Proverbs 22 Footnotes

22:17–24:22 Similarities exist between this section of Proverbs and an Egyptian composition called the Instructions of Amenemope, and the similarities suggest some sort of literary influence. Present evidence seems to indicate that the Egyptian piece is older than Proverbs, and it may well be that the biblical material was influenced by the Egyptian composition. The theology of this biblical section is thoroughly Israelite, and it is clear that the influence did not extend into that area. People made in the image of God have the ability to discover some of God’s order, and no theological problem is created if sages in Israel were influenced by Egyptian observations about wisdom. In this case the divine inspiration of the biblical material relates to the way the material was selected and modified for inclusion into inspired Scripture.