Sumerian Proverbs in Their Curricular Context

Bendt Alster has published a two-volume edition of all known Old Babylonian Sumerian proverbs. This publication provides an opportunity to look at the proverbs as a corpus and to investigate their actual use. Proverbs are mostly found on school tablets. The curriculum of the school and the position of the proverbs therein is relatively well known. Part I of this article explores some of the implications of looking at the proverbs as didactic instruments for a particular phase of scribal education. Part II includes additional fragments, joins, corrections, and suggestions.