Was There a Wisdom Tradition

Was There a Wisdom Tradition
Author: Mark R. Sneed
Publisher: SBL Press
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2015-09-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1628371013

Essential reading for scholars and students in wisdom studies This collection of essays explores questions that challenge the traditional notion of a wisdom tradition among the Israelite literati, such as: Is the wisdom literature a genre or mode of literature or do we need new terminology? Who were the tradents? Is there such a thing as a “wisdom scribe” and what would that look like? Did the scribes who composed wisdom literature also have a hand in producing the other “traditions,” such as the priestly, prophetic, and apocalyptic, as well as other non-sapiential works? Were Israelite sages open to non-sapiential forms of knowledge in their conceptualization of wisdom? Features: Recent genre theory in distinction from traditional form criticism Ancient Near Eastern comparative material A balanced collection that includes essays that seriously challenge and affirm the consensus view, as well as those that reconfigure it

An Introduction to Israel's Wisdom Traditions

An Introduction to Israel's Wisdom Traditions
Author: John L. McLaughlin
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2018-05-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1467450561

It can be a challenge to understand the Hebrew Bible’s wisdom literature and how it relates to biblical history and theology, but John L. McLaughlin makes this complicated genre straightforward and accessible. This introductory-level textbook begins by explaining the meaning of wisdom to the Israelites and surrounding cultures before moving into the conventions of the genre and its poetic forms. The heart of the book examines Proverbs, Job, Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes), and the deuterocanonical Ben Sira and Wisdom of Solomon. McLaughlin also explores the influence of wisdom throughout the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Designed especially for beginning students—and based on twenty-five years of teaching Israel’s wisdom literature to university students—McLaughlin’s Introduction to Israel’s Wisdom Traditions provides an informed, panoramic view of wisdom literature’s place in the biblical canon.

The Wisdom Way of Knowing

The Wisdom Way of Knowing
Author: Cynthia Bourgeault
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2003-10-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 078796896X

"Drawing on resources as diverse as Sufism, Benedictine Monasticism, the Gurdjieff Work, and the string theory of modern physics, Cynthia Bourgeault has crafted her own unique vision of the Wisdom way in this very accessible book, nicely balanced between concept and practice." —Gerald May, senior fellow, Shalem Institute, and author, Addiction and Grace and Will and Spirit "The spiritual wisdom and practical suggestions in this lively and beautiful book will be helpful to many who find themselves setting out on the interior journey." —Bruno Barnhart, a Camaldolese monk and author, Second Simplicity: The Inner Shape of Christianity "Cynthia Bourgeault's book is a valuable contribution to the much-needed reawakening of spiritual practice within a Christian context. Her sincerity, good sense, metaphysical depth, and broad experience make her a source to be trusted." —Kabir Helminski, Sufi Shaikh, the Threshold Society

Wisdom in Ancient Israel

Wisdom in Ancient Israel
Author: John Day
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 325
Release: 1995-06-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780521420136

In this collection, an international group of specialists considers the nature of wisdom in relation to the thought world of the ancient Near East and its impact on the rest of the Old Testament. In addition to full coverage of the wisdom books and other literature most frequently thought to have been influenced by them, thematic studies also introduce the principal comparative sources among Israel's neighbors and discuss the place of wisdom in Israelite religion, theology and society.

Living in The Story

Living in The Story
Author: Charlotte Vaughan Coyle
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2021-08-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666705233

What kind of book is the Bible? Is it a rulebook or a guidebook for moral living? Is it a history book or a book filled with fascinating (and sometimes fantastic) stories? Did humans write the Bible or did God somehow speak a perfect message that the authors transcribed? Many people have asked these questions about the nature of this beautiful, odd, comforting, disturbing book the church calls its “Holy Scripture.” Charlotte Vaughan Coyle shares her own journey to make sense of the Bible in this read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year project. She discovered that the crucial work of asking hard questions and even arguing with the Bible revealed the Scriptures to be a symphony of polyphonic voices, a work of art that paints an alternative vision of reality, a complex novel-like story unavoidably embedded in its own culture and time, and yet able to give witness to the God beyond history who has acted (and continues to act) within history. With the heart of a pastor and the passion of a preacher, Rev. Coyle invites seekers and students (both churched and un-churched) to strap on their scuba gear and join her for a deeper dive beneath the surface of this immense, colorful, mysterious world of the Bible.

Old Testament Wisdom

Old Testament Wisdom
Author: James L. Crenshaw
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 278
Release: 1998-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780664254629

When Old Testament Wisdom appeared in 1981, new perspectives on biblical theology, an increasing awareness of ancient Near Eastern texts resembling biblical wisdom, and an emerging interest in ethnic proverbs were mere intimations of what was to become a dramatic outpouring of scholarship on wisdom literature. In this expanded edition, James Crenshaw takes stock of the wealth of new material produced by contemporary interpreters. Liberation and feminists critics, scholars in comparative religion, specialists in devotional theology, and researchers exploring educational systems in the ancient Near East all have enriched our understanding of wisdom literature in recent years, and all receive insightful treatment in this new volume. Now as before, Crenshaw's Old Testament Wisdom is an invaluable asset for anyone wishing to understand the rich and complex legacy of wisdom literature.

