of Proverbs the word can describe a popular saying of the common folk (1 Sam. 10:12; 24:13), a byword (Deut. 28:37; 1 Kings 9:7; 2 Chron. 7:20; Ps. 69:11; Jer. 24:9; Ezek. 14:8), a prophet’s oracle (Num. 23:7, 18; 24:3, 15, 20–21, 23), a more lengthy taunt (Isa. 14:4ff), an extended discourse (Job 29–31), a parable (Ezek. 20:49), an allegory (Ezek. 17:2), a lament (Mic. 2:4), and is a close cousin to the riddle (Ps. 49:4; Prov. 1:6). Within Proverbs, we find not only the simple two line proverb (Prov.
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