Poetry and wisdom
Proverbs
Short sayings that teach wisdom for daily life, beginning with the fear of the LORD.
Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs (1 Kings 4:32), and the book says that “these also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out” (Proverbs 25:1). That puts most of the book in Solomon’s time and its final form in Hezekiah’s, with later sayings from Agur (chapter 30) and Lemuel (chapter 31).
Kinds of writing
- Wisdom 100%
Key verses
The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge, but the foolish despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:7 (World English Bible)
Trust in Yahweh with all your heart. Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don’t lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (World English Bible)
People
On the timeline
The New Testament quotes or alludes to Proverbs 6 times (counted in the site’s Old in the New).
Dating notes
Spans are estimates. The span is an estimate; Scripture doesn’t say when the book was written.