Interpretation of the Book of Solomon's Proverbs

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 The book of Proverbs of Solomon in the Hebrew Bible is placed in the third part of the biblical canon among the so-called ketubim or hagiographs and among them occupies second place - after the book of psalms and before the book of Job. The Hebrew name of the book of Proverbs: Michele-Shelomoh or more commonly just Michele, as well as the Greek LXX-ti: Παροιμιαι Σαλωμῶντοσ, and the Latin Vulg.: Parabolae Salomonis or liber proverbiorum and so on. indicate the predominant form of presentation of this sacred book, the content of which consists precisely of parables, that is, in most cases, fragmentary, aphoristic, sometimes coherent, in a sequential order (embracing entire sections) sayings, in which speculative truths are offered - mainly of a religious nature, for example. about God, His properties, His government of the world, about Divine (Hypostatic) Wisdom, etc., then - most often - various rules of practical wisdom, prudence and good behavior in religious-moral, social, family, labor, economic life, etc. etc., then - sometimes - experimental observations of the course of life, affairs and destinies of man and the world; the word “parables” embraces or captures the entire totality of issues of knowledge and life that presented themselves to the observation and reflection of an ancient Jew - a theocrat, whose spiritual makeup was determined by the Law of Moses and the peculiar nature of the Hebrew Old Testament history. The main meaning of the Hebrew mashal: “comparison”, “similarity”, i.e. speech not only with a literal meaning, but also with a figurative one, speech in which the phenomenon, for example, of the moral world order is clarified through comparison with the phenomenon of the physical world (cf. Eze 17.2, 24.3; Proverbs 25.11). The comparison takes different forms, which gives rise to different types of parables: 1) synonymous parables; the second half of the verse repeats the thought of the first, only in a slightly different form (Proverbs 11.15, 15.23, etc.); 2) antithetical, in which the second hemistich expresses the reverse side of the truth given in the first line, or its direct opposite (Proverbs 10.1, 4, 18:14); 3) parabolic parables, combining elements of synonymous and antithetical parables: they represent something similar in completely different types of phenomena, especially ethical and physical phenomena, and the first line of the verse represents some stroke from the pictures of nature, and the second - some ethical truth, the first hemistich represents, so to speak, an allegorical picture, and the second - an explanatory signature to it (for example, Proverbs 11:22, 25:11). From such an artificial form of parables, it naturally follows that they cannot at all be identified or brought closer to folk proverbs, of which every nation has many (among the Greeks: a collection of parables of the seven wise men, poets and Pythagoras; among the Romans - Cato, Yu. Caesar), there were especially many among the peoples of the ancient East, for example. among the Arabs (collections of parables, as works of folk wisdom, were known among the Arabs under the name Abu Abayda and Maidani). On the contrary, in the collection of Solomon's parables, the experiments of one or more wise men are given - to embrace the truths of religion or general wisdom as applied to possible diverse particular cases of life and to express them in short, witty and easy-to-memorize sayings (cf. Commentaries. Bibl. vol. II, p. 383), which, not having a close logical connection with each other, are located only in external connection with each other. Although it is indisputable that “proverbs” are, in a sense, a product of the subjective creativity of a sage, a product of the sage’s amateur exercise in the law, the idea of ​​some Western biblical scholars that the wisdom of the book of Proverbs has no connection with the religion of the people of God, even stands in contradiction with it, is completely unacceptable; on the contrary, religion constitutes the basic basis of all the sayings of the book of Proverbs, the law of Moses is the basic assumption of all the moralizing and other ideas of this book: Divine revelation is the unchanging source of all the divinely enlightened wisdom of the sacred source. Hence, Solomon’s parables differ from other eastern parables precisely in their religious direction and the imprinted character of the revelation from which they stem, and as a result of this, in the character of purity, certainty and infallibility with which all relations of life are understood here and raised to the knowledge of man’s