Wisdom Literature

Despite John's distinctive and theological character, however, it still renders an independent memory of Jesus of Nazareth deserving full consideration in any effectively critical quest for the historical Jesus. The question is how do to so adequately, given the unique origin and development of the Johannine tradition. If John represents a self-standing Jesus tradition with its own points to make, however, differences with Mark and the Synoptics might contribute to a sense of history rather than diminishing it.

Knjiga "Iskrice sv. Ignacija: Misli sv. Ignacija Lojolskog za svaki dan u godini tumači Gábor Hevenesi". Kuče, Marignacija d. o. o., 2021., 394 str., 2 slike. Preveo Jozo Vela. Uredila i Pogovor napisala Marica Čunčić.
Ova je knjiga dio baze znanja civilizacije kakvu poznamo. To je prvi hrvatski prijevod latinskoga djela Scintillae ignatianae, sive sancti Ignatii de Loyola, Societatis Jesu Fundatoris, apophtegmata sacra, per singulos anni dies distributa et ulteriori considerationi proposita, Viennae, Austriae, Typis Joannis Georgii Schlegel, Universitatis Typographi, 1705.

For me, Bernd's great commentary evoked two contradictory sayings. The ancient Alexandrian librarian, Callimachos gave us an epigram that became proverbial, "Mega biblion, mega kakon-Big book, big evil." But Epimenides produced a hexameter line which, when emended, may be used to refute Callimachos' proverb: "Alexandrians are always liars, evil beasts, lazy guts."

This Cambridge University Thesis was submitted in 1983 and graduation took place after corrections in 1984. The thesis demonstrates by a close and exhaustive comparison of the Dead Sea Scrolls (as then available) parallels that the Didache is not an Essene document, as some had claimed, but that in every place where a comparison is possible, the Didache is closer to Pharisaim/ proto-Rabbinism than to the Dead Sea Scrolls.

A popular critical theory suggests that the epilogue of Qohelet, which recommends
discipline and piety, is a later addition aimed at reconciling the unorthodox ideas of
the book with conservative views. While this hypothesis is well-established on the
basis of the text’s style and content, no external evidence to support it has ever been
suggested. This paper seeks to present an empirical model for this redactional theory
from a comparative point of view. It examines the development of the vanity theme in
Mesopotamian literature, and shows that the subversive ideas of vanity literature gave
rise, from the very beginning, to redactional activity focused on re-interpreting it in
light of traditional values. Several examples of this process of conservative redaction
are discussed, including Sumerian, Akkadian, and Akkadian-Biblical cases. The theory
that the final verses of Qohelet are a later interpolation thus gains credibility in light of
similar phenomena in Mesopotamian literature.

This article will examine the occurrence of the " Vanity Theme " in Mesopotamian wisdom literature and elsewhere. However, the main interest of this investigation lies in the list of rulers or illustrious men of old which is manifest in a variety of wisdom " Vanity Theme " compositions. We will argue that it will not suffice to speak about the " Vanity Theme " in various literatures of the ancient Near East and the Mediterranean. We should try to identify a particular literary expression that is associated with this type of composition. We contend that this expression is the list or naming of " Early Rulers " that comes to serve as an exemplum to the basic assertion of the " Vanity Theme. "

Les neiges d'antan: " Gobernantes antiguos " y el tema de la vanidad en la literatura sapiencial de Mesopotamia y más allá Este artículo examinará la aparición del " tema de la vanidad " en la literatura sapien-cial de Mesopotamia y más allá. Sin embargo, el interés principal de esta investiga-ción radica en la lista de gobernantes u hombres ilustres de antaño que se manifiesta en una variedad de composiciones sapienciales con el " tema de la vanidad ". Argüiremos que no es suficiente con hablar sobre el " tema de la vanidad " en las diversas literaturas del antiguo Cercano Oriente y el Mediterráneo. Deberíamos tratar de identificar una expresión literaria particular que esté asociada con este tipo de composición. Sostenemos que esta expresión es la lista o denominación de los

A summary of the biblical wisdom books and questions that arise from them. Produced for group discussions at the The British & Irish Association for Practical Theology conference "Being Human: Being Wise" 16 – 18 July 2013 at the University of York.

