Introduction To The Book Of Proverbs Series

Introduction to the Book of Proverbs

Proverbs 1:7

The Book of Proverbs is one of the books classified as the poetry of Scripture. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon all belong in the same package because they are written as Hebrew poetry.

Solomon, the son of David, is the primary author and/or collector of the Book of Proverbs. After becoming king of Israel, 1 Kings 3:3-15 tell of God appearing to Solomon in a dream, asking what he desired. The young king asked the LORD for wisdom to lead Israel. From then onward, Solomon became known for his great wisdom, and that people from all over the earth came to hear his words (1 Kings 4:34). With his understanding, Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs and composed 1,005 songs. Many of those proverbs are no doubt within this book.

But Proverbs is not the sole work of Solomon. In some passages of Proverbs, the sages who wrote the book are named. Proverbs 30 was written by Agur, son of Jakeh (30:1), but we know nothing else about him.

Proverbs 31:1 informs us that King Lemuel wrote the famous chapter about the virtuous woman. In this verse, we learn that Lemuel was taught proverbs by his mother. Proverbs 25:1 provides another insight into authorship: “These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.” The word translated “copied” can also mean “transcribed.” This suggests that some of the proverbs (perhaps chapters 25–29) were produced by scribes living in the days of Hezekiah (ca. 715–687 BC), after the lifetime of Solomon.

The Hebrew word translated “proverb” is also translated ”oracle” (Nu 23:7,18), “taunt” (Isa 14:4) and “parable” (Eze 17:2), so its meaning is considerably broader than the English term. This may help explain the presence of the longer discourse sections in chs. 1–9. Most proverbs are short, compact statements that express truths about human behavior. Often there is repetition of a word or sound that aids memorization. In 30:33, e.g., the same Hebrew verb is translated “churning,” “twisting” and “stirring up.”

The book of Proverbs was written as poetry, and it employs many of the techniques common to Hebraic poetry—vivid imagery, parallelism, and other literary techniques—to guide the reader in the quest for wisdom. The introductory verses of the book express this central theme: “A wise man will hear, and will increase in learning … but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:5, 7).

Proverbs can be a very difficult book to understand well, so before we begin our study of the book, here are a few principles to keep in mind while studying Proverbs.

First, Proverbs is divided into two major halves. The first half (chapters 1-9) are an introductory course of on biblical wisdom, with Solomon writing to us readers as a father teaching his son. Although these paternal speeches form the bulk of the first nine chapters, we are also treated occasionally to speeches from Lady Wisdom. Because of this teaching pattern, it is important for us to approach these chapters as students ready to learn wisdom from experts.

Second, Proverbs are principles, not promises. Many parents can testify that Proverbs 22:6 does not always happen. Proverbs show us how things should work within God’s creation. Ecclesiastes and Job show us how biblical wisdom is applied to situations when life goes against what we expected.

Third, Proverbs cannot make us wise, only God can. Even though Proverbs is the book of biblical wisdom, they cannot make us wise themselves. We must rather pray for God to use His Word to make us wise, but without His illumination, these words will never change or impact our hearts.

Fourth, Proverbs are not one's day to day activity to apply immediately; they require wisdom to use properly. Too many people think of Proverbs as being full of sayings that can be grabbed without context and applied to life’s various situations. In fact, Proverbs speaks against trying to use these wise words without wisdom: “Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools” (26:7). Or “Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools” (26:9).

Fifth, Proverbs is a covenantal book. Those who obeyed were promised tremendous blessings, but those who disobeyed were threatened with terrible curses (Deuteronomy 28 )

What is the purpose of Proverbs? Let us see how the Bible puts it. He (Solomon) wrote them to teach his people how to live- how to act in every situation - Proverbs 1:2 This is what Proverbs is all about - wisdom for living before God. Most of us know how to make a living but how many of us know how to live so that our lives will be pleasing to God.