Chapter 5 - Echoes of Egypt

Summary

Chapter 5 looks at the remaining sections of Proverbs largely in the light of Egyptian influence – Proverbs 22:17-24:22 is the prime example. Proverbs 30:1-6; 31:1-9 and 31:10-31 are shorter and self-contained whilst being collectively disparate. However, the ‘sayings of Agur’ in Prov. 30:1-6 forms a bridge towards the skepticism of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs 31:1-9 in its attribution to a foreign king has interesting implications for social context. The final section in Prov. 31:10-31 with its poem about a worthy woman contains key framing links to Proverbs 1-9 and the female figures within that section.