Purpose
The
preface to the book of Proverbs (1:1–7) introduces its intent
to make its reader wise. Although the discourses of the book (chaps.
1–9) are the instructions of a father to his son, the preface
widens the audience to include both the “simple” (1:4)
and the “wise” (1:5). The preface also informs the reader
that wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, thus indicating that
wisdom is more than practical advice. Wisdom is a theological truth.
Historical
Background
The
first verse of Proverbs associates the book with “Solomon son
of David, king of Israel” (1:1). Solomon was the king of a
united Israel in the tenth century BC, and his association with
wisdom is well known from the historical books (1 Kings 3;
4:29–34; 10:1–13; 2 Chron. 1; 9:1–12).
Although
Proverbs clearly attributes large sections of the book to Solomon
(particularly 10:1–22:16; 25:1–29:27), it also recognizes
other hands in the production of the book. First, 25:1, while
associating Solomon with the following proverbs, also mentions the
scribal activity of “the men of Hezekiah,” a Judean king
from the late eighth and early seventh centuries BC. Second,
22:17–24:34 is connected to a group known as “the wise”
(see 22:17; 24:23). Below, we will see that this section bears
comparison with ancient Egyptian proverbial literature. Finally,
there are sayings of two foreign kings, Agur (30:1) and Lemuel
respectively (31:1).
In
summary, Solomon is the fountainhead of the book of Proverbs. He
created and collected proverbs, thus initiating the collection. After
Solomon, other proverbs were added to the collection, including some
of his own (25:1). We do not know precisely when the book came to a
final form, though it was before the canon of the OT was closed.
Ancient
Near Eastern Background
In
1 Kings 4:29–30 Solomon’s wisdom is said to surpass
that of the “people of the East” as well as “the
wisdom of Egypt.” Such a statement can be a compliment only if
the wisdom of the broader ancient Near East had some measure of
validity. Once the merit of ancient Near Eastern wisdom is
recognized, we may not be surprised to see some measure of similarity
between certain proverbs and wisdom from outside Israel.
The
most famous comparison is between the thirty “sayings of the
wise” in Prov. 22:17–24:22 and the thirty chapters of the
Egyptian Instructions of Amenemope. The latter is dated before the
time of Solomon and contains instructions similar to Proverbs. One
example is the instruction “Do not move an ancient boundary
stone” in Prov. 23:10 and the similar admonition in Amenemope
7.12.
More
recently, the connections between Proverbs and ancient Near Eastern
proverbs have been broadened to include not only other ancient
Egyptian instruction texts but also Sumerian and especially Aramaic
proverbial literature (particularly Ahiqar).
It
appears that the faithful in Israel recognized that even observant
pagans could stumble across truths about how God’s creation
works. Even so, the faithful in Israel would not recognize their
Egyptian counterparts as “wise” even when they were
perhaps inspired by their insights into the workings of the world.
After all, they did not have “fear of the Lord” and did
not embrace Wisdom (see below).
Social
Setting
The
proverbs of the biblical book seem to come from different sectors of
Israelite society. It is not surprising, considering the role of
Solomon and the “men of Hezekiah,” that a number of
proverbs originated and have their primary usage in the royal court
(23:1–3). Even so, other proverbs originate in village life of
agrarian society (10:5). When the latter are found in parts of the
book attributed to Solomon, he might be the collector rather than the
creator.
Text
The
Greek translation of Proverbs has significant differences from the
main Hebrew texts, particularly in its outline. While some scholars
see this as evidence of two different editions of the book, others
more plausibly argue that the Greek text is a very free translation
that reflects Stoic philosophy and Jewish midrashic thinking. Modern
English translations, thus, are based on the ancient Hebrew texts.
Literary
Considerations
Structure.
