Recent Developments in Wisdom Literature The Literary Character of Qoheleth

1
Recent Developments in Wisdom LiteratureThe
Literary Character of Qoheleth
2
Literary Structures of Wisdom Texts

• A much discussed issue that continues into the
  present is that of the literary structures of the
  different books of the wisdom corpus
• Proverbs, Job, Qoheleth, Ben Sira, and the Wisdom
  of Solomon

3
Literary Structures of Wisdom Texts

• Prior to the 1980s, most wisdom texts were viewed
  as compilations of a variety of sources that were
  redacted together over a period of centuries.
• For example, the Book of Job was divided into
  several distinct, originally unrelated units
  the prose narrative, the speeches of Job and the
  Three Friends with the troublesome literary
  character of the third cycle of debate, the Hymn
  on the Search for Wisdom (chp. 28), the Oath of
  Innocence (29-32), the Elihu Speeches (2-37), and
  the Speeches from the Whirlwind and Jobs
  responses in 38 through the end of 42. Georg
  Fohrers commentary on Das Buch Hiob is a good
  example of older scholarship. Among his
  conclusions was his view that there originally
  was only one Yahweh Speech and one response from
  Job. Thus, he removed the speeches describing
  Behemoth and Leviathan, and he regarded them as
  later additions.

4
The Literary Structure of Job

• Since the 1980s, however, there has been a
  decided shift away from this type of redaction
  criticism in the effort to read the Book of Job
  as a single unit (Norman Habel, The Book of Job),
  or at least, as Carol Newsom argues in her
  commentary in the New Interpreters Bible, a unit
  with only limited redaction that may have
  included the addition of the Elihu speeches.

5
Other Wisdom Texts

• The same debate has developed in interpreting the
  other Books.
• Ben Siras division into parts is noticed by the
  conclusions of each in which a creation hymn is
  inserted. This underlines the major theme of the
  Book.
• The Wisdom of Solomon is divided into two
  sections involving immortality and the exodus.

6

• I. The praises of wisdom (11-111)
• A. Immortality is the reward of wisdom
  (11-621The Book of Eschatology)
• 1. Exhortation to justice (11-15)
• 2. The wicked invite death (116-224)
• 3. The hidden counsels of God (31-420)
• 2'. The final judgment (51-23)
• 1'. Exhortation to seek Wisdom (61-21)
• B. The nature of wisdom and Solomon's quest for
  her (622-111The Book of Wisdom)
• 1. Introduction (622-25)
• 2. Solomon's speech (71-821)
• 3. Solomon's prayer for Wisdom (91-18)
• God's fidelity to his people in the exodus
  (112-1922The Book of History)
• A. Transitional section Wisdom saves her own
  (101-111)
• B. Introductory narrative (112-4)
• C. Theme Israel is benefited by the very
  things that punish Egypt (115)
• D. Illustration of the theme in five
  antithetical diptychs (116-1922)
• 1. Water from the rock contrasted to the plague
  of the Nile (116-14)
• 2. Quail instead of the plague of little animals
  (1115-1615)
• (Digression critique of pagan religions,
  131-1519)

7
The Genre of Qoheleth

• 1. Sayings Collection (Walter Zimmerli)
• 2. Autobiography or First Person Testament
  (Addison Wright, Leo Perdue).
• Thus, is Qoheleth a compilation of sayings
  without any observable structure and thus
  contains often contradictory sayings? Or is it a
  tightly woven literary unit with a coherent
  theology?

8
Qoheleth as a Sayings Collection

• Sayings Collections in the Bible and the Ancient
  Near East
• The Book of Proverbs consists of seven separate
  collections plus a concluding poem on the Wise
  Woman (cf. Provs. 1, 8, and 9).
• Mealîm, ?????, collections, the plural of
  the Hebrew singular (saying, maal, ???), are
  an assemblage of various wisdom forms placed
  together on the basis of formal and/or thematic
  features. These proverbial collections were
  designed to stimulate the imagination of the
  hearer allowing entrance into a poetic world of
  aesthesis that was then to be learned and
  embodied in the behavior of the one seeking
  wisdom. This same world of beauty and balance
  describes the nature of the cosmic world of
  God's creation.

9
The Seven Collections of Proverbs

• Each of the seven collections is introduced by a
  title or superscription
• 11--milê elomo ???? ????
• 101 milê elomo ???? ????
• 2217--dibrê hakamîm ????? ????
• 242 ---gam-elleh hakamîm ????? ???- ??
• 251---gam-elleh mile elomo aer hetiqû
  anê hezqîyyâ melek-yehûdâ
• ???? ???? ???- ??
• ????? ????
• ????? ???
• 301dibrê agûr ???? ????
• 311dibre lemûel ????? ????

