The Wisdom Books

1
The Wisdom Books

• Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes

2
The Character of OT Wisdom

• Wisdom material is scattered through OT but
  concentrated in Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes
  (Apocrypha Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon).
• Hokma ( wisdom) generally means skill,
  ability, craftsmanship, cunning in wisdom
  literature it means skilled at living
  practical knowledge based on experience ability
  to live a successful life (as defined by wisdom
  teachers).
• Wisdom literature is distinctive in making no
  reference to covenant traditions, Gods saving
  deeds in Israels history, or the law revealed at
  Mt. Sinai.
• Basis of wisdom is not special revelation but
  observation.
• God created world instilled a certain order in
  how world operates.
• Wisdom is based on observation and experience of
  how the world is ordered, close observation of
  actions and their consequences What works, what
  doesnt? What leads to a successful life, what
  leads to ruin?

3
The Character of OT Wisdom

• International character of wisdom literature
  very similar material is found in Egypt and
  Mesopotamia.
• Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope is very similar
  to Prov. 2217-2422.
• Mesopotamia close parallels to Job and
  Ecclesiastes.
• Social setting of wisdom
• Family and village collective wisdom of the
  culture passed down from parents to children.
• Formal education schools that trained the elite
  in literacy teachers would have collected,
  preserved, created wisdom material for use as
  teaching handbooks.
• Royal court professional wisdom teachers
  employed to train royal sons and government
  officials clearly seen in Egypt Solomon may
  have brought this practice to Israel.

4
The Character of OT Wisdom

• Solomon and wisdom
• Traditions of Solomons own fame for wisdom
• 1 Kings 31-15 Dream at Gibeon asks for wisdom
  to rule well.
• 1 Kings 316-28 Judgment between 2 harlots
  illustrates wisdom.
• 1 Kings 429-34 Skill at composing proverbs
  (3000) and songs (1005).
• 1 Kings 101-13 Queen of Sheba visits to test
  him with riddles.
• Traditionally regarded as author of Proverbs,
  Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs.
• Probably employed wisdom teachers (perhaps
  imported from Egypt).
• Types of wisdom thought
• Practical / conventional / traditional wisdom
• Practical advice for the art of successful living
  wisdom leads to a good life folly leads to
  ruin.
• Best exemplified in Proverbs.
• Speculative / skeptical / critical wisdom
• More scholarly, questioning enterprise probes
  and tests the limits of wisdom challenges
  assumptions of traditional wisdom.
• Exemplified in Job and Ecclesiastes.

5
The Book of Proverbs

• Complex collection of traditional wisdom
  material.
• Evidence of 8 earlier collections (see 11 101
  2217 2423 251 301 311 3110).
• Some attributed to Solomon others to the wise,
  Agur, and Lemuel.
• Basic unit of book is the mashal proverb,
  saying (pl. meshalim is Hebrew title of book).
• Distilled wisdom of generations of
  observation/experience of life, boiled down and
  couched in form of terse, witty, pithy saying.
• Often strung together by catchword sometimes
  more extended composition (Prov. 1-9).
• Theme practical advice for the art of successful
  living.
• Way of wisdom/righteousness leads to success/the
  good life.
• Way of folly/wickedness leads to
  ruin/misery/death.
• Success is defined in this-worldly terms
  happiness, health, prosperity, longevity, good
  family/friends, respect in community, to be well
  remembered.

6
The Book of Proverbs

• Wisdoms advice on the way to success hard work,
  discipline, study, piety, good manners, careful
  use of language, sexual propriety, etc.
• Prov. 220-22 way of the upright vs. way of the
  wicked.
• Prov. 31-2 wisdoms reward length of days and
  abundant welfare.
• Prov. 66-11 lesson of the diligence of the ant
  vs. laziness of the slacker.
• Prov. 104, 26 slack hand vs. diligence
  laziness irritates ones employer.
• Prov. 1112-13 belittling another vs. silence
  gossiping vs. keeping confidence.
• Prov. 51-23 sexual fidelity, avoiding adultery
  (the strange woman).
• Prov. 1623 187, 21 mastering the tongue.
• Prov. 2329-35 avoiding drunkenness.
• Prov. 17 910 1533 fear of the Lord is the
  beginning of wisdom.
• Personification of Wisdom
• Prov. 9 Lady Wisdom is depicted as a beautiful,
  alluring woman, inviting the simple ones to come
  eat her bread and drink her wine contrasted with
  Dame Folly, depicted as strange/foolish woman,
  seducing them to taste her forbidden fruit (cf.
  Prov. 7).
• Prov. 822-36 Personified Wisdom speaks she is
  the first of Gods creation and the master
  craftsman by which God made heaven and earth
  becomes background for Logos concept in John
  11-18.

