{2}PROVERBS{/}

The word of God came to the people of Israel in different ways. We have already said how the {C}prophetic books {/}and the {C}historical books {/}originated: they arose from the prophets' preaching and from reflection on the history of Israel in religious circles.
There were also men, of a very different disposition, who were more interested in reflecting on human behavior, the ups and downs of life, the role of wealth, the different destinies of those who are irresponsible and those who control their desires. Their main concern was to know if there is justice in this world.
The wisdom of peoples of all times has developed around these topics. We hear about Chinese wisdom, Hindu wisdom. The wisdom of the Middle East is surely the first in time. Both in Egypt and Mesopotamia (and we know that Palestine is between the frontiers of these two countries), wisdom writings abounded from about thirty centuries before Christ. The Israelites took part much later in this current of literature termed "sapiental": King Solomon assembled the first "wise men." Their first works (as are Chapters [Pro_10,1] to [Pro_30,1] of Proverbs) owed much to their Egyptian forerunners or others.
When speaking of these authors we must not forget that for the most part they did nothing more than edit the "proverbs" or "maxims" of popular wisdom. Their writings would encourage every effort to develop the instruction and the moral sense of generations to come. The Jewish people at the time of Jesus were deeply influenced by this wisdom which shone through all the parables and sayings of Jesus.
These books which were preserved and recognized by the religious community are no less a work of God than are the prophetic books: it is a word of another kind which presents life and faith under another aspect.
The greater part of the Book of {C}Proverbs {/}is very old (chapters [Pro_10,1] to [Pro_31,1]). The first section (chapters [Pro_1,1] to [Pro_9,1]), however, is much more recent, around the second century before Christ. There we find a meditation on the {C}Wisdom of God, {/}from which all human wisdom proceeds. The height of this contemplation on divine Wisdom is found in the famous eighth chapter.
