The Wisdom Literature

by Clifford, Richard J.

• ISBN13: 9780687008469
• ISBN10: 0687008468
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-08-01
• Publisher: ABINGDON PRESS

Summary

In this volume, Richard J. Clifford seeks to make the biblical wisdom literature intelligible to modern readers. It is easy to quote the occasional proverb, say a few things about "the problem of evil" in Job, or quote "vanity of vanities, " but far more rewarding to read the whole book with an appreciative and informed eye.Opening chapters of The Wisdom Literature comment on the striking similarities between ancient and modern "wisdom literature" and on the comparable literature from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Canaan. Thereafter, a chapter is devoted to each biblical wisdom book (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Sirach, and Wisdom of Solomon), studying not only its content but also its rhetoric -- how it engages the reader.

Author Biography

Richard J. Clifford teaches at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

FOREWORD	11	(2)
PREFACE	13	(2)
ABBREVIATIONS	15	(2)
CHAPTER 1 OUR QUEST AND THE BIBLE'S WISDOM	17	(6)
Initial Reactions to Biblical Wisdom	17	(2)
Modern Wisdom Lierature	19	(1)
Biblical Wisdom Literature	20	(1)
Recommended Reading	21	(2)
CHAPTER 2 WISDOM LITERATURE IN THE ANCIENT NEAREAST	23	(19)
Mesopotamia	25	(7)
Mesopotamian Social Location	32	(1)
Egypt	33	(4)
Egyptian Social Location	37	(1)
Canaan	38	(2)
Recommended Reading	40	(2)
CHAPTER 3 THE BOOK OF PROVERBS	42	(27)
Literacy Structure and Purpose	43	(3)
Genres	46	(2)
Social Location	48	(1)
Main Assumptions and Concepts	49	(7)
Analyses of Representative Texts	56	(12)
Recommended Reading	68	(1)
CHAPTER 4 THE BOOK OF JOB	69	(28)
Comparable Ancient Near Eastern Literature	69	(4)
The Date and Social Location	73	(1)
Scholarly Approches	74	(1)
The Book	75	(1)
The Prologue (Chapters 1-2)	75	(2)
The First Cycle (Chapters 3-14)	77	(4)
The Second Cycle (Chapters 15-21)	81	(2)
The Third Cycle (Chapters 22-27)	83	(2)
The Poem on Wisdom (Chapter 28)	85	(1)
The Final Speech of Job (Chapters 29-31)	86	(1)
Elihu's Speeches (Chapters 32-37)	87	(1)
Yahweh's Speeches (Chapters 38-42)	88	(7)
The Epilogue (42: 7-17)	95	(1)
Recommended Reading	96	(1)
CHAPTER 5 THE BOOK OF QOHELETH (ECCLESIASTES)	97	(18)
Genre	97	(2)
Authorship, Date, Social Location, and Integrity	99	(2)
Outline	101	(2)
The Argument of the Book	103	(8)
Interpretations of the Book	111	(3)
Recommended Reading	114	(1)
CHAPTER 6 THE WISDOM OF BEN SIRA (SIRACH)	115	(18)
Date, Text, Author, and Social Location	116	(1)
Outline	117	(3)
Key Passages	120	(6)
The Main Teachings of Sirach	126	(5)
Recommended Reading	131	(2)
CHATER 7 THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON	133	(24)
Historical Background	134	(2)
Hellenistic Judaism	136	(2)
The Stricture of the Book	138	(4)
Genre	142	(1)
The Book: An Analysis of Its Three Parts	143	(11)
The Meaning of Wisdom of Solomon Today	154	(1)
Recommended Reading	155	(2)
CHAPTER 8 THE SONG OF SONGS	157	(9)
The Date and Social Context	158	(1)
Genre and Comparable Literature	159	(1)
The Literacy Structure	160	(2)
The Poetic World of the Texts	162	(2)
Recommended Reading	164	(2)
CHAPTER 9 WISDOM IN JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY	166	(4)
Judaism	167	(1)
The New Testament	167	(3)
NOTES	170	(9)
INDEX OF TOPICS	179	(1)
INDEX OF AUTHORS	180