplets are wholly detached, and little order is observable in their arrangement. In content they come nearest being popular, even if they are not so actually. In general they show a contented and cheerful view of life. The wise are mentioned, and with admiration, but not as a class or as forming a school of thought or instruction. They are the successful, upright, prosperous men, safe examples in affairs of common life. In IIb the lines are still arranged in distiches, but the antithetic parallelism has largely given way to the synonymous or synthetic variety. This form gives a little more opportunity for classifying and developing the sentiment of the proverb. ‘My son’ is addressed a few times, but not regularly. Section III. again marks an advance over IIa and IIb. The verses Pro 22:17-21 are a hortatory introduction. There follows a collection of quatrains, instead of couplets. They are maxims with proverbs among them. Consecutive thought has developed. The truths stated are still the simple every-day ones, but they show meditation as well as observation. Section IV. is an appendix to the third, both coming from ‘the Wise.’ It is very defective in rhythm, and seemingly the text has suffered corruption. In the few verses three themes are treated, chiefly the sluggard. Section V. is easily subdivided. Chs. 25–27:22 contain proverbs in the form of comparisons. Chs. 28–29 are in the style of section II. Between the two a little piece (Pro 27:23-27) praises the life of a farmer. Section VI. consists of several independent discourses. The heading (Pro 30:1) separates the chapter from the preceding, but otherwise adds little to our knowledge of the origin, for it is wellnigh unintelligible, Even if it consists of proper names, as is most likely, there is no gain from knowing them and nothing more. In Pro 30:15 ff. are several stanzas of peculiar ‘numerical’ style: ‘there are three things that … and four … namely …’ Section VII. is a brief manual for a king or judge, though the maxims are rather rudimentary and homely. If there is a temperance lesson, it is only for the king; the advice to the poor and oppressed is very different (see Pro 30:6-7). The remainder of the chapter, section VIII., is noticeable for two things: its alphabetical structure, each couplet beginning with a new letter in regular order, and the unusual subject, the capable housewife. A most delicate tribute is in the omission of any reference to her virtue, which is tacitly assumed, and not even mentioned.
There remains the important section chs. 1–9. Its position at the head of the book does not show that it was first in point of time. It is clearly a preface, or hortatory introduction. It does not so much give wise counsel of a concrete kind, as praise the wisdom illustrated in the concrete counsels of the following sections. It is studied, philosophical, flowing in style. It addresses ‘My son’ at the beginning of a new paragraph, exactly as a teacher addresses ‘My hearers’ as he begins a lecture. In one chapter at least, the eighth, the adoration of wisdom is carried to the limit, and in spite of the fine personification one feels, regretfully, far removed from the plain practical precepts of sections II. and III. In this ‘cosmogonic hymn’ wisdom is assigned a dignity in the universe hardly inferior to that of the Creator.
Among the various attempts to explain the form in which the book comes to us, perhaps the following will be found as simple as any. We may suppose that the proverbs ‘of Solomon’ in IIa and IIb were collected separately and then combined in II.; that ‘the words of the wise’ in III. at first stood by themselves, and were supplemented by IV.; that the two groups, II. and III.–IV., were then joined together, becoming known as the proverbs ‘of Solomon’; that the collection in V. was attached; that to this book section I. was then prefixed as an introduction, which was thus stamped as the literature of the school of Wisdom. The few remaining chapters, sections VI., VII., and VIII., were added later from the mass of Wisdom literature which must have been in existence, or later came into existence.
2. As for the date of the book, the traditional ascription of parts of it to king Solomon must, of course, be discarded. And with this rejection there disappears any reason for seeking an early date for it. The time when, all things considered, the compilation is best explained, is between b.c. 350 and 150. From the nature of the case it is impossible to fix even approximately the date of the origin of individual couplets. Many of the arguments valid against an early date of compilation are valueless so far as the single proverbs are concerned.
3. The authors of the Wisdom literature do not claim revealed wisdom; their teachings are only practical common sense. They are humanists, basing their morality upon the universal principles underlying all human nature. From this practical interest the view broadens to the wide sweep of ch. 8. ‘Proverbs may be regarded as a manual of conduct, or, as Bruch calls it, an “anthology of gnomes.” Its observations relate to a number of forms of life, to affairs domestic, agricultural, urban (the temptations of city life), commercial, political, and military’ (Toy, Proverbs, p. x.).
O. H. Gates.
One of the Sapiential writings of the Old Testament placed in the Vulgate after the Psalms, in the Hebrew among the Sacred Writings. According to the official edition of the Vulgate, the Hebrews called it Misle. The Latin term Proverbium implies a sententious expression of a practical truth. The Hebrew Misle indicates rather the form of expression, viz., "sententious expression in parallelism of individual truths capable of general application." The Book of Proverbs is a collection of practical rules for wise living set forth in poetical form, containing 31 chapters, divided as follows:
the exordium defines the purpose of the book, i.e., to impart wisdom which will enable men to understand all kinds of proverbs (1, 1-7)
a series of poems concerning wisdom, its pursuit, fruits, enemies, and glory (1-9)
the Proverbs of Solomon; disconnected sayings in couplet form, sometimes repeated (10-22)
other collections of proverbs: those regarded as an epilogue to the preceding (22-24)
proverbs of Solomon collected by the men of Ezechias, King of Juda (25-29)
the words of Gatherer (Agur), son of Vomiter (30)
the words of Lamuel, the king (31, 1-9)
and an alphabetic poem descriptive of brave and strong woman, used as the Epistle in the Mass of Holy Matrons (31, 10-31)
There is no question of individual authorship. The major portion is the work of Solomon, though the book in its present form may have been completed in the time of King Ezechias or even of Esdros. Its Divine origin (canonicity) is vouched for by its frequent use on the part of the rabbis and by the New Testament allusions and citations, , e.g., Romans, 12, 19 and 20.