10
Collections Attributed to Solomon

• Of the seven collections, three are
  identified with Solomon (11 101 251). These
  three are called the Wisdom Sayings of Solomon
  (the milê elomo see 1 Kgs. 512 Solomons
  3000 wisdom sayings, Ezek. 1222f., Hab. 26,
  Prov. 116, Ps. 495, and 782). These three
  collections contribute to the tradition of
  Solomon as the wise king (see also 1 Kgs.
  59-14, 521, 104, 1023, Qoheleth, Sir.
  4712-17, and the Wisdom of Solomon, especially
  chaps. 7-9). Solomon is the one to whom the
  collections are dedicated. He became patron
  saint of the sages with the narratives in DH
  portraying the wise king, par excellence. Thus,
  the collections support the tradition of Solomon
  as the wise king who was seen as the embodiment
  of wisdom (at least in the sapiential view of
  this king and its tradition, see I Kgs. 3-10).

11
The Sayings of Ahiqar

• 1. See H. L. Ginsberg, The Words of Ahiqar,
  ANET, 427-430
• 2. See Ingo Kottspieper, TUAT, and Die Sprache
  der Ahiqarsprüche. BZAW 194 Berlin Walter de
  Gruyter, 1990
• 3. See James M. Lindenberger, The Aramaic
  Proverbs of Ahiqar. Baltimore John Hopkins
  University Press, 1983
• 4. Compare Akkadian Proverbs, Lambert, BWL

12
Ahiqar

• 1.  An Assyrian document dating somewhere in the
  7th to 6th century, B. C.
• 2.  The work consists of two parts the story of
  Ahiqar and a collection of over a hundred
  sayings, riddles, fables, and instructions.
• 3.  The story tells of Ahiqar, a wise scribe and
  counselor to the kings of Assyria. Advanced in
  years and without an heir, he decides to adopt
  his nephew Nadin and teach him all of his wisdom.
  The young man is educated and eventually takes
  his uncles place in the court of Esarhaddon.
  Nadin plots to discredit him and convinces the
  king that he is trying to overthrow the king.
  Angry, the king orders Ahiqar killed, but the
  offer sent to kill him is his old friend and
  rescues him from the death sentence. A slave is
  killed in the place of Ahiqar. While the end of
  the story is lost, it presumably tells of the
  restoration of Ahiqar and the punishment of
  Nadin.
• 4.  The collection of sayings deals with a wide
  range of topics family discipline, respect for
  the king, prudent speech, righteous behavior.
• 5.  The Aramaic text is a single papyrus ms.
  poorly preserved. It was discovered in
  Elephantine.
• 6.      The narrative is dated by the author to
  the reign of Esarhaddon (reigned 681-669 B. C.
  E.). The provenance was likely Mesopotamia and
  written by an Aramean Scribe, but likely a couple
  of centuries later.
• 7.      Theologically, the divine power consists
  of ANE gods, not. El is most frequently
  mentioned, then Shamash, Wisdom, Shamayn. Saying
  13 seems to be a hymn to Wisdom and is similar to
  Prov. 822-31.

13
Q in the Synoptic Gospels

• I.   Q (Quelle) is a hypothetical collection of
  the sayings of Jesus that predates the written
  Gospels of Matthew and Luke
• A. The Two Source Hypothesis argues that Matthew
  and Luke independently used Mark and Q in the
  construction of their Gospels, adding M and L
  materials
• themselves in constructing their texts.
• B.   The text (see Handout).
• C.   The nearly verbatim agreement of Matthew and
  Luke in reproducing such Q pericopae as Luke
  37-9 1119-20, 24-26, 31-32 and 1334-35 and
  strong similarities of many other passages as
  well as the significant order in the Q texts in L
  and M indicate that they probably used a written
  version, rather than an oral tradition, of Q.
• D.   There may be a number of other texts that
  stylistically are similar to Q (Luke 624-26
  Matt. 541 Luke 634-35b 961-62 1127-28
  1213-14, 16-21 158-10 1720-21, 28-29) and
  perhaps were a part of a more expanded Luke.
• E.    Thus Q is approximately 4,000 words.
• F.    The genre of Q has been described as a
  prophetic book (M. Sato, R. Horsley) and a
  sayings of the sages (J. Robinson). It likely
  began as an ancient Near Eastern type of
  instruction and became through redaction
  something like a proto-biography. No passion
  story and no indication that Q understood Jesus
  death as redemptive. Its Christology is closer
  to the association of Jesus with heavenly Wisdom
  and with the Son of Man title.

14
Q Wisdom Sayings

• Matt 1513-14
• 13. Every plant which my heavenly Father did not
  plant will be uprooted
• 14. Let them alone guides of the blind are
  themselves blind. And if a blind man leads a
  blind man, both will fall into a pit.

• Luke 639-40
• 39. Surely a blind man cannot lead a blind man?
  Will they not both fall into a pit?

15
Q Wisdom Sayings

• Matt. 1037-39
• 37. Whoever loves father and mother more than me
  is not worthy of me and whoever loves son or
  daughter more than me is not worthy of me
• 38. And whoever does not take his cross and
  follow me is not worthy of me.
• 39. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and he
  who loses his life for my sake will find it.

