The Oxford Handbook of Wisdom and the Bible 0190661267, 9780190661267

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T h e Ox f o r d H a n d b o o k o f

W ISD OM A N D T H E BI BL E

The Oxford Handbook of

WISDOM AND THE BIBLE Edited by

WILL KYNES

1

1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America. © Oxford University Press 2021 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Kynes, Will, 1981– editor. Title: The Oxford handbook of wisdom and the Bible / edited by Will Kynes. Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2020035227 (print) | LCCN 2020035228 (ebook) | ISBN 9780190661267 (hardback) | ISBN 9780190661281 (epub) | ISBN 9780190661298 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Wisdom literature—Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Wisdom—Religious aspects. | Wisdom—Biblical teaching. Classification: LCC BS1455.O94 2021 (print) | LCC BS1455 (ebook) | DDC 223/.06—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020035227 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020035228 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America

To Vanessa, who has embodied the delightful blessings of wisdom in my life. Get wisdom; get insight: do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever else you get, get insight. Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a fair garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown. Proverbs 4:5–9

Preface

The concept of wisdom holds a prominent place in the social and theological imagination of the biblical authors. Wisdom is presented as one of God’s defining characteristics (Isa 31:2; Job 12:13; cf. Rom 16:27), present with the deity at creation (Prov 3:19; 8:27–31), the product of obedience to the Torah (Deut 4:6; Ps 119:98), and a divine gift (Prov 2:6; Jas 1:5). It is identified with the fear of the Lord (Prov 1:7; 9:10; Job 28:28; Ps 111:10), righteousness (e.g., Prov 10:31), and life (Prov 13:14), as well as with skill in practical matters, such as spinning yarn (Exod 35:25), sailing ships (Ezek 27:8), proper speech (Prov 12:18; 29:11), and amassing wealth (Ezek 28:4; Prov 8:18). The wise, those who possess wisdom in special measure, are respected for their just judgments (1 Kgs 3:28) and insightful counsel (Jer 18:18). In the New Testament, wisdom is associated with Christ (1 Cor 1:24, 30), and is one of the attributes for which he receives eternal worship (Rev 5:12). The Christian community is expected to be characterized by its own distinctive wisdom (Jas 3:13, 17), different from that of the Greeks (1 Cor 1:22–25). Within biblical scholarship, the discussion of wisdom and the Bible has been primarily oriented around Wisdom Literature as a category of biblical texts centered around Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job, though sometimes including Psalms and Song of Songs, as well as Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon, and even spreading its “influence” into additional texts across the canon. These texts have been associated with a group called “the wise” in the Hebrew Bible, who are credited with promulgating a “Wisdom” tradition, with its own distinct theological beliefs and literary forms of expression. Therefore, this volume includes chapters on features of Wisdom Literature as a category (Part IV), its relationship to other types of literature in the Hebrew Bible and Second Temple period (Part V), and each of the texts commonly associated with it (Part VI). However, as becomes evident in a number of these chapters (especially those in Part V), a focus on Wisdom Literature as a category will leave features of the biblical conception of wisdom in the blurry periphery of our vision. The field is currently in the midst of a spirited debate about the value and validity of this category. Oxford Handbooks are designed both to reflect the current state of the discipline and to help shape its future. That makes this an ideal forum in which to carry out this debate. Contributors to this volume represent the full range of opinions on the future of Wisdom Literature, from those who think it should be discarded as a distorting hindrance to the accurate interpretation of the biblical texts associated with it and the concept of wisdom it purports to illuminate, to those who would maintain it for its heuristic value as the encapsulation of distinct features the texts share and a window into the social world behind them.

