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Wisdom books: Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes
Proverbs and Ecclesiastes credited to Solomon; written c. 950–250 BC (most scholars)· Book of the Bible· Books & writings
Debated by scholarsHistorians and scholars disagree.
Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are the Bible's 'wisdom' books: practical and philosophical writing on how to live and why people suffer.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
Proverbs (credited to Solomon, 1:1) packs advice into short sayings: 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge' (1:7). Job tells of a righteous man who loses his children, wealth and health, argues with friends who say he must deserve it, and hears God answer from a whirlwind (Job 38). Ecclesiastes, by 'the Teacher, son of David', calls everything 'vanity' (fleeting) yet urges enjoying life and fearing God.
Why it matters
They show the Bible openly wrestling with doubt and unfair suffering. Catholic and Orthodox Bibles add two more wisdom books, Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach, which Protestants class as Apocrypha.
Sources and history
Proverbs 22:17–24:22 closely parallels an older Egyptian text, the Instruction of Amenemope. Ecclesiastes' late Hebrew, with Persian loanwords, points to about 450–200 BC. Job's date is uncertain, perhaps 600–400 BC.
Questions and debates
Whether Job was a real man or a parable was argued even in the Talmud, where one rabbi says 'Job never existed' (Bava Batra 15a).
Connections (2)
▸King Solomon is traditionally credited with two of Wisdom books: Job, Proverbs, EcclesiastesDebated by scholars
The connection
1 Kings 4:32 says Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. So Proverbs opens 'The proverbs of Solomon', and Ecclesiastes speaks as 'son of David, king in Jerusalem'. Job has no link to him; Jewish tradition gave it other authors. His name made wisdom a royal art.
When and where
Credited to Solomon's court, about 950 BC; most scholars place the books' writing between about 700 and 250 BC.
How do we know?
The credits are in the texts themselves. But Proverbs 25:1 says Hezekiah's scribes copied some, and chapters 30–31 credit Agur and Lemuel, showing several hands.
Questions and debates
Whether any proverbs truly go back to Solomon is unknowable. Jewish tradition says he wrote Song of Songs in youth, Proverbs in midlife, Ecclesiastes in old age.
▸Wisdom books: Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes belong to the Writings of The Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)Mostly agreed by scholars
The connection
Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes sit in the Writings (Ketuvim), the third part of the Hebrew Bible, alongside Psalms, Song of Songs and others. Unlike the Law and the Prophets, they rarely mention Israel's history or covenant, asking instead how to live wisely and why good people suffer.
When and where
Collected over centuries; the Writings were the last section of the Hebrew Bible to be settled, likely by the 2nd century AD.
How do we know?
The three-part grouping is attested in the prologue to Sirach (c. 130 BC), Luke 24:44 ('the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms') and the Talmud.
Questions and debates
Christian Bibles group them among the 'poetical books' in the middle; Catholic and Orthodox Bibles add Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach. When each Writing was accepted is debated.