Mishlei in a month: how to read a chapter of Proverbs a day

Proverbs has 31 chapters, and a month has about as many days. That small coincidence has turned into one of the simplest study habits there is: on the first of the month you read chapter 1, on the second chapter 2, and so on. At the end of every month you have read a whole book of the Tanakh. Then you start it again.

It is a good habit for someone who wants something daily but not heavy. A chapter of Proverbs is about 30 short verses, five to ten minutes, and almost every line can be read on its own.

What Proverbs is

Mishlei is part of Ketuvim, the third section of the Tanakh, and it is the Tanakh’s book of practical wisdom. It is less concerned with history or law than with ordinary life: how you speak, how you work, who you spend time with, what you do with money and with anger. Its stated purpose comes in its first verses, and its motto in the seventh: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.”

The book opens with the name of Solomon, and the book of Kings says he spoke three thousand proverbs (1 Kings 5:12). Chapter 25 adds that some were copied out by the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, more than two centuries later, and the Talmud (Bava Batra 15a) credits Hezekiah and his colleagues with writing the book down.

The shape of the book

Proverbs is a collection, and its headings mark where each part begins. Knowing them makes the month easier to follow, because the style changes sharply about a third of the way in.

Chapters 1 to 9 are long poems, a parent speaking to a child: listen to your father’s instruction, do not follow those who would lead you astray. Wisdom herself appears as a woman calling out in the streets and at the city gates, inviting anyone who will listen to her house.

From chapter 10 the book turns into what most people picture when they hear “proverbs”: hundreds of two-line sayings, most of them a contrast between the wise and the foolish, the honest and the lazy. They do not follow an argument, so read slowly and stop at the one that catches you. One line held for the whole day is a good result.

Chapters 30 and 31 close the book with two other voices, Agur son of Jakeh and King Lemuel, whose mother’s advice he records. The book ends with Eshet Chayil, the woman of valor, an acrostic of 22 verses that many families sing on Friday night.

Making a month of it

• Read today’s chapter, whatever day you start. If it is the 13th, read chapter 13. You do not need to wait for the first of the month, and by next month you will have read it all.
• Handle short months on the last day. In a 30-day month, read 30 and 31 together. In February, read the remaining chapters on the 28th or 29th.
• Keep one verse. Pick a single line from each chapter and carry it through the day. Over a month you collect 31 of them.
• Do not worry about a missed day. Read today’s chapter and leave the one you missed for next month. It will come around again.

Chapter lengths vary, from 18 to 36 verses, so some days are quicker than others. The two-line sayings are fast to read in Hebrew too, because each line is short and the second half usually restates or reverses the first. If you are building up your Hebrew, our post on reading side by side explains why poetry like this is a good place to practice.

Proverbs in a month on Torah Feed

Torah Feed has a challenge for exactly this: Proverbs in a Month, thirty-one chapters in thirty-one days. Each pasuk gets its own screen, Hebrew above and English below, which suits a book where a single verse is a complete thought. Save the line you want to keep and add a note. When you finish the book, the app marks the siyum.

You can read Proverbs 1 on this site right now, or any chapter of the book, in Hebrew and English.

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