WISDOM LITERATURE

1. WISDOM LITERATURE

2. WISDOM LITERATURE • Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job • Message intended mainly for individual • Name of “Yahweh” is rarely mentioned in wisdom literature • Wisdom not about “smarts” but seen as divine gift • Very unique and different from anything else in OT

3. WISDOM LITERATURE • Solomon is considered “patron saint” of wisdom literature • Probably brought on by cosmopolitan interests & connections outside kingdom • Much of Proverbs & Ecclesiastes are attributed to Solomon • Didn’t write it all, but seen as beginning of “wisdom movement”

4. PROVERBS Very simple message: • the one who followed wisdom would prosper; • the one who did not follow wisdom would not prosper. • No middle ground.

5. PROVERBS Chpts. 1-9 –series of extended poems to portray wisdom & folly. • Eventually transform into Lady Wisdom & Lady Folly; both of whom call out to men & try to entice them. • Note “my child.” Recurs throughout first 9 chapters. Actual Hebrew says “son.” Set up as a wise man passing down wisdom to his “son.” Possibly used as “wisdom textbook” for students

6. PROVERBS Chpts. 10-29 – short proverbial sayings presented in collections • “Proverbs of Solomon” (10:1-22:16 & 25:1-29:27) • Message is contained in one line of Hebrew (translated into two lines in English) • “Proverbs of Solomon” not necessarily from Solomon himself, but those who considered themselves his “students” or “followers.” • No logical flow - random

7. PROVERBS Examples of “Proverbs of Solomon” • Vs. 10:1 – the wise and foolish • Vs. 16:19 – the proud and the humble • Vs. 13:25 – righteous and wicked • Vs. 14:25 – truth and falsehood

8. PROVERBS • The Book of Thirty Sayings (22:17-24:22) • Probably used as textbook • General kinds of stuff: • How to eat with a ruler (23:1-3) • How to discipline children (23:13-14). Note it’s NOT: “Spare the rod / spoil the child” • Warnings about wicked women (23:26-28) • Warnings about excessive wine drinking (23:29-35)

9. PROVERBS Chpts. 30-31 –a mixture of poems & proverbial sayings taken from foreign sources • Words of Agur (30:1-33) • Words of Lemuel (31:1-31) – a mother’s advice to her son • Vss. 31:10-31 – the description of a good wife. Old Testament’s highest tribute to a woman.

10. ECCLESIASTES • Main speaker is “Preacher” or “Teacher” (Hebrew qoheleth). A schoolmaster in charge of group of people. • Voices the skeptical, pessimistic feelings of a man who has tried everything in life but found nothing satisfying or meaningful. • Reveals that post-exilic Jews were not all orthodox in their thinking & the ways they viewed the world.

11. ECCLESIASTES Vanity of Vanities (1:1-2:26) • NRSV & KJV translate this phrase: “vanity of vanities.” Not “vanity” like pride in personal appearance. • Better translation might be: “Meaningless, all is meaningless.” • Hebrew word for “vanity” occurs 30 times in Ecclesiastes – only 70 times total in the entire OT.

12. ECCLESIASTES Vanity of Vanities (1:1-2:26) • Teacher/Preacher was not atheist – he believed in God but didn’t think God wanted to have anything to do with the world. Therefore, the absence of real meaning. • Preacher had tried many things to find meaning, all of which were fruitless: • Work (1:2-11) • Wisdom (1:12-18)

13. ECCLESIASTES For everything there is a season (3:1-15) • Sets forth a series of opposites to emphasize the paradoxical nature of life • Very different view of history from traditional Hebrew thinking – the OT views history as having a beginning & moving to a goal under God’s direction.

14. ECCLESIASTES For everything there is a season (3:1-15) • This philosophy shared in common with other cultures: Greek and some eastern religions (Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.) • Suggests that Ecclesiastes is influenced by Hellenistic culture (Greeks) that existed in Near East following conquests of Alexander the Great.

15. JOB

16. Book of Job deals with theological problems raised by human suffering – also called theodicy • Term comes from Greek “theos” ("god") & “dike” ("justice"), meaning “justice of God.“

17. JOB • Book of Job was Jewish answer to theodicy issue, esp. how one understands the suffering of the righteous person. • Job represents struggle of a person who had accepted orthodox answers to life’s questions but found them useless when trouble came. • Similar writings about a suffering righteous man found in other literature in Near East – so there is thought that origins of Job might have taken place outside Israel.

18. THE CHARACTERS OF JOB: • God – strikes a deal with Satan to test Job • Satan – tells God that Job will renounce his faith if he’s tested • Job – A wealthy man with wonderful family & life who lost it all

19. THE CHARACTERS OF JOB: • Eliphaz – first of Job’s “friends,” who had visions • Bildad – second of Job’s “friends;” a traditionalist in the way he looked at things • Zophar – third of Job’s “friends” who viewed himself as God’s right-hand man

20. Some general assumptions of Hebrew theology: • God was just & gave justice to humankind • This life was all there was. If justice was to be done, it had to be done in this life. • The good person prospered, while the wicked one failed. • Sickness was a sign that a person had sinned. It was perceived as a part of God’s judgment on sinners.

21. 1:1-2:10 - God and Satan strike a deal • One of only two times in Bible where Satan is mentioned by name. • Job is tested twice: • First time, God didn’t allow Satan to touch Job’s body. Satan killed his children & livestock, but Job never complained. • Satan told God he didn’t get to really test Job. So God allowed Satan to touch his body & he got painful sores. • Job’s wife implored him to curse God for his situation. He never did.

22. 2:11-27:12 - Dialogue with the three “friends” • Job speaks as frustrated sufferer, lamenting his situation and asking a lot of “whys.” • Job’s three “friends” enter the scene – Eliphaz, Bildad, & Zophar • A cyclical conversation – each “friend” individually confronts Job about his situation; then Job responds. • This cycle occurs three times, except the last cycle is incomplete

25. 28: 1-28 – The Wisdom Poem • Separates speech cycles from Job’s final statements. • Main theme – value of wisdom 29: 1-31:40 – Job Presents his case to God • Three friends are gone; Job’s conversation with them have proved fruitless. • His conversation with God in three divisions: • His past prosperity – 29:1-25 • His present situation – 30:1-31 (note esp. vss. 20-31, where he confronts God) • His “code of conduct” – 31:1-40

26. 32:1-37:24 – The Elihu speeches • A new character appears – a brash young man who “possesses more wind than wisdom” 38: 1-41:44 – God speaks • God spoke from whirlwind (Ezekiel) • God chides Job for questioning divine wisdom. Job doesn’t know mind of God. • God asks Job rhetorical questions about Job’s knowledge of the world, all of which have implied answer, “Only God knows these things.”

27. 42: 1-6 – Job’s final speech • Job powerfully affected by divine encounter & acknowledges inability to understand ways of God • Vs. 42:5-6 – hard to translate in English. He has nothing to repent of – remember, he did nothing wrong. More than likely a commitment on Job’s part to leave behind his posture of mourning and move on.

28. 42: 7-17 – Job’s redemption • Job’s health & wealth were restored. His family comes back to him. The rest of his life was long and prosperous. • Some believe this was a later insertion by the traditionalists who could not stand the way the story ended & needed to bring it back to orthodoxy.

29. SUMMARY OF JOB • Job has been regarded as one of the greatest literary masterpieces of all time • Questions it raises still baffle humanity thousands of years later • Job never really solved his problems. Instead, his vision of God changed from focusing on his own problems to a broader understanding of the world & faith in a personal God.