TABLE 12.2 GENRES IN WISDOM LITERATURE
I. Saying or Proverb, a pithy aphorism distilling human experience in an apt and memorable form
A. Folk Proverb, generally in prose form (e.g., 1 Sam. 24:14; 1 Kings 20:11; Jer. 23:28)
B. Artistic Proverb, structured in the A______/ B______// pattern of Hebrew verse
1. Observational or Experiential Proverb, noting a feature of life without evaluation
(e.g., Prov. 11:24; 17:27-28; 18:16)
2. Didactic or Learned Proverb, inculcating values or liens of conduct
(e.g., Prov. 10:7; 14:31; 15:33)
II. Admonition, generally structured in the A______/ B______// verse form, either appearing in
isolation among proverbs or grouped as an instruction delivered by an authoritative teacher to a
learner (e.g., Proverbs 1–9; 22:17—24:22)
A. Command (e.g., Prov. 8:33; 16:3; 31:6-9)
B. Prohibition (e.g., Prov. 22:22-23; 30:10)
III. Riddle, a “tricky” question whose answer or solution is ambiguous (the only complete biblical
example, Judges 4:10-18; referred to in Prov. 1:6; Ps. 49:4; etc.)
IV. Fable, a short story with plants or animals as characters (Judges 9:8-15; 2 Kings 14:9)
V. Allegory, an extended metaphor (Prov. 5:15-23, wife as “cistern”; Eccl. 12:1-6, aging person as a
“falling house”)
VI. Hymn, a praise of personified wisdom (Job 28; Prov. 1:20-33; 8; Sir. 24:1-22; Wisd. Of Sol. 6:12-20;
7:22-8:21)
VII. Controversy Speech or Disputation, characteristic of the dialogue of Job with his friends, mixed
with lament and lawsuit genres (Job 4—31)
VIII. Example Story, concrete illustration of point made by sage (Prov. 7:6-23; 24:30-34; Eccl. 4:13-16)
IX. Confession, Autobiographical Narrative, or Reflection, in which a sage shares his rich experience
with pupils or readers (Prov. 4:3-9; Eccl. 1:12—2:26; Sir. 33:16-18)
X. Name List or Onomasticon of geographical, cosmological, meteorological phenomena (Job 28;
36:27-37; 38:4—39:30; 40:15—41:34; Ben Sira 43; Wisd. of Sol. 7:17-20, 22-23; 14:25-26)
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