The Fear of the Lord Is Wisdom

The Fear of the Lord Is Wisdom
Author: Tremper Longman, III
Publisher: Baker Academic
Total Pages: 316
Release: 2017-08-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493410202

A Jesus Creed 2017 Old Testament Book of the Year Wisdom plays an important role in the Old Testament, particularly in Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. Now in paperback, this major work from renowned scholar Tremper Longman III examines wisdom in the Old Testament and explores its theological influence on the intertestamental books, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and especially the New Testament. Longman notes that wisdom is a practical category (the skill of living), an ethical category (a wise person is a virtuous person), and most foundationally a theological category (the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom). The author discusses Israelite wisdom in the context of the broader ancient Near East, examines the connection between wisdom in the New Testament and in the Old Testament, and deals with a number of contested issues, such as the relationship of wisdom to prophecy, history, and law.

Wisdom in Classical and Biblical Tradition

Wisdom in Classical and Biblical Tradition
Author: Michael C. Legaspi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 474
Release: 2018-08-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0190885149

Wisdom in Classical and Biblical Tradition begins with the recognition that modern culture emerged from a synthesis of the legacies of ancient Greek civilization and the theological perspectives of the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Part of what made this synthesis possible was a shared outlook: a common aspiration toward wholeness of understanding that refused to separate knowledge from goodness, virtue from happiness, cosmos from polis, and divine authority from human responsibility. This wholeness of understanding, or wisdom, featured prominently in both classical and biblical literatures as an ultimate good. Michael Legaspi has two central aims. The first is to explain in formal terms what wisdom is. Though wisdom involves matters of practical judgment affecting the life of the individual and the community, it has also been identified with an understanding of the world and of the ultimate realities that give meaning to human thought and action. In its traditional form, wisdom was understood to govern intellectual, social, and ethical endeavors. His second aim is to analyze figures and texts that have yielded and shaped the traditional understanding of wisdom. The book examines accounts of wisdom within foundational texts that range from the period of Homer to the destruction of the Second Temple. In doing so, it explains why the search for wisdom remains an important but problematic endeavor today.

Perspectives on Israelite Wisdom

Perspectives on Israelite Wisdom
Author: John Jarick
Publisher: T&T Clark
Total Pages: 523
Release: 2018-09-20
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0567684520

This collection of essays examines the wisdom traditions of the Old Testament from a variety of angles. The slipperiness of the concept of 'wisdom literature', the transmission of 'wise' advice for living, rabbinic and patristic approaches to the Bible's wisdom traditions, and cutting-edge modern perspectives on such Old Testament books as Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes are all to be found here. In the tradition of the renowned previous volumes from the Oxford Old Testament Seminar - King and Messiah in Israel and the Ancient Near East (1998), In Search of Pre-Exilic Israel (2004), Temple and Worship in Biblical Israel (2005), and Prophecy and Prophets in Ancient Israel (2010)-this new volume again brings the scholarship of the Oxford Seminar, here focused on the rich subject of Old Testament wisdom traditions, to an international readership.

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature
Author: Samuel L. Adams
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 516
Release: 2020-02-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1119158273

A comprehensive introduction to ancient wisdom literature, with fascinating essays on a broad range of topics. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature is a wide-ranging introduction to the texts, themes, and receptions of the wisdom literature of the Bible and the ancient world. This comprehensive volume brings together original essays from established scholars and emerging voices to offer a variety of perspectives on the “wisdom” biblical books, early Christian and rabbinic literature, and beyond. Varied and engaging essays provide fresh insights on topics of timeless relevance, exploring the distinct features of instructional texts and discussing their interpretation in both antiquity and the modern world. Designed for non-specialists, this accessible volume provides readers with balanced coverage of traditional biblical wisdom texts, including Proverbs, Job, Psalms, and Ecclesiastes; lesser-known Egyptian and Mesopotamian wisdom; and African proverbs. The contributors explore topics ranging from scribes and pedagogy in ancient Israel, to representations of biblical wisdom literature in contemporary cinema. Offering readers a fresh and interesting way to engage with wisdom literature, this book: Discusses sapiential books and traditions in various historical and cultural contexts Offers up-to-date discussion on the study of the biblical wisdom books Features essays on the history of interpretation and theological reception Includes essays covering the antecedents and afterlife of the texts Part of the acclaimed Wiley Blackwell Companions to Religion series, the Companion to Wisdom Literature is a valuable resource for university, seminary and divinity school students and instructors, scholars and researchers, and general readers with interest in the subject.