Wisdom in Ancient Israel

A collection of essays on wisdom literature and its relation to ancient Near Eastern thought.

John Day (Edited by), Robert P. Gordon (Edited by), Hugh Godfrey Maturin Williamson (Edited by)

9780521624893, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 11 December 1997

328 pages
22.8 x 15.3 x 1.8 cm, 0.445 kg

'The many fresh insights offered by the contributors will make this volume necessary to students and scholars alike.' Word Trade

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 neighbours and discuss the place of wisdom in Israelite religion, theology, and society.

Introduction John Day, Robert P. Gordon, and H. G. M. Williamson
Part I. The Ancient Near Eastern Setting: 1. Egyptian wisdom literature J. D. Ray
2. Some new Babylonian wisdom literature W. G. Lambert
3. The wisdom of Ahiqar Jonas C. Greenfield
Part II. Old Testament and Apocryphal Texts: 4. Foreign semitic influence on the wisdom of Israel and its appropriation in the book of Proverbs John Day
5. The limits of theodicy as a theme of the book of Job E. W. Nicholson
6. Qoheleth Otto Kaiser
7. A house divided: wisdom in Old Testament narrative traditions Robert P. Gordon
8. Wisdom in Solomonic historiography André Lemaire
9. Amos and wisdom J. A. Soggin
10. Hosea and the wisdom tradition: dependence and independence A. A. Macintosh
11. Isaiah and the wise H. G. M. Williamson
12. Jeremiah and the wise William McKane
13. The wisdom psalms R. N. Whybray
14. Wisdom and Daniel B. A. Mastin
15. Ecclesiasticus: a tract for the times John G. Snaith
16. The Christian use and the Jewish origins of the Wisdom of Solomon William Horbury
17. Were there schools in ancient Israel? G. I. Davies
18. The trees, the beasts and the birds: fables, parables and allegories in the Old Testament Kevin J. Cathcart
19. The personification of Wisdom Roland E. Murphy
20. Wisdom and the goddess Judith M. Hadley
21. Wisdom at Qumran A. S. van der Woude
22. The interpretation of wisdom in nineteenth-century scholarship Rudopf Smend
23. Wisdom and Old Testament theology R. E. Clements
Biographical note: John Adney Emerton
Bibliography of the works of John Adney Emerton Karen K. Miticich
Indexes.

Subject Areas: Biblical studies & exegesis [HRCG]