Proverbs 1:8–19 contains the first parental lesson out of ten (or more) in the prologue, exhibiting the basic structural features that the additional lessons will follow. On the basis of posited Egyptian literary models, scholars have often divided up this section into a number of originally independent “lectures.” Nevertheless, a convincing case can be made that the prologue as a whole presents a carefully composed and unified argument. Michael Fox lists the following three features as typical in these lessons: (1) the exordium, or introduction, consisting of an address to the audience, an exhortation to hear and remember the teachings, and motivational statements that extol the teachings’ excellence and value to their possessor; (2) the lesson, or teaching proper; and (3) the conclusion…