One of the Sapiential
writings of the Old Testament
placed in the Hebrew Bible among
the Hagiographa, and found in
the Vulgate after the books of
Psalms and Job.
I.
NAMES AND GENERAL OBJECT
In the Masoretic Text, the
Book of Proverbs has for its
natural heading the words Míshlê
Shelomoh (Proverbs of Solomon),
wherewith this sacred writing
begins (cf. x). In the Talmud
and in later Jewish works the
Book of Proverbs is oftentimes
designated by the single word Míshlê,
and this abridged title is
expressly mentioned in the
superscription "Liber
Proverbiorum, quem Hebræi Misle
appellant", found in the
official edition of the Vulgate.
In the Septuagint MSS., the two
Hebrew titles are rendered by
and ,
respectively. From these Greek
titles again are immediately
derived the Latin renderings,
"Parabolæ Salomonis",
"Parabolæ", a trace
of which appears in the
Tridentine "Decretum de
Canon. Script.", wherein
the Book of Proverbs is simply
called "Parabolæ".
The ordinary title "Proverbia
Salomonis" was apparently
taken from the Old Latin Version
into the Vulgate, whence comes
directly the usual English title
of "Proverbs". In the
Church's liturgy, the Book of
Proverbs is, like the other
Sapiential writings, designated
by the common term
"Wisdom". This is
consonant to the practice,
common in early Christian times,
of designating such books by the
word "Wisdom" or by
some expresion in which this
word occurs, as
"All-virtuous Wisdom",
etc. Indeed, it is probable that
the title ,
"Wisdom", was common
in Jewish circles at the
beginning of Christianity, and
that it passed from them to the
early Fathers of the Church (cf.
Eusebius, "Hist.
Eccl.", IV, xxii, xxvi). Of
the various names given to the
Book of Proverbs, that of Wisdom
best sets forth the ethical
object of this inspired writing.
However disconnected the pithy
sayings or vivid descriptions
which make up the book may
appear, they, each and all, are
bound by one and the same moral
purpose: they aim at inculcating
wisdom as understook by the
Hebrews of old, that is
perfection of knowledge showing
itself in action, whether in the
case of king or peasant,
statesman or artisan,
philosopher or unlearned.
Differently from the term
"Wisdom", the title Míshlê
(St. Jerome, Masloth) has
a distinct reference to the
symbolic character and poetical
form of the sayings which are
gathered together in the Book of
Proverbs. In general, the Hebrew
word Mashal (constr. plur.
Míshlê) denotes a
representative saying, that is,
a statement which, however
deduced from a single instance,
is capable of application to
other instances of a similar
kind. Taken in this sense, it
corresponds pretty well to the
words proverb, parable, maxim
etc., in our Western
literatures. But besides, it has
the meaning of sentences
constructed in parallelism; and
in point of fact, the contents
of the Book of Proverbs exhibit,
from beginning to end, this
leading feature of Hebrew
poetry. Hence, it appears that,
as prefixed to this inspired
writing, the word Míshlê
describes the general character
of the Book of Proverbs as a
manual of practical rules which
are set forth in a poetical
form.
II.
DIVISIONS AND CONTENTS
As it stands at the present
day, the Book of Proverbs begins
with the general title, "Míshlê
Shelomoh, the son of David, king
of Israel", which is
immediately followed by a
prologue (i, 2-6), stating the
aim and importance of the entire
work: the whole collection aims
at imparting wisdom and at
enabling men to understand all
kinds of Mashals. The
first part of the book (i,
7-ix), itself a hortatory
introduction to the collection
of proverbs which follows, is a
commendation of wisdom. After a
deeply religious epigraph (i,
7), the writer, speaking like a
father, gives a series of
exhortations and warnings to an
imagined pupil or disciple. He
warns him against evil company (i,
8-19); describes to him the
advantages attending the pursuit
of wisdom, and the evils to be
avoided by such course (ii);
exhorts him to obedience, to
trust in God,
to the payment of legal
offerings, to patience under the
Divine chastisements, and sets
forth the priceless value of
wisdom (iii, 1-26). After some
miscellaneous precepts (iii,
27-35), he renews his pressing
exhortation to wisdom and virtue
(iv), and gives several warnings
against unchaste women (v; vi,
20-35; vii), after the first of
which are inserted warnings
against suretyship, indolence,
falsehood, and various vices
(vi, 1-19. At several points (i,
20-33; viii; ix) Wisdom herself
is introduced as speaking and as
displaying her charms, origin,
and power to men. The style of
this first part is flowing, and
the thoughts therein expressed
are generally developed in the
form of connected discourses.