destiny determined by God. The totality of sayings contained in the book of Proverbs constitutes what is called “wisdom,” Heb. Chokmah. This wisdom, spoken by various sages, is an independent and self-acting Power, speaking through the sages, giving them and everyone knowledge of revealed truth (Proverbs 29.18: “without a revelation from above, a people is not curbed, but he who keeps the law is blessed”). The entire teaching of the book of Proverbs is the word of Jehovah or the law of Jehovah: more specifically, it comes from the person of the eternal Wisdom who created the world (Proverbs 8.27-30; fn. Proverbs 3.19), and even before the creation of the world was with God (Proverbs 8.22-26), always close to the sons of men (Proverbs 8.31), in Israel deliberately preaching publicly in all places public meetings (Proverbs 1.20–21, 8.1–4), listening to the prayers of those who ask (Proverbs 1.28), pouring out the spirit of wisdom on those who receive it (Proverbs 1.23), in a word - the personal or hypostatic Wisdom of God. The essential character of wisdom, which the book of Proverbs teaches, as well as all the so-called Chokmic sacred biblical writing (some psalms: Ps.36, Ps.49, Ps.72, the book of Job, the book of Ecclesiastes, the book of Jesus, the son of Sirach), is composed of two main features. This wisdom, firstly, is entirely based on a religious basis and is in its essence true knowledge of God and reverence for God: “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord” (Proverbs 1.7); “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9.10). This wisdom, secondly, is first and foremost of a practical nature: whereas in the prophetic writings a lot of space is devoted to speeches about the destinies of the people of God, about their beliefs, etc., in the book of Proverbs this entire theoretical element is only the basis, the assumption of all the judgments of the saints. writer, the main subject of his speech is always the practical life of a theocratic society and its individual member according to the guidance of Jehovah’s law. There is the way of the Lord, and this way is a stronghold to the blameless, and fear to those who practice iniquity (Proverbs 10.29). The source of all true wisdom is in the law of Jehovah: “The steps of man are ordered by the Lord; How can a man know his way?” (Proverbs 20.24). According to whether people follow the path of Jehovah or deviate from it, all of humanity is divided into wise and foolish, that is, those disposed to accept the law of God and follow its path - pious people, and trying to replace the common will of God for all with their partial will and thereby violating the harmony of the world - wicked and sinful people (see, for example, Proverbs 10.23). At the same time, the inevitable consequence of virtue, according to God’s judgment, is goodness and happiness, and wickedness and sin are all kinds of disasters (see, for example, Proverbs 12:21, 21:18). From this basic principle flow all the numerous instructions of the book of Proverbs, embracing all the diversity of human life and everyday relationships. In general, the totality of the sayings of the book of Proverbs represents, as it were, special moral legislation, parallel to the legislation of Moses. But if the books of Moses, by their very purpose as legal books, pay primary attention to the development of national forms of civil and religious life of the Jews, as exclusively God’s chosen people, then the legislation of the book of Proverbs stands on a universal point of view (the name of Israel is never mentioned in the whole book) and sets the goal, along with the specific features of biblical Jewry, to also develop the universal aspects of spiritual life, the general humanitarian direction towards truth and goodness. The concept of wisdom - in the sense of the book of Proverbs - is not limited to religiosity, piety, piety alone, but embraces the life of a theocratic Jew in all its diversity, in all directions and in all respects, for example, the concept of wisdom necessarily includes: prudence, insight, prudence, artistic talents and many others. etc. Converging in terms of the prevailing legislative content with the books of the Law of Moses and differing in this from the historical and prophetic writings, the book of Proverbs has the similarity with the latter in that the moral element in it, like that of the prophets, decisively prevails over the liturgical, ritual, cultic. But there can be no talk of any allegedly hostile attitude of the philosophy of the book of Proverbs to the Law of Moses (which, for example, I. F. Bruch admitted, Weishertslehre der Hebraer. En Beitrag zur Geschichte der Philos. Strassburg. 