This chapter begins by exploring the issue of Proverbs as wisdom literature and its context within that group of books, it looks at the distinctive forms and content of the book and at the various possible context(s) for different sections of the work. It also looks at the Solomonic attribution and at other attributions to different characters found in Proverbs and at questions of orality and literacy.

Chapter 5 looks at the remaining sections of Proverbs largely in the light of Egyptian influence – Proverbs 22:17-24:22 is the prime example. Proverbs 30:1-6; 31:1-9 and 31:10-31 are shorter and self-contained whilst being collectively disparate. However, the ‘sayings of Agur’ in Prov. 30:1-6 forms a bridge towards the skepticism of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs 31:1-9 in its attribution to a foreign king has interesting implications for social context. The final section in Prov. 31:10-31 with its poem about a worthy woman contains key framing links to Proverbs 1-9 and the female figures within that section.

Often regarded as one of the more secular books of the Old Testament, this study seeks to draw out the rich theological traditions that characterize the book of Proverbs. Major theological themes include God as creator and Wisdom as mediator, standing at the center of a profound theological relationship between God and humanity. An overview of scholarly evaluations of Proverbs, its literary forms, subdivisions, content, purpose and social context(s), takes us back to biblical scholarship of the nineteenth century, to the discovery of key Egyptian parallels in the twentieth and finally to a fresh modern interest in the theology of wisdom. There are chapters too on the canonical relationship of Proverbs to other biblical books, on the afterlife of Proverbs in wisdom material from the Apocrypha, Qumran and the New Testament and on the place of Proverbs in the history of interpretation, notably in the context of significant theological reflection.

This chapter ranges together the oldest proverbial material – i.e. the previously oral maxims that form the bedrock of the ‘proverb’ genre. These are to be found in the main sayings collection in 10:1-22:16, also in 24:23-34 and in the many variants in 25-9 and in the miscellany of animal sayings and lists in Proverbs 30:7-33. The role of all these sections in ethical guidance, itself not monochrome but characterized by difference and contradiction, is explored.

Often regarded as one of the more secular books of the Old Testament, this study seeks to draw out the rich theological traditions that characterize the book of Proverbs. Major theological themes include God as creator and Wisdom as mediator, standing at the center of a profound theological relationship between God and humanity. An overview of scholarly evaluations of Proverbs, its literary forms, subdivisions, content, purpose and social context(s), takes us back to biblical scholarship of the nineteenth century, to the discovery of key Egyptian parallels in the twentieth and finally to a fresh modern interest in the theology of wisdom. There are chapters too on the canonical relationship of Proverbs to other biblical books, on the afterlife of Proverbs in wisdom material from the Apocrypha, Qumran and the New Testament and on the place of Proverbs in the history of interpretation, notably in the context of significant theological reflection.

Chapter 7 looks at the interaction of Proverbs with other books in the canon, notably Ecclesiastes, Genesis 1-11, Deuteronomy and ‘wisdom psalms’. The parallels with the book of Job are seen to have been overstated and the book is more obliquely related to Proverbs than many have argued. Questions of the place of Proverbs within a broader intellectual tradition are also explored.

Chapter 6 focuses on a theological evaluation of the whole book, evaluating scholarly discussions of this century that have strongly impacted this discussion, such as a relatively recent interest, for example, in the ‘fear of the Lord’ as a guiding theological principle of the book and in the place of “creation” in Proverbs. This chapter looks at the key intersection of theological themes with a fresh emphasis in scholarship on character formation, on the moral and educational goals of the book and at ideas about life as a journey.

Chapter 3 treats Proverbs 1-9, which demands a whole chapter because of its theological significance and maturity. Both the educational context of the prose instruction texts and the figures of Wisdom and Folly in the poetry are essential parts of this discussion as is the place of God as creator/orderer and the notion of the fear of the Lord in its theological worldview.

The final chapter looks, necessarily in brief, at the afterlife of Proverbs, first outside the canon, notably in Ben Sira and the Wisdom of Solomon and second in relation to wisdom finds at Qumran. Beyond that, its place at key stages in the history of interpretation is discussed. In theological terms, the figure of Woman Wisdom and her influence on the theology of the Christian church is of particular interest, from the New Testament to the thought of the early church fathers and beyond.