Proverbs Overview
Introduction
Body:
Authors:
The Spirit of God:
Solomon-1:1-24:
It is generally agreed that Proverbs is made up of a number of sections, each of which is headed by a superscription: chaps. 1–9; 10:1–22:16; 22:17–24:22; 24:23–34; chaps. 25–29; 30:1–33; 31:1–9; 31:10–31. Proverbs 1:1 is often regarded as the title of the whole book and is generally assumed to be a late addition.
Solomon:
The Wise:
The Men of Hezekiah (729-686 B.C.)
Agur:
King Lemuel:
Origins:
The majority of Proverbs, particularly the Book of Solomon (chapters 1–24), may be confidently ascribed to the early monarchy on the basis of the evidence of the text itself and structural considerations. The other collections—Hezekiah, Agur, and Lemuel—are later but probably preexilic. No hard evidence supports the common assertion that Prov 1–9 is late.
Kitchen’s structural analysis supports an early first millennium date for the work, and linguistic and theological analysis does not overturn this conclusion. A prolonged and complex history of theological redaction is neither necessary nor probable. The biblical assertion that the Solomonic monarchy witnessed a great literary renaissance and that Solomon himself was the fountainhead is reasonable.
Purpose:
Chapter 10:1
piel: pf. שִׂמַּח, שִׂמַּחְתָּ, sf. שִׂמֳּחָהוּ, שִׂמַּחְתִּים, שִׂמְּחוּךָ; impf. יְשַׂמַּח, יְשַׂמְּחוּ, יְשַׂמְּחֶנָּה; impv. שַׂמֵּח, שַׂמְּחַניּ; inf. שַׂמֵּחַ; pt. מְשַׂמֵּחַ, pl. cs. מְשַׂמְּחֵי:—1. make (s.one or s.thg) glad: obj. pers. Je 20:15, obj. lēb Ps 19:9; subj. wine Ec 10:19, subj. God Is 56:7;—2. allow (s.one) to rejoice La 2:17.
2.1.4. Piel is best understood as the active or causative member of the D-stems (piel, pual, hitpael). Like hifil (§2.1.7) verbs in piel are always active; their passive can be expressed by pual, nifal, or hitpael, which varies from verb to verb.
2.1.4e. Grammatical parallelism. In poetry, piel parallels qal (e.g., Ps 29:5) and other stems, without any necessary difference in function (piel and hitpael are more frequent in poetry (especially Is, ψψ, Jb, Pr, Song, La). ψ 29:5b advances or heightens the imagery of 29:5a, but this is not merely a function of the piel; the mightiest trees in the ANE are being broken.
Verse 1b, c forms a complete merismus, that is, all the parts interrelate. “Father” and “mother” are of course the parents of the household, and the proverb points out how much their happiness as a family depends on the child’s behavior.