One of the Sapiential writings of the Old Testament placed in the Hebrew Bible among the Hagiographa, and found in the Vulgate after the books of Psalms and Job. I. NAMES AND GENERAL OBJECTIn the Masoretic Text, the Book of Proverbs has for its natural heading the words Míshlê Shelomoh (Proverbs of Solomon), wherewith this sacred writing begins (cf. x). In the Talmud and in later Jewish works the Book of Proverbs is oftentimes designated by the single word Míshlê, and this abridged title is expressly mentioned in the superscription "Liber Proverbiorum, quem Hebræi Misle appellant", found in the official edition of the Vulgate. In the Septuagint MSS., the two Hebrew titles are rendered by and , respectively. From these Greek titles again are immediately derived the Latin renderings, "Parabolæ Salomonis", "Parabolæ", a trace of which appears in the Tridentine "Decretum de Canon. Script.", wherein the Book of Proverbs is simply called "Parabolæ". The ordinary title "Proverbia Salomonis" was apparently taken from the Old Latin Version into the Vulgate, whence comes directly the usual English title of "Proverbs". In the Church’s liturgy, the Book of Proverbs is, like the other Sapiential writings, designated by the common term "Wisdom". This is consonant to the practice, common in early Christian times, of designating such books by the word "Wisdom" or by some expresion in which this word occurs, as "All-virtuous Wisdom", etc. Indeed, it is probable that the title , "Wisdom", was common in Jewish circles at the beginning of Christianity, and that it passed from them to the early Fathers of the Church (cf. Eusebius, "Hist. Eccl.", IV, xxii, xxvi). Of the various names given to the Book of Proverbs, that of Wisdom best sets forth the ethical object of this inspired writing. However disconnected the pithy sayings or vivid descriptions which make up the book may appear, they, each and all, are bound by one and the same moral purpose: they aim at inculcating wisdom as understook by the Hebrews of old, that is perfection of knowledge showing itself in action, whether in the case of king or peasant, statesman or artisan, philosopher or unlearned. Differently from the term "Wisdom", the title Míshlê (St. Jerome, Masloth) has a distinct reference to the symbolic character and poetical form of the sayings which are gathered together in the Book of Proverbs. In general, the Hebrew word Mashal (constr. plur. Míshlê) denotes a representative saying, that is, a statement which, however deduced from a single instance, is capable of application to other instances of a similar kind. Taken in this sense, it corresponds pretty well to the words proverb, parable, maxim etc., in our Western literatures. But besides, it has the meaning of sentences constructed in parallelism; and in point of fact, the contents of the Book of Proverbs exhibit, from beginning to end, this leading feature of Hebrew poetry. Hence, it appears that, as prefixed to this inspired writing, the word Míshlê describes the general character of the Book of Proverbs as a manual of practical rules which are set forth in a poetical form. II. DIVISIONS AND CONTENTSAs it stands at the present day, the Book of Proverbs begins with the general title, "Míshlê Shelomoh, the son of David, king of Israel", which is immediately followed by a prologue (i, 2-6), stating the aim and importance of the entire work: the whole collection aims at imparting wisdom and at enabling men to understand all kinds of Mashals. The first part of the book (i, 7-ix), itself a hortatory introduction to the collection of proverbs which follows, is a commendation of wisdom. After a deeply religious epigraph (i, 7), the writer, speaking like a father, gives a series of exhortations and warnings to an imagined pupil or disciple. He warns him against evil company (i, 8-19); describes to him the advantages attending the pursuit of wisdom, and the evils to be avoided by such course (ii); exhorts him to obedience, to trust in God, to the payment of legal offerings, to patience under the Divine chastisements, and sets forth the priceless value of wisdom (iii, 1-26). After some miscellaneous precepts (iii, 27-35), he renews his pressing exhortation to wisdom and virtue (iv), and gives several warnings against unchaste women (v; vi, 20-35; vii), after the first of which are inserted warnings against suretyship, indolence, falsehood, and various vices (vi, 1-19. At several points (i, 20-33; viii; ix) Wisdom herself is introduced as speaking and as displaying her charms, origin, and power to men. The style of this first part is flowing, and the thoughts therein expressed are generally developed in the form of connected discourses. The second part of the book (x-xxii, 16) has for its distinct heading: "Míshlê Shelomoh", and is made up of disconnected sayings in couplet form, arranged in no particular order, so that it is impossible to give a summary of them. In many instances a saying is repeated within this large collection, usually in identical terms, at times with some slight changes of expression. Appended to this second part of the book are two minor collections (xxii, 17-xxiv, 22; ssiv, 23-34), chiefly made up of aphoristic quatrains. The opening verses (xxii, 17-21) of the first appendix request attention to the "words of the wise" which follow (xxii, 22-xxiv, 22), and which, in a consecutive form recalling that of the first part of the book, set forth warnings against various excesses. The second appendix has for its title: "These also are words of the wise", and the few proverbs it contains conclude with two verses (33, 34), apparently taken over from vi, 10, 11. The third part of the book (xxv-xxix) bears the inscription: "These are also Míshlê Shelomoh, which the men of Ezechias, king of Juda, copied out." By their miscellaneous character, their couplet form, etc., the proverbs of this third part resemble those of x-xxii, 16. Like them also, they are followed by two minor collections (xxx and xxxi, 1-9), each suplied with its respective title. The first of these minor collections has for its heading: "Words of Agur, the son of Takeh", and its principal contents are Agur’s meditation on the Divine transcendence (xxx, 2-9), and groups of numerical proverbs. The second minor collection is inscribed: "The Words of Lamuel, a king: the oracle which his mother taught him." In it the queen-mother warns her son against sensuality, drunkenness, and injustice. Nothing is known of Agur and Lamuel; their names are possibly symbolical. The book concludes with an alphabetical poem descriptive of the virtuous woman (xxxi, 10-39). III. HEBREW TEXT AND ANCIENT VERSIONSA close study of the present Hebrew Text of the Book of Proverbs proves that the primitive wording of the pithy sayings which make up this manual of Hebrew wisdom has experienced numerous alterations in the course of its transmission. Some of these imperfections have, with some probability, been assigned to the period during which the maxims of the "wise men" were preserved orally. Most of them belong undoubtedly to the time after these sententious or enigmatic sayings had been written down. The Book of Proverbs was numbered among the "Hagiographa" (writings held by the ancient Hebrews as less sacred and authoritative than either the "Law" or the "Prophets"), and, in consequence, copyists felt naturally less bound to transcribe its text with scrupulous accuracy. Again, the copyists of Proverbs knew, or at least thought they knew, by memory the exact words of the pithy sayings they had to write out; hence arose involuntary changes which, once introduced, were perpetuated or even added to by subsequent transcribers. Finally, the obscure or enigmatic character of a certain number of maxims led to the deliberate insertion of glosses in the text, so that primitive distichs now wrongly appear in the form of tristichs, etc. (cf. Knabenbauer, "Comm. in Proverbia", Paris, 1910). Of the ancient versions of the Book of Proverbs, the Septuagint is the most valuable. It probably dates from the middle of the second century B. C., and exhibits very important differences from the Massoretic Text in point of omissions, transpositions, and additions. The translator was a Jew conversant indeed with the Greek language, but had at times to use paraphrases owing to the difficulty of rendering Hebrew pithy sayings into intelligible Greek. After full allowance has been made for the translator’s freedom in rendering, and for the alterations introduced into the primitive wording of this version by later transcribers and revisers, two things remain quite certain: first, the Septuagint may occasionally be utilized for the discovery and the enmendation of inaccurate readings in our present Hebrew Text; and next, the most important variations which this Greek Version presents, especially in the line of additions and transpositions, point to the fact that the translator rendered a Hebrew original which differed considerably from the one embodied in the Massoretic Bibles. It is well known that the Sahidic Version of Proverbs was made from the Septuagint, before the latter had been subjected to recensions, and hence this Coptic Version is useful for the control of the Greek Text. The present Peshito, or Syriac Version of Proverbs was probably based on the Hebrew Text, with which it generally agrees with regard to material and arrangement. At the same time, it was most likely made with respect to the Septuagint, the peculiar readings of which it repeatedly adopts. The Latin Version of Proverbs, which is embodied in the Vulgate, goes back to St. Jerome, and for the most part closely agrees with the Massoretic Text. It is probable that many of its present deviations from the Hebrew in conformity with the Septuagint should be referred to later copyists anxious to complete St. Jerome’s work by means of the "Vetus Itala", which had been closely made from the Greek. IV. AUTHORSHIP AND DATEThe vexed questions anent the authorship and date of the collections which make up the Book of Proverbs go back only