1851). On the contrary, the law of Moses in the moral legislation of the book. Proverbs found a new point of support, since the development of universal humane virtues was supposed to soften the stiff-necked spirit of the people and dispose them to fulfill the commandments of the law, moreover, the book of Proverbs provides solutions to moral issues only in the spirit of the law. It is fair, therefore, that the Jewish tradition (Midrash on the book of Song 3.2) asserted that Solomon, gradually moving from saying to saying, from comparison to comparison, explored the secrets of the Torah in this way, and even that before Solomon no one properly understood the words of the Torah 1. If, in Proverbs 21.3, 27, justice and good deeds are placed above sacrifice, then this is by no means a protest against the Mosaic Law (the authority of which, on the contrary, is strongly protected in the book of Proverbs, see Proverbs 28.9: “whoever turns away his ear from hearing the law, his prayer is an abomination”), but only a clarification of its meaning - the same as we find in full force and repeatedly in the prophets (see 1 Samuel 15.22; Isa 1.10–20; Hos 6.6). Since, according to the view of the book of Proverbs itself, understanding its instructions and advice requires: certain wisdom, developed meaning and a sense of human dignity, then the legislation of the book. The parable, like our moral Christian philosophy, was originally intended specifically for the intelligentsia of the people, primarily for the rulers of the people themselves (as can be seen from many places in the book, the heirs of Solomon were edified by its lessons first and foremost). Judging by the entire content of the book of Proverbs, as a teaching about wisdom, as well as by the very inscription of the book of Proverbs 1: 2–6, in which it is called, among other things, wisdom and the words of the wise, it should be considered the ancient name of the book, parallel to the generally accepted “Proverbs”, Heb. Michelet, other: "book of wisdom or wisdom", Heb. Sefer Chokmah. This book was already known with this name in ancient Hebrew tradition (in the Talmud, see tosefta to tr. Baba batra 14b), and from there this name passed into the Christian, ancient church tradition. Although Origen uses only the title “Proverbs” when he conveys Heb. Michelet's Greek transcription is Μισλώθ, but the more common title of our book among ancient church teachers was σοφία, πανάρετος σοφία. Yes, St. Clement of Rome (1 Cor. 67:3), citing the passage of Proverbs 1.23–33, expresses: ὄυτως γὰρ λέγει ή πανάρετος σοφία. Melito of Sardis (in Eusebius of Caesarea's "Ecclesiastical History", book IV, chapter 26, §13) cites both names of the book as equally common: Σολομῶνογ παροιμίαι, ἤ καί Σοφία. According to the testimony of the church historian Eusebius (Ts. Ist. book IV, ch. 22, §9), not only those quoted by him: Melito of Sardis, Egesippus and St. Irenaeus of Lyons, but all Christian antiquity called the parables of Solomon all-perfect wisdom, and, according to Eusebius, this name came “from an unwritten Jewish tradition” ( ἕξ Ιουδαϊκῆς ἀγράφου παραδόσεος ). The name “book of Wisdom” is, without a doubt, more befitting the book of Proverbs of Solomon than the two non-canonical teaching books: “The Book of the Wisdom of Solomon” and “The Book of the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach.” And even in comparison with the two canonical books - the book of Job and the book of Ecclesiastes, usually classified as chochmic biblical writing, i.e. containing the revelation of the doctrine of wisdom - the book of Proverbs has the advantage of completeness, integrity and completeness of the disclosure of the doctrine of wisdom. In the Greek, Slavic and Russian Bibles, as well as in the Vulgate, the book of Proverbs belongs to the sevenfold clergy. books - book Job, the Psalter, the Proverbs of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, the Wisdom of Solomon and the Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach - which, according to their content, are called teaching books (Orthodox Catechism) or wisdom books, “in them we learn reason and true wisdom” (Preface to the first printed Glorious Bible), and according to the form of their presentation is poetic (St. Gregory the Theologian, Cyril of Jerusalem, John of Damascus, etc.), that is, poetic in the broad sense, more specifically in their presentation everywhere representing the so-called parallelism of members (we spoke about the types of this parallelism in the book of Proverbs above). Origin and composition of the book of Proverbs. The creator of the proverbs in Proverbs 1.1 is King Solomon. And Christian