eek periods. It
is probable that this large collection was not made until the latter part
of the Persian or the early part of the Greek period.

The appendices in 22:17-24:34 contain many repetitions of proverbs found
in the larger collection. The prevalence of intemperance, the existence of
a merchant class, and the allusions to exiled Jews (e.g., 24:11) point
rather clearly to the dissolute Greek period as the age when these small
collections were made. The word meaning "transcribe," that is found in
the superscription to the second large collection (25-29), is peculiar to
the late Hebrew, and implies that this superscription, like those of the
Psalms, was added by a late Jewish scribe. The literary form of these
proverbs is more complex than those of the other large collection. The
kings are feared by their subjects, but figure now as oppressors rather
than champions of the people. While this collection may contain a few
proverbs coming from the period before the final destruction of Jerusalem,
it is probable that, like the smaller appendices to the first large
collection, they were not gathered until the early part of the Greek
period. The long appendices in chapters 30-31 are clearly late. The note
of doubt in the opening section of 30 is closely akin to that which recurs
in the book of Ecclesiastes. It is also based on Isaiah 44:5 and 45:4.
Aramaisms and the acrostic form in 31:10-31 imply that the background was
the late Persian or early Greek period.

The history of the book of Proverbs is therefore reasonably clear. Its
original nucleus was probably a small group of popular proverbs that had
been transmitted orally from the days before the final destruction of
Jerusalem. These, together with proverbs which first became current during
the Persian period, were collected some time in the days following the
work of Nehemiah. To these was added in the Greek period the smaller
appendices in 22:17-24:34. Possibly the same editor joined to them the
large collection found in 25-29. He or some wise man in the Greek period
prefixed the elaborate introduction in chapters 1-9. To the whole was
added the appendices in chapters 30 and 31. It is probable that by the
middle of the Greek period, or at least before 200 B.C., the book of
Proverbs was complete in its present form.

III. The Wise in Israel's Early History. Long before 2000 B.C. the
scribes of ancient Egypt were busy collecting "the words of counsel of the
men of o