The Book of Proverbs is a collection of wisdom literature found in the Old Testament, representing moral and practical instruction. It is a compilation of various sources, meaning no single date can be assigned to its creation. Instead, the book is an anthology assembled and edited over several centuries, containing sayings that originated in different historical periods. Its content provides insight into the ethical and religious life of ancient Israel, focusing on themes like the pursuit of knowledge and the avoidance of folly.
Attribution and Claimed Authorship
The internal superscriptions of the Book of Proverbs name several different authors and collectors, indicating its composite nature. The largest portions of the work are ascribed to King Solomon, who traditionally reigned in the 10th century BCE and was known for his wisdom. Chapters 1–24 and a second collection in chapters 25–29 are both introduced as “Proverbs of Solomon.”
The text also credits two other individuals with distinct sections of the book. Chapter 30 is labeled as “The words of Agur son of Jakeh,” and chapter 31 begins with “The words of King Lemuel,” an oracle that his mother taught him. Agur and Lemuel are otherwise unknown figures in biblical or historical records.
A significant editorial note appears in Proverbs 25:1, stating that the following proverbs are “also proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.” This confirms that a royal scribal school, active during the reign of King Hezekiah in the 8th century BCE, was involved in compiling and preserving Solomonic material. The book thus contains credited work from a renowned king, two obscure wise men, and the efforts of subsequent royal scribes.
Dating the Solomonic Core
The oldest material in the book is traditionally associated with the reign of King Solomon (10th century BCE, approximately 970–931 BCE). This period, known as the United Monarchy, was a time of stability, wealth, and cultural flourishing, providing the ideal environment for organized wisdom traditions. The proverbs attributed to Solomon, particularly those in chapters 10:1–22:16, reflect the life and practical ethics of the royal court and the broader urban society.
This Solomonic core is characterized by short, memorable sayings, often presented as couplets contrasting righteous and wicked behavior. Archaeological findings, such as the Gezer Calendar and the Khirbet Qeiyafa Ostracon, confirm that a literate monarchy with an established scribal infrastructure existed during the 10th century BCE, capable of producing and preserving such texts. The early material shares formal features with other ancient Near Eastern wisdom literature, like the Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope, suggesting intellectual exchange consistent with Solomon’s international reputation. The sayings in the core collection are widely accepted as originating in the 10th century BCE, even if they were not written down in their final form until later.
The Final Collection and Redaction
The entire Book of Proverbs was not completed in the 10th century BCE; rather, it underwent a prolonged process of compilation and editing. The work of “the men of Hezekiah” in the 8th century BCE, noted in the superscription to chapter 25, marks the first documented stage of formal collection after Solomon’s time. This action suggests a renewed effort during the reign of Hezekiah to gather and standardize older Solomonic sayings.
The final shape of the book, including the introductory discourses of chapters 1–9 and the appended material of Agur and Lemuel in chapters 30–31, represents the last stage of redaction. Scholars place the completion of this final form in the post-exilic period, extending from the 5th to the 3rd century BCE. The introductory chapters, with their extended poems and the personification of Wisdom, show linguistic and conceptual characteristics suggesting a later development in the wisdom tradition.
The inclusion of the Agur and Lemuel sections, likely separate collections added as appendices, also contributes to this later dating for the book’s final assembly. While the content of Proverbs spans centuries, with its oldest roots in the 10th century BCE, the complete, canonical book was likely finalized sometime between the Persian and Hellenistic periods. This date of final redaction (5th and 3rd centuries BCE) is when the entire collection was recognized as a unified text.