antiquity recognized the book of Proverbs as the single work of Solomon alone, just as the book of Psalms was known with the name of David. The authorship of Solomon in relation to the book of Proverbs is supported by both external biblical evidence and the internal character of the influx of wisdom from the book. Proverbs. According to 1 Kings 4.32, Solomon spoke three thousand parables (and his songs were one thousand and five). Jesus, the son of Sirach, glorifying the wisdom of Solomon, among other things, appeals to him “your soul covered the earth, and you filled it with mysterious parables... countries marveled at you for your songs and sayings, for your parables and explanations” (Sir 47.17, 19). The fame of Solomon's wisdom, and according to the testimony of the 3rd book of Kings (1 Kings 4.34, 10.1 ff.), spread very far, and his wisdom, serving as a subject of surprise to the surrounding peoples, subsequently became a subject for them for various kinds of legends and fabulous works of poetry. True, those 3000 parables, which, according to 1 Kings 4.32, were spoken by Solomon, cannot be identified with the canonical book of Proverbs, neither in their number, nor in their very nature and content; in the whole book of Proverbs there are no more than 915 verses, and therefore most of the 3000 parables of Solomon could not be included in the book of Proverbs: moreover, judging by 1 Kings 4.34, parables and the wisdom of Solomon in general, were expressed most of all in the knowledge of nature and its individual phenomena, etc.; on the contrary, in the book of Proverbs there are no parables of this kind, but life-practical and especially religious-moral motives predominate. Therefore, the assumption that the book of Proverbs included only a certain, selected part of all the parables of Solomon, of a predominantly religious and moral nature, is not without significance. The inscription “Proverbs of Solomon” repeated three times in the book of Proverbs (Proverbs 1:1, 10:1, 25:1) represents, in any case, important evidence in favor of the origin of at least most of the book of Proverbs from Solomon. Some particular features and indications of the content of the book of Proverbs, by their correspondence with the personality and circumstances of Solomon’s life, testify in favor of the origin of the book from him. Proverbs. Here, for example, the advice is very often repeated to avoid a promiscuous woman and debauchery, and generally to beware of being attracted to a woman (Proverbs 5:18, 20, 6:24–35, 9:16–18, 18:23). These tips remind the reader of the story of Solomon’s fall through women (1 Kings 11.1 ff.): it is natural to see in these tips a warning against the same danger that the wise tributary himself was exposed to. The book of Proverbs, further, says a lot about royal power, about the benefits of the reign of a wise king (Proverbs 28.16), the anointed of God and the proclaimer of God's righteousness (Proverbs 21:1, 16:10-12), mercy and truth (Proverbs 20.28), about his wrath on the wicked and about good deeds for the righteous (Proverbs 19:12, 20:2, 22:11); about wise and foolish rulers, about their advisers and the nature of their government (Prov. 11:11–14, 14:28, 25:1–8, 28:2, 15–16). And here you can see the fruit of the state experience of the wise Jewish king - Solomon, who was completely devoted to the rule of the people and experienced both the light and dark sides of royal service. In the same way, the testimony of Pritochnik about himself as a beloved son of his father and mother, as a son whom his father carefully taught the law of God (Proverbs 4.3–4), is exactly applicable to Solomon: 1 Kings 3:3 speaks of David’s teaching Solomon to keep the law (see Commentaries. Bible vol. II (St. Petersburg, 1905) p. 368). But along with the indicated external and internal evidence of the origin of the book of Proverbs from Solomon, there is another series of data, also sometimes external, sometimes internal, the presence of which requires limiting Solomon’s writing to only the known, even the most significant, part of the book. Namely, in the book of Proverbs, in addition to the general inscription at the beginning of the book (Proverbs 1.1), there are six other inscriptions by which the book is divided into several unequal volumes of nature - departments, and some of these departments, apparently, do not belong to Solomon as a writer, but came later than Solomon and from other persons. There is some indication of these other writers already at the beginning of Proverbs 1.6, where “the words of the wise and their riddles” (dibre – hakamim vehidotam) are mentioned as part of the content of the book of Proverbs. Then in