Jehovah formed me as the beginning of his creation, The first of his works of old, In the primeval past was I formed, In the beginning, before the earth was, When there were no depths, I was brought forth, When there were no fountains full of water.
Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills were brought forth, When he had not as yet made the earth, Nor the first of the dust of the world.
[Sidenote: Pr. 8:27, 29, 30]
When he established the heavens, I was there, When he marked off the vault on the face of the deep, Made fast the fountains of the deep, When he set to the sea its bound, When he marked out the foundations of the earth, Then I was at his side as a foster-child; And I was daily full of delight, Sporting in his presence continually, Sporting in his habitable earth.
[Sidenote: Pr. 8:31-35]
And my delight is with the sons of men; Now therefore, my sons, hearken to me, Hear instruction that you may be wise, And reject it not.
Happy is the man who hearkens to me, Happy are they who walk in my ways, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors.
For he who finds me finds life, And obtains favor from Jehovah.
[Sidenote: Pr. 13:14-20, 24:5]
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life That man may avoid the ways of death.
Walk with the wise and you will become wise, But he who a.s.sociates with fools shall smart for it.
A wise man is better than a strong man, And a man who has knowledge than he who has strength.
[Sidenote: Pr. 12:10]
A wise man has regard for the well-being of his beast, But the heart of the wicked is cruel.
[Sidenote: Pr. 20:13]
Love not sleep lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes and you shall have plenty.
[Sidenote: Pr. 25:16]
If you find honey, eat what is sufficient for you, Lest you be surfeited with it and vomit it up.
[Sidenote: Pr. 23:9-35]
Who cries, Woe? who, Alas?
Who has contentions? Who, complaining?
Who has dullness of eyes?
They who linger long over wine, They who go about tasting mixed wine.
Look not upon the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup.
At last it bites like a serpent, And stings like an adder.
Your eyes shall see strange things, And your mind shall suggest queer things.
You shall be like one sleeping at sea, Like one asleep in a great storm.
"They have struck me, but I feel no pain; They have beaten me, but I feel it not; I will seek it yet again. When shall I awake from my wine?"
[Sidenote: Pr. 29:20, 15:23]
Do you see a man hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
A man has joy from the utterance of his mouth, And a word in due season, how good it is!
[Sidenote: Pr. 19:11, 16:32]
A man"s wisdom makes him slow to anger, And it is his glory to pa.s.s over transgression.
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.
[Sidenote: Pr. 23:26-28]
My son, give me your attention, And let your eyes give careful heed to my ways.
For a harlot is a deep well, And an adultress is a narrow pit.
Yea, she lies in wait as a robber, And increases the faithless among men.
[Sidenote: Pr. 4:25-27]
Let your eyes look right straight forward, And let your gaze be straight before you.
Let the path of your feet be level, And let all your ways be stable.
Turn not to the right hand nor to the left, Keep your foot away from evil.
[Sidenote: Pr. 14:15]
The simpleton believes everything, But the prudent man looks well to where he walks.
[Sidenote: Pr. 26:12, 27:2]
Do you see a man wise in his own conceit?
There is more hope of a fool than him.
Let another man praise you and not your own mouth; Some other, and not your own lips.
[Sidenote: Pr. 4:23, 11:6]
Keep your heart above all that you guard, For out of it are the issues of life.
The righteousness of the upright shall save them, But the treacherous are caught by their own desire.
[Sidenote: Pr. 21:3]
To do what is just and right Is more acceptable to Jehovah than sacrifice.
[Sidenote: Pr. 15:1]
A soft answer turns away wrath; But a harsh word stirs up anger.
[Sidenote: Pr. 3:27]
Withhold not good from your neighbor, When it is in your power to do it.
Say not to your neighbor, "Go, and come again, And to-morrow I will give," when you have it by you.
[Sidenote: Pr. 14:21, 19:17]
He who despises his neighbor, sins, But he who has pity on the poor, happy is he.
He who has pity on the poor, lends to Jehovah, And his good deed will yet pay him.
[Sidenote: Pr. 25:21-22]
If your enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat, And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink; For you will heap coals of fire upon his head, And Jehovah will reward you.
[Sidenote: Pr. 3:11-12]
My son, reject not the instruction of Jehovah, And do not grow weary of his reproof, For whom Jehovah loveth he reproveth, Even as a father the son in whom he delights.
[Sidenote: Pr. 3:5-6]
Trust in Jehovah with all your heart, And depend not upon your own understanding.
In all your ways know him well, And he will make plain your path.