• Luke 1426-27
• 26. If any one comes to me and does not hate his
  own father and mother and wife and children and
  brothers and sisters, and indeed even his own
  life, he cannot be my disciple.
• 27. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come
  after me cannot be my disciple.
• 1733
• Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but
  whoever loses his life will keep it.

16
Q Wisdom Sayings

• Matt. 1024-25
• 24. A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a
  servant above his master
• 25. It is enough for the disciple to be like his
  teacher, and the servant like his master

• Luke 640
• A disciple is not above his teacher, but every
  one when he is full trained will be like his
  teacher.

17
Q Wisdom Sayings

• Matt. 1116-17
• 16. Now to what shall I compare this generation?
  It is like children seated in the agoras and
  addressing their playmates.
• 17. We piped to you, and you did not dance
• We sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.

• Luke 731-35
• 31. To what then shall I compare the people of
  this generation, and what are they life? 32.
  They are like children seated in the agora and
  addressing one another,
• We piped to you, and you did not dance,
• We sang a dirge, and you did not weep.

18
Q Wisdom Sayings

• Matt. 5 44
• Love your enemies and pray for those who
  persecute you.

• Luke 27-28
• 27. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate
  you,
• 28. Bless those who curse you, pray for those
  who mistreat you

19
Q Wisdom Sayings

• Matt. 712
• So whatever you wish that people would do to you,
  do also to them

• Luke 631
• And as you wish that people would do to do, do so
  to them.

20
Q Wisdom Sayings

• Matt. 53, 6, 4.
• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
  reign of heaven.
• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
  righteousness, for they shall be filled.
• Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be
  comforted.

• Luke 620-21
• Blessed are you poor, for yours is the reign of
  God
• Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be
  filled.
• Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall
  laugh.

21
Nag Hammadi Library

• The Nag Hammadi Library, a collection of thirteen
  ancient codices containing over fifty texts, was
  discovered in upper Egypt in 1945. This immensely
  important discovery includes a large number of
  primary Gnostic scriptures -- texts once thought
  to have been entirely destroyed during the early
  Christian struggle to define "orthodoxy" --
  scriptures such as the Gospel of Thomas, the
  Gospel of Philip, and the Gospel of Truth.
• The discovery and translation of the Nag Hammadi
  library, completed in the 1970's, has provided
  impetus to a major re-evaluation of early
  Christian history and the nature of Gnosticism.

22
Gnosticism and the Nag Hammadi Library

• Among these early followers of Christ, it appears
  that an elite group delineated themselves from
  the greater household of the Church by claiming
  not simply a belief in Christ and his message,
  but a "special witness" or revelatory experience
  of the divine. It was this experience, this
  gnosis, which--so these Gnostics claimed--set the
  true follower of Christ apart from his fellows.
  Stephan Hoeller explains that these Gnostic
  Christians held a "conviction that direct,
  personal and absolute knowledge of the authentic
  truths of existence is accessible to human
  beings, and, moreover, that the attainment of
  such knowledge must always constitute the supreme
  achievement of human life."

23
Gnosticism and the Nag Hammadi Library

• These thirteen papyrus codices containing
  fifty-two sacred texts are the long lost "Gnostic
  Gospels", a last extant testament of what
  orthodox Christianity perceived to be its most
  dangerous and insidious challenge, the feared
  opponent that the Patristic heresiologists had
  reviled under many different names, but most
  commonly as Gnosticism. The discovery of these
  documents has radically revised our understanding
  of Gnosticism and the early Christian church in
  the first and second centuries.
• Valentinus of Rome (mid first century) was a
  prominent Christian who may have stood for
  election as Bishop. Yet by the end of his life,
  he was branded a heretic.

24
Teachings of Gnosticism

• Gnosticism asserts that "direct, personal and
  absolute knowledge of the authentic truths of
  existence is accessible to human beings," and
  that the attainment of such knowledge is the
  supreme achievement of human life. Gnosis,
  remember, is not a rational, propositional,
  logical understanding, but a knowing acquired by
  experience.
• Primary among all the revelatory perceptions a
  Gnostic might reach was the profound awakening
  that came with knowledge that something within
  him was uncreated. The Gnostics called this
  "uncreated self" the divine seed, the pearl, the
  spark of knowing consciousness, intelligence,
  light. And this seed of intellect was the
  self-same substance of God, it was man's
  authentic reality it was the glory of humankind
  and the divine alike.

25
Gnostic Teachings

• The creator god, the one who claimed in evolving
  orthodox dogma to have made man, and to own him,
  the god who would have man contingent upon him,
  born ex nihilo by his will, was a lying demon and
  not God at all. Gnostics called him by many names
  -- many of them deprecatory -- names like
  "Saklas", the blind one "Samael", god of the
  blind or "the Demiurge", the lesser power.
• Elaine Pagels "to know oneself, at the deepest
  level, is simultaneously to know God this is the
  secret of gnosis.... Self-knowledge is knowledge
  of God the self and the divine are identical."

