Grace Institute: The Writings : Proverbs Part 1

Proverbs Survey of the Old Testament: The Writings Fall 2006

Introduction (1:1-7)

Name

The English name of the book is Proverbs, as the book is dominated by the short, pithy sayings of common truths that we call a proverb. In Hebrew, the name is mashal , which means parallel or similar. This highlights the style of parallelism found in most of the proverbs.

Author(s) (1:1)

Most of the book is attributed to King Solomon (1:1, 10:1, 25:1). Solomon was king of Israel around 1000 BC. According to 1 Kings 4:29-34, Solomon was more wise than all the wise men of the east and Egypt , and he becomes famous for his wisdom. He spoke more than 3,000 proverbs (375 of which are recorded for us in the book of Proverbs), and he wrote more than a thousand songs. He also was a great biologist, understanding things regarding trees and animals. Solomon's wisdom is so great that people from all over the world would hear and come visit Solomon to hear of his wisdom.

There are at least two other authors who contribute to proverbs: Agur, son of Jakeh (30:1) and King Lemuel (31:1). Chapters 22:27-24:34 are titled as “sayings of the wise,” and therefore are probably not proverbs of Solomon. We know nothing of Agur, Lemuel or the “wise,” and we do not know when these sections of the book were written.

The book in its current form was compiled no earlier than the time of Hezekiah (722 BC), as evident by Proverbs 25:1. Whether or not the scholars in Hezekiah's day compiled the entire book, however, is a subject of much debate. It is most likely that Proverbs 25-29 were compiled at the time of Hezekiah, and the rest of the Proverbs were most likely compiled during the post-exilic period.

Purpose (1:2-6)

The Proverbs are written as instructions from a father to a son. This does not mean the author meant for the book to be exclusively for his own son as a wider audience would have surely been in mind. Proverbs 1:2-6 explains the purpose behind the instructions:

To know wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of understanding,
To receive instruction in wise behavior,
Righteousness, justice and equity;
To give prudence to the naive,
To the youth knowledge and discretion,
A wise man will hear and increase in learning,
And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their riddles.

Literary Style (1:6)

The author tells us in verse 6 the literary style he will use in his fatherly instruction. The lessons will come through “proverbs,” “figures” and through “the words of the wise and their riddles.” The most dominant of these lessons is in the proverb. Like the Psalms, these proverbs use parallelism. A proverb is most typically a two-line sentence that makes comparisons between two items.

Nature of the Proverb

Proverbs are unique within scripture. They do not deal with theological abstracts, but are very practical. They apply not to the nation of Israel or a faith community, but apply to the individual. They are not well-developed sermons, but short sayings made in a matter of fact way. Proverbs are extremely practical and are applicable to any culture or time.

A proverb is a generalized statement. This makes them neat and tidy. However, only when looked at in isolation are the proverbs neat and tidy, for Solomon is a realist who recognizes both sides of life.

Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity
Than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool (Proverbs 19:1)

All the brothers of a poor man hate him;
How much more do his friends abandon him!
He pursues them with words but they are gone (Proverbs 19:8)

Proverbs are not promises, but general sayings about life as it ought to be. Sometimes, however, life does not live up to the proverb. We train up a child in the way they should go, and they refuse to have anything to do with God. We work hard and with integrity, but struggle to makes ends meet. Meanwhile, sluggards and cheats prosper. This does not make the proverb untrue, for it is generally true for most people most of the time. And for those times when life isn't as it should be, the bible provides the books of Ecclesiastes and Job [1].

Comparison to other Wisdom Literature

The proverbs are a unique form of literature called wisdom literature . Wisdom literature is very common in the Middle Eastern world, reaching its height during the time of Solomon (~1000 BC). We have books of wisdom literature from Egypt , much of which is very similar to the style and content of the book of Proverbs. Chapter 22 has very close parallels to an Egyptian wisdom book called The Wisdom of Amenemope . The bible itself mentions the wise men of Egypt and Babylon (2 Kings 4:29), although stating that Solomon was wiser than any of the Egyptian or eastern wise men.

While there is great similarity in the style and even some of the content of the biblical and non-biblical wisdom literature, Proverbs is unique amongst the wisdom books in its emphasis that the fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom.

Theme (1:7)

While Proverbs contains much instruction, it never leaves behind the primary theme that is repeated continually throughout:

The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7a)

Footnotes

1. Derek Kidner. The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job & Ecclesiastes: An Introduction to Wisdom Literature . (Downers Grove IL: Intervarsity Press, 1985), 27.

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