proverb

A short, popular saying that communicates a familiar truth or observation in an expressive and easily remembered form. The term is applied to a variety of sayings in the Bible. The most common example is the folk saying drawn from human experience and characterized by picturesque, insightful, witty, or even amusing comment on human behavior or experience (Prov 16:18; Prov 27:15; Prov 29:2; Luke 4:23). Many biblical proverbs, however, are not simply maxims or truisms but express religious and ethical interpretations of Israelite faith (Prov 3:1-12; Prov 27-35:1; Prov 6:16-19; Prov 14:12).