The highest part of mental thought is wisdom, yet it is more than mental thought. Representing completeness and wholeness of thought, wisdom is universally a lofty consideration, and too often we sense that it eludes us. The more we seek it, the more we understand that it comes through experiencing and learning, and brings with it the desire to learn more. It also comes with an ever-deepening connection to others.

This is 15 th in a series of 22 short books, what we call Conscious Look Books, that are conversational in nature, taking full advantage of the reader's lived experience to share what can sometimes be difficult concepts. We live in a world that is tearing itself apart, where people are out of control and wanting to control others, rebelling from years of real and perceived abuse and suppression of thought. Yet, this chaos offers us as a humanity the opportunity to make a giant leap forward. By opening ourselves to ourselves, we are able to fully explore who we are and who we can become. With that exploration comes a glimmer of hope as we begin to reclaim the power of each and every mind developed by the lived human experience! These 22 concepts are part of the learning journey of which we are all a part, the Intelligent Social Change Journey (ISCJ). This is a developmental journey of the body, mind and heart, moving from the heaviness of cause-and-effect linear extrapolations, to the fluidity of co-evolving with our environment, to the lightness of breathing our thought and feelings into reality. Grounded in development of our mental faculties, these are phase changes, each building on and expanding previous learning in our movement toward intelligent activity. These little books share 22 large concepts from the Profundity and Bifurcation of Change (which is written from an academic viewpoint). Each book is independent and includes seven ideas offered for the student of life to help us become the co-creators that we are. These books, available in soft cover from Amazon, support idea exploration, class discussion, other discussion groups or can be used as special occasion gifts.

This article argues that the use of terminology and allusions in Job to themes which are abundant in the book of Deuteronomy suggest that the work was primarily intended as a polemic against a retributive worldview or a Deuteronomistic theodicy. Abounding irony, satire and parody provide evidence that it contained comic elements which were not intended simply to entertain, but were intended to ridicule particular targets. These literary devices further suggest that the book of Job should be read as a dramatic or theatrical work. The frequent use of legal terminology suggests that it had a forensic setting and is best viewed as a courtroom drama that put the Deuteronomic views of providence on trial. The work was intended to appeal to an initial audience that was wrestling with the issues of free will and determinism against a background of exile and the prospect of extinction.

Jeffrey Boss, a retired Senior Lecturer in Physiology, has put nearly thirty years of personal research into the psychological interpretation of the book of Job, and this book is the result. In this " theological and psychological commentary, " Boss traces the narrative of the final form of the book of Job, which, he argues, describes the development of Job's perception of God. Boss is aware of the arguments for the book's textual development but claims that, as it now stands, it " follows a discernable single narrative line " (xi). Boss characterizes Job's psychological progression in this narrative line as a " return to elsewhere " (198), in which he passes through three stages, beginning in the secure world of the prologue, then climbing out of the darkness of his soul after this world is reduced to wreckage, and, finally, returning to the wholeness with which he began, now enlarged by his struggle. Along the way, Job encounters several faces of God, and Boss divides his commentary accordingly, which results in six parts, in which God is the Nurturer (1:1–5), Destroyer (1:6–2:13), Self-Concealing (3:1–26), Desired One (4:1–37:24), Holy One (38:1–42:6), and Destination (42:7–17). Two further parts follow, the first reflecting further on the epilogue and the second giving a series of conclusions. A bibliography and indices of references, authors, and subjects fill out the book. Because the narrative Boss

