Page 72 - Old Testament Survey Student Textbook

Wisdom: Parallel (22:17-24:34) In the Sayings of the Wise, the Israelite sage— thirty sayings shows a
very close familiarity with the Egyptian Wisdom of Amenemope, both subject, sequence— common
purpose, call to hearers, respect for the poor, avoid angry man, don’t move boundary, reward for
worthy worker, etiquette at royal table, transitory nature of wealth (22:20-23:11). The Israelite sage has
adopted and adapted various images and themes from Egypt to create a new composition, with a
Yahwistic focus. All wisdom is God’s wisdom!

Wisdom: Practice (25:1-29:27) In a collection of Solomon’s proverbs collected by men of Hezekiah, the
sage applies wisdom to more issues of life—responding to a ruler (25:1-15), resolving conflict (25:16-27),
reacting to a fool (26:1-16), running from provocation and quarrels (26:17-28), rules for friends and
friendship (27), relating to the poor and rearing children through one’s relationship with God and His
instruction (28-29).

Wisdom: Place (30:1-33) Agur—unknown, confessing his lack of wisdom and longing for God’s wisdom,
asks to be kept from deception and the dangers of poverty and wealth (2-9). God’s wisdom is needed to
live rightly! Introduced by single-line proverbs, the remainder of the chapter is divided in two: (1)
renounce greed (10-15), (2) recommend social boundaries (17-31), with a concentrated use of numerical
parallelism— three…four.

Wisdom: Portrait (31:1-31) King Lemuel’s mother— foreigner instructs him not to be controlled by
women or wine. Wine is for the poor and afflicted, while the king is charged to rule with justice and
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righteousness. Linked by the term ַי ‘strength’ (31:3, 10), this hymn to the valiant woman highlights
her provision and philanthropy, her wealth and work. As an acrostic poem, this woman is portrayed as
the embodiment of wisdom. Yet, rather than an ideal, the hymn is best read as a eulogy, lauding her for
a lifetime of wise deeds. She demonstrates her fear of YHWH by her works, and for this she is worthy of
praise! Bracketing the book with another portrait of wisdom, the sage again shows the centrality of the
fear of YHWH to wisdom.

The Book of Proverbs

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