3:18 tree of life. This is probably not a specific allusion to the tree of life in Gen. 2:9, though the author would have known of it. The flourishing tree was a common figure in the literature of the time for continuing blessings. The metaphor is used again in 11:30; 13:12; 15:4. More important is the theme of “life” in Proverbs. “Life” in the Bible is essentially linked to our relationship with God. Disruption of the proper relationship with God, the source of life, leads to death (Gen. 2:17). Wisdom is concerned with proper relationships with God, other people, and with nature.