26
Gnostic Teachings

• One group of gnostic sources claims to have
  received a secret tradition from Jesus through
  James and through Mary Magdalene who the
  Gnostics revered as consort to Jesus. Members of
  this group prayed to both the divine Father and
  Mother
• From Thee, Father, and through Thee, Mother, the
  two immortal names, Parents of the divine being,
  and thou, dweller in heaven, humanity, of the
  mighty name...
• In many of the Nag Hammadi texts God is imaged
  not just as a duality, or d, but as a unity of
  masculine and feminine elements.

27
Gnostic Teachings Mary Magdalene

• Gospel of Philip relates
• "...the companion of the Savior is Mary
  Magdalene. But Christ loved her more than all the
  disciples, and used to kiss her often on her
  mouth. The rest of the disciples were offended...
  They said to him, "Why do you love her more than
  all of us? the Savior answered and said to them,
  "Why do I not love you as I love her?"

28
Gnostic Teachings The Five Sacraments

• Gospel of Phillip Teaches
• five great sacraments or mysteries "a baptism
  and a chrism, and a eucharist, and a redemption,
  and a bridal chamber. Whether this ultimate
  sacrament of the bridal chamber was a ritual
  enacted by a man and women, an allegorical term
  for a mystical experience, or a union of both, we
  do not know. Only hints are given in Gnostic
  texts about what this sacrament might be
• Christ came to rectify the separation...and join
  the two components and to give life unto those
  who had died by separation and join them
  together. Now a woman joins with her husband in
  the bridal chamber, and those who have joined
  in the bridal chamber will not reseparate

29
The Coptic Gospel of Thomas

• THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS Introduced by HELMUT
  KOESTER
• Translated by THOMAS O. LAMBDIN
• Introduction to the Gospel of Thomas
• A collection of traditional sayings of Jesus.
  These sayings, or small groups of sayings (the
  numeration of the 114 sayings is not found in the
  manuscript, but is followed by most scholars
  today) are introduced in most instances by "Jesus
  said (to them)," sometimes by a question or a
  statement of the disciples. Only in one instance
  (13) is a saying expanded into a longer discourse
  between Jesus and the disciples. The sayings
  preserved in The Gospel of Thomas are of several
  types wisdom sayings (proverbs), parables,
  eschatological sayings (prophecies), and rules
  for the community. They appear in this document
  in arrangement that does not reveal any overall
  plan of composition. On occasion, small groups of
  sayings are kept together by similarity in form
  or by catchword association.

30
Coptic Gospel of ThomasIntroduction

• The Coptic Gospel of Thomas was translated from
  the Greek. Fragments of this gospel in the
  original Greek version are extant in the
  Oxyrhynchus Papyri 1, 654 and 655, which had been
  discovered and published at the beginning of this
  century, but were identified as parts of The
  Gospel of Thomas only after the discovery of the
  Coptic Nag Hammadi library. The first of these
  Greek papyri conta-is sayings 26-30, 77, 31-33
  (in this order!), the other two the sayings 1-7
  and 36-40, respectively. At least one of these
  Greek fragments comes from a manuscript that was
  written before 200 C.E. thus the Greek version
  of this gospel was used in Egypt as early as the
  second century.

31
Coptic Gospel of Thomas

• The authorship of this gospel is attributed to
  Didymos Judas Thomas, that is, Judas "the twin"
  (both the Aramaic thomas and the Greek didymos
  mean "twin"). In the Syrian church, (Judas)
  Thomas was known as the brother of Jesus who
  founded the churches of the East, particularly of
  Edessa (in a somewhat later tradition, he even
  travels to India). Other Christian writings of
  the eastern churches have been attributed to the
  same apostle to these belong the Acts of Thomas
  and most likely also The Book of Thomas, which
  was discovered as part of the Nag Hammadi library
  (11,7). The latter writing, as well as The Gospel
  of Thomas, were most likely written in Syria.

32
Coptic Gospel of Thomas

• A large number of the sayings of The Gospel of
  Thomas have parallels in the gospels of the New
  Testament, in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew,
  Mark, and Luke), as well as the Gospel of John
  (parallels with the latter are especially
  striking cf., e.g., sayings 13, 19, 24, 38, 49,
  92). Some of the sayings are known to occur also
  in noncanonical gospels, especially in the Gospel
  According to the Hebrews (cf. saying 2) and the
  Gospel of the Egyptians (cf. saying 22), which
  are both attested for the second century by
  Clement of Alexandria (floruit 180-200). The
  Gospel of Thomas almost always appears to have
  preserved a more original form of the traditional
  saying (in a few instances, where this is not the
  case, the Coptic translation seems to have been
  influenced by the translator's knowledge of the
  New Testament gospels), or presents versions
  which are independently based on more original
  forms. More original and shorter forms are
  especially evident in the parables of Thomas (cf.
  sayings 8, 9, 57, 63, 64, 65, 96, cf. 109).