ch. X, art. 1 (Proverbs 10.1) according to the Hebrew Masoretic text, and the Latin translation of Blessed. Jerome, as in the Russian synod. and Archimandrite Macarius, there is an inscription “The Proverbs of Solomon”: this inscription apparently marks a new period in the tributary work of Solomon, and the new section from Proverbs 10.1 to Proverbs 22.16 is noticeably different from the first section of the book of ch. Proverbs 1.1 - Proverbs 9.1, if in the first section the doctrine of wisdom and motives for it is presented in a coherent periodic speech, then in the second section the speech of the influx is constructed in the form of brief, aphoristic judgments on the principle of, for the most part, antithetical parallelism. Many Western biblical commentators (led by the famous Ewald), based on such an aphoristic form of speech in the section of Proverbs 10.1 - 22:16, considered this section to be the oldest part of the book of Proverbs, which belonged to the pen of Solomon himself, while the first section of Proverbs 1–9 with its unusually systematic development of thoughts, Western biblical exegesis is considered the latest part of the book, not only in character and content, but also chronologically close to the book of Jesus son of Sirach. But the difference in the form of speech, in itself, does not give reason to consider the first and second sections of the book to be of different times and belonging to different writers; the genius of Solomon naturally had a variety of forms of expression of thoughts: while remaining on biblical soil, we, in any case, must recognize the entire part of the book of ch. Proverbs 1.1 – 22 by Solomon. The situation is different with subsequent sections of the book. So, sections: third, Proverbs 22.17 (glory 18) - Proverbs 24.22 and fourth, Proverbs 24.23-34, judging by the inscriptions, belong to some unnamed sages; it is possible that these wise men were contemporaries of Solomon, even belonging to his school, like the line of Ethan, Heman, Chalkol and Darda mentioned in 1 Kings 4.31. The fifth section of the book or its third main part is formed by ch. Proverbs 25.1 – 29:1, “the proverbs of Solomon, which they collected (Heb.: getik. LXX: ἐξεγράψαντο, Vulg.: transtulerunt) men of Hezekiah king of Judah”, (Proverbs 25.1), in whom they usually see the prophet Isaiah, as well as Eliakim, Shebna and Joah (2 Kings 18.26); Thus, this section contains parables, although originating from Solomon, but which received their true form only 300 years after Solomon - from the learned college of God-enlightened men of Hezekiah, who collected these parables from archival records (according to the reading of the LXX) or even from oral tradition. In Proverbs 30.1, according to the Hebrew inscription, are the parables of Agyr, the son of Jakey, to certain Ithiel and Ukal (Proverbs 30.1). In the LXX, these names are rendered as common nouns, which is why the meaning of the inscription is verse 1st chapter. XXX lost. Blazh. Jerome also renders Heb. the inscription is a common noun: Verba congregantis filii vomentis, the first meaning Solomon, as the collector of wisdom, and the second David, who belched out the word good (Ps 44.2). But the common noun understanding of a person’s own name, moreover, having a patronymic (“Iakeeva”), is hardly acceptable. Solomon, even in his allegorical name Ecclesiastes, is called the son of David (Eccl 1.1); It remains to see in Agura an unknown sage. Proverbs 31.9 concludes the instructions of a certain king Lemuel, taught to him by his mother. This name is usually seen as a symbolic name of either Solomon (Blessed Jerome) or Hezekiah (Aben - Ezra, Prof. Olesnitsky). Proverbs 31.10–31 concludes with an alphabetized (acrostic) praise of a virtuous wife. In view of the testimony of 1 Kings 4.32 that Solomon wrote more than 1000 songs, and the obvious similarity of the “songs and” of the virtuous wife with undoubtedly Solomon's proverbs (e.g. cf. Proverbs 31.10 and Proverbs 12.4, 11.16, 14.1, 18.23; Proverbs 31.20 and Proverbs 19.17, 22.9; Proverbs 31.22 and Proverbs 7.16; Proverbs 31.30 and Proverbs 11.22), it is natural to consider this praise to come from Solomon, only its position at the end of the book apparently speaks for the later origin of this section. Thus, from the inscriptions of the book - these self-testimonies of the book about itself - we learn that its writers were Solomon, Agur, Lemuel and some other, not named, sages. If, on the basis of the general inscription of Proverbs 1.1, the book of Proverbs is called the name of Solomon, then this inscription and this name are metonymy, since the name of wisdom has always been connected with the name of wisdom, as it