to the sixteenth century of our era, when the Hebrew Text began to be studied more closely than previously. They were not even suspected by the early Fathers who, following implicitly the inscriptions in i, 1; x, 1; xxiv, 1 (which bear direct witness to the Solomonic authorship of large collections of proverbs), and being misled by the Greek rendering of the titles in xxx, 1; xxxi, 1 (which does away altogether with the references to Agur and Lamuel as authors distinct from Solomon), regarded King Solomon as the author of the whole Book of Proverbs. Nor were they real questions for the subsequent writers of the West, although these medieval authors had in the Vulgate a more faithful rendering of xxx, 1; xxxi, 1, which might have led them to reject the Solomonic origin of the sections ascribed to Agur and Lamuel respectively, for in their eyes the words Agur and Lamuel were but symbolical names of Solomon. At the present day, most Catholic scholars feel free to treat as non-Solomonic not only the short sections which are ascribed in the Hebrew Text to Agur and Lamuel, but also the minor collections which their titles attribute to "the wise" (xxii, 16- xxiv, 22; xxiv, 23-34), and the alphabetical poem concerning the virtuous woman which is appended to the whole book. With regard to the other parts of the work (i-ix; x-xxii, 16; xxv-xxix), Catholic writers are wellnigh unanimous in ascribing them to Solomon. Bearing distinctly in mind the statement in III (A. V. I) Kings, iv, 29-32, that, in his great wisdom, Solomon "spoke 3000 Mashals", they have no difficulty in admitting that this monarch may be the author of the much smaller number of proverbs included in the three collections in question. Guided by ancient Jewish and Christian tradition they feel constrained to abide by the explicit titles to the same collections, all the more so because the titles in the Book of Proverbs are manifestly discriminating with respect to authorship, and because the title, "These also are Mishle Shelomoh, which the men of Ezechias, King of Juda, copied out" (xxv, 1), in particular, bears the impress of definiteness and accuracy. Lastly, looking into the contents of these three large collections, they do not think that anything found therein with respect to style, ideas, historic background etc. should compel anyone to give up the traditional authorship, at whatever time–either under Ezechias, or as late as Esdras–all the collections embodied in the Book of Proverbs reached their present form and arrangement. A very different view concerning the authorship and date of the collections ascribed to Solomon by their titles is gaining favour among non-Catholic scholars. It treats the headings of these collections as no more reliable than the titles of the Psalms. It maintains that none of the collections comes from Solomon’s own hand and that the general tenor of their contents bespeaks a late post-exilic date. The following are the principal arguments usually set forth in favour of this opinion. In these collections there is no challenge of idolatry, such as would naturally be expected if they were pre-exilic, and monogamy is everywhere presupposed. It is very remarkable, too, that throughout no mention is made of Israel or of any institution peculiar to Israel. Again, the subject of those collections is not the nation, which apparently no longer enjoys independence, but the individual, to whom wisdom appeals in a merely ethical, and hence very late, manner. The personification of wisdom, in particular (chap. viii), is either the direct result of the influence of Greek upon Jewish thought, or, if independent of Greek philosophy, the product of late Jewish metaphysics. Finally, the close spiritual and intellectual relation of Proverbs to Ecclesiasticus shows that, however great and numerous are the differences in detail between them, the two works cannot be separated by an interval of several centuries. Despite the confidence with which some modern scholars urge these arguments against the traditional authorship of i-ix; x-xxii, 16; xxv,- xxix, a close examination of their value leaves one unconvinced of their proving force. I. NAMES AND GENERAL OBJECTThe Book of Proverbs is justly numbered among the protocanonical writings of the Old Testament. In the first century of our era its canonical authority was certainly acknowledged in Jewish and Christian circles, for the Sacred Writers of the New Testament make a frequent use of its contents, quoting them at times explicitly as Holy Writ (cf. Romans 12:19-20; Hebrews 12:5-6; James 4:5-6, etc.). It is true that certain doubts as to the inspiration of the Book of Proverbs, which had been entertained by ancient rabbis who belonged to the School of Shammai, reappeared in the Jewish assembly at Jamnia (about A. D. 100); but these were only theoretical difficulties which could not induce the Jewish leaders of the time to count this book out of the Canon, and which in fact were there and then set at rest for ever. The subsequent assaults of Theodore of Mopsuestia (d. 429), of Spinoza (d. 1677), and of Le Clerc (d. 1736) against the inspiration of that sacred book left likewise its canonical authority unshaken.-----------------------------------For Introductions to the Old Testament see INTRODUCTION. Recent commentaries–Catholic: ROHLING, (Mainz, 1879); LESÊTRE (Paris, 1879); FILLION (Paris, 1892); VIGOUROUX (Paris, 1903); KNABENBAUER (Paris, 1910). Protestant: ZÖCKLER (tr. New York, 1870); DELITSCH (tr. Edinburgh, 1874); NOWACK (Leipzig, 1883); WILDEBOER (Freiburg, 1897); FRANKENBERG (Göttingen, 1898); STRACK (Nördlingen, 1899); TOY (New York, 1899). General works: MEIGNAN, Solomon, son règne, ses écrits (Paris, 1890); CHEYNE, Job and Solomon, (New York, 1899); KENT, The Wise Men of Ancient Israel (New York, 1899); DAVISON, The Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament (London, 1900).FRANCIS E. GIGOT Transcribed by WGKofron With thanks to Fr. John Hilkert and St. Mary’s Church, Akron, Ohio The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIICopyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
I. THE BOOK’S ACCOUNT OF ITSELF
1. Title and Headings
2. Authorship or Literary Species?
II. THE SUCCESSIVE COMPILATIONS
1. The Introductory Section
2. The Classic Nucleus
3. A Body of Solicited Counsel
4. Some Left-over Precepts
5. The Hezekian Collection
6. Words of Agur
7. Words of King Lemuel
8. An Acrostic Eulogy of Woman
III. MOVEMENT TOWARD A PHILOSOPHY
1. Liberation of the Mashal
2. Emergence of Basal Principles
3. The Conception of Wisdom
IV. CONSIDERATIONS OF AGE AND LITERARY KINSHIP
1. Under the Kings
2. The Concentrative Point
3. Its Stage in Progressive Wisdom
The Scripture book which in both the Hebrew and the Greek arrangements of the Old Testament Canon immediately succeeds the Psalms. In the Hebrew Canon it stands second in the final or supplementary division called
I. The Book’s Account of Itself.
1. Title and Headings:
At the beginning, intended apparently to cover the whole work, stands the title: “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel.” It seemed good to the compilers, however, to repeat, or perhaps retain an older heading, “The proverbs of Solomon” at Prov 10, as if in some special sense the collection there beginning deserved it; and at Prov 25 still another heading occurs: “These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.” All these ascribe the proverbs to Solomon; but the heading (Pro 30:1), “The words of Agur the son of Jakeh; the oracle,” and the heading (Pro 31:1), “The words of king Lemuel; the oracle which his mother taught him,” indicate that authorship other than that of Solomon is represented; while the mention of “the words of the wise” (Pro 1:6; Pro 22:17), as also the definite heading, “These also are sayings of the wise” (Pro 24:23), ascribe parts of the book to the sages in general. The book is confessedly a series of compilations made at different times; confessedly, also, to a considerable extent at least, the work of a number, perhaps a whole guild, of writers.
2. Authorship or Literary Species?:
It is hazardous to argue either for or against a specific authorship; nor is it my intention to do so. The question naturally arises, however, in what sense this book, with its composite structure so outspoken, can lay claim to being the work of Solomon. Does the title refer to actual personal authorship, or does it name a species and type of literature of which Solomon was the originator and inspirer - as if it meant to say “the Solomonic proverbs?” We may work toward the answer of this question by noting some literary facts.
Outside of the prophets only three of the Old Testament books are provided in the original text with titles; and these three are all associated with Solomon - two of them, Proverbs and the Song of Songs, directly; the third, Ecclesiastes, by an assumed name, which, however, personates Solomon. This would seem to indicate in the composition of these books an unusual degree of literary finish and self-consciousness, a sense on the part of writers or compilers that literature as an art has its claims upon them. The subject-matter of the books, too, bears this out; they are, relatively speaking, the secular books of the Bible and do not assume divine origin, as do law and prophecy. For the original impulse to such literary culture the history directs us to the reign of King Solomon; see 1Ki 4:29-34, where is portrayed, on the part of king and court, an intense intellectual activity for its own sake, the like of which occurs nowhere else in Scripture. The forms then especially impressed upon the literature were the
It is reasonable therefore to understand this title of the Book of Proverbs as designating rather a literary species than a personal authorship; it names this anthology of Wisdom in its classically determined phrasing, and for age and authorship leaves a field spacious enough to cover the centuries of its currency. Perhaps also the proverb of this type was by the term “of Solomon” differentiated from
