7. The Book of Proverbs, allegedly written by King Solomon, replicates the earlier Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope virtually word for word
The Book of Proverbs, a collection of biblical wisdom regarding moral behavior and the meaning of life, was allegedly written by Solomon and later compiled during the reign of Hezekiah in the late-9th century BCE. Despite claiming to be unique insights offered to the Israelites of God’s will, this entire chapter of the Bible borrows heavily from already existing non-Judeo-Christian religious sources, most notably the Instruction of Amenemope. Written in the 13th century BCE, the Instruction was a literary work of Ancient Egypt, composed during the Ramesside Period, and contains thirty chapters of advice for proper living.
Exemplifying these derivations, whilst Proverbs encourages one to “rob not the poor, for he is poor, neither oppress the lowly in the gate”, Amenemope stipulates to “beware of robbing the poor, and oppressing the afflicted. Equally, Proverbs incites one to “remove not the widow’s landmark; And enter not into the field of the fatherless”, whilst Amenemope commands “remove not the landmark from the bounds of the field…and violate not the widow’s boundary”. Although these incredible similarities, among dozens of others, were initially contested, by the 1960s biblical scholars reached a near-unanimous consensus regarding the primacy of the Instruction over Proverbs and declared a “direct connection” between the two historical treatises.