Authorship
The opening words of the book directly state that these are “The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel”; but then in other places the authorship is attributed to other authors, such as the unknown Agur and King Lemuel; in the latter, some see the same Solomon, appearing under different symbolic names (others think that Lemuel was one of the kings of Arabia).
The corresponding sections of the book, attributed to different authors, bear signs of diversity in style and content; but in general it is a book of a very distinct type of Jewish wisdom, of which Solomon was the greatest representative. The parables of the wisest king were preserved by posterity and were collected by King Hezekiah into one book, which was included in the canon under the name “Book of the Proverbs of Solomon,” although parables of other representatives of Hebrew wisdom could have been included in it.
The Legend of the Real Mother
Another life situation that Solomon supposedly judged, a story about a child. The story can be easily downloaded on the Internet for free, read or watch it online.
Two women came to Solomon with a request to find out whose child was left to live. The women gave birth 3 days apart, but one of them accidentally crushed the baby in her sleep. Without thinking twice, the woman replaced the baby. When the second mother decided to feed the child in the morning, she saw that the baby was dead and did not belong to her. Disputes over whose child died led nowhere. It came to a fight, but none of the women wanted to retreat.
The royal decision horrified one of the women in labor - the king ordered to bring a sword and, having cut the living baby in half, give the halves to both contenders, so that no one would be offended.
The true mother fell at the feet of the ruler and begged to give the child to her neighbor, saving the baby’s life. The second woman was satisfied with the royal decision and agreed to accept half of the child, knowing that her baby was already dead. Solomon recognized the right of a real mother to a child - a natural mother will do everything for her child to live, even with a strange woman.
You can watch the story online on the Internet via video, or download it to your computer and listen carefully at home. All the stories about Solomon amaze with the fairness of the decision, regardless of the financial situation or official rank of the petitioners.
Perjury is a great sin and sooner or later it becomes obvious. Therefore, it is recommended to tell the truth in any situation so as not to be branded a liar among the people around you.
Content
By its nature, this book is poetic and didactic, expounding in poetic forms sublime religious and philosophical truths with the moral principles flowing from them.
In the Book of Proverbs, as in the book “The Wisdom of Solomon,” wisdom is glorified, which is personified and itself speaks with inspired sayings for the edification of people. The Book of Proverbs can be called a philosophical and religious treatise, in which the author presents the truths obtained by reason and everyday experience in the forms of didactic and poetic speech, capable of making a particularly strong impression on listeners. Many sayings of this book have entered the popular worldview; echoes of its influence are also noticeable in the New Testament, where there are many borrowings from it and references to its various sayings (there are up to 35 such places).
In the Greek Bible, parables are called proverbs (παροιμίαι). The meaning of both names is the same. Proverb, according to the explanation of Basil the Great, means a passing saying (παρά - with and οιμος - path), like a milepost, a saying, i.e. one that serves as a path indicator, guides a person on the paths of life. Church Slavonic word parable
consists of two words, at and tcha (flow). The root of the last word, flow (run, hurry) is the same one that is heard in the word forerunner. The parables of Solomon differ from the parables of Christ the Savior in that they have the form of judgments, while the parables of Christ are stories.
The Book of Proverbs enjoyed the greatest respect not only among Jews, but also among Christians. The ancient fathers of the church, according to Eusebius, called it for its highly edifying character πανάρετος - the treasure of all virtues and βασιλικόν δωρον - a royal gift.
Readings in church services are often borrowed from the book of Proverbs; due to its predominant use in church services, the name of the proverb
became common to all church readings taken from the sacred books. On the days of St. During Pentecost, the Orthodox Church daily, with the exception of Saturdays and Sundays, offers Christians at vespers proverbs from the book of Proverbs as the best edifying reading during these days of fasting and repentance. On the days of Pentecost, the first 24 chapters and the last, 31st, from verse 8 to the end are read almost entirely in order, with the exception of a few verses. Several readings from the book of Proverbs are also scheduled for the days of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, etc.
Online reading of the book Bible Proverbs of Solomon
Chapter 30
1 The words of Agur the son of Jaques. Inspirational sayings [that] this man said to Iphiel, Iphiel and Ukal:
2 Truly, I am more ignorant than any man, and I have no human understanding,
3 And I have not learned wisdom, neither have I the knowledge of the saints.
4 Who ascended to heaven and descended? who gathered the wind into his fistfuls? who put water in his clothes? who set all the boundaries of the earth? what is his name? and what is the name of his son? Do you know?
5 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who trust in Him.
6 Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you and you are found to be a liar.
7 I ask two things of You, do not refuse me, before I die:
8 Remove vanity and lies from me, do not give me poverty and wealth, feed me with my daily bread,
9 Lest, being full, I deny [You] and say, “Who is the Lord?” and so that, having become poor, I will not steal and take the name of my God in vain.