viii   preface This volume is not designed to take a particular position in this debate, but it does take advantage of the space the new questions being raised about the Wisdom category has created to think anew about wisdom as a concept. As the introductory chapter explains, the study of Wisdom Literature does not completely comprehend the study of wisdom as a concept in the Bible and related cultures, and yet concept and category remain intertwined, such that their treatment in a common volume is fitting. Therefore, the first half of the volume focuses on wisdom as a concept. As interpreters have attempted to describe this jewel of biblical thought, they have focused attention on several of its glimmering facets: wisdom’s association with skill and success in its advice, its connection to knowledge and revelation in its epistemology, its role in character formation as a virtue, its ligature with creation and covenant in its theology, and its encapsulation of retribution and skepticism in its vision of order. Part I of this volume considers each in turn. A concept of such significance cannot be understood simply within the constraints of the biblical canon. Part II examines how, dropped into an ancient world already awash with reflection on wisdom, the biblical conception ripples through cultures shaped by the Hebrew Bible. Part III, then, explores the continuing relevance of wisdom in the modern world, both in the three “Religions of the Book” Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, and in a sampling of ideological and contextual perspectives. As in the second half of the volume focused on Wisdom Literature as a category, the contributors who reflect on wisdom as a concept in the three parts in this first half represent a range of views on the validity of the Wisdom category and therefore its value for illuminating the biblical concept of wisdom. Wisdom and Wisdom Literature no longer dance in quite as tight an embrace; how wisdom’s steps may change if no longer led by Wisdom Literature and whether Wisdom Literature will even remain on the floor still remain to be seen. I am grateful to Steve Wiggins at Oxford University Press for initiating and guiding this project to completion. I am also indebted to Katharine J. Dell, Stuart Weeks, and Mark Sneed for offering their insight on the topics to be covered in the volume and its structure. I was incredibly fortunate to be joined in this endeavor by a group of contributors who represent so well the breadth and depth of wisdom. I would also like to thank my research assistant at Samford University, John Pawlik, who worked with the diligence endorsed by Proverbs to help prepare the volume for publication.

Contents

List of Abbreviations xiii List of Contributors xix

1. Wisdom and Wisdom Literature: Past, Present, and Future Will Kynes

1

PA RT I   T H E C ON C E P T OF W I SD OM IN THE HEBREW BIBLE 2. Advice: Wisdom, Skill, and Success Jacqueline Vayntrub

17

3. Epistemology: Wisdom, Knowledge, and Revelation  Annette Schellenberg

29

4. Virtue and Its Limits in the Wisdom Corpus: Character Formation, Disruption, and Transformation William P. Brown

45

5. Theology: Creation, Wisdom, and Covenant Raymond C. Van Leeuwen

65

6. Order: Wisdom, Retribution, and Skepticism Ludger Schwienhorst-Schönberger

83

PA RT I I   T H E C ON C E P T OF W I SD OM I N R E L AT E D C U LT U R E S 7. Wisdom in Egypt Joachim Friedrich Quack

103

8. Mesopotamian Wisdom Literature Yoram Cohen and Nathan Wasserman

121

x   contents

9. Wisdom in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Early Jewish Interpretation Arjen Bakker

141

10. Wisdom in Dialogue with Greek Civilization Michael C. Legaspi

155

11. Wisdom in the New Testament  Mariam Kamell Kovalishyn

173

12. Wisdom in Patristic Interpretation: Scriptural and Cosmic Unity in Athanasius’s Exegesis of Proverbs 8:22 Susannah Ticciati 13. Wisdom in Rabbinic Interpretation Amram Tropper

187 205

PA RT I I I   T H E C ON C E P T OF W I SD OM I N T H E M ODE R N WOR L D 14. Wisdom in the Qur’an and the Islamic Tradition U. Isra Yazicioglu

221

15. Wisdom in Jewish Theology Jonathan Schofer

241

16. Wisdom in Christian Theology Paul S. Fiddes

255

17. Personified Wisdom and Feminist Theologies Christine Roy Yoder

273

18. Wisdom in Nature Norman Habel

287

19. The Pervasiveness of Wisdom in (Con)texts John Ahn

301

PA RT I V   T H E C AT E G ORY OF W I SD OM L I T E R AT U R E 20. Solomon and the Solomonic Collection Katharine J. Dell

321

contents   xi

21. The Social Setting of Wisdom Literature Mark Sneed

337

22. Literary Genres of Old Testament Wisdom Markus Witte

353

23. The Chronological Development of Wisdom Literature Markus Saur

373

24. Theology of Wisdom Tremper Longman III

389

PA RT V   W I SD OM L I T E R AT U R E A N D OT H E R L I T E R AT U R E 25. Wisdom Influence John L. McLaughlin

409

26. Law and Wisdom Literature Jonathan P. Burnside

423

27. History and Wisdom Literature Suzanna R. Millar

441

28. Prophecy and Wisdom Literature Mark J. Boda

459

29. Apocalyptic and Wisdom Literature Bennie H. Reynolds III

475

PA RT V I   T E X T S 30. Proverbs Samuel E. Balentine

495

31. Ecclesiastes Tova L. Forti

515

32. Job Scott C. Jones

533

33. Song of Songs Anselm C. Hagedorn

551

xii   contents

34. Wisdom Psalms W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

567

35. Ben Sira Benjamin G. Wright III

583

36. The Wisdom of Solomon James K. Aitken and Ekaterina Matusova

599

37. The Pursuit of Wisdom at Qumran: Assessing the Classification “Wisdom Literature” and Its Application to the Dead Sea Scrolls Matthew Goff