33
Coptic Gospel of Thomas

• The Gospel of Thomas is more akin to one of the
  sources of the canonical gospels, namely the
  so-called Synoptic Sayings Source (often called
  "Q" from the German word Quelle, "source"), which
  was used by both Matthew and Luke. Indeed, many
  of the sayings found in our document were also
  parts of this source of the gospels of the New
  Testament. On the other hand, The Gospel of
  Thomas also contains quite different older
  sayings, paralleled in the Gospel of John, in
  Mark 421-25, and even in I Corinthians (cf.
  saying 17 with I Co 29). Moreover, the sayings
  about the future coming of the Son of Man, so
  characteristic for "Q" (cf. Lk 128, 10 1722,
  24, 26), are completely missing. The Gospel of
  Thomas is, therefore, a closely related but
  independent collection of sayings. In its most
  original form, it may well date from the first
  century (the middle of the first century is
  usually considered the best date for the
  composition of "Q").

34
Coptic Gospel of Thomas

• In the further history and growth of The Gospel
  of Thomas, this wisdom interpretation of the
  sayings of Jesus is more clearly developed under
  the influence of gnostic theology, though it is
  not possible to ascribe the work to any
  particular gnostic school or sect. The theme of
  recognizing oneself is further elaborated in
  sayings (cf. 50, 51) which speak of the knowledge
  of one's divine origin which even Adam did not
  share, although "he came into being from a great
  power" (saying 85). Salvation is obtained in
  stripping off everything that is of this world
  (cf. sayings 21a, 37, 56). The disciples must
  "pass by" the present corruptible existence
  (saying 42). The existence of the ideal gnostic
  disciple is characterized by the term "solitary
  one," which describes the one who has left behind
  everything that binds human beings to the world
  (cf. sayings 16, 23, 30, and 76). Even women can
  obtain this goal, if they achieve the "maleness"
  of the solitary existence (saying 114).

35
Coptic Gospel of Thomas

• THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS (This is a partial text
  1132,10-51, 28)
• These are the secret sayings which the living
  Jesus spoke and which Didymos Judas Thomas wrote
  down.
• (1) And he said, "Whoever finds the
  interpretation of these sayings will not
  experience death."
• (2) Jesus said, "Let him who seeks continue
  seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will
  become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he
  will be astonished, and he will rule over the
  all."

36
(4) Jesus said, "The man old in days will not
hestitate to ask a small child seven days old
about the place of life, and he will live. For
many who are first will become last, and they
will become one and the same." (6) His disciples
questioned him and said to him, "Do you want us
to fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms?
What diet shall we observe? Jesus said, "Do not
tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all
things are plain in the sight of heaven. For
nothing hidden will not become manifest, and
nothing covered will remain without being
uncovered." (8) And he said, "The man is like a
wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and
drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among
them the wise fisherman found a fine large fish.
He threw all the small fish back into the sea and
chose the large fish without difficulty. Whoever
has ears to hear, let him hear." (9) Jesus said,
"Now the sower went out, took a handful (of
seeds), and scattered them. Some fell on the
road the birds came and gathered them up. Others
fell on rock, did not take root in the soil, and
did not produce ears. And others fell on thorns
they choked the seed(s) and worms ate them. And
others fell on the good soil and it produced good
fruit it bore sixty per measure and a hundred
and twenty per measure." (20) The disciples said
to Jesus, "Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is
like." He said to them, "It is like a mustard
seed. It is the smallest of all seeds. But when
it falls on tilled soil, it produces a great
plant and becomes a shelter for birds of the
sky."
37
(22) Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to
his disciples, "These infants being suckled are
like those who enter the kingdom." They said to
him, "Shall we then, as children, enter the
kingdom?" (26) Jesus said, "You see the mote in
your brother's eye, but you do not see the beam
in your own eye. When you cast the beam out of
your own eye, then you will see clearly to cast
the mote from your brother's eye." (31) Jesus
said, "No prophet is accepted in his own village
no physician heals those who know him." (32)
Jesus said,"A city being built on a high mountain
and fortified cannot fall, 'nor can it be
hidden." (35) Jesus said, "It is not possible
for anyone to enter the house of a strong man and
take it by force unless he binds his hands (39)
Jesus said, "The pharisees and the scribes have
taken the keys of knowledge (gnosis) and hidden
them. They themselves have not entered, nor have
they allowed to enter those who wish to. You,
however, be as wise as serpents and as innocent
as doves." (50) Jesus said, "If they say to you,
'Where did you come from', say to them, 'We came
from the light, the place where the light came
into being on its own accord and established
itself and became manifest through their
image'. If they say to you, 'Is it you?', say,
'We are its children, and we are the elect of the
living father.' If they ask you, "What is the
sign of your father in you?', say to them, 'It is
movement and repose.' "
38
(51) His disciples said to him,"When will the
repose of the dead come about, and when will the
new world come?" He said to them, "What you look
forward to has already come, but you do not
recognize it." (54) Jesus said, "Blessed are the
poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven." (55)
Jesus said, "Whoever does not hate his father and
his mother cannot become a disciple to me. And
whoever does not hate his brothers and sisters
and take up his cross in my way will not be
worthy of me." (63) Jesus said, There was a rich
man who had much money. He said, 'I shall put my
money to use so that I may sow, reap, plant, and
fill my storehouse with produce, with the result
that shall lack nothing.' Such were his
intentions, but that same night he died. Let him
who has ears hear." (77) Jesus said, "It is I
who am the light which is above them all. It is I
who am the all . From me did the all come forth,
and unto me did the all extend. Split a piece of
wood, and I am there. Lift up the stone, and you
will find me there." (114) Simon Peter said to
them, "Let Mary leave us, for women are not
worthy of life." Jesus said,"I myself shall lead
her in order to make her male, so that she too
may become a living spirit resembling you males.
For every woman who will make herself male will
enter the kingdom of heaven."
39
Greek Sayings Lists (Logia)

• Gnomologia (or logoi sophon, l??oi s?f??) were
  collections of sayings existing either as
  independent assemblages or insertions into other
  texts of various kinds. There were, more or less,
  loose connections or groupings of individual
  sayings based on subject matter and tense.
  Wilson does point to a more formal literary
  structure, suggesting the author exercised an
  ability to organize and arrange the material into
  a more coherent whole. This view has priority
  over the alternative one of loosely connected
  sayings. Thus there is a prologue (vv. 1-2), and
  epilogue (vv. 228-230), and thematic clusters.
  The collections appear to have had a variety of
  purposes and may be suitable for any number of
  contexts. Overall, however, they are an
  aggregation of basic human wisdom teachings about
  the order of things and human existence and
  present themselves as the compilation of the
  teaching of a father, friend, or the teacher of a
  son, friend, or student. These sayings purport
  to gather together the wisdom of the ancient
  sages. The ultimate aim for the sage is paideia,
  or a higher principle that underlies the origins
  of and provides the essence of virtue. This
  paideia is divine, and for this author consists
  of the ?e?u ß???e?µata (theou bouleumata
  counsels of God) and d??a??s???? µ?st???a
  (dikaiosunas mustaria mystery of
  righteousness).

40
Sentences of Sextus

• This collection of 451 sayings, comprised of a
  variety of specific forms, was probably compiled
  in Egypt. It was well-known among Christians,
  particularly after the fourth century as a result
  of the Latin translation of Rufinus. Although the
  author's identity as Sextus has not finally been
  demonstrated, it appears certain that the editor,
  whoever he was, was a Christian.
• The Basic outlook of this collection is best
  summarized by the phrase "mild asceticism." The
  Greek and English versions appear on facing
  pages.
• It was published by Scholars Press in 1981.
• Saying 1 A faithful man is an elect man.
• Saying 124 Ask God for whatever you cannot get
  from man.
• Saying 260 Strive to be a public benefactor to
  humanity.
• Saying 451 Do not dare to speak about God to an
  undisciplined soul.
• See Handout

41
The Genre of Qoheleth First Person Testaments

• In this genre, a first person narrator tells the
  story of personal experience and relates it to
  one or more sapiential virtues. Upon this
  experience, the audience of students is
  instructed. This form is frequently found in the
  literature of the ancient Near East. There are
  three literary types found in Egypt that provide
  important form critical and thematic comparisons
  to Qoheleth The Songs of the Harper, Grave
  Inscriptions, and Royal Testaments of deceased
  kings There are several examples of first person
  narratives in Israelite and Jewish wisdom texts
  Ps. 73, Prov. 43-9, 2430-34, and Sir. 3316-18,
  etc.

42
Rhetorical Structure

• Frame 11-11 and 119-1214
• Introduction Conclusion
• ll Title 129-14 Epilogue
  
• l2 Theme Breath of breaths, says Q. All
  if Breath 128 Theme Breath of Breath
  of breaths. All is Breath.
• 13 Central Question "What remains to a
  person from all the labor at which he/she toils
  under the sun?"
• l4-11 Two Stanza Poem 117-l27 Two
  Stanza Poem
• Cosmology (14-7) Anthropology
  Carpe Diem (117-10) Anthropology (toil 1
  8-11) Cosmology and
  Death (l2l-8)
• Internal Structure 112-116
• I. 1 12-519. Cosmology, Anthropology, and the
  Moral Order Human Activity
• Key refrain Breath (and a Striving
  after lifes breath).
• 1 12-18. Two-fold Introduction to
  sections I and II
• A. l12-226 Solomon's Accomplishments
• Carpe Diem Conclusion (224-26)
• B. 31-15 Time (human toil and divine
  action)
• Carpe Diem Interlude (312-13)
• C 316-22 Judgment and Human Nature
• Carpe Diem Conclusion (3 22)
• D 41-519 Royal Rule and the Cult
• Carpe Diem Conclusion (517-19)

