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Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Writings of the Old Testament.
Contents
Title
The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "MÃshlê Shlomoh" ("Proverbs of Solomon"). When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint (LXX) the title became "paroimai paroimiae" ("Proverbs"). In the Latin vulgate the title was "proverbial", from which the English title of Proverbs is derived.
Authorship
The authorship of Proverbs has not been easy to determine. Solomon’s name appears in Proverbs 1:1, "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, King of Israel", although this does not necessarily mean that he was the author. It was often the custom to place the name of the King or someone of prominence in writings in order to honour them, or to give those writings more prestige. However, Solomon is often mentioned as someone who has extensive wisdom in the Bible as well as in extra-biblical literature. In 1 Kings 4:29-34 3000 proverbs and over 1000 songs are said to have come from Solomon. It is also said that people came from all over to hear the wisdom of Solomon. The general assumption is that Solomon was a part of the authorship to some extent, but that the book was not solely his work. There are also names linked to other sections of the book, as well as elements of disunity within the book that suggest more than one author. Some of the authorship is attributed to "Men of Hezekiah", though it is stated that they simply transcribed the proverbs rather than writing them of their own accord.
In terms of the text itself there are at least eight specific instances where authorship is mentioned:
| Proverbs | Authors/Collectors |
| 1:1 | Solomon |
| 10:1 | Solomon |
| 22:17 | Wise Men |
| 24:23 | Wise Men |
| 25:1 | Solomon (as copied by Hezekiah’s men) |
| 30:1 | Agur son of Jakeh |
| 31:1 | Lemuel (or his mother) |
| 31:10-31? | unknown author? |
As for the eighth section there are many scholars who consider the poem at the end of the book vs. 10-31 as written by an unknown author. The attributions of authorship are as follows in accordance with the scriptures above; Solomon, Solomon, Wise Men, Wise Men, Solomon (as copied by Hezekiah’s men), Agur son of Jakeh, Lemuel (or his mother), and the unknown author. With this possibility it is speculated that the sections written by the Wise Men were studied by Solomon and added in and that they influenced his writing. With this possibility it is likely that there would be similarities in the section written by Solomon as well as the sections by the Wise Men. Studies of word usage have indicated that the highest percentage of commonalities are between the three Solomon sections. The next most common are the Wise Men sections, showing that they could have influenced Solomon’s writing, and the least commonalities were with the Agur, Lemuel, and the unknown author. A majority of scholars, such as Crenshaw, Murphy and Purdue, hold to the belief that much of Proverbs was brought together from a time well after Solomon.
Date of writing
Dates for the writing of the book are also unclear. Due to the suggested authorship of Solomon and the collaboration of Hezekiah’s men there are some dates that can be worked with. However there are not enough to give specific timing to the completion of the book though it could have been as late as third century B.C.E.
Influences
There have been suggestions that there is a crossover of some Egyptian nature in the proverbs from The Instructions of Amenemopet.
Proverbs as wisdom literature
The book of Proverbs is referred to as wisdom literature along with several other books: the book of Job, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon, along with several apocryphal books.
What is the central theme of the book?
Template:original research The central theme to the book of Proverbs can be linked to Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction." This theme of centrality of the knowledge of God runs through the entirety of the book. The instructions that are given, although they are for everyday circumstances, allude to humankind’s uprightness before God. The thought pattern that the reverence and respect for God in all circumstances brings true knowledge is encouraged in this book. The book centers on the willingness to learn as important. God’s people were brought into the belief that God’s law is something that is part of life and is a duty, and this required obedience. Proverbs calls this kind of obedience the fear of the Lord. This obligation, which is similar to the knowledge of God that they had from the prophetic books, involves reverence, gratitude, and commitment to do the will of God in every circumstance. The main goal of Proverbs is to define clearly what it means to be fully devoted to God’s will and seeing his will accomplished in this world.
See Also
References
- Benson, Clarence H., Old Testament Survey: Poetry and Prophecy, 1972
- Blank, S. H. "Book of Proverbs," in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible [1962]
- Chapman, Milo L., Purkiser, W.T., Wolf, Earl C. & Harper, A. F. Beacon Bible Commentary: Job through Song of Solomon, 1967
- Crenshaw, James L. "Book of Proverbs," The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 1992
- Dean, Matt. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume II, 2003
- Jewish Encyclopedia, with dates of compilation and manuscript traditions
- Lasor, William Sanford, Hubbard, David Allan, & Bush, Frederic Wm., Old Testament Survey: The Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament, 1996
- Murphy, Roland E., Wisdom Literature: Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Canticles, Ecclesiastes, and Esther. Grand Rapids, 1981
- Perdue, Leo G. Proverbs: interpretation A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, 2000
- Steinmann, Andrew E. "Proverbs 1-9 as a Solomonic Composition," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 43, no. 4
- Waltke, Bruce (2004). Book Of Proverbs: Chapters 1-15, Wm. B. Eerdmans.
- Waltke, Bruce (2005). The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31, Wm. B. Eerdmans.
External links
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Online translations of Book of Proverbs:
- Jewish translations:
- Mishlei - Proverbs (Judaica Press) translation with Rashi's commentary at Chabad.org
- Christian translations:
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