This book challenges the belief that the metaphor in the Bible performs a secondary purpose, and that they are the stylistic embellishment as rhetorical devices merely added to original texts and no more than inessential literary flourishes. Instead of that supposition, Nicole Tilford supports the understanding of modern philosophers that "metaphors were intimately connected to concrete experience and have the capacity to structure human thought" (p. 2), and she argues that metaphors are "linguistic realization of what they called 'conceptual metaphors'", namely, fundamental cognitive devices, patterns, and structures "by which individuals organize their perception of reality" (p. 2). To evince that metaphors are the process of conceptualisation that abstract meanings are linked to individual and cultural experiences (including something corporeal and neurological), she puts forth common sensory activities such as seeing, hearing/speaking, touching, ingesting, breathing, and moving developed in primary and complex metaphors of biblical wisdom corpus. Metaphorical meanings in wisdom literature are determined not only by "universal, biological" dimensions behind human cognition (supported by cognitive scientists) but also by the culture and subculture to which the authors belong (supported by anthropologists and historians) (pp. 22-23). These dual influences have already been argued by scholars such as George Lakoff, Mark Johnson, and Chris Sinha, but Tilford synthetically employs the metaphoric theory into the study of wisdom texts.

Words of Agur, namely Proverbs 30:1-9, provides an
intriguing challenge for interpreters as both the confession of
ignorance (30:1-3) and the prayer for modesty (30:7-9) find
no close parallel in wisdom literature, either within or outside
of the Bible. Thus in its current canonical locus Words of Agur
is often regarded as an appendix to the main collection of proverbs
either in the sense of an afterthought (an unintended result
of its editorial process) or in the sense of a corrective (an
intentional touch-up by the editorial hand). Interpreting the
text is also complicated by the wide disagreement among scholars
in demarcating the boundaries of subunits that constitute
Proverbs 30.
In this paper I argue for the unity of the corpus as separated
from other miscellaneous sayings, and that it offers a unique
data for construing a theology of Proverbs. Agur’s confession
and prayer demonstrate both humility and piety rooted in the
tradition of exalting divine revelation over human erudition.
Moreover, Agur’s prayer, the only specimen of actual prayer
found in the book of Proverbs, is indispensable for the outlook
of a theology of wealth and poverty. Agur’s piety reverberates
with several wisdom psalms, notably Psalm 73, and to a less
extent with the revelatory theology found throughout the Old Testament. Far from being marginal to the wisdom theology,
Words of Agur is central for a richer and more balanced wisdom
theology of Proverbs.

아굴의 어록(잠언 30:1-9)은 지혜의 본질과 획득 방법에 대한 고유한 이해와 삶의 근본가치에 대한 색다른 성찰로 인해 지혜 전승 내의 이단아 취급을 받아 왔다. 특히 자신의 무지함을 토로하는 고백(1-3절)과 하나님의 뜻대로 정해주신 몫만을 구하는 기도문(7-9절)은 구약성경 내에서나 고대근동 지혜문헌 내에서나 유사한 예를 찾기 어렵다 보니 현재의 정경적 위치에서 아굴 어록은 잠언의 본래 수집물 뒤에 덧붙여진 부록 즉 편집과정에서 특별한 의도 없이 덧붙여진 추가분이거나 이전 내용들을 교정하기 위한 시도로 치부되곤 한다. 본문의 논리적 외곽선이 무엇인가에 대해 학자들의 의견이 각인각색으로 나뉜다는 것도 해석의 어려움을 가중시키는 요소이다.
필자는 이 글에서 아굴의 어록이 그 자체로서 고유한 문학적 통일성을 갖고 있으며 전체로서 잠언의 신학을 구성하는 데 필요한 독특한 데이터를 제공한다고 주장했다. 그리고 잠언서의 유일한 기도문인 7-9절 본문은 부와 가난을 직시하는 신학의 윤곽을 그리는 데 없어서는 안 될 목소리를 들려준다. 아굴의 경건은 시편 73편을 비롯한 다수의 시편들 특히 지혜시편과 상통하는 정서를 갖고 있으며 구약성
경에 흩어져 있는 계시의 신학과도 연관성을 견지한다. 아굴의 어록은 결코 지혜신학의 변두리에 있지 않으며 오히려 지혜신학의 풍성하고 균형 있는 이해를 위해 필수적인 본문이다. 본 논문은 아굴 어록의 문학적 구조와 수사학, 신약성경 주기도문과의 공명 지점을 살펴봄으로써 아굴 어록에 나타난 신학의 성격을 새롭게 규명하였다.

In Prophetic Lament, Soong-Chan Rah draws upon the book of Lamentations to promote lament and critique the triumphalist mentalities of many in the American Church today. You can read my summary of the book and evaluative comments at http://www.booksataglance.com/book-reviews/prophetic-lament-call-justice-troubled-times-soong-chan-rah/ or in the attached file.

Even though the question of retribution seems to interconnect the texts that comprise the bible's wisdom literature, many scholars are reluctant to recognize the reality of any type of harmony among them. In fact, some researchers see these texts' perspectives on retribution as being so incompatible that they would argue that they are contradictory. Given this, one is left to wonder about how to make sense of the tension among these books when they address the issue of retribution in the OT, how to comprehend its meaning in the wisdom traditions, and how to compare it to other OT traditions. Walaupun pertanyaan mengenai keadilan nampaknya mampu menghubungkan teks-teks dalam literatur sastra hikmat dalam Alkitab, banyak ahli yang ragu-ragu untuk menerima realitas adanya kesatuan diantara tulisan-tulisan sastra hikmat. Bahkan, beberapa peneliti melihat berbagai pandangan dalam teks-teks hikmat sebagai pemikiran yang tidak harmonis bahkan bertentangan. Jika demikian, kita patut memikirkan bagaimana menyelaraskan berbagai ketegangan pemikiran dalam tulisan-tulisan tersebut ketika buku-buku tersebut membahas konsep mengenai keadilan/pembalasan dalam literatur hikmat dan memahami arti dan makna dari konsep tersebut dalam literatur hikmat dan maknanya dalam literatur PL lainnya.

Abstract: Rasulullah(S) could have easily gotten multiple gorgeous women as his wives or concubines had he so desired. However, except Ayesha, all his wives were divorced, widowed, or slaves.  All of these marriages were divinely ordained and had Hikmah (divine wisdom) and valid reasons behind them. Some of them were helping a pious Muslim woman whose husband had been slain in the cause of Islam, freeing those captives of war belonging to an honourable lineage, and achieving political allies for the cause of Islam. Some marriages were entered into in the hope of establishing cordial relationships with some influential tribes in order to reduce their enmity towards Islam. Rasulullah(S) removed racial, cultural, tribal, and national distinctions and prejudices through his marriages. The prime reason for his marriages was to unite the Muslim community with love and affection. During the era of Jahiliyyah, a divorced woman was considered inferior in status and the rich man would usually prefer to have them as concubines rather than marry them. By marrying a divorced lady, Rasulullah(S) set a precedent that it is legal as well as noble to marry a divorcee and elevate her status in society.  Some of Rasulullah’s(S) marriages were in order to wipe out certain prevailing evil customs and practices. An adopted son was considered as one’s own back in the day which Islam disallowed and Rasulullah (S) married his cousin Zaynab who was earlier the wife of his adopted son Zaid. Thus, he removed the custom that Nikah was illegal with the former wife of an adopted son. Likewise, prisoners of wars were kept as slave girls but never married. To eradicate this evil practice Rasulullah(S) set an example and married two captive women.

It is beneficial to investigate the meaning of ‫ְתָּ‬ ‫צ‬ ֖ ‫ָפַ‬ ‫ח‬ because it is the only occurrence of that word in the book of Jonah, yet it tells us something about the nature of God. 1 Interpreted within its context, the word's usage and meaning in Jonah 1:14 is especially important in that it communicates how the Lord dealt with Jonah and the seamen. In order to better define this word, this paper will explore what ‫חפץ‬ means by considering Hebrew usage, Greek interpretation, and contextual-grammatical clues. By the end, this paper will prove that ‫ְתָּ‬ ‫צ‬ ֖ ‫ָפַ‬ ‫ח‬ in Jonah 1:14 should be interpreted with a sense of divine will rather than pleasure or delight.

Psalm 37 uchodzi za zbiór sentencji mądrościowych, przypominający Księgę Przysłów. Szczegółowa analiza tego Psalmu prowadzi do wniosku, że jest on kunsztowną kompozycją (pomijając drobne redakcyjne uzupełnienie) i jako taki powinien być interpretowany. Rzeczowo przynależy on do Psałterza (umieszczony w końcowej części pierwszego Psałterza Dawidowego), gdyż z naciskiem wzywa odbiorcę do pokładania ufności w Bogu, który ocala sprawiedliwego, a niegodziwego przywodzi do zagłady. Jest znacznie bardziej niż zbiory z Księgi Przysłów naznaczony religijnie i liturgicznie.