II. The Successive Compilations.
1. The Introductory Section:
That the Book of Proverbs is composed of several collections made at different times is a fact that lies on the surface; as many as eight of these are clearly marked, and perhaps subdivisions might be made. The book was not originally conceived as the development of a theme, or even as a unity; whatever unity it has was an afterthought. That it did come to stand, however, for one homogeneous body of truth, and to receive a name and a degree of articulation as such, will be maintained in a later section (see III, below). Meanwhile, we will take the sections in order and note some of the salient characteristics of each. The introductory section, Proverbs 1 through 9, has the marks of having been added later than most of the rest; and is introductory in the sense of concentrating the thought to the concept of Wisdom, and of recommending the spiritual attitude in which it is to be received. Its style - and in this it is distinguished from the rest of the book - is hortatory; it is addressed to “my son” (Pro 1:8 and often) or “my sons” (Pro 4:1; Pro 5:7; Pro 7:24; Pro 8:32), in the tone of a father or a sage, bringing stores of wisdom and experience to the young. The first six verses are prefatory, giving the purpose and use of the whole book. Then Pro 1:7 lays down as the initial point, or spiritual bedrock of Wisdom, the fear of Yahweh, a principle repeated toward the end of this introductory section (Pro 9:10), and evidently regarded as very vital to the whole Wisdom system; compare Job 28:28; Psa 111:10; Sirach 1:14. The effect of this prefatory and theme-propounding matter is to launch the collection of proverbs much after the manner of modern literary works, and the rest of the section bears this out fairly well. The most striking feature of the section, besides its general homiletic tone, is its personification of Wisdom. She is represented as calling to the sons of men and commending to them her ways (Pro 1:20-33; 8:1-21, Pro 8:32-36); she condescends, for right and purity’s sake, to enter into rivalry with the “strange woman,” the temptress, not in secret, but in open and fearless dealing (Prov 7:6 through 8:9; Pro 9:1-6, Pro 9:13-18); and, in a supremely poetic passage (Pro 8:22-31 ), she describes her relation from the beginning with God and with the sons of men. It represents the value that the Hebrew mind came to set upon the human endowment of Wisdom. The Hebrew philosopher thought not in terms of logic and dialectics, but in symbol and personality; and to this high rank, almost like that of a goddess, his imagination has exalted the intellectual and spiritual powers of man. See WISDOM.
2. The Classic Nucleus:
The section Prov 10:1 through 22:16, with the repeated heading “The proverbs of Solomon”, seems to have been the original nucleus of the whole collection. All the proverbs in this, the longest section of the book, are molded strictly to the couplet form (the one triplet, Pro 19:7, being only an apparent exception, due probably to the loss of a line), each proverb a parallelism in condensed phrasing, in which the second line gives either some contrast to or some amplification of the first. This was doubtless the classic art norm of the Solomonic
The section seems to contain the product of that period of proverb-culture during which the sense of the model was a little rigid and severe, not venturing yet to limber up the form. Signs of a greater freedom, however, begin to appear, and possibly two strata of compilation are represented. In Proverbs 10 through 15 the prevailing couplet is antithetic, which embodies the most self-closed circuit of the thought. Out of 184 proverbs only 19 do not contain some form of contrast, and 10 of these are in Proverbs 15. In Prov 16 through 22:16, on the other hand, the prevailing form is the so-called synonymous or amplified couplet, which leaves the thought-circuit more open to illustrative additions. Out of 191 proverbs only 18 are antithetic, and these contain contrasts of a more subtle and hidden suggestion. As to subject-matter, the whole section is miscellaneous; in the first half, however, where the antithesis prevails, are the great elemental distinctions of life, wisdom and folly, righteousness and wickedness, industry and laziness, wise speech and reticence, and the like; while in the second half there is a decided tendency to go farther afield for subtler and less obvious distinctions. In this way they seem to reflect a growing and refining literary development, the gradual shaping and accumulation of materials for a philosophy of life; as yet, however, not articulated or reduced to unity of principle.
3. A Body of Solicited Counsel:
In the short section Prov 22:17 through 24:22, the proverb literature seems for the first time to have become as it were self-conscious - to regard itself as a strain of wise counsel to be reckoned with for its educative value. The section is introduced by a preface (Pro 22:17-21), in which these “words of the wise” are recommended to some person or delegation, “that thou mayest carry back words of truth to them that send thee” (Pro 22:21). The counsels seem intended for persons in responsible position, perhaps attached to the court (compare Pro 23:1-3), who, as they are to deal officially with men and affairs, need the prudence, purity, and temperance which will fit them for their duties. As to form, the detached couplet appears only occasionally; the favorite form is the quatrain; but proverbs of a greater number of lines are freely used, and one, the counsel on wine drinking (Pro 23:29-35), runs to 17 lines. In tone and specific counsel the section has many resemblances to the introductory section (Proverbs 1 through 9), and provokes the conjecture that this latter section, as the introduction to a compiled body of Wisdom, was composed not long after it.
4. Some Left-Over Precepts:
The little appendix (Pro 24:23-34) is headed, “These also are sayings of the wise.” They refer to wise intercourse and ordered industry. The little poem on the sluggard (Pro 24:30-34), with its refrain (Pro 24:33, Pro 24:14), is noteworthy as being apparently one stanza of a poem which is completed with the same refrain in the introductory section (Pro 6:6-11). The stanzas are of the same length and structure; and it would seem the latter named was either discovered later or composed as a supplement to the one in this section.
5. The Hezekian Collection:
The long section (Proverbs 25 through 29) is headed, “These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.” The collection claims to be only a compilation; but if, as already suggested, we understand the term “proverbs of Solomon” as equivalent to “Solomonic proverbs,” referring rather to species than personal authorship, the compilation may have been made not merely from antiquity, but from the archives of the Wisdom guilds. If so, we have a clue to the state of the Wisdom literature in Hezekiah’s time. The collection as a whole, unlike secs. 3 and 4, returns predominantly to the classic form of the couplet, but with a less degree of compression and epigram. There is a tendency to group numbers of proverbs on like subjects; note for instance the group on the king (Pro 25:2-7). The most striking-feature of the collection is the prevalence of simile and analogy, and in general the strong figurative coloring, especially in Proverbs 25 through 27; it reads like a new species of proverb when we note that in all the earlier Solomonic sections there are only two clearly defined similes (Pro 10:26; Pro 11:22). In Proverbs 25 through 27 are several proverbs of three, four, or five lines, and at the end (Pro 27:23-27) a charming little poem of ten lines on husbandry. Proverbs 28; 29 are entirely of couplets, and the antithetic proverb reappears in a considerable number. As to subject-matter, the thought of this section makes a rather greater demand on the reader’s culture and thinking powers, the analogies being less obvious, more subtle. It is decidedly the reflection of a more literary age than that of section 2.
6. Words of Agur:
Proverbs 30 is taken up with “the words of Agur the son of Jakeh,” a person otherwise unknown, who disclaims expert knowledge of Wisdom lore (Pro 30:3), and avows an agnostic attitude toward theological speculations, yet shows a tender reverence before the name and unplumbed mystery of Yahweh (Pro 30:6, Pro 30:9, Pro 30:32). His words amount to a plea against a too adventurous, not to say presumptuous, spirit in the supposed findings of human Wisdom, and as such supply a useful makeweight to the mounting pride of the scholar. Yet over this peculiar plea is placed the word “Massa” (
7. Words of King Lemuel:
Pro 31:1-9 (possibly the whole chapter should be included) is headed, “The words of king Lemuel; the oracle which his mother taught him.” Here occurs again the mysterious Word “oracle,” which would seem to be open to the same interpretation as the one given in the previous paragraph, though some would make this otherwise unknown monarch a king of Massa, and refer to the name of one of the descendants of Ishmael (Gen 25:14), presumably a tribal designation. The Hebrew sages from the beginning were in rivalry and fellowship with the sages of other nations (compare 1Ki 4:30, 1Ki 4:31); and in the Book of Job, the supreme reach of Wisdom utterance, all of the sages, Job included, are from countries outside of Palestine. King Lemuel, if an actual personage, was not a Jew; and probably Agur was not. The words of Lemuel are a mother’s plea to her royal son for chastity, temperance and justice, the kingly virtues. The form is the simple Hebrew parallelism, not detached couplets, but continuous.