is now with us, the name of Solomon, the wisest of people; the book of Proverbs should or can be called Solomon's in the same sense as the entire Psalter was and is called David's, i.e. in the sense of the primary and most important authorship of Solomon in this area. The entire composition of the current book of Proverbs already existed by the time of King Hezekiah, the society of whose friends, according to the testimony of Proverbs 25.1, published the entire book of Proverbs, - according to the inaccurate expression of the Talmud (Bababatra 15a), wrote the book of Proverbs, - more precisely, edited it, gave it its present form, adding to those collected, perhaps, by Solomon himself (the opinion of St. Cyril of Jerusalem and Blessed Jerome) chapters 1–24, the last seven chapters of the book, Proverbs. 25.1 – 31:1, and they brought in parables that were not included in the collection of Solomon himself. The fathers and teachers of the Church, without attaching importance to the question of the origin of the present edition of the book, saw and glorified in it the wisdom of Solomon. Indeed, the question of participation in its compilation along with Solomon and other writers does not in the least affect the understanding of the book, as long as faith in the inspiration of the book is maintained. Individual voices have spoken out against the inspiration and canonical dignity of the book of Proverbs, both among Jews and Christians. The first were confused by the apparent contradiction between Proverbs 26.4 and Proverbs 26.5, and the allegedly inappropriate plastic description of the dissolute wife of Proverbs 7.10–27 in the holy book. Both of these objections were raised at the Jewish Council of Jamnia (c. 100 A.D.), but there they received a satisfactory resolution, and the book as a whole was recognized as canonical. Lonely voices were heard in the Christian Church (in ancient times, for example, Theodore of Mopsuet, in modern times - Cleric, Meyer, etc.), as if the book of Proverbs contained only the earthly, purely human wisdom of Solomon, which had in mind the earthly well-being of man. But although the rules, regulations and instructions of the book of Proverbs about gaining wisdom do not yet reach the perfection and ideal purity of the moral teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles, yet this inspiration and canonical authority is already confirmed by repeated references to the book of Proverbs in the New Testament. Eg. Proverbs 1.16 ff. цитируются в Рим 3.15–17 ; Притч 3.11–12 – в Евр 12.6 ; Притч 3.34 – в Иак 4.6 ; 1 Pet 5.5. Apostolic men often quoted the book of Proverbs as a divinely inspired Old Testament scripture (Apostle Barnabas, last chapter V, St. Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. Chapter XIV, XXI, Ignatius the God-Bearer, Eph V, Polycarp of Smyrna, Philip.6). In the apostolic canons (pr. 85) and in all canonical cathedral calculations of the Orthodox Church, the book of Proverbs has always been placed among the 22 canonical books of the Old Testament. The Christian Orthodox Church demonstrates its high respect for the book of Proverbs by the widespread use of readings from this book in church services. Readings or parimations from this book are found in church services more often than from other Old Testament books: from the predominant use in church services of the book of Proverbs, in Greek. “Parimium”, the last name has become common to all taken from sacred books and church readings. Parimations from the book of Proverbs are offered daily, except on Saturdays and weeks, at St. Vespers. Lent, as the best edifying reading during these days of fasting and repentance (during St. Lent, the first 24 chapters and Proverbs 31.8–31 are read almost entirely). Several readings of parimages from the book. Proverbs are used for holidays (from Proverbs 3 - July 10, August 1, September 13 and 14: from Proverbs 8 - January 1 and March 25, from Proverbs 9 - on the feasts of the Mother of God, etc.) and on the days of remembrance of saints, as if comparing the advice of wisdom with examples of piety, clearly represented by the life of the saints. About the purpose of the book of Proverbs of St. Gregory of Nyssa says: “just as those who work in bodily exercises in school prepare through this to endure great labor in real struggles, so the tributary teaching seems to me to be a kind of exercise that trains our souls and makes them flexible in spiritual exploits” (St. Gregory of Nyssa, Precise interpretation on Eccl. 1.1). Two non-canonical teaching books had a similar purpose and a similar character: the book of Jesus son of Sirach and the book. Wisdom of Solomon. In terms of its content, the