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Books of the Old Testament (For details see Biblical canon)

Hebrew Bible or Tanakh Common to Judaism and Christianity Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua (Jesus Nave) Judges Ruth 1–2 Samuel 1–2 Kings 1–2 Chronicles Ezra (see Esdras for other names) Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Minor prophets

Included by Orthodox and Roman Catholics, but excluded by Jews, Protestants, and other Christian denominations: Tobit Judith 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Wisdom (of Solomon) Ben Sira Baruch, includes Letter of Jeremiah (Additions to Jeremiah) Additions to Daniel Additions to Esther

Included by Orthodox (Synod of Jerusalem): 1 Esdras (see Esdras for other names) 3 Maccabees 4 Maccabees (in appendix but not canonical) Prayer of Manasseh Psalm 151

Included by Russian and Ethiopian Orthodox: 2 Esdras

Included by Ethiopian Orthodox: Jubilees Enoch 1–3 Meqabyan 4 Baruch

Included by Syriac Peshitta Bible: Psalms 152–155 2 Baruch This box:  •  • [ edit]

Tanakh Torah | Nevi'im | Ketuvim Books of Ketuvim
Three Poetic Books
1.	Psalms
2.	Proverbs
3.	Job
Five Megillot
4.	Song of Songs
5.	Ruth
6.	Lamentations
7.	Ecclesiastes
8.	Esther
Other Books
9.	Daniel
10.	Ezra-Nehemiah
11.	Chronicles

The Book of Proverbs is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Writings of the Old Testament.

Title

The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê 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:

Solomon

10:1	Solomon
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 Perdue, 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 BC

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.

Setting

It is difficult to pin the provenance of Proverbs down. Several suggestions have been made.

• Family

In the society of ancient Israel, the family played an important role in the upbringing and education of children. Some internal evidence hints to the use of Proverbs in a family setting: The phrase "my Son" appears some 20 times throughout the book. The role of the mother is also listed some 10 times.

• Court

The name of Solomon stands in the title of the book, thus suggesting a royal setting. Throughout the Old Testament is wisdom connected with the court.

• School

It is possible practical and reflective wisdom was transmitted in a house of learning or instruction. ^[1]

What is the central theme of the book?

This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since September 2007.

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

• Pride goes before a fall
• Proverbs 31

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. ISBN 978-0802825452. 
• Waltke, Bruce (2005). The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31. Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0802827760. 

External links

Online translations of Book of Proverbs:

• Jewish translations:
• Mishlei - Proverbs (Judaica Press) translation with Rashi's commentary at Chabad.org
• Christian translations:
• The Proverbs of Solomon (KJV)
• Bible Gateway 35 languages/50 versions
• Unbound Bible 100+ languages/versions at Biola University

Notes