is no oppressor, nor covetous (eh. xxviii. 16); and he gathers round him faithful counsellors (eh. xiv. 35), whose advice he takes in all important matters (oh. xxiv. 6). By such means he increases the stability of his throne; he enables hie subjects to advance in prosperity and virtue, and finds hie honour in the multitude 0£ his people ( ob. xi. 14; xiv. 28). It is the duty of men to render obedience to the powers that be; punishment speedily overtakes the rebellious (eh. xvi. 14, etc.; xix. 12; xx. 2). God has ordained that there shall be rich and poor in the land (eh. xxii. 2); the rich ought to help the poor (eh. iii. 27, etc.; xiv. 21), and not treat them roughly (eh. xviii. 23). .A.11 commercial transactions should be oonducted with the strictest honesty; the withholding of corn is specially denounced (oh. xi. 26). It is a foolish aot to stand security for another's debt; you are sure to ema1•t for it, and then you can blame only yourself (eh. vi. 1, etc.; xxii. 26, etc.). 4m,ong miscellaneous sayings we may note the following : - " Who can say, I have made my heart dean, I am pure from my sin?" (oh. xx. 9). "It is as sport to a fool to do wickedness; And so is wisdom to a man of understanding" (eh. x. 23). "A wise man is strong; Yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength" (eh. :uiv. 5). "The wicked flee when no man pnrsueth: But the righteous are bold as a lion" (oh. xxviii. 1). . " Hope deferred maketh the heart sick : But when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life" (eh. xiii. 12). "The path of the righteous is as the shining light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day" (eh. iv. 18). '' The wicked eameth deceitful wages : But he that soweth righteousness bath a sure reward" (eh. xi. 18). 1' The hoary head is a crown of glory ;
It shall be found in the way of righteousness" (oh. xvi. 31).
§ 3. AUTHORSHIP AND DATE. • Uncritical antiquity, followed in modern times by undiscriminating conservatism, had no hesitation in ascribing the whole Book of Proverbs to on~ author, Solomon, King of Israel. It is true that three portions of the work are prefaced with his name (eh. i. l; x. 1; xxv. 1); but two other sections are attributed respectively to .A.gur (eh. xxx. 1) arul Lemuel (eh. xxxi. 1); so that apparently the volume itself professes to be composed by three authors; and besides this, there are two appendices containing "the words of the wise" (eh. xxii. 17, etc.; xxiv. 23, etc.J, which must bo distinguished from those of Solomon. It was nabural indeed for the Jews to affi:;c their great king's uame to th.e whole collection. He is said to have INTRODUCTION 'l'O
I spoken three thousand proverbs (mashal, 1 Kings iv. 32), a statement which implies that they bad been collected into a volume, and the present work was reasonably supposed to form part of this surprisingly large storehouse of wisdom. But a more careful examination of the book necessitates the opinion of divided authorship; contents and language point to differences of date and composition; the repetition of the same proverb in identical or almost identical language, the recurrence of the same thought varied only in actual wording, the adoption of one member of an old maxim with the attachment of a different hemistich,-these blemishes could hardly have been &llowed to remain in the work of a single author. There are also variations in the language, which in a marked manner differentiate the several parts, so that we are forced to allow a composite character to the work; and the difficnlt task is imposed of endeavouring to find some certainty on the question of its origin. In one place alone does the book itself afford direct help towards deter- minill.g the date of any portion. The section copied by Hezekiah's friends from previous records must have been put together in that monarch's reign, betwr,en two and three hundred years after the time of Solomon, who was regarded as the author of those sayings. The persons engaged in the com- pilation may have been those mentioned in 2 Kings xviii. 18-Shebna the secretary, and J oah, son of Asaph, the chronicler, and very possibly the Prophet Isaiah himself, as a Jewish tradition relates. Whether after so long an interval they simply reproduced his utterances, unadulterated and unaug- mented, might prima, facie be doubted ; a careful examination of the section shows that this doubt is well founded. If there are many sentences therein which in form and substance have a flavour of high antiquity, and may well have flowed from Solomon's lips and have been current in hie age, there are also many which exhibit the artificiality of a. later period, and presup- pose a condition of things far removed from the palmy era of the Hebrew monarchy. Most critics have come to the conclusion that the earliest portion is that which is called the first great collection, contained in eh. x.i.-x.rii. 16. The style throughout is simple and chaste, the.maxims are mostly comprised in antithetical distichs, each verse being complete in itself. This, according to Ewald, is the oldest form of the technical proverb. It is noticed that there are many phrases and expressions which are peculiar to this section, e.g. "fountain of life," "tree of life," "snares of death," "band in hand," "whisperer, tale-bearer," "shall not go unpunished," "but for a moment," etc. But arguments derived from peculiarities of structure and language are generally uncertain, and strike readers in different ways. A surer criterion is found in the contents of a composition, in the references which it contains, in the circumstances which it mentions, or the environments which it implies. Now, if we compare this first collection with that of Hezekiah's "men," we sha.11 note some very marked differences, which have been observed by many critics. There is evidently 11. change in the political situation. In the former sectiou the monarch_y is 'rHE PROVERBS. :I.Vii