#XI
Title: Proverbs
Book: The Daily Bible in Chronological Order 365 Daily Readings, New International Version (NIV) with devotional insights to Guide You through God’s Word.
Commentary: F. LaGard Smith.
Genre: Religion
Challenges: 100+, Read & Review, Operation Actually Read the Bible
Rating: B+
Dates read: 5/16/09 - 5/25/09
No. of pages - 20

In this 20th book of the old testament Bible, we find the sayings of Solomon and others. According to Smith, “(a)s the historical record has indicated, Solomon the wise king is the author of literally thousands of proverbs. The proverbs are short poems, usually in the form of couplets, which set high ethical standards and give practical advice for daily living through the use of comparative, or perhaps antithetical, imagery. For example:
A word aptly spoken
Is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
Or;
The kisses of an enemy may be profuse,
But faithful are the wounds of a friend.

Such poetic verses place high value on wisdom and sharply contrast good and evil, righteousness and wickedness, justice and injustice. Both in style and content the proverbs are somewhat typical of the wisdom literature prevalent during this time, not only in Israel but in other countries as well, including Mesopotamia and Egypt. Of particular similarity is the Egyptian ‘Teachings of Amen-em-opet.’ It is not known which culture influenced the other, if indeed there is any connection at all. However, the Hebrew proverbs are distinct in that all wisdom is seen as flowing from the true God, rather than being a mere accumulation of human observation and experience.

Many of the proverbs and other wise sayings recorded in Scripture may have been written either earlier or even later than Solomon’s time --- including several by Agur and Lemuel, whose further identities, are not revealed. Putting aside questions of specific authorship, and simply recognizing that a substantial number of the sayings are written by Solomon, the entire collection is presented at this point.

The various proverbs and wise sayings, which number more than 600, fall amid several discourses and narratives on wisdom. To facilitate understanding, the proverbs and wise sayings are presented here under appropriate topic headings. (Many of the proverbs could easily be placed under more than one topic, and therefore the topics themselves are necessarily arbitrary.) By seeing the individual proverbs in the context of others dealing with the same subject, one can gain a richer appreciation for ‘the wisdom which comes from above.’”