Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Writer
  Proverbs claims to be a compendium of the wise sayings of several different individuals.4Solomon originated some of them (10:1-22:16 and chs. 25-29 definitely, and probably chs. 1-9 as well).5Unnamed wise men (sages) wrote ot...
• Message10
  The Book of Proverbs contains no history. It is purely didactic. It is a book of explicit instruction. Like the other Old Testament wisdom books, Job and Ecclesiastes, it does not contain references to Israel's laws, rituals,...
• Outline
  I. Discourses on wisdom chs. 1-9A. Introduction to the book 1:1-71. The title of the book 1:12. The purpose of the book 1:2-63. The thesis of the book 1:7B. Instruction for young people 1:8-7:271. Warning against consorting w...
• I. DISCOURSES ON WISDOM chs. 1--9
  Verse one introduces both the book as a whole and chapters 1-9 in particular. The Book of Proverbs is a collection of at least five separate groups of proverbs. There are those that Solomon spoke and or wrote (possibly chs. 1...
• II. COUPLETS EXPRESSING WISDOM 10:1--22:16
  Chapters 1-9, as we have seen, contain discourses that Solomon evidently wrote urging his sons to choose the way of wisdom for their lives.92At 10:1 we begin the part of the book that sets forth what the wise way is in a vari...
• 1. Trusting God ch. 16
  There is a shift in emphasis in Solomon's anthology here. Pleasing God (cf. Col. 1:10; 1 John 3:22) becomes a greater factor in the proverbs that follow whereas those in chapters 10-15 had living successfully more in view. Ne...
• 4. Further advice for pleasing God 19:1-22:16
  As was true in the chapter 10-15 section, this one (16:1-22:16) also becomes more difficult to outline as it ends because there are fewer groupings of proverbs.19:7 The first part of this verse is hyperbole (overstatement to ...
• III. WISE SAYINGS 22:17--24:34
  A third major section of the Book of Proverbs begins with 22:17. This is clear from several indicators. The proverbs lengthen out again from the typical one verse couplet that characterizes 10:1-26:16 (cf. chs. 1-9). The phra...
• A. Thirty Sayings of the Wise 22:17-24:22
  Many scholars have called attention to the similarities between Proverbs 22:17-24:22, the 30 sayings of the wise, and The Instruction of Amen-em-Ope.157The Instruction of Amen-em-Opeis a piece of Egyptian wisdom literature th...
• Introduction to the first 10 sayings 22:17-21
  As in chapters 1-9, the writer began this section of the book with an exhortation to hear and give heed to the words of wisdom that follow (22:17-21)."This extended introduction reminds us that the wise sayings were not curio...
• The first 10 sayings 22:22-23:11
  22:22-23 Note the chiastic structure in these four lines that unifies the thought of the passage: violence, litigation, litigation, violence. God will avenge the poor on those who oppress them.22:24-25 The writer gave a reaso...
• B. Six More Sayings of the Wise 24:23-34
  The first sentence in 24:23 indicates that what follows was not part of the collection of 30 sayings that preceded. Other wise men (lit. sages) evidently provided these proverbs.24:23-25 This saying advocates justice and stra...
• IV. MAXIMS EXPRESSING WISDOM chs. 25--29
  We return now to the proverbs of Solomon (cf. 1:1-22:16). Chapters 25-26 contain proverbs that are mainly comparisons. The key words in these chapters are "like . . . so."Chapter 27 is a mixture of comparative and antithetica...
• 1. Wise and foolish conduct ch. 25
  25:1 A group of scholars who served during King Hezekiah's reign (715-686 B.C.) added more of Solomon's 3,000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32) to the former collection (1:1-22:16). These men lived about 250 years after Solomon. Solomo...
• V. TWO DISCOURSES BY OTHER WISE MEN chs. 30--31
  Chapters 30 and 31 form a distinct section in Proverbs because neither Solomon (1:1-22:16; chs. 25-29) nor the unnamed sages (22:17-24:34) wrote them. Two other wise men whose names the text records did. Some expositors specu...
• Conclusion
  The quality of wisdom that Proverbs presents is much more than the ability to apply knowledge to various situations in life effectively. It also involves submission to the way of God that is the order of life God has revealed...
• 2. Labor and divine providence 3:1-4:3
  In this section Solomon expressed his conviction that in view of God's incomprehensible workings all human toil is without permanent profit.3:1-8 As is customary in Ecclesiastes the writer began this section by stating a thes...
• E. God's blessing of Daniel and his friends 1:17-21
  1:17 In addition to favor with their overseers, God gave Daniel and his three friends the ability to master the subjects they studied and wisdom in these matters (cf. James 1:5). They may have thought that Nebuchadnezzar had ...
• God's will concerning retaliation 5:38-42
  5:38 Retaliation was common in the ancient Near East. Frequently it led to vendettas in which escalating vengeance continued for generations. Israel's "law of retaliation"(Lat. lex talionis) limited retaliation to no more tha...