Redaction patterns in biblical wisdom literature in light of the instructions of Shuruppak

Abstract

Abstract This paper examines redactional theories regarding the development of the Book of Proverbs from a comparative perspective. Building on the methodology known as Empirical Models for Biblical Criticism, the paper explores patterns of development and redaction in the Mesopotamian proverb collection The Instructions of Shuruppak, including growth of collections, editorial use of opening and concluding formulas, and religiously-oriented redaction. These, in turn, serve as an illustration for very similar processes hypothesized by Biblicists regarding the development of biblical wisdom collections.