An Introduction to the Study of Wisdom Literature

by Stuart Weeks

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780567184436
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/02/2010
Series:	T&T Clark Approaches to Biblical Studies
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations vii

Preface ix

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Wisdom Literature and its Foreign Counterparts 9

Chapter 2 The Book of Proverbs 23

Chapter 3 The Book of Job 49

Chapter 4 Ecclesiastes 71

Chapter 5 Other Jewish Wisdom Literature 85

Chapter 6 Wisdom Thought 107

Chapter 7 The Origins and Place of Wisdom Literature 127

Further Reading 145

Notes 149

Bibliography 151

General Index 159

Index of Authors 161

Select Index of Passages Cited and Discussed 163

Editorial Reviews

'Avoiding technical language and footnotes, Weeks has given us a clear and thought-provoking introduction to a set of intriguing biblical texts.' --Sanford Lakoff

'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.'--Sanford Lakoff

'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.--Sanford Lakoff

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'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, Professor of Theology and Biblical Interpretation, Durham University, --Sanford Lakoff

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'Weekshere illuminates both the form and the content of 's wisdom literature inrelation to the wider world of its origins. The thinking is sharp andnuanced, the presentation is lucid and accessible. This is a distinctiveand valuable Introduction'. - Walter Moberly, Professor of Theology andBiblical Interpretation, DurhamUniversity, --,

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

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