Wisdom, Israel and Other Nations: Perspectives from the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical Literature, and the Dead Sea Scrolls (original) (raw)
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Wisdom in the Old Testament andin Early Jewish Texts
台灣神學論刊, 2021
This article first outlines the concept, nature and history of wisdom in ancient Israel and early Judaism. It then presents criteria for identifying wisdom genres and texts in the Old Testament based on their linguistic character and content. Following this, it offers an extensive overview of the literary history of selected wisdom books of the Old Testament and early Judaism. The essay concludes with some brief reflections on the theological significance of Old Testament wisdom.
PERSPECTIVES ON ISRAELITE WISDOM: PROCEEDINGS OF THE OXFORD OLD TESTAMENT SEMINAR EDITED BY JOHN JARICK, 2018
Proceedings of the Oxford Old Testament Seminar focuses on ‘Perspectives on Israelite Wisdom,’ and covers broad issues in the wisdom tradition and corpus. The volume has no overarching thesis, hermeneutic, or methodology, but provides essays from diverse theological perspectives. After an introduction by John Jarick, the book divides into three sections. The first section covers ‘Issues in the Study of Israelite Wisdom.’ Stuart Weeks evaluates the watershed article by W. Zimmerli ‘The Place and Limits of Wisdom’ and finds his conclusions wanting. John Barton writes on four different issues on ethics in the Old Testament but unfortunately covers each briefly with no conclusion or synthesis. Jenni Williams employs Samuel and Proverbs to illustrate women’s relationship to wisdom. Aulikki Nahkola offers a paremiological study of Proverbs to understand the worldview of Israel. Will Kynes ends the first section with a fundamental critique of wisdom literature.
This article unearths the origins of the "Wisdom Literature" category in nineteenth-century German biblical scholarship, identifying Johann Bruch, in his work Weisheits-Lehre der Hebräer, as the "Wellhausen of Wisdom." It then demonstrates the distorting effect that the projection of the post-Enlightenment interests of scholars in that time and place have had on the interpretation of the texts within the category, such that they are isolated from the rest of the canon and considered the "universalistic, humani[sti]c, philosophical" collection within the Old Testament, as Delitzsch put it at the time. Finally, it proposes an alternative interpretive approach to the texts that discards the "Wisdom" classification in order to reintegrate them intertextually with the wider canon and develop a broader understanding of the wisdom they describe.
The Concept of Wisdom in Ancient Israel (Book of Proverbs) and in the Ancient Near East (Egypt and Mesopotamia), 2007
Like all Hebrew intellectual virtues, wisdom (generally 'hokma' – Hebrew noun with feminine gender; understanding – 'bina', Job 39:26, Pro. 23:4; insight – 't buna', Ps. 136:5; prudence -sekel, Pro. 12:8, 23:9) is intensely practical, not theoretical. Basically, wisdom is the art of being successful, of forming the correct plan to gain the desired results. Its seat is the heart, the center of moral and intellectual decisions (1 Kings 3:9, 12). Those who possess technical skill are called wise: Bezalel, chief artisan of the tabernacle (Ex. 31:3; RSV 'ability'); artificers of idols (Is. 40:20, Je. 10:9); professional mourners (Je. 9:17); navigators (Ezk. 27:8-9). Practical wisdom may take on a sinister aspect, as in Jonadab's crafty advice (2 Sam. 13:3). Joshua, David and Solomon were granted wisdom to enable them to deal with their official duties. The Messianic King predicted by Isaiah was to be equipped with wisdom to judge impartially – Wonderful Counselor. A special class of wise men/ women seems to have developed during the monarchy (2 Sam 14:2). By Jeremiah's time, they had taken their place beside prophets and priests, formulating plans for successful living (Jer. 18:18). The wise man/ counselor stood in a parental relationship to those well-being hinged on his advice: Joseph was a 'father' to the pharaoh (Gn. 45:8); Deborah, a 'mother' in Israel (Jdg. 5:7). Wisdom in the fullest sense belongs to God alone, his completeness of knowledge pervading every realm of life (Job 10:4, 26:6, Pro. 5:21, 15:3).
The Jewish wisdom corpus tends to receive a different treatment from OT and NT scholars. Whereas OT scholars tend to shy away from any schematization, due to the complexity of the wisdom tradition, NT scholars do not always perceive sufficiently the distinctions within the wisdom material. This article will attempt to create a balance between these two positions. We will elucidate the intertestamental Jewish sapiential tradition, and identify four strands-the Torah-centred, the Spirit-centred, the Apocalyptic and the Qumranian wisdom tradition-which are rooted in the OT. Moreover, this article will show the origins, developments and main characteristics of these four strands of Jewish wisdom tradition.