The Book of Proverbs

Introduction

The Book of Proverbs is part of the Old Testament known as “Wisdom Literature.” The books included in this category are Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon (aka. Song of Songs), and Job. Proverbs attempts to impart to the reader practical wisdom for living.

What is Wisdom?

a: ability to discern inner qualities and relationships : INSIGHT

b: good sense : JUDGMENT

c: generally accepted belief

d: accumulated philosophical or scientific learning

However Biblical Wisdom places these definitions within the framework of God, especially within the person of Jesus. For instance, John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The noun “Word,” translated from the Greek word “Logos,” contains the ideas of principle, reason and thought. Jesus, then, is the understood to be the summation of wisdom. In this light, Biblical Wisdom may be defined as

orientation which allows one to live in harmonious accord with God’s ordering of the world.”

Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 866.

The Book Proverbs gives us practical instruction on walking by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

“The righteous are willing to disadvantage themselves to advantage the community; the wicked are willing to disadvantage the community to advantage themselves … ‘righteousness’ is a pattern of life, not merely specific acts. What is at stake is personhood, not merely performance; disposition rather than mere deeds; character behind and beyond conduct”

Jason C. Kuo, “Proverbs, Book of,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

Title and Prologue (1:1-7).

The book is attributed as a whole to Solomon (1:1; 10:1), with contributions by King Hezekiah’s men (25:1), Agur (30:1), and Lemuel (31:1). Some have suggested that Proverbs was written and compiled too late to have Solomonic authorship. Four points are offered as a rebuttal.

1. The history in 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles matches Proverbs.

2. The structure and content of Proverbs is similar to “comparable wisdom literature from Egypt, Mesopotamia,” and other cultures in the region dating from the time period of Solomon’s reign.

The ESV Study Bible Author and Date

First, wisdom texts very similar to Proverbs predate the book of Proverbs by as much as a millennium. In addition to proverb texts from early Mesopotamia, a wide array of wisdom literature from Egypt has numerous and striking parallels to Proverbs. Some important ones are: The Instruction of Vizier Ptah-hotep (written in the 5th or 6th Egyptian Dynasty, c. 2500–2190 B.C.); The Instruction for Merikare (10th Dynasty, c. 2106–2010 B.C.); and The Instruction of Amenemope (probably written c. 1250 B.C.). The existence of these and other wisdom texts shows that the practice of composing discourses on wisdom and collecting wise sayings was already ancient by the time of Solomon. The notion that interest in such material could not have evolved until late in Israelite history conflicts with the evidence.

3. Linguistic evidence matches well with Solomon as the author.

The ESV Study Bible Author and Date

The second argument is based in the nature of the Solomonic kingdom as described in the Bible. It is referred to as a golden age of peace, prosperity, and international prestige for Israel. As a rule, it is in such times that a flowering of literature occurs. For example, of the above Egyptian texts, Ptah-hotep is from the powerful Old Kingdom period, and Amenemope is from the New Kingdom period. Merikare is an exception, coming from the weaker First Intermediate Period of Egypt, but it is rooted in the wisdom of the Old Kingdom. Similarly, the giants of Greek dramatic literature (Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes) emerged in the fifth century B.C., during the time of the Athenian Empire, and it was also at that time that Socrates propelled Western philosophy forward. The greatest works of Latin literature, and in particular the Aeneid of Virgil, were written in the golden age of Augustus. Based on these analogies, it is much more likely that the bulk of Proverbs comes from the golden age of Solomon than from the much more humble age of Hezekiah, to say nothing of the postexilic period, when Jerusalem was a cultural backwater.

4. Wisdom literature is typically set in the context of a kingly court (Waltke, Proverbs 1–15, 31–36).

Jason C. Kuo, “Proverbs, Book of,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

Conclusion: There is little to no evidence to deny the Biblical claim. Sometimes as Christians, we think we have the burden to prove the claims of the Bible; instead the burden falls on skeptics to disprove the claims.

Purpose

To instill Godly Wisdom in to the reader:

Wisdom encapulates practicality, intellectual exercise, morality, and probing.

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 15: Proverbs (Purpose)

“Instruction” (vv. 2–3) includes correction and discipline in its orbit of meaning the Hebrew mûsār is a favorite in Proverbs (1:7; 5:12, 23; 6:23; 8:33; etc.; more than thirty occurrences all told), expressing as it does the painful process of garnering wisdom.

In a fallen state, humans cannot obtain wisdom without discipline.

English Standard Version (James 1:2-5)

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Note the correlation between instruction and wisdom. Two sides of the same coin. Instruction always comes with a test. God gives open book tests. The Bible and prayer is the answer key.

We are to use the Proverbs to gain well used skills (wisdom) in Godly Righteousness, Justice and Equity.

The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 15: Proverbs Purpose

Wisdom” (v. 3) is better read as “well-used skill”; Hebrew śākal (about sixteen times in Proverbs) connotes both the ability to apply wisdom and the success or prosperity that come with that application

It is for all people, be they naive and ignorant (the simple … the youth) or already experienced (Let the wise hear).

The Hebrew word for prudence connotes cunning. Simple does not mean stupidity. Rather it means untaught or naive. Therefore the Proverbs are meant to teach cunning discernment to the untaught and young. Jesus tells his disciples

English Standard Version Chapter 10

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

As the simple and youth become wise, they need to continue to grow in knowledge and application. Jesus exampled this:

English Standard Version Chapter 2

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.