Related articles
Literary techniques in Proverbs
There are a variety of different type of proverb found in the book.
1. Instruction
The whole Book of Proverbs is set in a family situation, of a father giving instruction to his son, or perhaps a teacher giving instruction to his students. The early chapters of the book have a number of different sections, each introduced with a call from a father to his son to listen to his teaching.
“Listen, children (my son), to a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight ..." (4:1)
2. Unit Proverb
The majority of the Book of Proverbs contains short single proverbs with two lines. There are 375 of these in the section of the proverbs of Solomon (10:1 - 22:16). Most of them are statements giving observations of life.
3. Epigram
These are longer proverbs, extending the two line unit proverb to four or more lines. Most of these are found towards the end of the book, in the words of the wise (22:17 - 24:34), and the words copied by Hezekiah’s officials (ch 25 - 29).
“Do not wear yourself out to get rich,
be wise enough to desist.
When your eyes light upon it, it is gone,
for suddenly it takes wings to itself,
flying like an eagle toward heaven.” (23:4-5)
4. Antithesis
Many proverbs consist of two lines giving contrasting statements, using antithetic parallelism.
"Wisdom is a fountain of life to him who has it,
but folly is the chastisement of fools" (16:22)
4. Command
Some proverbs are in the form of a command with a reason or motive. The first line gives the command, and the second line gives the reason, often introduced with the word 'for'.
“Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life” (4:23)
5. 'Better' statement
In these proverbs two things are contrasted, one of which is to be sought out and given greater value and the other is be rejected and avoided.
“Better to be poor and walk in integrity
than to be crooked in one’s ways even though rich” (28:6)
6. Comparison
In these, a metaphor, simile, or illustration from everyday life is used to bring a comparison. They are often introduced, 'For as ...'. We need to look for the similarity between the illustration and the life application to get the point of the proverb.
“For as pressing milk produces curds,
and pressing the nose produces blood,
so pressing anger produces strife” (30:33)
"A continual dripping on a rainy day
and a contentious woman are alike
to restrain her is to restrain the wind
or to grasp oil in his right hand" (27:15-16)
7. Abomination statement
These are simple statements of what the Lord detests, or what is an abomination to the Lord, contrasted with what the Lord delights in. These show us clearly what the Lord sees as the higher priority in life, and the committed heart attitude he is looking for.
“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
but the prayer of the upright is his delight” (15:8)
8. Blessing
This is a blessing from an authority figure to the reader. In the context of Proverbs, the father gives his blessing to his son. Sometimes it is translated 'happy are those ...'. We need to determine what value is to be encouraged, rather than focussing on the promise.
“Those who despise their neighbours are sinners,
but happy are those who are kind to the poor” (14:21).
9. Numerical
The words of Agur (ch 30) have several collection of numerical proverbs, which link several diverse ideas together. The numerical form would aid memorisation, and would cause the reader to wonder what linked the statements together.
“Three things are too wonderful for me;
four I do not understand:
the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a girl” (30:18-19).
10. Paradoxical
Sometimes two proverbs appear to contradict each other, giving conflicting advice. This is not a contradiction in the Bible, but showing that we cannot have a simplistic approach to life. Human existence and human relationships have great complexities and paradoxes, which these proverbs are demonstrating. In modern thinking: is it 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder', or 'Absence makes the heart wander'?
“Do not answer fools according to their folly,
or you will be a fool yourself.
Answer fools according to their folly,
or they will be wise in their own eyes.” (26:4-5)
11. Collections of proverbs
Although much of the Book of Proverbs appears not to have much of a structure, there are a number of proverbs which are linked together in some way. Sometimes there are pairs of proverbs linked by a subject, or a repeated word (26:4-5). It is also possible to observe that there are strings of proverbs, which are loosely connected. These are particularly found toward the end of the book, where there are collections of proverbs about how to behave before kings (25:1-10), and a another collection about fools (26:1-12).
12. Dramatic Monologue
This is when wisdom is personified and speaks. An introduction is given to set the scene, followed by her speech (1:20-33).
13. Acrostic
The Book of Proverbs ends with the famous description of the wife of noble character (31:10-31). This is an acrostic, which each line beginning with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This again makes it easier to memorise, but also gives a superlative description, showing the A to Z completeness of an ideal wife.
13. Popular saying
Proverbs are also found outside the Book of Proverbs in other places in the Old Testament, particularly in narratives. Sometimes they are introduced as a proverb, or the words, “therefore they say ...”
Related articles