The Book Ofproverbs

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Prov'erbs, The Book of. The title of this book in Hebrew is taken from its first word, mashal , which originally meant "A Comparison". It is sometimes translated Parable , sometimes, Proverb , as here. The superscriptions which are affixed to several portions of the book, in  Proverbs 1:1;  Proverbs 10:1;  Proverbs 25:1, attribute the authorship of those portions to Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel. With the exception of the last two chapters, which are distinctly assigned to other authors, it is probable that the statement of the superscriptions is, in the main, correct, and that the majority of the proverbs contained in the book were uttered or collected by Solomon. Speaking roughly, the book consists of three main divisions, with two appendices: -

Chapters 1-9 form a connected didactic in which wisdom is praised and the youth exhorted to devote himself to her. This portion is preceded by an introduction and title describing the character and general aim of the book.

Chapters 10-24 , with the title, "The Proverbs of Solomon," consist of three parts:  Proverbs 10:1-22;  Proverbs 10:16, a collection of single proverbs, and detached sentences out of the region of moral teaching and worldly prudence;  Proverbs 22:17-24;  Proverbs 22:21, a more connected didactic poem, with an introduction,  Proverbs 22:17-22, which contains precepts of righteousness and prudence;  Proverbs 24:23-34, with the inscription, "These also belong to the wise," a collection of unconnected maxims, which serve as an appendix to the preceding.

Then follows the third division, chapters 25-29 , which, according to the superscription, professes to be collection of Solomon's proverbs, consisting of single sentences, which the men of the court of Hezekiah copied out.

The first appendix, chapter 30 , "The words of Agur, the son of Jakeh," is a collection of partly proverbial and partly enigmatical sayings;

the second appendix, chapter 31 , is divided into two parts, "The words of King Lemuel,"  Proverbs 31:1-6; and an alphabetical acrostic in praise of a virtuous woman, which occupies the rest of the chapter,  Proverbs 31:7-31.

Who was Agur and who was Jakeh, are questions which have been often asked, and never satisfactorily answered. All that can be said of the first is that he was an unknown Hebrew sage, the son of an equally unknown Jakeh, and that he lived, after the time of Hezekiah. Lemuel, like Agur, is unknown. It is even uncertain whether he is to be regarded as a real personage, or whether the name is merely symbolical.

The Proverbs are frequently quoted or alluded to in the New Testament and the canonicity of the book thereby confirmed. The following is a list of the principal passages: -

 Proverbs 1:16; compare  Romans 3:10;  Romans 3:15;

 Proverbs 3:7; compare  Romans 12:16;

 Proverbs 3:11-12; compare  Hebrews 12:5-6; see also  Revelation 3:19;

 Proverbs 3:34; compare  James 4:6;

 Proverbs 10:12; compare  1 Peter 4:8;

 Proverbs 11:31; compare  1 Peter 4:18;

 Proverbs 17:13; compare  Romans 12:17;  1 Thessalonians 5:15;  1 Peter 3:9;

 Proverbs 17:27; compare  James 1:19;

 Proverbs 20:9; compare  1 John 1:8;

 Proverbs 20:20; compare  Matthew 15:4;  Mark 7:10;

 Proverbs 22:8; (Septuagint (LXX)); compare  2 Corinthians 9:7;

 Proverbs 25:21-22; compare  Romans 12:20;

 Proverbs 26:11; compare  2 Peter 2:22;

 Proverbs 27:1; compare  James 4:13-14

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

That Solomon was the author of the Book of Proverbs has never been questioned. Some have indeed thought that he composed a part only of the Proverbs included in that book, and collected the others from various sources. It is probable, indeed, that he availed himself of any sayings already current which he regarded as useful and important. Whether he ever made any collection of his proverbs in writing is, however, doubtful. Proverbs 25-31, we are expressly informed, was written out and added to the previous portion, by order of King Hezekiah. The divine authority of the book is sufficiently proved by the quotations made from it in the New Testament .

