Interpreting Old Testament Wisdom Literature
Edited by David G. Firth and Lindsay Wilson
An imprint of InterVarsity Press
Downers Grove, Illinois
P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
US edition of this collection ©Inter-Varsity Press, 2017
UK edition of this collection ©Inter-Varsity Press, 2016
Published in the United States of America by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, with permission from Inter-Varsity Press, England. Published in the United Kingdom as Exploring Old Testament Wisdom Literature.
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Cover design: Cindy Kiple
Images: harp illustration: © RonyGraphics/iStockphoto
stained glass window: King Solomon, French School, (13th century) / Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France / Bridgeman Images
ISBN 978-0-8308-9112-2 (digital)
ISBN 978-0-8308-5178-2 (print)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Firth, David G., editor.
Title: Interpreting Old Testament wisdom literature / edited by David G. Firth and Lindsay Wilson.
Other titles: Exploring Old Testament wisdom.
Description: US edition. | Downers Grove : InterVarsity Press, 2017. | Previously published under title: Exploring Old Testament wisdom : literature and themes. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016048149 (print) | LCCN 2016057244 (ebook) | ISBN 9780830851782 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780830891122 (eBook)
Subjects: LCSH: Wisdom literature--Criticism, interpretation, ...
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About Interpreting Old Testament Wisdom LiteratureIn popular perception, Wisdom literature is a “self-help” or “philosophy” section of the Old Testament library—the odd and interesting bits of canonical mortar between History and Prophets. Themes that are prominent elsewhere in the Old Testament receive only scant attention in the wisdom books. Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes focus on everyday life rather than on God’s special dealings with the nation of Israel. But Old Testament scholarship has come to see the wisdom of the wise as reflecting an aspect of the Israelite worldview, not something totally foreign. The covenant beliefs are presupposed, even if rarely rising to the surface. Wisdom must be learned from parents, teachers, and friends, but it is ultimately a gift from God—not primarily intellectual but intensely practical. The issues addressed—justice, faith, wealth, suffering, meaning, sexuality—are highly relevant today. The focus of this volume is on both wisdom books and wisdom ideas. The first section surveys recent developments in the field of Old Testament wisdom, and the second section discusses some issues that have arisen in Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes, and examines the Song of Songs as a wisdom text. The final section explores wisdom in Ruth, in some Psalms, and in the broader field of Old Testament narrative (from Joshua to Esther), while also examining wisdom, biblical theology, the concept of retribution in wisdom, and the vexed issue of divine absence. |
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