The book of Proverbs can be outlined in more than one way. As noted
above, the book contains rubrics indicating different authors, and on
that basis the book may be divided in the following way:
1:1:
Solomon, for the whole book
10:1:
Solomon, for 10:1–22:16
22:17:
The wise (see also 24:23), for 22:17–24:34
30:1:
Agur, for 30:1–33
31:1:
Lemuel, for 31:1–9
Recognizing
that 1:1 is a superscription for the entire book, and that 1:1–7
is a preamble certainly added late in the process of collection to
describe the purpose of the whole book, we find the following
structure:
Superscription
(1:1)
Preamble
(Stating the Purpose) (1:2–7)
Solomonic
Proverbs (10:1–22:16; 25:1–29:27)
Sayings
of the Wise (22:17–24:34)
Sayings
of Lemuel (30:1–33)
Poem
to the Virtuous Woman (31:10–31)
On
a large scale, the most interesting structural insight is that
chapters 1–9 contain extended discourses, while chapters 10–31
contain the proverbs per se (see “Genre” below). The
discourses in the first nine chapters have the following outline:
The
preamble (1:1–7)
Avoid
evil associations (1:8–19)
Do
not resist Wisdom (1:20–33)
The
benefits of the way of wisdom (2:1–22)
Trust
in Yahweh (3:1–12)
Praising
wisdom (3:13–20)
The
integrity of wisdom (3:21–35)
Embrace
wisdom (4:1–9)
Stay
on the right path (4:10–19)
Guard
your heart (4:20–27)
Avoid
promiscuous women (part 1) (5:1–23)
Wisdom
admonitions: loans, laziness, lying, and other topics (6:1–19)
The
danger of adultery (6:20–35)
Avoid
promiscuous women (part 2) (7:1–27)
Wisdom’s
autobiography (8:1–36)
Miscellaneous
wisdom sayings (9:7–12)
The
second part of the book (chaps. 10–31) seems more randomly
structured, with the individual proverbs moving from one topic
(laziness, parental authority, wealth and poverty, speech, etc.) to
another in no apparent order. Some recent commentators have tried to
discover a deep structure to the material, but they have failed to
convince a wide audience. As we will see below (“Theological
Message”), the fact that the discourses precede the proverbs
has important theological significance.
Genre.
Proverbs is a book of wisdom. On the surface, biblical wisdom appears
to be practical advice about how to live life. How does one navigate
difficulties in order to achieve success, defined as a happy,
prosperous, productive life? In many ways it is similar to the modern
concept of emotional intelligence. It is not so much a matter of
knowing facts as it is a skill of living, saying the right thing and
doing the right thing at the right time.
But
careful reading of the book demonstrates that wisdom is deeper than
practical lessons in living. Wisdom from the start involves a
theological dimension. As explained more fully below, one cannot be
wise unless one has a proper relationship with God. After all, “the
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (1:7).
As
a book that teaches wisdom, Proverbs fits into a category of
literature that includes Job and Ecclesiastes as well as various
psalms (e.g., Pss. 1; 49; 73).
Within
the book of Proverbs, we discover two dominant types of literature:
the discourse and the proverb per se.
The
discourse is the major genre of chapters 1–9. These are
extended speeches, typically of a father to a son (e.g., 1:8–19),
but occasionally of Wisdom to all the young men who are going by
(1:20–33). Both the father and Wisdom encourage their hearers
to stay on the path of wisdom, which leads to life, and to avoid
folly, which leads to death. Most of the discourses of Proverbs begin
with an exhortation that summons the hearer to pay attention and
often gives motivation for doing so. It is followed by a lesson
(notice, e.g., the extensive teaching about proper sexual
relationships in chaps. 5–7). A conclusion typically talks
about the consequences of listening or not listening to the lesson.
The
bulk of the second part, chapters 10–31, is proverbs per se,
though there are longer forms, such as the poem to the virtuous woman
(31:10–31). The proverb is a short (typically a two-part
parallel line) saying that provides an observation, warning, or
encouragement concerning a certain type of behavior. An example is
the observation in 10:4: “Lazy hands make for poverty, but
diligent hands bring wealth.” Although this proverb simply
makes an observation, it implicitly offers encouragement to live with
diligence in order to avoid poverty.