617

Author Index Scriptural and Ancient Texts

635 646

List of Abbreviations

ÄAT AB ABD

Ägypten und Altes Testament Anchor Bible Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by David Noel Freedman. 6 vols. New York, NY: Doubleday, 1992 ABG Arbeiten zur Bibel und ihrer Geschichte ABS Archaeology and Biblical Studies ActAnt Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae ACW Ancient Christian Writers AF Archivo di filosofia AfO Archiv für Orientforschung ÄgAbh Ägyptologische Abhandlungen AIL Ancient Israel and Its Literature AJSR Association for Jewish Studies Review AnBib Analecta Biblica ANESSup Ancient Near Eastern Studies Supplements Series ANETS Ancient Near Eastern Texts and Studies AnSt Anatolian Studies AntOr Antiguo Oriente AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament AOS American Oriental Series ASJ Acta Sumerologica ASTI Annual of the Swedish Theological Institute ATANT Abhandlungen zur Theologie des Alten und Neuen Testaments ATD Das Alte Testament Deutsch ATM Altes Testament und Moderne AuOrSup Aula Orientalis Supplements BBR Bulletin for Biblical Research BCOTWP Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms BdK Bibliothek deutscher Klassiker BEATAJ Beiträge zur Erforschung des Alten Testaments und des antiken Judentum BEL Biblical Encyclopedia Library BETL Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium BHT Beiträge zur historischen Theologie

xiv   list of abbreviations Bib BibInt BibInt BibSem BJRL BJS BJSUCSD BKAT BL BLS BN BNB BO BSJS BTA BTB BThSt BTS BZAW BZNW CBQ CBQMS CC CdE CFThL CHANE CM ConBOT CSA CSHB CTJ CurBR CurBS CurTM CUSAS DCLS DJD DSD EncJud ErFor ErIsr

Biblica Biblical Interpretation Biblical Interpretation Series The Biblical Seminar Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester Brown Judaic Studies Biblical and Judaic Studies from the University of California, San Diego Biblischer Kommentar, Altes Testament Bibel und Liturgie Bible and Literature Series Biblische Notizen Biblische Notizen Beihefte Bibliotheca Orientalis Brill’s Series in Jewish Studies Bible and Theology in Africa Biblical Theology Bulletin Biblisch-theologische Studien Biblical Tools and Studies Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft Catholic Biblical Quarterly Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series Continental Commentaries Chronique d’Égypte Clark’s Foreign Theological Library, 4th series Culture and History of the Ancient Near East Cuneiform Monographs Coniectanea Biblica: Old Testament Series Copenhagen Studies in Assyriology Critical Studies in the Hebrew Bible Calvin Theological Journal Currents in Biblical Research Currents in Research: Biblical Studies Currents in Theology and Mission Cornell University Studies in Assyriology and Sumerology Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies Discoveries in the Judaean Desert Dead Sea Discoveries Encyclopedia Judaica. Edited by Fred Skolnik and Michael Berenbaum. 2nd ed. 22 vols. Detroit, MI: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007 Erträge der Forschung Eretz-Israel

list of abbreviations   xv EvT FAOS FAT FAT II FB FCB FCB II FOTL FRLANT

Evangelische Theologie Freiburger altorientalische Studien Forschungen zum Alten Testament Forschungen zum Alten Testament II Forschung zur Bibel Feminist Companion to the Bible Feminist Companion to the Bible, Second Series Forms of the Old Testament Literature Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments FTLZ Forum Theologische Literaturzeitung GCT Gender, Culture, Theory GMTR Guides to the Mesopotamian Textual Record HAR Hebrew Annual Review HBAI Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel HBM Hebrew Bible Monographs HBS Herders Biblische Studien HCOT Historical Commentary on the Old Testament HCS Hellenistic Culture and Society HDR Harvard Dissertations in Religion HKAT Handkommentar zum Alten Testament HS Hebrew Studies HSTW The Hebrew Scriptures and Their World HThKAT Herders Theologischer Kommentar zum Alten Testament HTR Harvard Theological Review HTS Harvard Theological Studies HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual HvTSt Hervormde teologiese studies IECOT International Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament Int Interpretation ISBL Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature IRM International Review of Missions JAAR Journal of the American Academy of Religion JAJSup Journal of Ancient Judaism. Supplements JANER Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions JANESCU Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society of Columbia University JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JBTh Jahrbuch fur biblische Theologie JCS Journal of Cuneiform Studies JEA Journal of Egyptian Archaeology JECS Journal of Early Christian Studies