book of Proverbs, as already mentioned, consists of three main parts, with the second and third parts having some additions. The first part is a collection of exhortations embraced by the first nine chapters of Proverbs 1-9, which is primarily the book of Wisdom, portrayed as the highest good and the only worthy object of human endeavor. Part one may be divided into three sections, each containing three chapters; the first section contains: negative and positive incentives for wisdom (Proverbs 1), the properties of wisdom and good fruits and its consequences for human life (Proverbs 2), and particular discoveries of wisdom in relation to God and others (Proverbs 3); in the second section (Proverbs 4–6), the incentives for acquiring wisdom and the demands it places on a person are set out in more detail (Proverbs 4), then exhortations are offered - to avoid sensuality and curiosity (Proverbs 5), as well as to be careful, honest, conscientious in the performance of civil, social and other duties (Proverbs 6); in the third section, foolishness and wisdom are depicted as thinking, living images or persons, each with its own distinctive internal properties and actions: in contrast to the seductions of stupidity, personified in the form of a harlot (Proverbs 7), personified wisdom appears with authoritative calls to people to follow her as the only true good (Proverbs 8–9). The second part of the book is formed by “Proverbs of Solomon” (Proverbs 10.1 – 22:16), with two additions: “words of the wise” – Proverbs 22.17 – 24:23–34. Here, on the basis of the general concepts about wisdom and piety outlined in the first part of the book, private, varied rules and instructions are proposed for religious and moral behavior and social relations of people. The third part of the book consists of Solomon's parables, which were collected and written into the book by the friends of Hezekiah, the king of Judah (Proverbs 25.1 - 29:1); political parables predominate here (about the king and his government, etc.) and practical ones (in relation to civil and social life). The conclusion of the book consists of two additions to Solomon's parables (Proverbs 29: a) the parables of a certain Agur, in a very artificial and intricate form teaching true wisdom and its implementation (Proverbs 30.1), and b) the instructions of the mother of Lemuel the king (Proverbs 31.1-9) and praise of a virtuous wife (Proverbs 31.10-31). For general introductory information about the book of Proverbs, see the “Review of the Book of Proverbs of Solomon” synopses of St. Athanasius the Great of Alexandria (Christ. Reading 1841, part 4 p. 355 ff.) and St. John Chrysostom (Conversations on various passages of Holy Scripture, Russian translation St. Petersburg 1861, p. 537 ff.), extract patristic material about the book of Proverbs can be read in the book. prof. A. A. Olesnitsky, Guiding information about the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments from the works of St. oo. and teaches. Churches (St. Petersburg, 1894, p. 67 next). Scientific research on the book of Proverbs - Russian 1) the same prof. A. A. Olesnitsky Book of Proverbs of Solomon and its newest critics (Proceedings of the Kiev Spiritual Academy. 1883, Nos. 11–12), 2) Bishop Michael, Biblical Science. Educational books of the Old Testament (Tula, 1900), p. 86 next, and 3) Prof. P. A. Yungerova The Origin of the Book of Proverbs (Orthodox Sobesedn. 1906, October, p. 161 next), 4) educational manuals by Kh. M. Orda († Bishop Irinea), Kyiv, 1871. D. Afanasyeva, Stavropol, 1838, etc. Russian deserves attention. translation (from Hebrew) of the book. Job, made by Archim. Makariy (Glukharev), M. 1861. Interpretation of most of the book. The parables were presented by the late Rev. Bishop Vissarion (Nechaev) in his “Interpretation on parimia” vol. II, (ed. 2, St. Petersburg, 1894). Among the foreign commentaries on the book of Proverbs, we name F. Mercenus (Genf 1573), F. Umbrett (Heidelberg, 1826), E. Berteau (Leipzig, 1847), F. Hitzig (Zurich, 1858). F. Keil. Delitzsch (1873), N. Ewald (1867), J. Lange – O. Zockler (1867), the latest W. Frankenberg (in Nowack's Handkommentar) Gotting, 1898. Views of the Jewish tradition on the contents of the book. Parables were expressed, for example, in the midrash on this book, see Der Midrasch Mischle, ubertr v A. Wunische Leipz., 1885, partly in D. Israelitische Bibel, III (1859) v L. Philippson. According to Jewish tradition, cited by a pilgrim of the 4th century, Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs in one of the chambers of the church. See prof. A. A. Olesnitsky. Old Testament Church (St. Petersburg, 1889), p. 851 You might be interested in: