WISDOM LITERATURE WISDOM LITERATURE Proverbs Ecclesiastes Job Message

WISDOM LITERATURE

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

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”

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

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

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

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

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)

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

JOB

• 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. “

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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. ”

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.

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.

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.