xvi   list of abbreviations JES JHS JHebS JJS JPSBC JQR JR JSJSup JSNT JSNTSup JSOT JSOTSup JSRC JTI JTISup JTS KAT KT LAI LCL LHBOTS MBS MTSR NAC NCB NICOT NIDNTTE NovTSup NRTh NThT OBO ÖBS OBS OIP OLA ORA OTE OTL OtSt OTS PEGL PG

Journal of Ecumenical Studies Journal of Hellenic Studies Journal of Hebrew Scriptures Journal of Jewish Studies JPS Bible Commentary Jewish Quarterly Review Journal of Religion Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism Journal for the Study of the New Testament Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series Jerusalem Studies in Religion and Culture Journal for Theological Interpretation Journal of Theological Interpretation Supplements Journal of Theological Studies Kommentar zum Alten Testament Kaiser Taschenbücher Library of Ancient Israel Loeb Classical Library Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies Message of Biblical Spirituality Method and Theory in the Study of Religion New American Commentary New Century Bible New International Commentary on the Old Testament New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Edited by Moises Silva. 5 vols. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014 Supplements to Novum Testamentum La nouvelle revue théologique Nieuw theologisch Tijdschrift Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis Österreichische biblische Studien Oxford Bible Series Oriental Institute Publications Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta Orientalische Religionen in der Antike Old Testament Essays Old Testament Library Oudtestamentische Studiën Old Testament Studies Proceedings of the Eastern Great Lakes Biblical Society Patrologia Graeca

list of abbreviations   xvii PGM PNTC Proof PRSt PSAT R&T RA RB ResQ RevExp RevQ RHPR RivB RlA RSPT RTL RTP SAAB SAACT SAK SANER SAOC SBAB SBLCS SBLDS SBLEJL SBLSCS SBLStBL SBLSymS SBS SBT SEÅ SemeiaSt SHANE SHBC SJOT SJT SOTSMS SPhiloA STDJ StOR

Papyri Graecae Magicae: Die griechischen Zauberpapyri. Edited by Karl Preisendanz. 2nd ed. Stuttgart: Teubner, 1973–1974 Pillar New Testament Commentary Prooftexts: A Journal of Jewish Literary History Perspectives in Religious Studies Poetologische Studien zum Alten Testament Religion and Theology Revue d’assyriologie et d’archéologie orientale Revue biblique Restoration Quarterly Review and Expositor Revue de Qumran Revue d’histoire et de philosophie religieuses Rivista biblica italiana Reallexikon der Assyriologie. Edited by Erich Ebeling et al. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1928– Revue des sciences philosophiques et théologiques Revue théologique de Louvain Revue de théologie et de philosophie State Archives of Assyria Bulletin State Archives of Assyria Cuneiform Texts Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Records Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilizations Stuttgarter biblische Aufsatzbände Society of Biblical Literature Commentary on the Septuagint Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series Society of Biblical Literature Early Judaism and Its Literature Society of Biblical Literature Septuagint and Cognate Studies Society of Biblical Literature Studies in Biblical Literature Society of Biblical Literature Symposium Series Stuttgarter Bibelstudien Studies in Biblical Theology Svensk exegetisk årsbok Semeia Studies Studies in the History of the Ancient Near East Smith & Helwys Bible Commentary Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament Scottish Journal of Theology Society for Old Testament Study Monograph Series Studia Philonica Annual Studies on the Texts of the Desert of Judah Studies in Oriental Religions

xviii   list of abbreviations STR StZ SubBi SVT SVTQ SymS TaiJT TDOT

Southeastern Theological Review Stimmen der Zeit Subsidia Biblica Scholia in Vetus Testamentum St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly Symposium Series Taiwan Journal of Theology Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Edited by G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren. Translated by John T. Willis et al. 8 vols. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974–2006 TDV Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi Ansiklopedisi THOTC Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary ThTo Theology Today TJ Trinity Journal TLZ Theologische Literaturzeitung TNTC Tyndale New Testament Commentaries TQ Theologische Quartalschrift TS Theological Studies TSAJ Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism TThSt Trierer theologische Studien TUAT.NF Texte aus der Umwelt des Alten Testaments. Neue Folge TZ Theologische Zeitschrift UF Ugarit-Forschungen USFSJH University of South Florida Studies in the History of Judaism VC Vigiliae Christianae VT Vetus Testamentum VTSup Supplements to Vetus Testamentum WAW Writings from the Ancient World WBC Word Biblical Commentary WisC Wisdom Commentary WLAW Wisdom Literature from the Ancient World WMANT Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament WO Die Welt des Orients WTJ Westminster Theological Journal WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament WW Word and World YOSR Yale Oriental Series, Researches ZÄS Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde ZAW Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ZBK Zürcher Bibelkommentare ZTK Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche

List of Contributors

John Ahn Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible at Howard University School of Divinity (Washington, D.C.). Trained in ancient Near Eastern and Religious Studies, he is the author/co-editor of Exile as Forced Migrations and Thus Says the LORD: Essays in Honor of Robert R. Wilson. James  K.  Aitken Reader in Hebrew and Early Jewish Studies at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Fitzwilliam College. His books include No Stone Unturned: Greek Inscriptions and Septuagint Vocabulary. Arjen Bakker  Assistant Professor of New Testament, University of Groningen. He is the author of The Secret of Time: Reconfiguring Wisdom in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Samuel E. Balentine  Professor of Old Testament and Director of Graduate Studies at Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, VA. His books include Have You Considered My Servant Job? Understanding the Biblical Archetype of Patience and Wisdom Literature. W.H. Bellinger, Jr.  Professor of Old Testament at Baylor University. He is the author of Psalms: A Guide to Studying the Psalter and Psalms in the New Cambridge Bible Commentary (with Walter Brueggemann). Mark J. Boda  Professor of Old Testament at McMaster Divinity College. His books include Praying the Tradition and Exploring Zechariah. William  P.  Brown William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary. He is the author of Wisdom’s Wonder: Character, Creation, and Crisis in the Bible’s Wisdom Literature and Seeing the Psalms: A Theology of Metaphor. Jonathan P. Burnside  Professor of Biblical Law at the University of Bristol. He is the author of, among other books, The Signs of Sin: Seriousness of Offence in Biblical Law and God, Justice, and Society: Aspects of Law and Legality in the Bible. Yoram Cohen  Professor of Assyriology in Tel Aviv University. He is the author of, among other books, Wisdom from the Late Bronze Age. Katharine J. Dell  Reader in Old Testament Literature and Theology in the Faculty of Divinity, University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge. She is the author of, among other books, The Book of Proverbs in Social and Theological Context and The Solomonic Corpus of “Wisdom” and Its Influence.

xx   list of contributors Paul S. Fiddes  Professor of Systematic Theology in the University of Oxford. His books include The Creative Suffering of God and Seeing the World and Knowing God: Hebrew Wisdom and Christian Doctrine in a Late-Modern Context. Tova L. Forti  Associate Professor of Old Testament at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She is the author of Animal Imagery in the Book of Proverbs and “Like A Lone Bird on A Roof ”: Animal Imagery and the Structure of Psalms. Matthew Goff  Professor of Hebrew Bible and Second Temple Judaism at Florida State University. He has written several monographs on Wisdom Literature and the Dead Sea Scrolls. His most recent volume is The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature, co-edited with Samuel Adams. Norman Habel Professorial Fellow at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. His recent works include Discerning Wisdom in God’s Creation and Being and Earth Being. Anselm C. Hagedorn  Professor of Hebrew Bible and Ancient Judaism at the University of Osnabrück. He is the author of Between Moses and Plato: Individual and Society in Deuteronomy and Ancient Greek Law and Die Anderen im Spiegel: Israels Auseinandersetzung mit den Völkern in den Büchern Nahum, Zefanja, Obadja und Joel. Scott C. Jones  Professor of Biblical Studies at Covenant College and author of Rumors of Wisdom: Job 28 as Poetry. Mariam Kamell Kovalishyn  Assistant Professor of New Testament at Regent College, Vancouver. She is the co-author of James: Zondervan Exegetical Commentary Series (with Craig Blomberg). Will Kynes  Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Samford University. His books include An Obituary for “Wisdom Literature”: The Birth, Death, and Intertextual Reintegration of a Biblical Corpus and My Psalm Has Turned into Weeping: Job’s Dialogue with the Psalms. Michael C. Legaspi  Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Jewish Studies at Pennsylvania State University. He is the author of Wisdom in Classical and Biblical Tradition. Tremper Longman III  Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Westmont College. He is the author of The Fear of the Lord is Wisdom: A Theological Introduction to Wisdom in Israel and commentaries on Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. Ekaterina Matusova  Heisenberg Research Fellow at the Institut für antikes Judentum und hellenistische Religionsgeschichte at the University of Tübingen. She is the author of The Meaning of the “Letter of Aristeas” in Light of Biblical Interpretation and Grammatical Tradition, and with Reference to Its Historical Context. John L. McLaughlin  Interim Dean and Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Bible at the University of St. Michael’s College. His publications include An Introduction to Israel’s Wisdom Tradition and The Ancient Near East: An Essential Guide.