7
Book of Job

• Story of the protests of a suffering righteous
  man challenges traditional wisdom assumptions
  that suffering results from wickedness.
• Authorship and date of writing
• Gives impression of great antiquity (most folk
  literature does), but also shows points of
  contact in language and theme with post-exilic
  period.
• No way to identify author no reference within
  the book.
• Structure of book shows signs of having been
  edited composition by stages.
• Prologue (Job 1-2) and epilogue (427-17) are
  prose central section is poetic.
• Prose patient Job poetic impatient/demanding
  Job.
• Prose traditional wisdom poetic
  speculative/questioning wisdom.
• Postexilic author/editor may have taken ancient
  folk story and inserted dialogue material into it.

8
Book of Job

• Structure and content of the book
• Prose prologue 1-2
• Jobs lament 3

9
Book of Job

• Structure and content of the book
• Prose prologue 1-2
• Jobs lament 3
• Conversation with 3 friends 4-31(3 cycles, the
  last incomplete)
• Friends espouse traditional wisdom Job suffers
  because he sinned.
• Job protests his innocence demands audience
  with God so he can plead his case.
• Elihu speeches 32-37(breaks pattern, probably
  added)

10
Book of Job

• Structure and content of the book
• Prose prologue 1-2
• Jobs lament 3
• Conversation with 3 friends 4-31(3 cycles, the
  last incomplete)
• Elihu speeches 32-37(breaks pattern, probably
  added)
• Dialogue with God 381-426
• God parades mystery of creation before Job takes
  humans out of center there is no simple cause
  and effect humans can understand.
• Job repents and acknowledges his finitude.
• Prose epilogue 427-14
• God declares the friends wrong and Job right.
• Restores Jobs fortunes twofold.

11
Book of Job

• 4. What is the message of Job?
• Does anyone serve God for nothing?
• Does God rule justly?
• Is there such a thing as innocent suffering?
• Why is there suffering? (theodicy study of the
  problem of evil)
• Traditional wisdom because you made bad choices.
• Deuteronomist because you sinned.
• Job challenges these traditional theories but
  offers no alternative.
• For some inscrutable divine purpose.
• For no discernable reason whatsoever.
• How do I react to suffering?
• Prologue patient Job of calm acceptance.
• Poetry impatient, angry, demanding Job.

12
EcclesiastesAll is vanity and chasing after the
wind

• A wisdom teachers quest for the meaning of life
• Finds little of lasting worth (all is vanity).
• Like Job, this is speculative/skeptical/critical
  wisdom challenges simplistic assumptions of
  conventional wisdom.
• Title of the book
• Hebrew Koheleth lit., one who gathers /
  assembles (information or students), i. e. a
  teacher.
• Septuagint Ecclesiastes one who gathers /
  assembles.
• Luther Der Prediger the Preacher (followed
  by KJV).
• Author
• Traditionally attributed to Solomon (11, 12
  29).
• Calls himself Koheleth, the Teacher (11, 2,
  12 29 727 128, 9, 10) anonymous wisdom
  teacher who assumes role of Solomon to conduct
  royal experiment.
• Date of writing late Persian or early
  Hellenistic period (350-250 BCE).

13
EcclesiastesAll is vanity and chasing after the
wind

• Thesis Vanity of vanities, all is vanity (12
  128).
• Vanity hebel lit., vapor, breath, puff
  of air.
• Becomes metaphor meaning fleeting, temporary,
  ephemeral, transient.
• Or, futile, absurd, meaningless.
• Vanity of vanities is superlative the most
  vain thing of all everything is utter vanity.
• Preface states thesis (12-11)
• What do people gain from all their toil?
  Koheleth is searching for meaning of life,
  something of permanent value.
• Finds nothing Life is in perpetual motion, yet
  there is nothing to show for it, no profit, no
  net gain.
• Rest of book demonstrates this conclusion.

14
EcclesiastesAll is vanity and chasing after the
wind

• A royal experiment (112-226).
• Posing as Solomon, Koheleth claims to have
  tried everything and found nothing that satisfies
  (112-18).
• The testing of pleasure, work, wealth, and fame
  (21-11).
• The testing of wisdom (212-17). Same fate
  befalls wise and foolish.
• Conclusion despair there is no gain from all
  ones efforts (218-23).
• Consolation The best one can do is simply to
  eat, drink, and find enjoyment in their toil
  enjoy life and toil as God gives it (224-26 cf.
  313 518 815 97)

15
EcclesiastesAll is vanity and chasing after the
wind

• Five main themes in Ecclesiastes
• Death cancels everything.
• Wisdom cannot achieve its goal.
• God is remote.
• The world is crooked.
• Pleasure commends itself.

16
EcclesiastesAll is vanity and chasing after the
wind

• Epilogue (129-14)
• Perhaps added by a pupil of the Teacher.
• Pays tribute to Koheleths wisdom his words are
  like goads sharp, hard to take, but ultimately
  useful.
• V. 13-14 tend to soften Koheleths skepticism and
  make book more acceptable.