The
proverb as a genre makes no claim to universal truth. While some
proverbs are always true by virtue of their link with a law that is
always true (e.g., 30:20, reflecting the commandment not to commit
adultery), the proverb itself does not claim to always be true.
Proverbs are true only if applied at the right time and in the right
situation. That is why we encounter contradictory proverbs such as
26:4 and 26:5, where the advice not to answer a fool is followed
immediately by the advice to answer a fool. The wise person must read
the situation in order to know which of these two proverbs is
applicable.
The
circumstantial nature of proverbs is also typically true of
observations such as the one in 10:4, noted above. It is not always
true that lazy people become poor or that hard workers become rich.
The former might inherit a fortune, while the latter might have their
hard work destroyed by a natural catastrophe.
In
order to use proverbs correctly, readers and users of proverbs must
recognize the circumstantial nature of the truth claims of a proverb.
After all, proverbs misused are useless (26:7) and even dangerous
(26:9).
Another
common misuse of a proverb involves the “rewards” and
“punishments” described in relationship to wise and
foolish behavior. These are not promises. They are, instead, the most
likely outcome from a particular course of action, all other things
being equal. Thus, the advice to “start children off on the way
they should go” tells parents the best route to a desired end
(22:6). If they do so, it is likely that their children will not turn
from the way of wisdom. But there is no guarantee. Other factors
might lead the child astray.
Style.
The book of Proverbs is poetry (see Imagery; Poetry). It utilizes
figurative language to convey its message. Perhaps the most
intriguing image in the book is that of Wisdom (see below). The
poetry of Proverbs also uses sound plays as well as the acrostic form
(31:20–31) (see Acrostic).
Theological
Message
Fear
of the Lord.
According to Proverbs, no one can be wise without having the proper
relationship with God (1:7). This relationship is characterized by
“fear.” This fear is not horror, but it is more than
respect. The point is that the wise person must understand that God,
and no one else, is at the center of the universe, that God is more
important than any human being. After all, God created the world
(3:19–20; 8:22–31), so it is important to know one’s
place before the Creator in order to understand how the world works.
Wisdom
and Folly.
The relational nature of wisdom as “fear of the Lord” is
taught in yet another intriguing way. In 1:20–33; 8:1–36;
9:1–6 the reader encounters a woman, Wisdom, who invites all
the young men (the readers) to dinner. Such an invitation presumes an
intimate relationship. The location of Wisdom’s home on “the
highest point of the city” (9:3) reflects the location of the
temple and indicates that Wisdom stands for Yahweh’s wisdom,
even Yahweh himself. On the other hand, in 9:13–18 another
woman, Folly, issues a rival invitation. Her home too is on “the
highest point of the city” (9:14), indicating that she stands
for a god as well, but in her case the false gods of the nations. In
chapter 9, the reader must decide with whom to dine, Wisdom (Yahweh)
or Folly (false gods). Thus, wisdom and folly are not only practical,
but also theological categories. Someone who acts wisely is behaving
like a proper worshiper of the true God, whereas someone who acts
foolishly is behaving like an idolater.
New
Testament Connections
The
Letter of James has many interesting connections with Proverbs. It
describes “the wisdom that comes from heaven” (3:17) and
speaks to a number of proverbial topics. In terms of the latter, the
extensive teaching about speech is notable (3:1–12).
The
most striking NT connection to Proverbs, however, comes in the
association drawn between Jesus and Wisdom, particularly as she is
described in Prov. 8. John 1 describes Jesus as the Word in language
reminiscent of Wisdom, and he is connected with Wisdom in Matt.
11:19; Col. 1:15–20; Rev. 3:14. It is not that Wisdom is a
prophecy of Jesus, but the NT associates this figure of Yahweh’s
wisdom with Jesus because in him “are hidden all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).