8. An Acrostic Eulogy of Woman:
The Book of Proverbs ends in a manner eminently worthy of its high standard of sanity and wisdom. Without any heading (it may possibly belong to the “oracle” that the mother of Lemuel taught her son) the last 22 verses (31:10-31) constitute a single poem in praise of a worthy woman, extolling especially her household virtues. In form these verses begin in the original with the successive 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet; a favorite form of Hebrew verse, as may be seen (in the original) in several of the psalms, notably Ps 119, and in Lamentations 1 through 4.
III. Movement Toward a Philosophy.
It has been much the fashion with modern critics to deny to the Hebrews a truly philosophic mind; this they say was rather the distinctive gift of the Greeks; while for their solution of the problem of life the Hebrews depended on direct revelation from above, which precluded that quasi-abeyance of concepts, that weighing of cosmic and human elements, involved in the commonly received notion of philosophy. This criticism takes account of only one side of the Hebrew mind. It is true they believed their life to be in direct contact with the will and word of Yahweh, revealed to them in terms which could not be questioned; but in the findings and deliverance of their own intellectual powers, too, they had a reliance and confidence which merits the name of an authentic philosophy. But theirs was a philosophy not of speculative world-making, but of conduct and the practical management of life; and it was intuitive and analogical, not the result of dialectical reasoning. Hence, its name wisdom, the solution itself, rather than philosophy, the love of wisdom, the search for solution. This Book of Proverbs, beginning with detached maxims on the elements of conduct, reveals in many suggestive ways the gradual emergence of a philosophy, a comprehensive wisdom, as it were, in the making; it is thus the pioneer book of that Hebrew Wisdom which we see developed to maturer things in the books of Job and Ecclesiastes. Some of its salient stages may here be traced.
1. Liberation of the Mashal:
We may first note it, or the literary preparation for it, in the opening up of the
2. Emergence of Basal Principles:
One solid presupposition of the sages, like an axiom, was never called in question: namely, that righteousness and wisdom are identical, that wickedness of any sort is folly. This imparts at once a kind of prophetic coloring to the Wisdom precepts, well represented by the opening proverb in the original section (after the prefatory one about the wise son), “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing; but righteousness delivereth from death” (Pro 10:2). Thus from the outset is furnished an uncompromising background on which the fascinating allurements of vice, the crooked ways of injustice and dishonesty, the sober habits of goodness and right dealing, show for what they are and what they tend to. The sages thus put themselves, too, in entire harmony with what is taught by priests and prophets; there is no quarrel with the law or the word; they simply supply the third strand in the threefold cord of instruction (compare Jer 18:18). From this basal presumption other principles, scarcely less axiomatic, come in view: that the fount and spring of wise living is reverence, the fear of Yahweh; that the ensuring frame of mind is teachableness, the precluding attitude perverseness; that it is the mark of wisdom, or righteousness, to be fearless and above board, of wickedness, which is folly, to be crooked and secretive. These principles recur constantly, not, as a system, but in numerous aspects and applications in the practical business of life. For their sanctions they refer naively to the Hebrew ideal of rewards on the one hand - wealth, honor, long life, family (compare Pro 11:31) - and of shame and loss and destruction on the other; but these are emphasized not as direct bestowments or inflictions from a personal Deity, rather as in the law of human nature. The law that evil works its own destruction, good brings its own reward, is forming itself in men’s reason as one of the fundamental concepts out of which grew the Wisdom philosophy.
3. The Conception of Wisdom:
From times long before Solomon sagacity in counsel, and. skill to put such counsel into maxim or parable, gave their possessor, whether man or woman, a natural leadership and repute in the local communities (compare 2Sa 14:2; 2Sa 20:16); and Solomon’s exceptional endowment showed itself not merely in his literary tastes, but in his ability, much esteemed among Orientals, to determine the merits of cases brought before him for judgment (1Ki 3:16-28), and to answer puzzling questions (1Ki 10:1, 1Ki 10:6, 1Ki 10:7). It was from such estimate of men’s intellectual powers, from the recognition of mental alertness, sagacity, grasp, in their application to the practical issues of life (compare Pro 1:1-5), that the conception of Wisdom in its larger sense arose. As, however, the cultivation of such sagacity of utterance passed beyond the pastime of a royal court (compare 1Ki 4:29-34) into the hands of city elders and sages it attained to greatly enhanced value; note how the influence of such sage is idealized (Job 29:7-25). The sages had definite calling and mission of their own, more potent perhaps than belonged to priests and prophets; the frequent reference to the young and the “simple” or immature in the Book of Prov would indicate that they were virtually the schoolmasters and educators of the nation. As such, working as they did in a fellowship and collaboration with each other, the subject-matter with which they dealt would not remain as casual and miscellaneous maxims, but work toward a center and system of doctrine which could claim the distinction of an articulated philosophy of life, and all the more since it was so identified with the great Hebrew ideal of righteousness and truth. We have already noted how this sense of the dignity and value of their calling manifested itself in the body of precepts sent in response to solicitation (3 above), with its appendix (4 above) (Prov 22:17 through 24:34). It was not long after this stage of Wisdom-culture, I think, that a very significant new word came into their vocabulary, the word (
IV. Considerations of Age and Literary Kinship.
To get at the history of the Book of Proverbs, several inquiries must be raised. When were the proverbs composed? The book, like the Book of Psalms, is confessedly an anthology, containing various accumulations, and both by style and maturing thought bearing the marks of different ages. When were the successive compilations made? And, finally, when did the strain of literature here represented reach that point of self-conscious unity and coordination which justified its being reckoned with as a strain by itself and choosing the comprehensive name Wisdom? What makes these inquiries hard to answer is the fact that these proverbs are precepts for the common people, relating to ordinary affairs of the village, the market, and the field, and move in lines remote from politics and dynastic vicissitudes and wars. They are, to an extent far more penetrative and pervasive than law or prophecy, the educative literature on which the sturdy rank and file of the nation was nourished. ’Where there is no vision, the people let loose,’ says a Hezekian proverb (Pro 29:18); but so they are also when there is no abiding tonic of social convention and principle. Precisely this latter it is which this Book of Prey in a large degree reveals; and in course of time its value was so felt that, as we have seen, it could rank itself as an asset of life by the side of vision. It represents, in a word, the human movement toward self-directiveness and self-reliance, without supine dependence on ruler or public sentiment (compare Pro 29:25, Pro 29:26). When and how was this sane and wholesome communal fiber developed?
1. Under the Kings:
When Solomon and his court made the
2. The Concentrative Point:
For the point in the Hebrew literary history when these scattered Solomonic proverbs were recognized as a homogeneous strain of thought and the compilations were made and recommended as Wisdom, we can do no better, I think, than to name the age of Israel’s literary prime, the age of Hezekiah. The “men of Hezekiah” did more than append their supplementary section (Proverbs 25 through 29); the words “these also” (
I apprehend the order and nature of their work somehow thus: Beginning with the classic nucleus (Prov 10 through 22:16) (see above, II., 2.), which may have come to them in two subsections (Proverbs 10 through 15; 16 through 22:16), they put these together as the proverbs most closely associated with Solomon, without much attempt at systematizing, substantially as these had accumulated through the ages in the rough order of their developing form and thought; compiling thus, in their zeal for the literary treasures of the past, the body of educational literature which lay nearest at hand, a body adapted especially, though not exclusively, to the instruction of the young and immature. This done, there next came to their knowledge a remarkable body of “words of the wise” (Prov 22:17 through 24:22), which had evidently been put together by request as a vade mecum for some persons in responsible position, and which were prefaced by a recommendation of them as “words of truth” designed to promote “trust in Yahweh” (Pro 22:19-21) - which latter, as we know from Isaiah, was the great civic issue of Hezekiah’s time. With this section naturally goes the little appendix of “sayings of the wise” (Pro 24:23-34), added probably at about the same time. These two sections, which seem to open the collection to matter beyond the distinctive Solomonic
I see no cogent reason for postponing the substantial completion of the Book of Proverbs beyond the time of Hezekiah. The words of Agur and of King Lemuel, with the final acrostic poem, may be later additions; but their difference in tone and workmanship is just as likely to be due to the fact that they are admitted, in the liberal spirit of the compilers, from foreign stores of wisdom. For spiritual clarity and intensity they do not rise to the height of the native Hebrew consciousness; and they incline to an artificial structure which suggests that the writer’s interest is divided between sincere
3. Its Stage in Progressive Wisdom:
It is too early in the history of Wisdom to regard this Book of Proverbs as an articulated and coordinated system. It is merely what it purports to be, a collected body of literature having a common bearing and purpose; a literature of reverent and intelligent self-culture, moving among the ordinary relations of life, and not assuming to embody any mystic disclosures of truth beyond the reach of human reason. As such, it has a vocabulary and range of ideas of its own, which distinguishes it from other strains of literature. This is seen in those passages outside of the Book of Proverbs which deliberately assume, for some specific purpose, the Wisdom dialect. In Isa 28:23-29, the prophet, whom the perverse rulers have taunted with baby-talk (Isa 28:9, Isa 28:10), appeals to them with the characteristic Wisdom call to attention (Isa 28:23), and in illustrations drawn from husbandry proves to them that this also is from Yahweh of hosts, ’who is transcendent in counsel, preeminent in
Third poetical book in the OT. A collection of striking, epigrammatic expressions concerning practical wisdom by example, warning, or precept.