The second part of the book (x-xxii,
16) has for its distinct
heading: "Míshlê Shelomoh",
and is made up of disconnected
sayings in couplet form,
arranged in no particular order,
so that it is impossible to give
a summary of them. In many
instances a saying is repeated
within this large collection,
usually in identical terms, at
times with some slight changes
of expression. Appended to this
second part of the book are two
minor collections (xxii,
17-xxiv, 22; ssiv, 23-34),
chiefly made up of aphoristic
quatrains. The opening verses (xxii,
17-21) of the first appendix
request attention to the
"words of the wise"
which follow (xxii, 22-xxiv,
22), and which, in a consecutive
form recalling that of the first
part of the book, set forth
warnings against various
excesses. The second appendix
has for its title: "These
also are words of the
wise", and the few proverbs
it contains conclude with two
verses (33, 34), apparently
taken over from vi, 10, 11. The
third part of the book (xxv-xxix)
bears the inscription:
"These are also Míshlê
Shelomoh, which the men of
Ezechias, king of Juda, copied
out." By their
miscellaneous character, their
couplet form, etc., the proverbs
of this third part resemble
those of x-xxii, 16. Like them
also, they are followed by two
minor collections (xxx and xxxi,
1-9), each suplied with its
respective title. The first of
these minor collections has for
its heading: "Words of Agur,
the son of Takeh", and its
principal contents are Agur's
meditation on the Divine
transcendence (xxx, 2-9), and
groups of numerical proverbs.
The second minor collection is
inscribed: "The Words of
Lamuel, a king: the oracle which
his mother taught him." In
it the queen-mother warns her
son against sensuality,
drunkenness, and injustice.
Nothing is known of Agur and
Lamuel; their names are possibly
symbolical. The book concludes
with an alphabetical poem
descriptive of the virtuous
woman (xxxi, 10-39).
III.
HEBREW TEXT AND ANCIENT VERSIONS
A close study of the present
Hebrew Text of the Book of
Proverbs proves that the
primitive wording of the pithy
sayings which make up this
manual of Hebrew wisdom has
experienced numerous alterations
in the course of its
transmission. Some of these
imperfections have, with some
probability, been assigned to
the period during which the
maxims of the "wise
men" were preserved orally.
Most of them belong undoubtedly
to the time after these
sententious or enigmatic sayings
had been written down. The Book
of Proverbs was numbered among
the "Hagiographa"
(writings held by the ancient
Hebrews as less sacred and
authoritative than either the
"Law" or the
"Prophets"), and, in
consequence, copyists felt
naturally less bound to
transcribe its text with
scrupulous accuracy. Again, the
copyists of Proverbs knew, or at
least thought they knew, by
memory the exact words of the
pithy sayings they had to write
out; hence arose involuntary
changes which, once introduced,
were perpetuated or even added
to by subsequent transcribers.
Finally, the obscure or
enigmatic character of a certain
number of maxims led to the
deliberate insertion of glosses
in the text, so that primitive
distichs now wrongly appear in
the form of tristichs, etc. (cf.
Knabenbauer, "Comm. in
Proverbia", Paris, 1910).
Of the ancient versions of the
Book of Proverbs, the Septuagint
is the most valuable. It
probably dates from the middle
of the second century B.
