12/30/12

PARALLELS BETWEEN THE BOOK

OF PROVERBS IN THE BIBLE AND

MORE ANCIENT WRITINGS

Dead Sea Scrolls (Essenes)

The source for the sections below is a book called:

OLD TESTAMENT PARALLELS

BY VICTOR H. MATTHEWS AND DON C. BENJAMIN

COPYRIGHT 1991 PAULIST PRESS; NEW YORK/MAHWAH, NJ

CALL NUMBER 221.95 (check for it at your library)

PAGES 179-198

This book tell's about two ancient writers of wise

sayings, name Ahiqar and Amen-em-ope, whose

writing, though earlier than the Bible, are very

similar to the Bible's Book of Proverbs:

Ahiqar was an advisor to Sennacherib, who was king of

Assyria from 704-681 BCE. In 1906 German archaeologists

recovered an edition of his memoirs and teachings on the

island of Elephantine which is today part of the city of

Aswan in southern Egypt. (Elephantine was the location of

an expatriot community of Jews according to other things

I’ve read, one source said these Hebrews were mercenaries

working for the Egyptians to keep the Ethiopians from

invading, another source said the arc of the covenant was

hidden at Elephantine. Is it conceivable that the edition of

Ahiqar’s writings were used by the Hebrews to write their own

books?

Here are the examples of some of the similar

passages:

"If a man curses his father or mother, his lamp will be

snuffed out in pitch darkness" Prov.20:20

compare with:

"Those who do not honor their parents, are cursed by the

Gods for their evil", Ahiqar 9:137

"He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him

is careful to discipline him; Prov. 13:24

compare with:

"Spare the rod, spoil the child", Ahiqar 6:81

"Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle

tongue can break a bone" Prov. 25:15

compare with:

"Gentle is the tongue of a king, but it can break a dragon’s

bone", Ahiqar 7:105

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Amen-em-ope taught in Egypt between 1200 - 1000 BCE .

Shortly after 1900 archaeologists found the papyrus with

these writings, it is now in the British museum in London

(# 10474). Another version is on a clay tablet in Turin,

Italy.

"Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply

your heart to what I teach, for it is pleasing when you keep

them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.: prov. 17-18

compare with:

"Listen to what I say, Learn my words by heart. Prosperity

comes to those who keep my words in their hearts.

Poverty comes to those who discard them! Enshrine my

words in your souls, Lock them away in your hearts"

Amen-em-ope 3:10

"Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not

crush the needy in court" Prov. 22:22

compare with:

"Do not steal from the poor, Nor cheat the cripple",

Amen-em-ope 2:1

"If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty

give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning

coals on his head and the Lord will reward you", Prov. 25:21-22

compare with:

"Leave the punishment of the fool to The Gods; Feed them

until they are full, Give them your bread until they are

ashamed" Amen-em-ope 5:8

"Do not move and ancient boundry stone or encroach on

the fields of the fatherless, for their Defender is strong;

he will take up their case against you" Prov. 23:10-11

compare with:

"Do not relocate the surveyor’s stone to steal a field, nor

move the surveyors line to take a farm. Do not covet

another’s land, nor poach on the widow’s field. To forge a

claim to the public path through a field, Cries out to Thoth

God of the Moon, for justice. Amen-em-ope 7:12-15

"Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth

with turmoil" Prov. 15:16

"Better a little with with righteousness than much gain with

injustice" Prov. 16:8

compare with :

"Better a single bushel from God, Than five thousand stolen

bushels" Amen-em-ope 8:19

"Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a

fattened calf with hatred" Prov. 15:17

"Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full

of feasting, with strife" Prov. 17:1

compare with:

"Better is a single loaf and a happy heart, Than all the

riches of the world and sorrow" Amen-em-ope 9:9

"Better is bread eaten with a contented heart, Than wealth

spent with sorrow..." Amen-em-ope 16: 14

"Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they

will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle"

Prov. 23:5

compare with:

"At night, stolen goods dig a hole into the underworld, They

fly away like geese into the sky" Amen-em-ope 10:3

"Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not

associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his

ways and get yourself ensnared", Prov. 22:24-25

compare with:

""Do not rush to embrace fools, Lest their advice drown you

like a storm" Amen-em-ope 13:8

"You will vomit up the little you have eaten and will have

wasted your compliments" Prov. 23:8

compare with:

"When you vomit a piece of bread too large to swallow,

What you gained is lost..."Amen-em-ope 14:13

"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a

day may bring forth" Prov. 27:1

compare with:

"Do not go to bed worrying, Wondering: "What will tomorrow

bring?"  "No one knows what tomorow brings"

Amen-eo-ope 19:11

"Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s

purpose that prevails" Prov. 19:21

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines

his steps" Prov. 16:9

compare with:

"Human words are one thing, Divine actions are another"

Amen-em-ope 19:15

"Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of

counsel and knowledge" Prov. 22:20

compare with:

"To study these thirty chapters, Is to be educated and

entertained!" Amen-em-ope 30:1

UCGR

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