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Authors
While there is an underlying unity of thought in the book of Proverbs, there is no presumption of unity of authorship, since the writers of the seven or more sections into which the book is divided are, in most cases, clearly noted.
1:1–9:18
There is a division of opinion as to whether the opening verse refers to the Solomonic authorship of this section or whether it simply underscores the name of the main contributor to the entire book. It is objected that the man who wrote so carefully about the danger of promiscuous relationships with immoral women—one of the main themes of this section—is not likely to be Solomon, who failed significantly in the matter of mixed marriages (1 Kgs 11:1–8). There are flaws in such an argument. One may be capable of giving excellent advice without necessarily having the strength of character to follow it oneself, and there is a distinction between the seductive prostitutes or adulteresses of Proverbs 5:1–21, 6:20–35, 7:1–27 and Solomon’s polygamous but respectable relationships. However, the question of authorship is probably best left open. Those who question the Solomonic origin of this section regard 1:2–7 as setting out the purpose of the whole book. Proverbs 1:8–9:18 is a series of 13 practical discourses on wisdom, lovingly and honestly given as by a father to a son. This provides an indispensable foundation for the more popular proverbial teaching in the remainder of the book.
10:1–22:16
Solomon is specifically noted as the author or compiler of this main section of Proverbs. The probability that he played a major part in the production of the book of Proverbs finds strong support in the historical books. Soon after his coronation he was endowed with the spirit of wisdom—in response to his request (1 Kgs 3:5–14). The incident concerning the two prostitutes (vv 16–28) provided public proof of this. His universal reputation, especially in connection with proverbial wisdom, is attested to in 1 Kings 4:29–34 and in the visit of the queen of Sheba (10:1–13).
22:17–24:34
The title “the words of the wise” (Prv 22:17, neb) is incorporated into the opening verse of this section. An evident difference of style, replacing the simple, one-verse proverb by a more discursive approach that deals with a subject over several verses, and the title of the next subsection “These also are sayings of the wise” (24:23), strongly suggest the independence of this collection. Of major interest is the remarkably close parallel between 22:17–23:11 and the Egyptian book of Amenemope, which has been dated variously between the 13th and 7th centuries BC. Scholars have detected as many as 30 connections between the two. Most think that this section in Proverbs is an adaptation of an Egyptian original (such selection and modification being entirely congruous with the doctrine of inspiration). However, a minority of scholars, including several prominent Egyptologists, argue persuasively on the basis of grammatical structure that Amenemope is derived from a Hebrew original.
25:1–29:27
Some material of Solomon’s has here been edited and incorporated by “the men of Hezekiah king of Judah” (25:1). In this section there is a tendency to group together proverbs dealing with specific subjects—for example, the relationship between a king and his subjects (vv 2–7), the lazy man (26:13–16), and the mischief maker (vv 17–27). Solomon and Hezekiah were frequently linked together in Jewish thought (e.g., 2 Chr 30:26), and rabbinic tradition credited Hezekiah with the production of both Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The national prestige during the reigns of both kings would have been conducive to literary pursuits.
30:1–33
Nothing is known of Agur, of his father, Jakeh of Massa, or of the two other characters mentioned, Ithiel and Ucal. According to Genesis 25:14, Massa was one of the 12 sons of Ishmael, and it is likely that Agur came from north Arabia, an area traditionally renowned for its wisdom.
31:1–9
Lemuel, the author of this section, also came from Massa, but apart from this is unknown. The inclusion of wisdom sayings from sources outside Israel illustrates the international connections of the wisdom movement during the period of the monarchy.
31:10–31
It is possible that Lemuel’s authorship includes this superb acrostic poem on the ideal wife; its inspiration may have come from his mother, like the earlier section. But the pattern of life would fit more easily into the context of a prosperous, agricultural community in Palestine rather than in an Arabian nomadic or seminomadic community. For this reason, most scholars regard the poem as anonymous.
Date
The larger part of the book may, with confidence, be ascribed to Solomon (ruled c. 970–930 BC). But the considerable contribution of Hezekiah and his men rules out a date for the completion of the book before 700 BC. The inclusion of sections by non-Israelites, like Agur and Lemuel, is more likely in the preexilic period, with its wider international interests, than in the more particularistic atmosphere of postexilic Judaism. Probably the final, sophisticated acrostic poem was the last section to be included, but there is nothing in the book that demands a date later than the early seventh century BC. In rabbinic tradition Proverbs was invariably grouped with Psalms and Job in the third section of the Jewish canon, the Writings or Holy Books. While the content of the Writings was not authoritatively finalized until the end of the first century AD, it is likely that Proverbs was accepted as inspired long before this, as witnessed by its inclusion in the Septuagint, the principal Greek translation. The order in our English versions may have been influenced by the rabbinic tradition that linked the books of Job, Psalms, and Proverbs with Moses, David, and Hezekiah, respectively.
Background
The book of Proverbs is included in the OT corpus of books known as the Wisdom Literature. This corpus is further represented in Scripture by the books of Job and Ecclesiastes and some of the Psalms (e.g., Pss 1, 37, 73, 119). Proverbs represents one major class of this literature. Individual proverbs contain sharp, practical applications of wisdom covering many facets of life. Job and Ecclesiastes focus on one major problem, or a group of interrelated problems, in monologue or dialogue form.
In the ancient Near East, wisdom was originally connected with all skills, manual as well as intellectual, and was considered to be the gift of the gods. Gradually it acquired a dominantly intellectual significance, particularly in a cultic setting, in such magical or semimagical arts as exorcism. A wide range of wisdom literature from Egypt, Canaan, and Mesopotamia, of the two basic types noted in the preceding paragraph, has survived, making it possible to see its Hebrew counterpart against this background. There is no duplication, however, and the spirit of the Hebrew Wisdom Literature is markedly superior to anything comparable in the ancient world. This is due principally to the strong religious foundation in Israel, where wisdom’s first step was to trust and revere the Lord (Prv 1:7).
When Israel emerged as a nation in the Mosaic period, it was in a world where individuals or groups of “the wise” already existed. Israel shared this inheritance, with both men and women being involved, as witnessed by the wise women of Tekoa and Abel in Beth-maacah (2 Sm 14:2; 20:16) and the professional military or civic court counselors Ahithophel and Hushai (2 Sm 15:1–2, 31; 16:15–19). Proverbs shows this group of “the wise” at its best; the life of uprightness, diligence, honesty, and self-control that it advocates sets a standard of morality that accords with the law on which it was based. But it is probable that many proverbs predate the emergence of a class of the wise. Most communities develop their own collections of short, witty sayings that express practical wisdom and form a store of primitive philosophy. Solomon’s part in giving definitive shape to Israel’s proverbs (1 Kgs 4:32) has already been noted. The antithetic form of Hebrew poetry, where the parallelism of the second line allows either a sharp contrast (as generally in Proverbs 10–15) or further support (i.e., synonymous parallelism, as in chs 16–22) is an ideal medium for the proverb. When the class of “the wise” developed, this popular wisdom became part of their provenance.
