Poetic Literature
Proverbs is one of the six books in the poetic literature genre of the Bible in the Old Testament. The six books are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Lamentations.
Poetic literature is also known as Wisdom Literature, Hebrew Poetry, and The Writings. The books are not in a narrative form that tells a story. You do not have to read the chapters in the order they are written to learn some practical wisdom. You can read a scripture in Psalms and Proverbs and understand it without having to read what comes before it or after it as in other books of the Bile.
Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs has the longest title of any of the Old Testament books even though its title is shortened to just Proverbs. Read Proverbs 1:1-6 below for the title and purpose of the book. Notice how the author introduces himself.
The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;
3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.
The Book of Proverbs is poetry. Some poems are very short and other poems are longer. The style of the poems may seem unusual. Sometimes, one line has the same meaning as the next. Sometimes lines contrast with each other. In other places, the meaning develops from line to line. Watch out for these different styles. Those different styles are known as parallelism.
The Book of Proverbs is an optimistic book. It is about wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. The book is about instructions and not promises. A proverb is a "wise saying" that is short and witty with a moral theme. Proverbs are not meant to guarantee success. Instead, they are intended to show people how we should live a holy and righteous life.
The book contains practical instructions for daily life. Solomon included about 180 different types of people in his book. You are sure to find yourself throughout the book over and over again.
Author of Proverbs
King David's son, Solomon, wrote three of the Wisdom books. He wrote Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs (also known as Song of Solomon in some Bibles). Solomon is considered to be the wisest and richest man of his day. Only some of his proverbs are included in the book in the Bible because he wrote a total of 3,000 proverbs, according to 1 Kings 4:29-34. Only one of his 1,005 songs are in Song of Songs. That's why the book is entitled "Song of Songs."
How to Read Poetic Literature
Poetic literature should not be read like the other books of the Bible. There are two important ways to read poetic literature:
1. parallelism: two lines of poetry, known as a couplet, with the same or opposite meaning
2. meter: lines having rhythm or a fixed pattern
Three Types of Couplets
1. synonymous or comparative parallelism - two lines saying the same thing by using synonyms with the word "and."
2. antithetical or contrastive parallelism - two lines contrasting things with the word "but."
3. synthetical or completive parallelism - two lines with the second line reinforcing the first line.
You will get a hang of couplets and parallelism as you study the book.
How to Understand Proverbs
1. Remember the book is not worship or praise. Therefore, the book is horizontal and not vertical.
2. The book has no doctrine to back up the wise sayings.
3. No literal promises are included.
4. The book contains statements of the way things generally turn out, but not definitely.
5. The purpose of the book is to give practical advice and moral instructions about every day matters for everyday people.
6. Remember Proverbs does not tell a story. It is poetic, not narrative.
Sections of the Book of Proverbs
1. Solomon’s wise lessons (Proverbs 1:1 to Proverbs 9:18)
2. The proverbs of Solomon (Proverbs 10:1 to Proverbs 22:16)
3. Thirty wise lessons (Proverbs 22:17 to Proverbs 24:34)
4. More of Solomon’s proverbs (Proverbs 25:1 to Proverbs 29:27)
5. The puzzles of Agur and Lemuel (Proverbs 30:1 to Proverbs 31:9)
6. A poem about a perfect wife (Proverbs 31:10-31)
Keywords
Wisdom (personified as a woman), understanding, knowledge
Themes
1. wisdom
2. instructions
3. righteousness
4. hard work
5. the family
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