Roots of wisdom : the oldest proverbs of Israel and other peoples / Claus Westermann ; [translated by J. Daryl Charles].

Includes bibliographical references (p. 175-178).

I. The Early Proverbial Wisdom of Israel. II. History of Research -- I. Proverbial Statements. I. Proverbs of Observation and Experience. II. Proverbs about Human Character -- Excursus 1: The Relationship of the Proverbs to Old Testament Laws. III. Proverbs of Antithesis: The Foolish-The Wise. IV. Comparisons. V. Proverbs of Value Judgment (Comparative Proverbs). VI. Numerical Proverbs: Commendations and Riddles. VII. Proverbs of Antithesis: The Righteous - The Wicked -- Excursus 2: The Righteous and the Wicked in the Psalms and Job -- Excursus 3: Comparisons in the Proverbs of Antithesis: The Righteous - The Wicked -- 2. Hortatory Proverbs (Imperative Sayings). I. Two Types of Hortatory Proverbs. II. The Introduction in 22:17-21: The Summons to Listen. III. Exhortations concerning Instruction. IV. General Exhortations -- Excursus 4: The Structure of 22:17-24:24 and Its Correspondence to the Teaching of Amenemope. V. Hortatory Words in Chapters 22 - 24: Summary.

VI. Scattered Proverbs in Chapters 22 - 24. VII. Hortatory Proverbs outside of 22:17-24:24 -- Excursus 5: The Farewell Exhortation in Tobit 4:3-19 -- 3. Poetry in the Book of Proverbs -- 4. Proverbs in the Old Testament Outside of Proverbs 10 - 31. I. Proverbs in Proverbs 1 - 9. II. Individual Proverbs in Qohelet. III. Proverbs in the Historical and Prophetic Books. IV. Wisdom Sayings in the Psalms. V. Wisdom in the Book of Job -- 5. The Change from Proverbial Wisdom to Didactic Poetry -- 6. A Form-Critical Sketch of Wisdom -- 7. Wisdom Proverbs as Words of Jesus. I. Rudolf Bultmann. II. Max Kuchler. III. W. A. Beardslee -- IV. Summary. V. A Sketch of a Grouping of Proverbs in the Gospels -- 8. God and Humanity in Early Proverbial Wisdom. I. The Understanding of Humanity in Proverbial Wisdom. II. The Work of God in Early Wisdom -- Excursus 6: Wisdom and Theology. I. The Significance of the Universal Aspects of the Proverbs. II. Humanity Comes of Age. III. Wisdom, Science, and Philosophy.

IV. Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 (Luther's Translation): Humanity in Its Temporality -- App. I. Comparisons with Proverbial Sayings from Other Times and Places -- App. II. African Proverbs -- App. III. Hortatory Words of Tobatak of Sumatra -- App. IV. Form and Scope of Sumerian Proverbs -- App. V. The Teaching of Amenemope -- App. VI. The Instruction of Onch-Sheshonqy.