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Wisdom Intoned

Author : Simon Chi-Chung Cheung

Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing

Page : 248 pages

File Size : 43,2 MB

Release : 2015-11-19

Category : Religion

ISBN : 0567661512

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Book Description

It has been hard to categorise and identify the 'Wisdom psalms' within the Psalter. Interpreters have produced different lists of wisdom psalms of greatly varying lengths, and individual scholars often change their choices over time. Cheung re-examines the issues at stake in identifying this group of psalms in order to better describe the configuration of this psalmic genre. Past scholarship has failed to settle this issue because of the use of unfit criteria and an ill-understood concept of genre. With the aid of the concepts of 'family resemblance' and 'prototypes', this book proposes to define 'wisdom psalms' as a psalm family which is characterised by a wisdom-oriented constellation of its generic features. Three such features are identified after a fresh assessment of the most typical characteristics of 'wisdom literature'. This proposed method is put to test in the extensive study of seven psalms (37, 49, 73, 128, 32, 39, and 19) and the three criteria are verified to be suitable descriptors of the 'wisdom psalm' family. Cheung also explores questions related to the wisdom-cult disparity, Joban parallels as wisdom indicators, and the wisdom-orientation of 'torah psalms'.



An Introduction to Israel's Wisdom Traditions

Author : John L. McLaughlin

Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Page : 252 pages

File Size : 38,34 MB

Release : 2018-05-22

Category : Religion

ISBN : 1467450561

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Book Description

It can be a challenge to understand the Hebrew Bible’s wisdom literature and how it relates to biblical history and theology, but John L. McLaughlin makes this complicated genre straightforward and accessible. This introductory-level textbook begins by explaining the meaning of wisdom to the Israelites and surrounding cultures before moving into the conventions of the genre and its poetic forms. The heart of the book examines Proverbs, Job, Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes), and the deuterocanonical Ben Sira and Wisdom of Solomon. McLaughlin also explores the influence of wisdom throughout the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Designed especially for beginning students—and based on twenty-five years of teaching Israel’s wisdom literature to university students—McLaughlin’s Introduction to Israel’s Wisdom Traditions provides an informed, panoramic view of wisdom literature’s place in the biblical canon.



The Solomonic Corpus of 'Wisdom' and Its Influence

Author : Katharine J. Dell

Publisher : Oxford University Press

Page : 272 pages

File Size : 24,99 MB

Release : 2020-09-04

Category : Religion

ISBN : 0192605992

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Book Description

Solomon is the figurehead who holds the family of 'wisdom' texts together. In this study, Katharine Dell argues that a core of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes forms the inner sanctum of the 'Solomonic wisdom corpus', with the Song of Songs as a close relative, but Job at one remove. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song contain attributions to Solomon and demonstrate key 'wisdom' connections. Solomon is also portrayed as an idealized character in the narratives about him in 2 Sam. 24-1 Kings 11. He is the embodiment of wisdom, thus linking both the narrative portrayal and canonical memory of his significance. His connections with Egypt and Sheba shed light on how Solomon gained his reputation for wisdom, as do the roles in his court for scribes, sages, and seers. Formative wisdom themes, notably that of God as creator, characterize the book of Proverbs and also influenced certain 'wisdom psalms' and the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, texts which share links to wisdom ideas and contexts. For these prophets criticism of 'the wise' is a key concern. Dell introduces an intertextual method to open up fresh possibilities of ranging together different texts alongside the Solomonic corpus, without the constraints of probing literary or historical linkages: Ruth is considered with Proverbs, Genesis 1-11 with Ecclesiastes and the wider theme of gardens and water in the Hebrew Bible with the Song of Songs. While Solomon probably had very little to do with such readerly text-play, Dell's argument in The Solomonic Corpus of 'Wisdom' and Its Influence is that he is the lynch-pin that holds 'wisdom' in its core texts and wider family together.



The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Wisdom Literature

Author : Katherine J. Dell

Publisher : Cambridge University Press

Page : 533 pages

File Size : 27,85 MB

Release : 2022-06-09

Category : Religion

ISBN : 1108665810

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Book Description

Study of the wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible and the contemporary cultures in the ancient Near Eastern world is evolving rapidly as old definitions and assumptions are questioned. Scholars are now interrogating the role of oral culture, the rhetoric of teaching and didacticism, the understanding of genre, and the relationship of these factors to the corpus of writings. The scribal culture in which wisdom literature arose is also under investigation, alongside questions of social context and character formation. This Companion serves as an essential guide to wisdom texts, a body of biblical literature with ancient origins that continue to have universal and timeless appeal. Reflecting new interpretive approaches, including virtue ethics and intertextuality, the volume includes essays by an international team of leading scholars. They engage with the texts, provide authoritative summaries of the state of the field, and open up to readers the exciting world of biblical wisdom.



Beyond Orality

Author : Jacqueline Vayntrub

Publisher : Routledge

Page : 408 pages

File Size : 32,20 MB

Release : 2019-03-04

Category : History

ISBN : 1315304171

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Book Description

Central to understanding the prophecy and prayer of the Hebrew Bible are the unspoken assumptions that shaped them—their genres. Modern scholars describe these works as “poetry,” but there was no corresponding ancient Hebrew term or concept. Scholars also typically assume it began as “oral literature,” a concept based more in evolutionist assumptions than evidence. Is biblical poetry a purely modern fiction, or is there a more fundamental reason why its definition escapes us? Beyond Orality: Biblical Poetry on its Own Terms changes the debate by showing how biblical poetry has worked as a mirror, reflecting each era’s own self-image of verbal art. Yet Vayntrub also shows that this problem is rooted in a crucial pattern within the Bible itself: the texts we recognize as “poetry” are framed as powerful and ancient verbal performances, dramatic speeches from the past. The Bible’s creators presented what we call poetry in terms of their own image of the ancient and the oral, and understanding their native theories of Hebrew verbal art gives us a new basis to rethink our own.



