Some betray a wisdom influence (e.g., Ps 37), and the very first Psalm serves as an invitation to learn about the ways of the just and wicked in the rest of the psalter. Psalms, the book of prayer par excellence, derives from varied origins, especially liturgical celebrations it contains personal cries of agony as well as of praise and thanksgiving. The Book of Job is a literary presentation of the problem of the suffering of the innocent and god-fearing Job. 10–29) reflecting on the experiences of life. 1–9), which introduce collections of aphorisms ( chaps. Proverbs consists of long poems dealing with moral conduct ( chaps. The bearing of wisdom literature on the New Testament is also exemplified in the sayings and parables of Jesus and in the practical admonitions in the Letter of James.Įach book has a distinctive character. This image of personified Wisdom is reflected in the Logos poem of Jn 1:1–18 and in Paul’s reference to Jesus as “the wisdom of God” ( 1 Cor 1:24, 30). She offers “life” to her followers ( Prv 8:35, “whoever finds me finds life”). Her appeal to humanity is sounded in several books: Prv 8 Sir 24 Wis 7–9 Bar 3:9–4:4. The strongest personification in the Bible is Woman Wisdom, and she speaks somewhat mysteriously in divine accents about her origins and identity. Its religious character is indicated by the steady identification of wisdom and virtue (e.g., Prv 10–15).īut wisdom is far more than a practical guide. Paradoxically, it remains also the gift of God ( Prv 2:6). The pursuit of wisdom demands more than human industry. Although the need of discipline is underlined, the general approach is persuasion. The task of wisdom is character formation: what is the wise path to follow? The lessons are conveyed by observations that challenge as well as by admonitions that warn. Belief in the Lord and acceptance of the prevailing codes of conduct were presupposed they fed into the training of youths. And it is also a teaching: the lessons garnered from experience were transmitted at various levels, from education in the home all the way to training in the court. Wisdom itself is an art: how to deal with various situations and achieve a good life. The literary style is wide-ranging: aphorisms, numerical sayings, paradoxes, instructions, alphabetical and acrostic poems, lively speeches, and so forth. Biblical wisdom literature concentrates on daily human experience: how is life to be lived? In this respect it is comparable to other ancient Near Eastern compositions from Mesopotamia and Egypt that also reflect on the problems of everyday life. These works have been classified as wisdom or didactic literature, so called because their general purpose is instruction.Ī striking feature of the wisdom books is the absence of references to the promises made to the patriarchs or to Moses, or to Sinai or typical items in Israelite tradition Sirach ( chaps. All are marked by a skillful use of parallelism, or verses of balanced and symmetrical phrases. Two other books are often associated with them: Psalms, a collection of mostly devotional lyrics, and the Song of Songs, a collection of love poems. “Wisdom” is a convenient umbrella term to designate the Books of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth), Wisdom, and Sirach (Ecclesiasticus).
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