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[Alexandr Korol]

2. Sumer (Mesopotamia) — c. 2100 BCE

The poem “Man and His God” and “The Instructions of Shuruppak”: A father
gives advice to his son that almost word-for-word mirrors later Biblical Proverbs.
This is the second oldest source.

3. Ancient India

Rigveda (c. 1700–1100 BCE): The concept of medhā first appears — ”wisdom-
intuition” granted by the gods. However, the theme of wisdom unfolds fully later
in the Upanishads (800–400 BCE).

4. Ancient China

The earliest mentions are in the “Shijing” (11th–7th centuries BCE), but the
real “explosion” of the wisdom theme occurs with Confucius and Lao-tzu
(6th–5th centuries BCE).

5. The Bible (Hebrew Tradition)

The earliest parts of the Book of Proverbs date to c. 950–700 BCE (the time
of Solomon and slightly later). This is still 1500–2000 years later than the
Egyptian texts.