An Introduction to the Study of Wisdom Literature

Description

In contrast to much of the other literature in the Hebrew Bible, the wisdom books - Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes - have little interest in Israel's national history and worship, but focus instead on the needs of each individual, struggling to survive and prosper in a world that can be dangerous and confusing. This introduction to the study of Wisdom Literature is geared to questions of method and approach. The introduction and first chapter examine the basic questions central to the literature. Subsequent chapters outline the content, characteristics, and thought of each book, and discuss the problems involved in approaching and interpreting them. Examination of the biblical wisdom books is followed by a survey and discussion of other Jewish literature with a claim to be called 'wisdom literature', including psalms, and works from the apocrypha and from Qumran. The final chapters turn to more general issues of thought, place, and definition, concluding that wisdom literature must be understood not in terms of a shared origin, theology, or ideology, but as a type of literary discourse.

Dr Stuart Weeks MA (Oxon.) MPhil DPhil, Senior Lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew, Durham University, UK. He is the author of Early Israelite Wisdom (OUP, 1994) and Instructions & Imagery in Proverbs 1-9 (OUP, 2007). He is writing the ICC volume on Ecclesiastes for T&T Clark.

Weeks provides a valuable survey of Israelite Wisdom Literature. He explains the main issues presented by the Wisdom corpus and gives fair consideration to a variety of views, while arguing thoughtfully for his own conclusions. His knowledge of scholarly literature is extensive and deep, but he takes care to make his writing clear and accessible to all. His Introduction will be an effective tool in the university classroom. -- Michael V. Fox, Jay C. and Ruth Halls-Bascom Professor, Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA. Weeks here illuminates both the form and the content of 's wisdom literature in relation to the wider world of its origins. The thinking is sharp and nuanced, the presentation is lucid and accessible. This is a distinctive and valuable Introduction. -- Walter Moberly, Durham University UK The Introduction of the study of Wisdom Literature deals with the corpus of Hebew wisdom books incorporated in the Canon of Old Testament, as well as other pieces of Jewish wishdom literature compiled in the period of the Second Temple. The book will definitively serve well the broader academic community, it well be especially useful for teaching a course on wisdom literature in an academic setting. -- Igal German, University of Toronto (Wycliffe College), Canada The book will definitely serve well the broader academic community; it will be especially useful for teaching a course on wisdom literature in an academic setting. * Theological Book Review * Avoiding technical language and footnotes, Weeks has given us a clear and thought-provoking introduction to a set of intriguing biblical texts. * The Pastoral Review *