That was true of the one that Ezekiel was inspired to tell Israel in which he likened the course of the nation in relation to Babylon and Egypt to a vine planted by one eagle and that later reached out hungrily to another.—Ezek. 17:2-18.

Some proverbial utterances, such as those of Job, were set out in poetic style. (Job 27:1; 29:1) The ideas that Job was inspired to express were not put down in the concise style characteristic of most proverbs but were developed into highly instructive poems filled with figurative speech.

God also caused Balaam to make a series of proverbial utterances, and these, too, are put down in the form of poetry. (Num. 23:7, 18; 24:3, 15, 20, 21, 23) Far from expressing any scorn for Israel in these proverbial utterances, Balaam “blessed them to the limit,” though he did prophesy woe for other peoples. (Num. 23:11) The proverbial aspect here is not because of any popular repetition of what Balaam said, nor because his statements were concise expressions of wisdom. Rather, these are termed proverbial utterances because of the power and rich meaning of what was said, along with his use of a variety of likenesses or comparisons in some of his statements.

PROVERBS, BOOK OF

A book consisting of a compilation of proverbs or wise sayings from a number of other collections. The book itself sets forth its objective: “For one to know wisdom and discipline, to discern the sayings of understanding, to receive the discipline that gives insight, righteousness and judgment and uprightness, to give to the inexperienced ones shrewdness, to a young man knowledge and thinking ability.” (Prov. 1:2-4) “The purpose is that you may walk in the way of good people and that the paths of the righteous ones you may keep.”—2:20.

The introductions to three of the book’s sections attribute the proverbs contained in them to Solomon. (Prov. 1:1; 10:1; 25:1) This agrees with the fact that Solomon “could speak three thousand proverbs.” (1 Ki. 4:32) There can be little question that many, if not all, of the proverbs in these sections were recorded during Solomon’s reign. With reference to himself, Solomon stated: “The congregator had become wise, he also taught the people knowledge continually, and he pondered and made a thorough search, that he might arrange many proverbs in order. The congregator sought to find the delightful words and the writing of correct words of truth.”—Eccl. 12:9, 10.

However, various arguments have been advanced against crediting most of the proverbs to Solomon. Certain proverbs (16:14; 19:12; 20:2; 25:3) have been cited as being derogatory to monarchs and therefore not from the time of Solomon. Upon closer examination, though, it is found that, rather than being derogatory, these proverbs exalt kings, showing that they should be accorded due fear because of their power. (Compare Proverbs 24:21.) Those who claim that a polygamist like Solomon would not have spoken of husband-wife relationships in such a way as to imply monogamy (5:15-19; 18:22; 19:13, 14) lose sight of the fact that polygamy was not advocated, but simply tolerated and regulated by the Law. And it may well be that the Jews generally practiced monogamy. Likewise such critics forget that Proverbs is inspired of God and not simply the opinions of Solomon. Nevertheless, from his observations and his own experiences Solomon may very well have come to appreciate the wisdom of God’s original standard for marriage, monogamy.—Compare Ecclesiastes 2:8; 7:27-29.

The claimed presence of Aramaic words has been presented as proof for assigning a late date to the book of Proverbs. If, indeed, there are Aramaisms, it should be noted that Solomon could have learned Aramaic expressions from neighboring peoples or his foreign wives. In fact, Aramaic was the language of Syria, which was a part of Solomon’s dominion.—Compare 1 Kings 4:21, 24.

The proverbs not attributed to Solomon had their origin in the sayings of other wise men and one woman. (Prov. 22:17; 30:1; 31:1; see AGUR; LEMUEL.) Just when all these proverbs were put into final form is not precisely known. The last time indicator appearing in the book itself is a reference to Hezekiah’s reign. (25:1) So there is a basis for believing that the proverbs were compiled in book form before that ruler’s death in 716 B.C.E. The repetition of certain proverbs suggests that the book was compiled from various separate collections.—Compare Proverbs 10:1 and 15:20; 10:2 and 11:4; 14:20 and 19:4; 16:2 and 21:2.

STYLE AND ARRANGEMENT

The book of Proverbs is written in Hebrew poetic style, which consists of thought rhythm, employing parallelisms, the ideas of which are either similar (11:25; 16:18; 18:15) or contrasting. (10:7, 30; 12:25; 13:25; 15:8) Its first section (1:1–9:18) consists of short discourses addressed by a father to a son or sons. This serves as an introduction to the short, pithy sayings found in the remaining sections of the book. The last twenty-two verses of the book are written in acrostic or alphabetic style, a form of composition also employed by David for a number of his psalms.—Pss. 9, 10, 25, 34, 37, 145.

INSPIRED OF GOD

The writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures testify to the fact that the book of Proverbs is part of God’s inspired Word. The apostle Peter (1 Pet. 4:18; 2 Pet. 2:22; Prov. 11:31 [LXX]; 26:11) and the disciple James (4:6; Prov. 3:34, LXX) referred to it, as did the apostle Paul when writing to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 8:21; Prov. 3:4, LXX), the Romans (12:16, 20; Prov. 3:7; 25:21, 22) and the Hebrews. (12:5, 6; Prov. 3:11, 12) Additionally, numerous parallel thoughts may be found in the Christian Greek Scriptures.—Compare Proverbs 3:7 with Romans 12:16; Proverbs 3:12 with Revelation 3:19; Proverbs 24:21 with 1 Peter 2:17; Proverbs 25:6, 7 with Luke 14:7-11.

TO KNOW JEHOVAH IS THE WAY OF LIFE

The book of Proverbs speaks much about knowledge in conjunction with discernment, wisdom, understanding and thinking ability. The knowledge that it strives to impart and encourage is, therefore, more than mere head knowledge, an array of facts or learning. Proverbs points out that any true knowledge has as its starting point an appreciation of one’s relationship to Jehovah. In fact, at chapter one, verse seven, the theme of the book is set forth: “The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge.”

Of course, the most important knowledge that one can acquire is about God himself. “The knowledge of the Most Holy One is what understanding is,” says Proverbs 9:10. This knowledge goes beyond the mere fact of God’s existence and his creatorship, even beyond the knowledge of many facts about his dealings. To “know” him denotes a deep appreciation of his fine qualities and his great name, and a close relationship with him.

Jesus Christ said to Jews who had knowledge about God: “No one fully knows the Son but the Father, neither does anyone fully know the Father but the Son and anyone to whom the Son is willing to reveal him.” (Matt. 11:27) A knowledge of Jehovah’s qualities will deepen one’s proper fear of God, and will bring the realization that Jehovah is deserving of all worship and service, and that to know and obey him is the way of life. “The fear of Jehovah is a well of life, to turn away from the snares of death,” and, “The fear of Jehovah tends toward life.”—Prov. 14:27; 19:23.

Jehovah the Creator

Jehovah, in matchless wisdom, is the Creator of all things and the Decreer of the laws governing these things; so he deserves the worship of all creatures. (Prov. 3:19, 20) He made the hearing ear