43
The Rhetorical Structure of Qoheleth and its
Theology

• 1. The opening and closing poems demonstrate
  that humans and nothing they create endures.
  Only the cosmos endures.
• 2. The key expression, hebel habelim means
  that life and all that is quickly passes.
• 3. The expression, chasing the wind, means it
  is impossible for humans to retain the
  life-giving spirit. At death it returns to the
  God who gave it.
• 4. Wisdom offers a moral path, but it does not
  provide an escape from the same death that
  overwhelms the wicked.
• 5. The seven-fold repetition of enjoy life
  (sieze the day) is the answer to Qoheleths main
  question What is good in human living? Or,
  what gives meaning to life.
• 6. God is hidden and cannot be known. He is
  simply to be feared.

44
What is the Origin of Qoheleths Pessimism?

• Qoheleth lived in an age well known for its
  skepticism about obtaining truth and its
  criticism of the gods.
• He also inherited the traditions of wisdom from
  earlier times in Israel and the Ancient Near
  East, which also contain, at times, teachings of
  skepticism.
• In the age of the Ptolemies in the latter part of
  the third century, B. C. E., the date of the book
  (?), the Egyptian empire is collapsing and Judea
  will become soon a part of the Seleucid Empire to
  the East. Thus the times are unstable and
  fearful to those enduring this transition in
  royal power.

45
Songs of the Harper

• The Harper Songs, whether sapiential or not,
  comprise a genre that depicts a blind minstrel
  performing at a mortuary wake, in which the
  deceased and close relatives participate. The
  wall scene of tombs depicts a harper entertaining
  guests at a feast in honor of the deceased.
  Normally, the texts celebrate the deceaseds
  journey to the afterlife. They assure the living
  that the dead person has made proper mortuary
  preparations and ask them to celebrate with joy
  the transition to the new world.

46
The best known of these texts, introduced by
the words, A song which is in the tomb of (King)
Inyotef, a ruler of the eleventh dynasty, is
found in the Papyrus Harris 500 manuscript dating
from the nineteenth dynasty of Rameses II. The
text is also preserved in a damaged form in an
eighteenth dynasty tomb at Saqqara.
47
This genre depicts a blind minstrel
performing at a mortuary wake, in which the
deceased and close relatives participate. The
wall scene of tombs depicts a harper entertaining
guests at a feast in honor of the deceased.
Normally, the texts celebrate the deceaseds
journey to the afterlife. They assure the living
that the dead person has made proper mortuary
preparations and ask them to celebrate withjoy
the transition to the new world.
48
The Harpers Song

• He is happy, this good prince!
• Death is a kindly fate
• A generation passes,
• Another stays,
• Since the time of the ancestors,
• The gods who were before rest in their tombs.
• (Yet) those who built tombs,
• Their places are gone,
• What has become of them?
• I have heard the words of Imhotep and Hardedef
• Whose sayings are recited whole.
• What of their places?
• Their walls have crumbled,
• Their places are gone
• As though they had never been!
• None of them comes from there
• To tell of their state
• To tell of their needs,
• To calm our hearts,

• He is happy, this good prince!
• Death is a kindly fate
• A generation passes,
• Another stays,
• Since the time of the ancestors,
• The gods who were before rest in their tombs.
• (Yet) those who built tombs,
• Their places are gone,
• What has become of them?
• I have heard the words of Imhotep and Hardedef
• Whose sayings are recited whole.
• What of their places?
• Their walls have crumbled,
• Their places are gone
• As though they had never been!
• None of them comes from there
• To tell of their state
• To tell of their needs,
• To calm our hearts,

49
Grave Inscriptions (Egypt)

• The Egyptian autobiographies consistently contain
  three literary features an autobiographical
  narrative, ethical sayings, and instructions and
  exhortations. The audience they envision is
  comprised either of visitors to the tomb or, in
  the case of the temple inscriptions, the priests
• The autobiography consisted of the titles and
  accomplishments of the deceased, while the
  sayings offered were the same that guided the
  dead speaker through life. The deceased is
  portrayed as intelligent and wise. As a devotee
  of his god, he tells of his acts of piety and
  dutiful response to the deitys desires
• Many are traditional in content and reflect the
  importance of pious and virtuous living. They
  encourage their visitors to emulate their
  behavior.

