Sumerian Proverbs as Wisdom Literature

Abstract

Sumerian proverbs are lists of sayings of various kinds – more than 25 such collections are currently recognized. In the past these sayings have been categorized as ‘Wisdom Literature’, with the understanding that they represent genuine proverbs that were used in every-day Sumerian and that encode the moral outlook of its speakers. This contribution argues that the wisdom embodied in the proverbs is the wisdom of the Old Babylonian scribal school where they were copied. This wisdom had less to do with moral teachings, and more with a deep knowledge of the Sumerian language, its writing system and its literary heritage.