Purpose and Theology
The Close Relationship between Religion and Everyday Life
While the general tone of Proverbs is dominantly rational, the importance of fearing (showing reverence to) the Lord is stressed throughout the book (1:7; 2:5; 3:7; 8:13; etc.). This “fear of the Lord” is one of the main definitions of religion in the OT, the other being “the knowledge of God” stressed especially by Hosea and Jeremiah (Jer 9:24; Hos 4:1). Both are found in parallel in Proverbs 2:5 and 9:10. Far from there being an unbridgeable gap between religion and the secular world, Proverbs shows the results, in noble character and harmonious, happy homes, when the whole of life is brought under God’s control. A danger exists when the moral elements are taken in isolation from the religious foundation that is assumed throughout. Then the pursuit for happiness or success can become selfish, inward-looking, and ultimately self-defeating.
Proverbs and the Prophetic Movement
There are many similarities between Proverbs and the Prophets, including a down-to-earth realism; a championing of the poor and underprivileged groups (e.g., 14:31); a realization of the inefficacy of sacrifice apart from morality (15:8; 21:27); and an emphasis on the individual, which was sometimes overlooked because of the strong sense of corporate identity within the covenant community. Jeremiah and Ezekiel, especially, restated strongly the theme of individual responsibility (Jer 31:29–30; Ez 18). But there is a vital difference that Proverbs shares with the remainder of biblical Wisdom Literature, namely, the absence of any clear, historical reference to Israel’s election and covenant relationship with God. This was the consistent point of appeal of the great preexilic prophets. Similarly, Jerusalem and its temple theology are not mentioned, although the wisdom movement, especially as reflected in Proverbs, flourished under the patronage of the Davidic monarchy. Even the name Israel does not occur. This has lent strength to the view that Proverbs is the clearest and most comprehensive manual of universal, practical ethics existing in the ancient world. An educated contemporary Egyptian would have found Proverbs readily comprehensible and uplifting, and although this was not its primary purpose, the book still has a strong appeal to the moral non-Christian.
Proverbs and Deuteronomy
Proverbs shares many features with the book of Deuteronomy, especially its emphasis on retribution and reward (Prv 2:22; 3:9–10; 10:27–30; cf. Dt 28). This doctrine could be perverted into an invariable equation: the righteous are always rewarded and the wicked are always punished. That is a view against which Job (Jb 21:7–34) and Jeremiah (Jer 12:1–4) protested strongly. It could also result in a hypocritical, self-seeking approach; I want the blessings promised (e.g., Prv 3:9–10), therefore I will “honor” God in the matter of tithes. This substitution of an outward show for the inward dynamic of love, gratitude, and faith was often the curse of Israel’s formalized religion. However, the principle itself—that those who honor God and live in cooperation with him and his laws are generally those who are God-blessed (not necessarily in material terms)—is a scriptural one, and the authors of Proverbs must not be blamed for the perversions that arose subsequently.
Content
Introduction: 1:1–7
Proverbs 1:1–7 sets out the purpose of the wisdom movement in Israel. The subtitle of the whole book is found in verse 2: “The purpose of these proverbs is to teach people wisdom and discipline, and to help them understand wise sayings” (nlt). The question of the authorship of this section has already been discussed, but there is certainly nothing incongruous about Solomon’s authorship. In the earlier part of his reign, Solomon showed a deep longing for the wisdom that was required to govern his people rightly (1 Kgs 3:7–9), and there is the earnest desire here that his subjects might have a similar understanding. Verses 1–6 form one sentence in Hebrew and include no fewer than 11 different aspects of wisdom. The first of them, “wisdom,” occurs 37 times in Proverbs and indicates an informed, skillful use of knowledge. It is only by taking the first step of trusting in the Lord that a person can enter into wisdom. Morality is not situational, nor an absolute in itself; it requires an unchanging point of reference that can only be found in God.
Lessons on Wisdom: 1:8–9:18
This section is composed of 13 distinct lessons on wisdom, most of which are introduced by “My son” or something similar. The final lesson (8:1–9:18) is given by Wisdom herself. This method indicates the warm, personal relationship between the teacher and his pupils, who, in the ancient Near East, would be exclusively male. A similar style is found in both Egyptian and Mesopotamian wisdom literature and could well have been adopted by Solomon, who, in the humility and God-fearing concern for the national well-being of his earlier years, would have been a teacher par excellence.
Lesson 1: Avoiding Evil Companions (1:8–33)
Three voices are raised: (1) the specious voice of those who promise quick gains by violence (vv 10–14); (2) the wise man himself (vv 15–19), who reinforces the advice of parents patiently given over the years (vv 8–9) and who advocates a clean break with violent men doomed to a violent end; and (3) Wisdom (vv 20–33), whose appeal is not furtive but open and who seeks to give others her own spirit of wisdom (v 23). Those who spurn the voice of wisdom will experience judgment (vv 29–33).
Lesson 2: The Rewards of Wisdom (2:1–22)
While wisdom is ultimately God-given (v 6), people must seek it with an intensity of desire that characterized the psalmist (Prv 2:2–4; cf. Ps 63:1). There is no contradiction here, but a paradox that underlines the fact that God’s gifts are not given lightly but are given to those who, by their attitude of heart and will, merit them. The benefits of wisdom outlined (Prv 2:7–22) have both negative and positive and both material and spiritual elements. The peril of associating with immoral women, which is referred to so frequently in Proverbs, is mentioned for the first time (vv 16–19).
Lesson 3: The Rewards of Complete Trust in God (3:1–10)
For the Jew there was always the temptation to try to ensure blessing by an outward show of religion, and verses 9–10 could be misinterpreted. But the context stresses the requirement of heart loyalty and obedience (vv 1–8). “God first” (v 6) is the fundamental need; without this an individual or a nation is impoverished (cf. Hg 1:1–11).
Lesson 4: The Need for Discipline (3:11–20)
One of the major themes in Proverbs is discipline, especially that of a father chastising his son (Prv 3:11–12; cf. Heb 12:5–11). The other theme here is the praise of wisdom and the benefits it bestows.
Lesson 5: Wisdom and Common Sense (3:21–35)
Wisdom and common sense will result in safety (vv 23–26) and guard against unwise acts (vv 27–32). But the underlying security is found in verse 26: “The Lord is your security.”
Lesson 6: Determination (4:1–9)
Here the teacher gives his own testimony and shows that he is drawing on the accumulated wisdom of an earlier generation (vv 1–6). There is an emphasis upon determination, with the will resolutely set to gain wisdom, as the verbs in verses 5–9 show.
Lesson 7: The Straight Path (4:10–19)
An equal determination is necessary to keep clear of evil men and their pursuits (vv 14–17). Note the graphic description, both beautiful and frightening, of the two paths (vv 18–19).
Lesson 8: Pursuing Righteousness and Avoiding Evil (4:20–27)
The single-minded pursuit of righteousness and its corollary, the avoidance of every kind of evil (cf. 1 Thes 5:22), involves our hearing (Prv 4:20), memories (v 21), hearts (vv 21, 23), sight (v 25), and wills (vv 26–27). It means total commitment to God.
Lesson 9: Sexual Purity (5:1–23)
In blunt language that cannot possibly be misunderstood, the perils of sexual prostitution and the wisdom of faithfulness within marriage are underscored. In sexual relationships there can be no purely private morality; others are necessarily involved, and God is more than a concerned spectator (v 21).