50
Grave Stela (Egypt)Taimhotep

• The wife of them High Priest of Ptah at Memphis.
  She died at the age of 30 in 42 B. C. E. In her
  autobiographical tomb inscription, she says to
  her husband
• O (my) brother, husband, friend, high
  priest do not weary of drink, food, deep
  drinking, and loving. Make a holiday! Follow
  your heart day and night! Do not set sorrow in
  your heart. What are the years which are not on
  earth? As for the West, it is a land in sleep,
  heavy darkness, the dwelling-place of those who
  are there. Sleep is in their (mummy) forms.
  They do not awake to see their brothers, they do
  not see their fathers or their mothers, their
  hearts lack their wives and their children. The
  water of life which is food for all, it is thirst
  for me. It comes (only) to the one who is on
  earth I am thirsty (though) water is beside me.
  

51
Royal Testaments

• Qoheleth is shaped literarily as a royal
  testament of a dead king, the famous Solomon from
  the past, who speaks to his audience from the
  tomb.
• Several instructions from Egypt are presented
  also as teachings of dead kings to their
  successors.

52
Testament of Merikare

• Originating during the First Intermediate period
  in the Herakleopolitan Dynasty, The Instruction
  for King Merikare, portrays a new king who was
  the last ruler of this dynasty (ends in 2125 B.
  C. E.). At the time, the tenth dynasty was in
  competition with what would be the eleventh
  dynasty located at Thebes. The biographical
  fiction presents Merikare as coming to the
  throne, when his deceased father (King Cheti?)
  instructs him on how to rule. Three papyri from
  the eighteenth dynasty are known, although the
  beginning of the instruction is damaged, and
  there are no ostraca that suggest schoolboy
  copies. Merikares father, possibly Cheti,
  speaking in the first person, teaches his son
  matters of royal responsibility for the
  actualization of cosmic order in nature and
  society and provides him with important counsel
  on how to govern wisely and successfully.

53
Testament of Amenemhet

• Attributed to Cheti, the author of The Satire on
  the Trades and perhaps also the Hymn to the
  Nile, this Egyptian instruction is also placed
  in the mouth of a deceased ruler, Amenemhet, and
  is offered as a revelatory teaching to his son,
  Sen-Usert. The teaching was composed by a court
  scribe, Cheti, who came under the patronage of
  King Sen-Usert I (1971-1928, B. C. E.). Its
  purpose was to legitimate the rule of the new
  king, perhaps on the occasion of his accession to
  the throne perhaps during his coronation festival
  where, during his installation as king, he
  appeared as a god.
• The founder of the 12th dynasty (1985-1956 B. C.
  E.). King Amenemhet tells his son of his great
  feats during his reign, and yet also reveals to
  his successor the intrigue that led to his
  assassination. The theme of loyalty is prominent
  in this teaching with the dead king warning his
  successor to trust no one. This suggests that
  the successor was to deal harshly with the
  assassins and others who might oppose his rule.
  The primary purpose of the instruction was
  political in that it was to provide legitimation
  for the rule of Sen-Usert.

54
Testament of the Dying David To the Wise Solomon
(1 Kgs. 21-12)

• 2 When David's time to die drew near, he charged
  his son Solomon, saying 2"I am about to go the
  way of all the earth. Be strong, be
  courageous, 3and keep the charge of the LORD your
  God, walking in his ways and keeping his
  statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and
  his testimonies, as it is written in the law of
  Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do
  and wherever you turn. 4Then the LORD will
  establish his word that he spoke concerning me
  'If your heirs take heed to their way, to walk
  before me in faithfulness with all their heart
  and with all their soul, there shall not fail you
  a successor on the throne of Israel.'  5
  "Moreover you know also what Joab son of Zeruiah
  did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders
  of the armies of Israel, Abner son of Ner, and
  Amasa son of Jether, whom he murdered,
  retaliating in time of peace for blood that had
  been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on
  the belt around his waist, and on the sandals on
  his feet. 6Act therefore according to your
  wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to
  Sheol in peace. 7Deal loyally, however, with the
  sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be
  among those who eat at your table for with such
  loyalty they met me when I fled from your brother
  Absalom. 8There is also with you Shimei son of
  Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me
  with a terrible curse on the day when I went to
  Mahanaim but when he came down to meet me at the
  Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD, 'I will not
  put you to death with the sword.' 9Therefore do
  not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man
  you will know what you ought to do to him, and
  you must bring his gray head down with blood to
  Sheol."

55
Conclusion

• These speeches from the dead emphasize the
  authority of the revered speaker who, while
  deceased, is held in great esteem in the
  tradition of the sages or of the members of the
  family addressed by the entombed person.
• In addition, speeches from the dead are taken
  with great seriousness, seeing that they now have
  joined the divine world and that of the dead who
  either live eternally or await the resurrection.
• The literary structure of the book assists us in
  understanding its overall theology.
• The matter is not only a literary issue. As
  Brevard Childs has argued (The Biblical Theology
  of the Old and New Testament), the final
  canonical forms of books are to be read as a
  unit, since these represent the way the
  communities of believers (Jews and Christians)
  read these texts. Theologically, it is the
  canonical form that is authoritative and not an
  earlier redaction.
• Hence, Qoheleths literary structure helps us to
  understand his major theme in view of death,
  one is to embrace and enjoy life.