proverb
a trite maxim; a similitude; a parable
The Hebrew word thus rendered (Mashal) has a wide signification. It comes from a root meaning “to be like,” “parable.”
Rendered “proverb” in Isaiah 14:4; Hab. 2:6; “dark saying” in Psalm 49:4; Numbers 12:8.
Ahab's defiant words in answer to the insolent demands of Benhadad, “Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off,” is a well known instance of a proverbial saying (1 Kings 20:11).
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