History of proverb

Proverb” is a translation of the Hebrew word mashal, but “mashal” has a wider range of meanings than the short catchy saying implied by the English word. Thus, while roughly half the book is made up of “sayings” of this type, the other half is made up of longer poetic units of various types. These include “instructions” formulated as advice from a teacher or parent addressed to a student or child, dramatic .