The characteristics of the proverbial style (in the more restricted sense of the word) are, according to Bishop Lowth, 1. Brevity; 2. Obscurity; 3. Elegance. The first of these is, however, the only one that can be considered at all universal. Many of the Proverbs of Solomon can hardly lay claim to elegance, according to the most liberal application of the term, and comparatively few of them are at all obscure as to meaning. The same remark applies with even greater force to the proverbs of everyday life, e.g. Time and tide tarry for no man. Haste makes waste. Make hay while the sun shines. A fool and his money are soon parted. We should be rather inclined to name, as a characteristic of the proverb, a pointed and sometimes antithetical form of expression; and this, in addition to brevity or sententiousness, constitutes perhaps the only universal distinction of this species of composition. Conciseness indeed enters into the very essence of the proverb.

We were about to adduce examples from the book of Proverbs, of these two excellencies—sententiousness and point—but it is impossible to select, where almost every verse is an illustration. Nor should it be forgotten that the structure of the Hebrew language admits of a much higher degree of excellence in this particular than is possible in the English tongue. We give two examples taken at random. 'A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.' Here are twelve words; in the original seven only are employed. 'When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.'Eighteen words; in the Hebrew eight.

From its brevity, its appositeness, and its epigrammatic point, a proverb once heard remains fixed in the memory. Like an outline sketch which pleases more than a finished drawing, because it leaves more to the imagination, a proverb is peculiarly fitted to impress the mind, because it suggests more than it expresses. The same effect is produced by the obscurity observable in some proverbs; an obscurity consequent in part on their sententiousness, and in part on their figurative dress.

But Solomon must have had other reasons for selecting it, peculiar to the age and country in which he lived. The Hebrews have been called a nation of children. The mode of teaching by aphorisms is especially adapted to men in an early stage of culture, who have not yet learned to arrange and connect their various knowledges into a system. Accordingly we find this mode of writing employed in the most remote ages; and wise sayings, maxims, apophthegms, constitute a large part of the early literature of most nations. Especially is this true of the Oriental nations. The fondness of the people of the East for parables, enigmas, allegories, and pithy sayings, has itself become a proverb.

As an example of the former we may refer to , and of the latter to .

Proverbs 1-9 are remarkably distinguished from the remainder, and form a continuous discourse, written in the highest style of poetry, adorned with apt and beautiful illustrations, and with various and striking figures.

At the tenth chapter a different style commences. From to , is a series of pithy disconnected maxims, on various subjects, and applicable to the most diverse situation. From to a style resembling that of the exordium, though inferior in elegance and sublimity, prevails; and at Proverbs 25 the separate maxims recommence. These compose the remainder of the book, with the exception of Proverbs 30, which is ascribed to Agur, and Proverbs 31, which is said to be the advice given to King Lemuel by his mother. Who these persons are is not known. The supposition that Lemuel is another name of Solomon does not appear to be supported by proof.

Proverbs 30 affords an example of another species of writing, closely allied to the proverb, and equally in favor among the Orientals. It is that of riddles or enigmas, designed to exercise the wit and ingenuity of the hearer, and to impart instruction through the medium of amusement.

Proverbs 31, containing the counsels addressed to King Lemuel by his mother, needs no elucidation. It presents a beautiful picture of female excellence in an age and country where modesty, industry, submission, and the domestic and matronly virtues, were esteemed the only appropriate ornaments of woman.

If we turn our attention to the maxims which compose the greater part of the book of Proverbs, we shall find enough to excite our wonder and admiration. Here are not only the results of the profoundest human sagacity, the counsels and admonitions of the man who excelled in wisdom all who went before, and all who came after him, but of such a man writing under divine inspiration. And how numerous, how various, how profound, how important are his instructions!

These directions are adapted to the wants of every class and rank of men, and to every relation of life. The rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, the master and the servant, the monarch and the subject, may here find the counsels they need. 'Apples of gold in baskets of silver' are fit emblems of such prudent and wholesome counsels, clothed in such an attractive garb.