<P> The book is an anthology made up of six discrete units . The first , chapters 1 -- 9 , was probably the last to be composed , in the Persian or Hellenistic periods . This section has parallels to prior cuneiform writings . The second , chapters 10 -- 22 : 16 , carries the superscription `` the proverbs of Solomon '' , which may have encouraged its inclusion in the Hebrew canon . The third unit is headed `` bend your ear and hear the words of the wise '' : a large part of it is a recasting of a second - millennium BCE Egyptian work , the Instruction of Amenemope , and may have reached the Hebrew author ( s ) through an Aramaic translation . Chapter 24 : 23 begins a new section and source with the declaration , `` these too are from the wise . '' The next section at chapter 25 : 1 has a superscription to the effect that the following proverbs were transcribed `` by the men of Hezekiah '' , indicating at face value that they were collected in the reign of Hezekiah in the late 8th century BCE . Chapters 30 and 31 ( the `` words of Agur , '' the `` words of Lemuel , '' and the description of the ideal woman ) are a set of appendices , quite different in style and emphasis from the previous chapters . </P>
<P> The book is an anthology made up of six discrete units . The first , chapters 1 -- 9 , was probably the last to be composed , in the Persian or Hellenistic periods . This section has parallels to prior cuneiform writings . The second , chapters 10 -- 22 : 16 , carries the superscription `` the proverbs of Solomon '' , which may have encouraged its inclusion in the Hebrew canon . The third unit is headed `` bend your ear and hear the words of the wise '' : a large part of it is a recasting of a second - millennium BCE Egyptian work , the Instruction of Amenemope , and may have reached the Hebrew author ( s ) through an Aramaic translation . Chapter 24 : 23 begins a new section and source with the declaration , `` these too are from the wise . '' The next section at chapter 25 : 1 has a superscription to the effect that the following proverbs were transcribed `` by the men of Hezekiah '' , indicating at face value that they were collected in the reign of Hezekiah in the late 8th century BCE . Chapters 30 and 31 ( the `` words of Agur , '' the `` words of Lemuel , '' and the description of the ideal woman ) are a set of appendices , quite different in style and emphasis from the previous chapters . </P>
how many chapters are in the book of proverbs
how many chapters are in the book of proverbs
31
31