The stucture of the Book of Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) has aptly been characterized as "The Riddle of the Sphinx" because of its unfathomable architecture. The quantitative structural analysis of the book has now brought to light that it is a finely crafted numerical composition made up of seven Parts (1-2; 3-4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9,1-12,8) and an Epilogue (12,9-14). The Sphinx has at last been moved to speak, to wit, in the language of number, which everyone can check.

In this article I want to spend time with suffering - how we experience it, the critical role it plays and how we can come to terms with the elements of suffering that we cannot eliminate and still lead fruitful, dignified lives.  I have limited myself to the particular issue of trying to understand the psychological capacities and competences (wisdom) that will reduce unnecessary suffering and which are essential conditions for democratic forms of living ranging from deliberative processes in formal, democratic institutional settings to intimate relationships. Suffering is a primary problem for democratic ways of working because the suffering that everyone experiences acts as a direct limitation on our capacity to function to the level required in democratic interaction. Thus alleviating suffering and finding the psychological capacity to tolerate it are important means of enhancing the quality of democracy.

This essay considers virtue ethics and universalism in the wisdom literature of Musharrif al-Din Muṣliḥ Saʿdī (d. ca. 690/1291). Published in Renovatio, Spring (2018). If possible, please use this link to access: https://renovatio.zaytuna.edu/article/the-secret-of-the-morality-tale

The version uploaded here is a proof with minor errors.

Citation: Zargar, Cyrus Ali. “The Secret of the Morality Tale: Saʿdī on What It Means To Be Human.” Renovatio 2:1 (Spring 2018), pp. 81-88.

Presented at the 2011 annual meeting of SBL in San Francisco, 20th November 2011.
There is a danger in assuming that monotheistic discourse must reflect a monotheistic belief: it may represent, rather, a way of speaking about 'the divine' which avoids separation of divine roles and identities in a polytheistic context. This is visible in much of the Egyptian literature analogous to biblical wisdom literature, where 'the god', to whom divine actions are attributed, can even stand alongside named, individual deities. Comparable tendencies or techniques are visible elsewhere, and we must be wary of assuming, therefore, that the attribution of all divine action to a single God in biblical wisdom literature must signal a rejection of the existence or effectiveness of other deities (perhaps especially when the God of Job appears to have children ...). If it did not begin as an affirmation of monotheism, however, such discourse may have become a vehicle for the development of new ideas.

In Amanda W. Benckhuysen’s invaluable work, she introduces women interpreters’ forgotten voices. Benckhuysen unveils the women’s forgotten counter readings of biblical texts that, as traditionally interpreted, had negatively affected women’s lives. As Benckhuysen concludes, “If this history of interpretation on Genesis 1–3 has taught us anything, however, it is that we need both men’s and women’s perspectives to help us gain a deeper understanding of the truth.” This book is especially helpful for readers who are interested in pursuing the many questions about the roles of women and men in the home and society and about why women’s voices, in particular, were often silenced. Benckhuysen’s The Gospel According to Eve is a very informative and educative resource that both women and men will benefit from reading.

When Eerdmans published Bruce Waltke’s two-volume NICOT Proverbs commentary in 2004, reviewers immediately recognized it as one of the most comprehensive and insightful commentaries on Proverbs written in the twentieth century. It was one of those books reviewers call “magisterial.” Now fifteen years later, Waltke and his student Ivan De Silva have simplified the technical aspects of the earlier commentary and brought it up to date.

The authors are clear; they did not simply condense the earlier commentary. There is considerable revision, primarily in the recent literature now cited in the footnotes. Most influential is Michael Fox’s two-volume Proverbs commentary in the Yale Anchor Bible (2008, 2009). The only new research in the commentary is on the “foreign woman,” the Sitz im Leben for the dissemination of Proverbs in ancient Israel, the existence of doublets, and a few exegetical comments in the body of the commentary.