The Book of Proverbs

Main Point:
These wise saying are intended “to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair (Prov. 1:3).

Writer:
Most are introduced as “the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel” (Prov. 1:1).  Solomon reportedly wrote 3000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32).  Other proverbs are by a group of unidentified men simply called “the wise” (Prov. 24:23).  And one proverb each attributed to the otherwise unknown Agur along with a king named Lemuel.

Date:
Solomon reigned from about 970-930BC.  Some proverbs however, were probably added several centuries later.  King Hezekiah’s advisors were working on the collection during his reign, nearly 300 years after Solomon (Prov. 24:1).

Location:
Israel

Summary Thoughts:
No plot.  No stories.  No characters.  Proverbs has none of it.  Yet it’s one of the most quoted books in the Bible.  Proverbs for the most part, is a book of snappy one-liners/advice written by old men, for young men.  The genre is called wisdom literature.  And by the time of Solomon, who is said to have written mot of Proverbs, wisdom literature had been popular throughout the Middle East for about 1000 years.  Topics in Proverbs cover just about everything old men think young men should know about life in the real world.  That includes money, sex, marriage, raising kids- even the danger of cosigning loans and the proper etiquette for dinner meetings.  Proverbs is loaded with practical advice for everyday life.

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