Proverb — the book's own title is its plural, Mishlei, 'the proverbs of Solomon' (1:1). A mashal is a saying that rules by LIKENESS (the root means both 'to be like' and 'to rule'): a comparison compact enough to govern a life. It stretches from a one-line saw to a taunt-song to Jesus' parables (the Greek Bible renders both mashal and its cousins parabolē). → first discussed at Gen 1:1