Editing Book of Proverbs (section)

== Contents ==
[[File:Papyrus Bodmer VI fol. 16.jpg|thumb|Papyrus Bodmer VI, featuring a [[Coptic language|Coptic]] translation of Proverbs (4th/5th century AD)]]
"Proverb" is a translation of the Hebrew word ''mashal'', but "mashal" has a wider range of meanings than the short, catchy saying implied by the English word. Thus, roughly half the book is made up of "sayings" of this type, while the other half consists of longer poetic units of various types. These include "instructions" formulated as advice from a teacher or parent addressed to a student or child, dramatic [[personification]]s of both Wisdom and Folly, and the "words of the wise" sayings, which are longer than the Solomonic "sayings" but shorter and more diverse than the "instructions."{{sfn|Farmer|1991|pp= 17–20}}

The first section ([[Proverbs 1–9|chapters 1–9]]) comprises an initial invitation to young men to take up the course of wisdom, ten "instructions", and five poems on personified Woman Wisdom.{{sfn|Perdue|2007|p=48}} Verses 1:1-7 constitute an introduction to the whole of this section.<ref>Aitken, K. T., ''19. Proverbs'' in Barton, J., and Muddiman, J. (2001), [https://b-ok.org/dl/946961/8f5f43 The Oxford Bible Commentary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122193211/http://b-ok.org/dl/946961/8f5f43 |date=2017-11-22 }}, p. 406</ref> Proverbs 10:1–22:16, with 375 sayings, consists of two parts, the first part (10–14) contrasting the wise man and the fool (or the righteous and the wicked), the second (15–22:16) addressing wise and foolish speech.{{sfn |Perdue|2007|p=58}} Verse 22:17 opens ‘the words of the wise’, until verse 24:22, with short moral discourses on various subjects.<ref name="A Bíblia sagrada"/> An additional section of sayings which "also belong to the wise" follows in verses 24:23-34.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Chapters 25–29, attributed to the editorial activity of "the men of [[Hezekiah]]", contrast the just and the wicked and broach the topic of rich and poor.{{sfn|Perdue|2007|p=67}} Chapter 30:1-4, the "sayings of Agur", introduces creation, divine power, and human ignorance.{{sfn|Perdue|2007|p=68}} Chapter 31, "the sayings of King Lemuel — an inspired utterance his mother taught him", describes a virtuous woman, a wife of noble character.