Lesson 10: The Things God Hates (6:1–19)
First (vv 1–5), there is straightforward advice about the need to avoid rash pledges. If one is foolish enough to be already involved, the sensible thing is to swallow one’s pride and extricate oneself as soon as possible. The second lesson—to emulate the ants in their diligent preparation for future need (vv 6–11)—anticipates the contrasting attention later given to the sluggard (22:13; 26:13–16). The third lesson describes in detail the slick, deceitful “con man” (6:12–19). He is to be avoided.
Lesson 11: Illicit Sexual Relationships (6:20–35)
This section continues with the subject of illicit sexual relationships, showing God’s attitude to this particular form of sin. The wounded husband will prove a formidable adversary, should he discover infidelity (vv 33–35), and the effect upon the adulterer himself will be utterly disastrous (vv 26–32).
Lesson 12: The Wiles of the Prostitute (7:1–27)
This chapter gives a graphic illustration of the wiles of a prostitute. Speciously, the pleasures she offers appear alluring, enhanced by the element of risk, but in fact the night’s adventure invariably proves to be the road to hell (v 27).
Lesson 13: Wisdom’s Direct Appeal (8:1–9:18)
In contrast to the smooth-tongued, deadly seductress of chapter 7 and the brazen, loud-mouthed prostitute of 9:13–18, there are two complementary pictures of Wisdom. The first, in 8:1–36, is one of the most remarkable examples of personification in the OT. Wisdom seeks not the ruin of one but the welfare of all (vv 1–5). Wisdom and integrity, righteous conduct and frankness are pictured as inseparable entities (vv 6–13). But there remains an emphasis on the blessings that result from the quest for wisdom (vv 14–21). Kings, judges, and rulers are dependent on her, and success of the most desirable kind is her gift to her followers. Verses 22–31 are virtually a theological explanation for the preeminence of Wisdom, showing her close association with God’s creative activity.
Understandably, many Christians have seen in these verses an anticipation of Christ himself. The NT sees Christ as the answer to two of the most vital religious issues: how does God approach mankind, and how did he create the world? Here is the answer—by Wisdom. The connection may be carried into the next section (vv 33–36), where Wisdom, like Christ in the NT, is seen as the one absolutely essential and desirable thing.
In the second picture of Wisdom (9:1–6), she is seen as a gracious, generous hostess, offering a banquet that issues in life (cf. Jesus’ parable in Lk 14:15–24). A further contrast with the immoral woman in Proverbs 9:13–18 notes, pointedly, that the latter’s guests end up in hell. A series of proverbs on the contrast between the wise and foolish (vv 7–12) come between the two pictures. They show how teachable the wise man is, in contrast to the fool. Once more the true foundation of life is clearly defined (v 10).
The Collected Proverbs of Solomon: 10:1–22:16
The 375 proverbs in this section were probably selected from the 3,000 for which Solomon is credited (1 Kgs 4:32). Each verse is a unit, with a contrast or a comparison between its two lines. There are understandable repetitions (e.g., Prv 14:12; 16:25), almost inevitable in a large collection of this kind. The common sense of the proverbial sayings, each of which has been proved in experience, is evident, but one must allow for varying levels; some appear rather mundane and close to worldly wisdom. But taken as a whole, they provide a practical guide, sanctioned by God, for everyday life. Again, it must be stressed that the religious life, based on the law and the covenant relationship, is assumed. God is vitally concerned with the minute details of life, and religious issues are not entirely bypassed (e.g., 10:27–29; 14:27; 15:16, 33; 18:10). This section in Proverbs cannot be read quickly; each verse demands a pause to allow its point to penetrate the mind. Since there is no systematic arrangement of the proverbs, the most helpful way of approach into this section may be by a consideration of the principal themes. It would be a valuable study to collate the references to each subject:
1. The rewards of the righteous and the end of the ungodly (10:2, 7, 16, 27–30; 11:3–9).
2. The fool. The three Hebrew words translated “fool” can all have the sense of stubborn rebelliousness as well as dullness of intellect, so “rebel” is often an apt rendering. The fool gives his parents grief and is a menace to society. His mind is completely closed to reason and his unbridled words cause untold damage. In his case, correction is pointless; he is beyond hope.
3. The simple. The reference here is to the large, uncommitted group, neither fools nor wise, but those who are open to the gentle persuasion of concerned wisdom teachers. The main appeal of this section is to this group rather than to the wise and prudent, who have already “graduated.”
4. The lazy. This person is often contrasted with the industrious (e.g., 10:4–5) and is mercilessly satirized for his apathy and weak excuses.
5. The power of words. They can wound or heal (12:18). The stress on honest speech, in contrast to deceitful, thoughtless words, is well illustrated in the same chapter (e.g., 12:6, 13–14, 17–19, 22).
6. Wisdom. Chapter 13 shows how it may be derived from parents (v 1), the Scriptures (v 13), the class of the wise (v 14), and good company (v 20).
7. Justice. The stress on this echoes the great prophets. In particular, bribery is condemned (17:8, 23; 18:16), as are false witnesses (19:5, 9, 28), while open-mindedness is commended (18:17).
8. Neighborliness. Fair-weather “friends” are often referred to (e.g., 19:4–7) and contrasted with the true friend (17:17; 18:24).
9. Riches and poverty. These conditions are approached in a variety of ways, but always with an emphasis on moral and spiritual rather than merely material prosperity (e.g., 21:6; 22:1, 4). Care for the poor is frequently demanded (21:13)—to be accompanied with the highest motives (22:2).
10. Family life. There is an attractive picture of an ideal family, with its industrious husband, an understanding wife who is a blessing to him (12:4; 14:1; 18:22; 19:14), and obedient children, disciplined when necessary by punishment (13:24; 19:18; 23:13–14).
The Final Section—More Wise Advice: 22:17–31:31
While the subjects considered and the general outlook are unchanged, the proverbs in this section are generally longer and there is an evident attempt to group together proverbs dealing with particular subjects—for example, the perils of strong drink (23:29–35). The religious motive of the editor of this section is evident; he writes that people should trust in the Lord (22:19).
Additional Proverbs: 22:17–24:34
This may be viewed as a supplement to the previous section dealing further with the subjects of justice, wise business policy, slander, and laziness. The humorous but pointed proverb of the lazy man’s field is the longest in the book.
Additional Solomonic Proverbs: 25:1–29:27
From the many Solomonic proverbs not included in the main collection (10:1–22:16), the aides of Hezekiah selected and edited a further group of Solomon’s proverbs. Again, there is evidence of an effort to group related proverbs—for example, the place of kings (25:2–7); unwise litigation (vv 8–10); the fool (26:1–12); laziness (vv 13–16); and the troublemaker (vv 17–27).
The Wisdom of Agur: 30:1–33
The humility of the wise man in the presence of an all-wise God emerges clearly in Agur’s introduction (vv 1–4), a passage paralleled in Job 38–39. His teaching method was apparently to confront his students with a number of examples of a point under discussion, the “two . . . three . . . four” method, indicating that the catalogue was not complete and encouraging them to add further illustrations from their own experience. Agur was evidently in close and perceptive touch with life at every level.
The Wisdom of Lemuel: 31:1–9
This section, inspired by his mother, deals yet again with sexual relationships, the perils of intoxication, and the need to champion the poor and oppressed. Lemuel’s name, meaning “belonging to God,” probably tells us still more about his mother.
The Ideal Wife: 31:10–31
Every verse of this poem, which was possibly anonymous, begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, a device that often signified completeness. Coming at the end of Proverbs (a book that is forthright when dealing with the subject of the immoral woman), it gives, in antithesis, a refreshing picture of a cultured, well-to-do housewife and mother. At the same time, it provides an enlightening insight into several facets of contemporary life. As elsewhere in the book, her underlying relationship to God (v 30) results in desirable virtues that include trustworthiness (v 11), immense application (vv 13–19, 24, 27), charity (vv 19–20), foresight (vv 21, 25), wisdom, and kindness (v 26).
See also Poetry, Biblical; Solomon (Person); Wisdom; Wisdom Literature.
Aquifer Open Bible Dictionary © 2026 Mission Mutual, an adaptation of the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.