10 Do not curse a servant before his master, lest he curse you and you remain guilty.
11 There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother.
12 There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, but is not washed from its uncleanness.
13 There is a generation - oh, how arrogant are its eyes, and how lifted are its eyelashes!
14 There is a generation whose teeth are swords and whose jaws are knives, to devour the poor of the earth and the needy among men.
15 Insatiability has two daughters: “Come on, come on!” Here are three who are insatiable, and four who will not say: “Enough!”
16 Sheol and the barren womb, the earth that is not filled with water, and the fire that does not say, “Enough!”
17 The eye that mocks the father and neglects obedience to the mother will be pecked out by the ravens and the eagle's chicks will be devoured!
18 Three things are incomprehensible to me, and four I do not understand:
19 The way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man to a maiden.
20 This is the way of an adulterous wife; she ate and wiped her mouth, and said: “I haven’t done anything bad.”
21 The earth shakes because of three; it cannot bear four:
22 servants when he becomes king; a fool when he eats his fill of bread;
23 a shameful woman when she marries, and a servant when she takes the place of her mistress.
24 These are four little ones on earth, but they are wiser than the wise:
25 Ants are not a strong people, but in the summer they prepare their food;
26 Mountain mice are a weak people, but they build their houses on the rock;
27 The locusts have no king, but they all move out in order;
28 The spider clings with its paws, but it stays in the royal palaces.
29 Behold three walk gracefully, and four walk gracefully:
30 The lion, the mighty one among the beasts, will not shy away from anyone;
31 horses and goats, and a king among his people.
32 If in your arrogance you have acted foolishly and thought evil, then [put] your hand on your mouth;
33 For just as churning milk produces butter, and pushing the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces quarrels.
About the Snake and the Peasant
God entrusted the Snake with keeping the treasure, commanding him to sting the heel of everyone who encroaches on the treasure. But it so happened that there was a drought, the snake was dying of thirst. At this time, a man passed by with a jug of milk. The snake asked for a drink and promised to tell him where the treasure was hidden as a reward.
The peasant gave her milk to drink, and she showed her the stone under which the treasure was hidden. But when the man wanted to take away the treasures, the Snake remembered its purpose - to guard the treasures - and wrapped itself around the benefactor’s neck.
The peasant was indignant and offered to go to court with King Solomon so that he could determine which of them was right. The snake agreed, but did not get off his neck. So they came to Solomon.
Solomon forced the Snake to get off the peasant’s neck because the king must punish first, and only then his subjects solve problems among themselves.
The snake climbed off his neck, and the king, meanwhile, did not stop listening carefully to the story of their meeting and further actions. In response to the Snake’s words about the need to bite everyone who covets the treasure entrusted to it, Solomon said that every person, when meeting a snake, should break its head. At this saying, the peasant grabbed a stone and crushed the head of the insidious snake.
This story gave rise to the saying: “Break the head of the best of snakes.” The parable teaches us to respect the agreement and, if we had to break our obligations, we should not be cunning and shift the blame onto another, subjecting the innocent to punishment. You can download for free these and other parables about the wise decision of the king of Israel, making you believe in the justice of the judge’s verdict.
The legend of choice
One day, a certain man came to King Solomon for advice: what to do if, before every vital choice, a person cannot sleep peacefully, because he is constantly thinking about how to choose the right decision. The fear of making mistakes robs him of peace and sleep. And the more he thinks, the more doubts he has about the upcoming decision.
Solomon asked a visitor what he would do if he saw a child drowning in a river? He would rush to save someone else’s baby or pass by, justifying his action that he still wouldn’t have time to help the baby.
The visitor, without a shadow of a doubt and without hesitation, answered that no matter what, he would immediately rush to save the child from water captivity.
The king asked whether the decision to save the child would have changed if the event had happened yesterday or in the future. Having received a negative answer, Solomon said that a person chooses the only correct decision situationally. Therefore, he does not have to worry about whether he is doing the right thing. As long as his actions are consistent with his conscience and God’s teaching, a person has only one option for actions - the true and correct one. Therefore, there is no choice as such.
However, in affection for another person, you should act according to your heart. And the choice will appear only when a person changes - different habits, different priorities.
The visitor went home reassured and no longer suffered from insomnia. Many people spend a painfully long time thinking about what to do in a given life situation. Meanwhile, the right decision depends on the moral values professed by each citizen. And a person acts according to his education and upbringing, on a subconscious level, separating good and evil.
They say that God once dreamed of Solomon and asked him about his most cherished desire, promising to fulfill it immediately. The king of Judah asked the Lord to give him intelligence and wisdom to rule the country. The wish was fulfilled, and the fame of the wisest ruler spread across different countries.
Later, Solomon learned to understand the language of animals and birds, to speak with animals living on land and in water. This knowledge was reflected in the stories about King Solomon, which were passed on from mouth to mouth. Today these stories can be downloaded on the Internet for free.
