The Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs Proverbs 3:1–12 Excerpt The twentieth book of the Old Testament according to the Christian canon and third of the poetical books ( Job , Psalms , Proverbs ) in the Hebrew canon included among the Writings. The book of Proverbs is a collection of largely proverbial Wisdom Literature traditionally associated with Solomon, the Israelite king famed for his divine gift of wisdom ( 1 Kgs. 3–4 ); the Hebrew title for the book (Heb. mišlê ; Prov. 1:1 ) reflects this association. It is clear from literary analyses and internal evidence that the contents of the book must be attributed to a variety of authors over an extended period of time. At least three authors are named in headings ( Solomon , 1:1 ; 10:1 ; 25:1 ; Agur , 30:1 ; Lemuel , 31:1 ), and other segments are attributed anonymously to “the wise” ( 22:17 ; 24:23 ). The designation of the whole collection as “proverbs” ( LXX Gk. Paroimiai ; Vul...