Bible Overview is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in Bible study. Each month we feature a book of the Bible (in order) by Bible scholar and lecturer, Mary Jane Chapin Chaignot. This month's entry is the Book of Proverbs, which is generally classified as Wisdom Literature, along with Job and Ecclesiastes. They are all found in the third division, known as The Writings. These three books are distinct from the others in the Masoretic Text due to their poetical system of accents. If you want to read some of the history previous to this selection, you might want to check our archives where you can find the earlier books. The Bible Time-Line in Teaching the Bible is another quick reference tool for locating individuals or specific books. We encourage readers to share their Bible Study success stories on this site. Email us at overview@biblewise.com to be included on next month's site.

Proverbs

Like many other ancient societies, the Israelites had their wise men, their sages, whose wisdom was sought and revered. The pursuit of wisdom became an important part of their thought and culture. Proverbs is among the first organized collection of this wisdom literature. Authorship of this book has typically been attributed to Solomon. Indeed, the opening line states, "The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, King of Israel," and the line is repeated twice more. This, no doubt, stems from the fact that Solomon was thought to be the penultimate wise man, and attaching his name to a document gave it an air of authority. And there is no doubt that he probably was involved in collecting, sponsoring, or even writing some of these verses.

But most scholars agree that Proverbs is best thought of as a compilation of many authors. In Proverbs 25:1, it states that Hezekiah's men collected Solomon's proverbs and added to them. (Hezekiah was king from 716-687BCE.) There are ascriptions to Lemuel and Agur, names that are totally unknown to us apart from Proverbs. And twice, there is reference to "the sayings of the wise." Scholars have also noted distinctions between the sections, suggesting different authors, different origins, and different times. For now, we will agree that, in general, wisdom was associated with Solomon; much like the psalms were attributed to David, and the law was derived from Moses. We have already determined that all those works had a long tradition, which might have included original material, but they have all been reworked down through the centuries.

Proverbs, as we know it, is a collection of sayings, riddles, instructions, and poems. The content is much like that of the Decalogue, but it lacks the covenantal component. Proverbs explores how to get along in the world as a believer in God. It involves practical advice, generally for the younger person. Several themes are evident: fear of the Lord, productive action, self-control, attitude towards family and neighbor, and prudent speech. Scholars have determined two main thoughts running through the majority of these verses. One is that this is the work of sages, who composed these verses for instruction related to the royal court; the other is that these were mostly oral sayings arising out of the lives of ordinary people. These are not mutually exclusive categories, for a lot of education was simply derived from parents teaching their children. And the final collectors were the scribes of the royal court.

Essentially, then, both these viewpoints are played out among its pages. And, of course, there is some tension between observations from life and appeals to the traditional viewpoint. The authors give voice to the way things really are as well as to the way they would like them to be. In that sense, some of the proverbs are timeless and are applicable to today's world. We, too, experience some tension regarding how things are and how we wish them to be. And we also have English sayings that help us navigate some of those issues. (Like father, like son; a stitch in time saves nine.) The biblical proverbs, however, are not just short, succinct statements, but are beautifully constructed and poetic. Consider: "Like apples of gold set in silver filigree is a word spoken in season." (25:11) This would be harder to memorize, but would certainly provoke a greater effect.

One modern concern involving Proverbs entails gender issues. A cursory reading reveals language not very favorable towards women. Most of the sayings are addressed to "sons." When the word is plural, it can refer to both sons and daughters, but there is a plethora of the word "son," singular and masculine. Not to mention the number of times Proverbs speaks about nagging or contentious wives (without any corresponding mention that husbands sometimes do the same). In Proverbs 1-9, both Wisdom (8:4-36) and Temptation (7:6-23) are personified as females, and try to entice the unsuspecting (male). Yet, the sayings of Lemuel in Proverbs 31:1-9 are attributed to words that his mother taught him. Many of these paradoxical portraits stem from the fact that most of the social, political, and economic power was in the hands of men. It should not surprise anyone, then, that Proverbs, by and large, would represent the male's point of view. That, again, represents tension between the way things are and the way they (the male authors) wished them to be.

Despite these shortcomings, Proverbs itself states its mission:
"The Proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel, by which men will come to wisdom and instruction and will understand words that bring understanding, and by which they will gain a well-instructed intelligence, righteousness, justice, and probity. The simple will be endowed with shrewdness and the young with knowledge and prudence. If the wise man listens, he will increase his learning, and the man of understanding will acquire skill to understand proverbs and parables, the sayings of wise men and their riddles." (1:1-7) It would be hard to say it better than that.

There are two main divisions in Proverbs - chapters 1-9 and 10-31. The first part is more like a treatise on wisdom, while the latter is a collection of discrete (short) sayings. Those two main categories are generally subdivided into eight smaller sections. They are: 1:1-9:18 - The proverbs of Solomon; 10:1-22:16 - More proverbs of Solomon; 22:17-24:22 - Words of the Wise; 24:23-34 - Also sayings of the Wise; 25:1-29:27 - Men of Hezekiah; 30:1-33 - Words of Agur; 31:1-9 - Words of Lemuel; and 31:10-31 - A Poem on the Good Wife. These divisions are determined by the titles that mark off each section.

Bibliography

Aitken, Kenneth. "Proverbs." The Daily Study Bible Series. Philadelphia, PA:      Westminster Press, 1986.

Farmer, Kathleen. "Proverbs & Ecclesiastes: Who Knows What is Good?"      International Theological Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B Eerdmans,      1991.

Mills, Watson and Richard Wilson. Mercer Commentary on the Bible. Macon, GA:      Mercer University Press, 1995.

Murphy, Roland. "Proverbs." Word Biblical Commentary. Nashville, TN: Thomas      Nelson Publishers,1998.

Murphy, R and E. Huwiler. "Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs." New      International Biblical Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Press, 1999.

Whybray, RN. "The Book of Proverbs." The Cambridge Bible Commentary.      Cambridge, Great Britain: University Press, 1972.