If we are to derive the maximum of profit from the study of the Book of Proverbs, two facts must be borne in mind. Firstly, as was mentioned in the introductory article, the philosophical is more prominent in the Wisdom literature (Proverbs and Ecclesiastes) than in any other part of the Bible. There are no Messianic hopes, and very little said of God; yet this does not mean that the work is secular, for it was written under the guidance of God, by men who put their trust in Him, and written for others of like faith in God. Therefore the idea of God is plainly taken for granted. It is the accumulated wisdom of a nation, with the observation of mankind as the vital principle stimulating its teaching.
Proverbs do not appear in a day. Nor can we suppose that no Hebrew proverbs existed previous to the time of Solomon. Who can name the author of one in a hundred of our own thousands of proverbs? Have they not grown in the passing of the years? The first crude flash of wit is polished in its passage from mouth to mouth, to finish as the witty metaphor or apt hyperbole we know today.
In the case of the Hebrew Proverbs, we may thank the inspired wisdom of Solomon for collecting the sayings of the wise men of Israel, for weaving them into epigrams, and for binding them in poems which delight the ear as well as instruct the mind. Doubtless he, the wisest of them all, added from his own vast store of knowledge many gems of wit and wisdom.
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Author: G. and A. Wilson
Keywords: proverbs, book of proverbs, wisdom, wisdom literature, proverbs of Solomon
Bible reference(s): Proverbs 1
Source: “The Literary Style of the Proverbs,” The Testimony, Vol. 9, No. 99, March 1939, pp. 100-102.
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