The Bible Book

WISDOM AND PROPHETS 149

Idleness is one of many vices that the

proverbs warn against. In Proverb 6,

sluggards are advised to follow the

productive ways of the ant.

See also: The Ten Commandments 78–83 ■ The Wisdom of Solomon 120–23 ■ Sermon on the Mount 204–09 ■

The Golden Rule 210–11 ■ Parables of Jesus 214–15

example, says: “Go to the ant, you

sluggard; consider its ways and be

wise!” (Proverbs 6:6). Many of the

book’s maxims date back millennia,

and a number come from outside

the Israelite tradition—some, for

example, are borrowed from

Egyptian wisdom literature.

Historical collection

Authorship of much of the book of

Proverbs is attributed to King

Solomon, although this is unlikely.

It is more probable that the Proverbs

were gathered into collections at

various times in Israelite history

and then copied at the Judean

court of King Hezekiah in the late

8th century bce. In view of the

customs mentioned and the pure

monotheism espoused by the

text, the book as it appears today

almost certainly dates from the

late 6th century or 5th century bce,

after the Judeans had returned

from exile in Babylon.

The scribes organized Proverbs

into five sections with four short

appendices at the end. The first

section or prologue (chapters 1–9)

most obviously bears the imprint of

the post-Exile period, although it is

labeled “The Proverbs of Solomon.”

Next comes a long section (10:1–

22:16) of short, mostly two-line

proverbs, attributed to Solomon,

and then the section entitled “the

sayings of the wise” (22:17–24:22),

which shows Egyptian influence.

This is followed by another short

section on the same theme (24:23–

34), and then another longer section

(chapters 25–29) attributed to

Solomon. The appendices make

up the last two chapters and

conclude with a famous poem

extolling the virtues of “The Wife

of Noble Character” (see p. 151).

Twin strands

Wisdom in Proverbs is delivered

through two voices. One is that of

an elder—a parent, teacher, or

sage—giving instruction to a

younger person. The book’s very

first exhortation is in this style:

“Listen, my son, to your father’s

instruction and do not forsake your

mother’s teaching” (1:8). The ❯❯

Wisdom literature

Proverbs, along with the Books

of Job and Ecclesiastes, belongs

to a well-established genre of

the ancient Near East: wisdom

writing. Consisting of maxims

and tales that reflect upon life

wisely lived, this body of

literature has deep roots. One

of the oldest known works is the

Maxims of Ptahhotep, from the

end of the 3rd millennium bce,

which details the instructions

of a vizier to his son. The

Instruction of Amenemopet—

written down around 1000 bce

but probably older than that—

also follows a similar format.

The section in Proverbs entitled

“sayings of the wise” is clearly

modeled on Amenemopet’s

maxims and includes some that

are almost identical. Similarities

also exist with a Mesopotamian

work: the Story of Ahikar. The

tale of a chief counselor at the

Assyrian court, it is peppered

with wise sayings. The sayings

include an earlier version of the

Bible’s famous “spare the rod,

spoil the child” proverb.

US_148-151_Proverbs.indd 149 21/09/17 11:30 am