• Hebrew text – “The proverbs of”. From the first word in the Hebrew text.
• Latin Vulgate – “The book of Proverbs”.

The word “proverb” is derived from the Hebrew root word meaning “parallelism or comparison”. These proverbs are generalisations, based on life. (See 10:27) They set forth principles and not promises.

• Solomon (Chapters 1 – 9).
• Solomon (Chapters 10 – 22:16) Solomon is addressing himself to his son, who is the prince and preparing to be King.
• A group of wise men. (Chapters 22:17 – 24:23).
• Solomon (Chapters 25 – 29) The wise men of Hezekiah compiles some of Solomon’s proverbs.
• Agur the son of Jakeh. (Chapter 30).
• King Lemuel and his mother (Chapter 31).

There is obviously a difference from the date of its collection together and of its writing. The writing probably took place during the time from Solomon to King Hezekiah. The collection of the book was probably in the time of King Hezekiah. (See 25:1). Some people say it was Ezra who collected it all..

There are many themes in the book such as: sin, wealth, goodness, pride, love and idleness. The overriding theme surely is “a guide for successful living” (see 1:1-7) The basic motto of the book is in vs 7. There are three types of men in the book.

• Wise man – Puts good first (Chapters 1 – 9).
• Righteous man – He is basically right in his life before God and men.
• Upright man – This is the man who is living by God’s standards.

There are three major divisions in this book:-

• Prologue (1:1-7).
• The conflict between wisdom and folly. (1:8-9:18) Solomon personifies wisdom in these chapters.

1. The introduction to this tension (1:8-33). He warns them against following folly (vs 8-19). He speaks the wages of ignoring wisdom (vs 20-33)
2. He gives a description of wisdom and its dividends. (Chapters 2-4).
3. He gives a description of folly and its dividends. (Chapters 5-7).
4. He gives the application of these dividends. (Chapter 8).
5. Describes wisdom again. A call from wisdom and folly (Chapter 9).

• Solomon’s proverbs (10:1-22:16).

1. Contrasts between a wise and a foolish man. (Chapters 10-15).
2. A description of the wise and foolish man. (Chapters 16-22:16).

• The words of the wise men. (Chapters 22:17-24:34) A wide variety of topics are covered.
• The collection of men of Hezekiah. (Chapters 25-29) A wide variety of topics are covered.
• The words of Agur the son of Jakeh. (Chapter 30).
• The words of King Lemuel and his mother (Chapter 31).

1. The mother speaks to the son. (vs 2-9).
2. Lemuel describes his mother (vs 10 – 31). It is the description of a virtuous woman. There are 22 verses and each verse covers, in alphabetical order, the whole of the Hebrew alphabet.

• It is a book that contains a great deal of parallelism. There are at least five types in Hebrew poetry and four are used in Proverbs.

1. Synonymous parallelism – The first line and the second line deal with the same thing, only in different words. (Eg 17:4, 14:19 & 18:7).
2. Antithetical (opposites) – Notice the use of the word “but” in each line. (Eg 15:1, 2).
3. Synthetic – You are given a first line and then the second line is a continuation from the first. (eg 16:4).
4. Emblematic – A truth given and taught then in an illustration (Eg 11:22).

• It is universalistic. The word “adon” is used 33 times and is a general name for man. The book is not addressed to an Israelite.
• The outlook of the book is comprehensive. Proverbs seems to cover all the problems to life a man can think of.
• The proverbs are generalisations. (See 10:27; 16:7).
• The moral level of the book is exceedingly high. It is far above any other literature of its time.
• The proverbs are true to life. (25:24; 26:20 & 21:1).