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

Israelite wisdom, literature, David Penchansky argues, records the disputes of ancient sages over basic human questions: What is the purpose of life? Is God just? Why do we suffer? Does God even exist? Penchansky sees confl icting answers to these questions in Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Ben Sira, and the Wisdom of Solomon -- and does not try to harmonize them. Instead, he fi nds meaning in the very dissonance and contradiction within these texts. Employing the latest scholarship yet remaining accessible to nonspecialists and students, Penchansky strikingly focuses on the "big picture" behind wisdom literature -- making it easy for readers to follow and appreciate these challenging texts -- without undermining each book's distinctive features. In the process, Penchansky opens up this rich and fertile vein of Israelite thought and demonstrates the renewed relevance of ancient Hebrew wisdom for today.

This textbook is aimed at undergraduates on level two or three courses relating to Old Testament Wisdom literature. The book begins with a consideration of what the term 'wisdom literature' means in Hebrew usage, and also examines which biblical materials might properly be classified as belonging to the category of wisdom literature. The cultural and political context of ancient Israel is examined, together with an analysis of the key problem of whether or not there were any practical levels of literacy in the period in question. The middle section of the book looks in more depth at those books considered to contain 'wisdom literature': Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom of Solomon and Ecclesiasticus. The genre is characterised by praise of God, often in poetic form and by sayings of wisdom intended to teach about God and about virtue. Questions of authorship, editing, interpretation, the historical context of some of the writings, the book's major themes and sub-themes and the latest criticisms of each are laid out for discussion and analysis. The book is written with the undergraduate in mind, and is full of pedagogical features including tables and summaries of data, which allows for a more intensive agenda and for those with knowledge of classical Hebrew to pursue individual themes at greater depth

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.

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.