The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Wisdom Literature

An essential guide to wisdom texts, and the major changes in the approach to different biblical and non-biblical wisdom books.

Katherine J. Dell (Edited by), Suzanna R. Millar (Associate editor), Arthur Jan Keefer (Associate editor)

9781108716475, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 9 June 2022

375 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 2.8 cm, 0.764 kg

Study of the wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible and the contemporary cultures in the ancient Near Eastern world is evolving rapidly as old definitions and assumptions are questioned. Scholars are now interrogating the role of oral culture, the rhetoric of teaching and didacticism, the understanding of genre, and the relationship of these factors to the corpus of writings. The scribal culture in which wisdom literature arose is also under investigation, alongside questions of social context and character formation. This Companion serves as an essential guide to wisdom texts, a body of biblical literature with ancient origins that continue to have universal and timeless appeal. Reflecting new interpretive approaches, including virtue ethics and intertextuality, the volume includes essays by an international team of leading scholars. They engage with the texts, provide authoritative summaries of the state of the field, and open up to readers the exciting world of biblical wisdom.

Part I. The Context of Wisdom Literature: 1. Introduction the editors
2. The scope of wisdom literature Tremper Longman III
3. The multiple genres of wisdom Suzanna Millar
4. The literary context(s) and development of wisdom literature in ancient Israel Knut Heim
5. The scribal world Mark Sneed
6. Theological themes in the 'wisdom literature': proverbs, job and ecclesiastes Katharine J. Dell
7. The solomonic connection David Firth
Part II. Wisdom Literature in the Hebrew Bible: 8. Proverbs Christopher B. Ansberry
9. Job Will Kynes
10. Ecclesiastes/Qoheleth Mette Bundvad
11. The song of songs J. L. Andruska
12. Wisdom psalms Simon Chi-chung Cheung
13. Wisdom's wider resonance Michael C. Legaspi
Part III. Wisdom Literature Beyond the Hebrew Bible: 14. Ben Sira/Sirach Seth A. Bledsoe
15. Wisdom of Solomon Joachim Schaper
16. Wisdom at Qumran David A. Skelton
17. Egyptian wisdom Michael V. Fox and Suzanna Millar
18. Syro-Palestinian wisdom Noga Ayali-Darshan
19. Mesopotamian wisdom Paul Alain Beaulieu
Part IV. Themes in the Wisdom Literature: 20. Creation in the wisdom literature Zoltán Schwáb
21. Reward and retribution Peter T. H. Hatton
22. From rebuke to testimony to proverb: wisdom's many pedagogies William P. Brown
23. The wisdom literature and virtue ethics Arthur Jan Keefer
Bibliography
Index of Subjects.

Subject Areas: Judaism [HRJ], Old Testaments [HRCF1], Bibles [HRCF]