Perspectives on Israelite Wisdom

Author : John Jarick

Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing

Page : 524 pages

File Size : 47,98 MB

Release : 2015-12-03

Category : Religion

ISBN : 0567663175

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Book Description

This collection of essays examines the wisdom traditions of the Old Testament from a variety of angles. The slipperiness of the concept of 'wisdom literature', the transmission of 'wise' advice for living, rabbinic and patristic approaches to the Bible's wisdom traditions, and cutting-edge modern perspectives on such Old Testament books as Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes are all to be found here. In the tradition of the renowned previous volumes from the Oxford Old Testament Seminar - King and Messiah in Israel and the Ancient Near East (1998), In Search of Pre-Exilic Israel (2004), Temple and Worship in Biblical Israel (2005), and Prophecy and Prophets in Ancient Israel (2010)-this new volume again brings the scholarship of the Oxford Seminar, here focused on the rich subject of Old Testament wisdom traditions, to an international readership.



The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature

Author : Samuel L. Adams

Publisher : John Wiley & Sons

Page : 526 pages

File Size : 46,67 MB

Release : 2020-02-17

Category : Religion

ISBN : 1119158257

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Book Description

A comprehensive introduction to ancient wisdom literature, with fascinating essays on a broad range of topics. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature is a wide-ranging introduction to the texts, themes, and receptions of the wisdom literature of the Bible and the ancient world. This comprehensive volume brings together original essays from established scholars and emerging voices to offer a variety of perspectives on the “wisdom” biblical books, early Christian and rabbinic literature, and beyond. Varied and engaging essays provide fresh insights on topics of timeless relevance, exploring the distinct features of instructional texts and discussing their interpretation in both antiquity and the modern world. Designed for non-specialists, this accessible volume provides readers with balanced coverage of traditional biblical wisdom texts, including Proverbs, Job, Psalms, and Ecclesiastes; lesser-known Egyptian and Mesopotamian wisdom; and African proverbs. The contributors explore topics ranging from scribes and pedagogy in ancient Israel, to representations of biblical wisdom literature in contemporary cinema. Offering readers a fresh and interesting way to engage with wisdom literature, this book: Discusses sapiential books and traditions in various historical and cultural contexts Offers up-to-date discussion on the study of the biblical wisdom books Features essays on the history of interpretation and theological reception Includes essays covering the antecedents and afterlife of the texts Part of the acclaimed Wiley Blackwell Companions to Religion series, the Companion to Wisdom Literature is a valuable resource for university, seminary and divinity school students and instructors, scholars and researchers, and general readers with interest in the subject.



A Hermeneutic of Wisdom

Author : J. de Waal Dryden

Publisher : Baker Academic

Page : 460 pages

File Size : 27,40 MB

Release : 2018-07-03

Category : Religion

ISBN : 1493414402

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Book Description

This book develops an integrated hermeneutic that connects the Bible to spiritual formation and the development of Christian virtues. The author shows how the whole Bible can be understood as a wisdom text that directs its readers morally, shapes them in their deepest affections and convictions, and impacts how they look at the world and live in it. Offering an innovative hermeneutical approach, it will serve as an ideal supplement to standard hermeneutics textbooks.



Wisdom, Cosmos, and Cultus in the Book of Sirach

Author : A. Jordan Schmidt

Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Page : 724 pages

File Size : 48,57 MB

Release : 2019-03-04

Category : Religion

ISBN : 311060017X

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Book Description

Despite the attention that has already been paid to the theme of creation in the book of Sirach, scholarship has yet to provide a comprehensive analysis of Ben Sira's instruction regarding the cosmic order and its role in the divine bestowal of wisdom upon human beings. This book, which consists of two parts, fills a lacuna in scholarship by offering such an analysis. The first part of this study examines Ben Sira's three main treatments of the created world, thus providing a comprehensive description and synthesis of Ben Sira's doctrine concerning the created order of the cosmos. The second part of this work analyzes the place of human beings in general, and the Jewish people in particular, within the cosmic order. This second part includes an analysis of the role of the created order in Ben Sira's wisdom instruction in 1:1-10 and 24:1-34 as well as an elucidation of the way in which his treatments of various kinds of people—civic leaders, wives, doctors, manual laborers, scribes, and cultic personnel—are integral to Ben Sira's doctrine of creation. This study demonstrates that the created order is a fundamental category that Ben Sira relies upon in articulating his instructions about wisdom and wise behavior.



Biblical Wisdom, Then and Now

Author : Frances Flannery

Publisher : Routledge

Page : 189 pages

File Size : 33,20 MB

Release : 2021-07-29

Category : History

ISBN : 1000415015

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Book Description

This volume examines biblical wisdom literature both in its historical context and as it relates to a host of contemporary themes, including overcoming social divisions, reading from a place of inclusion, healing from trauma, and challenging religious attitudes toward climate change and animals. This volume delivers fresh insights on biblical wisdom texts, exploring ways in which wisdom literature speaks perennially to the human condition despite the differences in societies then and now. Employing both biblical studies and theological approaches, the diverse group of authors in this collection examine biblical wisdom literature from a variety of perspectives and methodologies to illuminate the relevance of wisdom for ancient audiences such as exiles, scribes, and leaders, as well as for contemporary audiences concerned with challenges such as climate change, social division, and healing from trauma. Its eleven chapters utilize an accessible style that brings erudite scholarship on biblical wisdom to a broader audience. Biblical Wisdom, Then and Now will be an invaluable resource for undergraduates, graduates, and specialists in biblical studies, as well as the more general reader with an interest in biblical literature and its reception.