C., and exhibits very
important differences from the
Massoretic Text in point of
omissions, transpositions, and
additions. The translator was a
Jew conversant indeed with the
Greek language, but had at times
to use paraphrases owing to the
difficulty of rendering Hebrew
pithy sayings into intelligible
Greek. After full allowance has
been made for the translator's
freedom in rendering, and for
the alterations introduced into
the primitive wording of this
version by later transcribers
and revisers, two things remain
quite certain: first, the
Septuagint may occasionally be
utilized for the discovery and
the enmendation of inaccurate
readings in our present Hebrew
Text; and next, the most
important variations which this
Greek Version presents,
especially in the line of
additions and transpositions,
point to the fact that the
translator rendered a Hebrew
original which differed
considerably from the one
embodied in the Massoretic
Bibles. It is well known that
the Sahidic Version of Proverbs
was made from the Septuagint,
before the latter had been
subjected to recensions, and
hence this Coptic Version is
useful for the control of the
Greek Text. The present Peshito,
or Syriac Version of Proverbs
was probably based on the Hebrew
Text, with which it generally
agrees with regard to material
and arrangement. At the same
time, it was most likely made
with respect to the Septuagint,
the peculiar readings of which
it repeatedly adopts. The Latin
Version of Proverbs, which is
embodied in the Vulgate, goes
back to St. Jerome, and for the
most part closely agrees with
the Massoretic Text. It is
probable that many of its
present deviations from the
Hebrew in conformity with the
Septuagint should be referred to
later copyists anxious to
complete St. Jerome's work by
means of the "Vetus Itala",
which had been closely made from
the Greek.
IV.
AUTHORSHIP AND DATE
The vexed questions anent the
authorship and date of the
collections which make up the
Book of Proverbs go back only to
the sixteenth century of our
era, when the Hebrew Text began
to be studied more closely than
previously. They were not even
suspected by the early Fathers
who, following implicitly the
inscriptions in i, 1; x, 1; xxiv,
1 (which bear direct witness to
the Solomonic authorship of
large collections of proverbs),
and being misled by the Greek
rendering of the titles in xxx,
1; xxxi, 1 (which does away
altogether with the references
to Agur and Lamuel as authors
distinct from Solomon), regarded
King Solomon as the author of
the whole Book of Proverbs. Nor
were they real questions for the
subsequent writers of the West,
although these medieval authors
had in the Vulgate a more
faithful rendering of xxx, 1;
xxxi, 1, which might have led
them to reject the Solomonic
origin of the sections ascribed
to Agur and Lamuel respectively,
for in their eyes the words Agur
and Lamuel were but symbolical
names of Solomon. At the present
day, most Catholic scholars feel
free to treat as non-Solomonic
not only the short sections
which are ascribed in the Hebrew
Text to Agur and Lamuel, but
also the minor collections which
their titles attribute to
"the wise" (xxii, 16-
xxiv, 22; xxiv, 23-34), and the
alphabetical poem concerning the
virtuous woman which is appended
to the whole book. With regard
to the other parts of the work (i-ix;
x-xxii, 16; xxv-xxix), Catholic
writers are wellnigh unanimous
in ascribing them to Solomon.
Bearing distinctly in mind the
statement in III (A. V. I)
Kings, iv, 29-32, that, in his
great wisdom, Solomon
"spoke 3000 Mashals",
they have no difficulty in
admitting that this monarch may
be the author of the much
smaller number of proverbs
included in the three
collections in question. Guided
by ancient Jewish and Christian
tradition they feel constrained
to abide by the explicit titles
to the same collections, all the
more so because the titles in
the Book of Proverbs are
manifestly discriminating with
respect to authorship, and
because the title, "These
also are Mishle Shelomoh,
which the men of Ezechias, King
of Juda, copied out" (xxv,
1), in particular, bears the
impress of definiteness and
accuracy. Lastly, looking into
the contents of these three
large collections, they do not
think that anything found
therein with respect to style,
ideas, historic background etc.
should compel anyone to give up
the traditional authorship, at
whatever time–either under
Ezechias, or as late as Esdras–all
the collections embodied in the
Book of Proverbs reached their
present form and arrangement. A
very different view concerning
the authorship and date of the
collections ascribed to Solomon
by their titles is gaining
favour among non-Catholic
scholars. It treats the headings
of these collections as no more
reliable than the titles of the
Psalms. It maintains that none
of the collections comes from
Solomon's own hand and that the
general tenor of their contents
bespeaks a late post-exilic
date. The following are the
principal arguments usually set
forth in favour of this opinion.