I. Structure and Authorship of the Book of Proverbs. The book of Proverbs is in reality a collection of originally independent groups of proverbs. In its present form it consists of nine general divisions: (1) The preface defining the aims of the book, 1:1-6. (2) A general introduction describing the characteristics and value of the wisdom teaching, 1:7-9:18. (3) A large collection designated as the Proverbs of Solomon, 10:1-22:16. The fact that ten proverbs are repeated in practically the same words indicates that it, like the book of Proverbs as a whole, is made up of smaller collections. In chapters 10-15 the prevailing type of the poetic parallelism is ant.i.thetic or contrasting, while in the remainder of the book the synonymous or repeating parallelism prevails. (4) A supplemental collection, 22:17-24:22. This is introduced by the suggestive superscription, "Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise." (5) A shorter appendix, 24:23-34, with the superscription, "These also are from the wise." (6) The second large collection of proverbs, 25-29. This bears the superscription, "These also are the proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed." It contains several proverbs found in the first large collection, and evidently represents later gleanings from the same field.
(7) The words of Agur, 30. Of Agur nothing is known beyond his name, which may be simply typical. The latter part of the chapter contains a collection of numerical enigmas which may or may not have been a.s.sociated at first with the opening section. (8) The words of King Lemuel, 31:1-9.
(9) A description of the ideal Hebrew housewife, 31:10-31. The contents of these collections as well as their superscriptions clearly indicate that these proverbs represent the work of many different wise men, living at different periods and writing from different points of view. Few, if any, can be confidently attributed to Solomon. Even the proverbs in the large collection, 10:1-22:16, which are definitely designated as the Proverbs of Solomon, emphasize monogamy and denounce rulers who oppress their subjects. Many of the proverbs in these larger Solomonic collections give practical advice regarding the bearing of a subject in the presence of the king, and few of them fit in the mouth of the splendor-loving monarch, who by his foreign marriages and grinding taxation exerted a baleful influence upon the political and religious life of Israel. The great majority of the proverbs reflect the n.o.ble ethical teachings of the prophets. Clearly the term Proverbs of Solomon is simply a late designation of early proverbs the authorship of which, like that of most popular maxims, had long since been forgotten.
II. Date of the Different Collections. The preface and general introduction to the book of Proverbs reflect the immorality and evils that characterized both the Persian and Greek periods. Their background is the corrupt life of the city. The tendency to personify wisdom is also one of the marks of later Jewish thought. It is probable, therefore, that this part of the book of Proverbs was added by a late editor who lived during the Greek period. The oldest collection in the book is clearly to be found in 10:1-22:10. The evils which it describes, the oppression of the poor and dependent by the rich and powerful, existed throughout most of Israel"s history, but were especially prominent in the days of the divided kingdom immediately before the destruction of Jerusalem. The references to the king imply that the proverb writers had in mind Hebrew rulers. In general their rule is just and they enjoy the respect of their subjects. The prevailing occupation of the people is agriculture. Commerce is just beginning to develop. The exile has not yet cast its shadow over Hebrew life and thought. The majority of these proverbs clearly represent the fruitage of the teachings of the pre-exilic prophets, and many of them come from the days immediately before the final destruction of Jerusalem.
From the occasional references to the scoffers, the absence of allusions to idolatry, and the fact that monogamy is here a.s.sumed, we may infer that some of them at least come from the Persian or even the Greek periods. It is probable that this large collection was not made until the latter part of the Persian or the early part of the Greek period.
The appendices in 22:17-24:34 contain many repet.i.tions of proverbs found in the larger collection. The prevalence of intemperance, the existence of a merchant cla.s.s, and the allusions to exiled Jews (e.g., 24:11) point rather clearly to the dissolute Greek period as the age when these small collections were made. The word meaning "transcribe," that is found in the superscription to the second large collection (25-29), is peculiar to the late Hebrew, and implies that this superscription, like those of the Psalms, was added by a late Jewish scribe. The literary form of these proverbs is more complex than those of the other large collection. The kings are feared by their subjects, but figure now as oppressors rather than champions of the people. While this collection may contain a few proverbs coming from the period before the final destruction of Jerusalem, it is probable that, like the smaller appendices to the first large collection, they were not gathered until the early part of the Greek period. The long appendices in chapters 30-31 are clearly late. The note of doubt in the opening section of 30 is closely akin to that which recurs in the book of Ecclesiastes. It is also based on Isaiah 44:5 and 45:4.
Aramaisms and the acrostic form in 31:10-31 imply that the background was the late Persian or early Greek period.