In these collections there is no
challenge of idolatry, such as
would naturally be expected if
they were pre-exilic, and
monogamy is everywhere
presupposed. It is very
remarkable, too, that throughout
no mention is made of Israel or
of any institution peculiar to
Israel. Again, the subject of
those collections is not the
nation, which apparently no
longer enjoys independence, but
the individual, to whom wisdom
appeals in a merely ethical, and
hence very late, manner. The
personification of wisdom, in
particular (chap. viii), is
either the direct result of the
influence of Greek upon Jewish
thought, or, if independent of
Greek philosophy, the product of
late Jewish metaphysics.
Finally, the close spiritual and
intellectual relation of
Proverbs to Ecclesiasticus shows
that, however great and numerous
are the differences in detail
between them, the two works
cannot be separated by an
interval of several centuries.
Despite the confidence with
which some modern scholars urge
these arguments against the
traditional authorship of i-ix;
x-xxii, 16; xxv,- xxix, a close
examination of their value
leaves one unconvinced of their
proving force.
I.
NAMES AND GENERAL OBJECT
The Book of Proverbs is
justly numbered among the
protocanonical writings of the
Old Testament. In the first
century of our era its canonical
authority was certainly
acknowledged in Jewish and
Christian circles, for the
Sacred Writers of the New
Testament make a frequent use of
its contents, quoting them at
times explicitly as Holy Writ
(cf. Rom., xii, 19, 20; Heb.,
xii, 5, 6; James, iv, 5, 6,
etc.). It is true that certain
doubts as to the inspiration of
the Book of Proverbs, which had
been entertained by ancient
rabbis who belonged to the
School of Shammai, reappeared in
the Jewish assembly at Jamnia
(about A. D.
100); but these were only
theoretical difficulties which
could not induce the Jewish
leaders of the time to count
this book out of the Canon, and
which in fact were there and
then set at rest for ever. The
subsequent assaults of Theodore
of Mopsuestia (d. 429), of
Spinoza (d. 1677), and of Le
Clerc (d. 1736) against the
inspiration of that sacred book
left likewise its canonical
authority unshaken.
For
Introductions to the Old
Testament see INTRODUCTION.
Recent commentaries–Catholic:
ROHLING, (Mainz, 1879); LESÊTRE
(Paris, 1879); FILLION (Paris,
1892); VIGOUROUX (Paris, 1903);
KNABENBAUER (Paris, 1910).
Protestant: ZÖCKLER (tr. New
York, 1870); DELITSCH (tr.
Edinburgh, 1874); NOWACK
(Leipzig, 1883); WILDEBOER (Freiburg,
1897); FRANKENBERG (Göttingen,
1898); STRACK (Nördlingen,
1899); TOY (New York, 1899).
General works: MEIGNAN, Solomon,
son règne, ses écrits
(Paris, 1890); CHEYNE, Job
and Solomon, (New York,
1899); KENT, The Wise Men of
Ancient Israel (New York,
1899); DAVISON, The Wisdom
Literature of the Old Testament
(London, 1900).
FRANCIS
E. GIGOT
Transcribed by WGKofron
With thanks to Fr. John
Hilkert and St. Mary's Church,
Akron, Ohio
The
Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume
XII
Copyright © 1911 by Robert
Appleton Company
Online Edition Copyright © 1999
by Kevin Knight
Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1911.
Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor
Imprimatur. +John
Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of
New York
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12505b.htm