list of contributors   xxi Suzanna  R.  Millar Teaching Fellow in Hebrew Bible and Old Testament at the University of Edinburgh. She is the author of Genre and Openness in Proverbs 10:1–22:16. Joachim Friedrich Quack  Professor of Egyptology at Heidelberg University. His books include Die Lehren des Ani: Ein neuägyptischer Weisheitstext in seinem kulturellen Umfeld and Einführung in die altägyptische Literaturgeschichte III: Die demotische und gräko-ägyptische Literatur. Bennie  H.  Reynolds III Director of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Assistant Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. He is the author of Between Symbolism and Realism: The Use of Symbolic and Non-Symbolic Language in Ancient Jewish Apocalypses 333–63 B.C.E. Markus Saur  Professor of Old Testament at the University of Bonn, and author of Einführung in die alttestamentliche Weisheitsliteratur. Annette Schellenberg  Professor of Old Testament at the University of Vienna, Austria. Her books include Erkenntnis als Problem: Qohelet und die alttestamentliche Diskussion um das menschlich Erkennen and Der Mensch, das Bild Gottes? Zum Gedanken einer Sonderstellung des Menschen im Alten Testament und in weiteren altorientalischen Quellen. Jonathan Schofer  Associate Professor of Classical and Medieval Rabbinic Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of The Making of a Sage: A Study in Rabbinic Ethics and Confronting Vulnerability: The Body and the Divine in Rabbinic Ethics. Ludger Schwienhorst-Schönberger Professor of Old Testament Studies at the University of Vienna. His books include Kohelet (Herders Theologischer Kommentar) and Ein Weg durch das Leid: Das Buch Ijob. Mark Sneed  Professor of Bible at Lubbock Christian University. He is the author of The Politics of Pessimism in Ecclesiastes: A Social-Science Perspective and The Social World of the Sages: An Introduction to Israelite and Jewish Wisdom Literature. Susannah Ticciati  Reader in Christian Theology at King’s College London. She is the author of Job and the Disruption of Identity: Reading beyond Barth and A New Apophaticism: Augustine and the Redemption of Signs. Amram Tropper  Senior Lecturer in Jewish History at Ben-Gurion University. Among other books, he is the author of Wisdom, Politics, and Historiography: Tractate Avot in the Context of the Graeco-Roman Near East and Rewriting Ancient Jewish History: The History of the Jews in Roman Times and the New Historical Method. Raymond C. Van Leeuwen  Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Eastern University. He is the author of Context and Meaning in Proverbs 25–27 and The Book of Proverbs in the New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary.

xxii   list of contributors Jacqueline Vayntrub  Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible at Yale Divinity School. She is the author of Beyond Orality: Biblical Poetry on Its Own Terms. Nathan Wasserman Professor of Assyriology at the Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His books include Style and Form in Old-Babylonian Literary Texts; Akkadian Love Literature of the Third and Second Millennium BCE and The Flood: The Akkadian Sources, A New Edition, Commentary, and a Literary Discussion. Markus Witte  Professor of Old Testament at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He is the author of, among others books, Hiobs viele Gesichter and The Development of God in the Old Testament. Benjamin  G.  Wright III University Distinguished Professor in Religion Studies at Lehigh University. His books include The Letter of Aristeas: “Aristeas to Philocrates” or “On the Translation of the Law of the Jews” and Praise Israel for Wisdom and Instruction: Essays on Ben Sira and Wisdom, The Letter of Aristeas and the Septuagint. U. Isra Yazicioglu  Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at St. Joseph’s University. She is the author of Understanding the Qur’anic Miracle Stories in the Modern Age. Christine Roy Yoder J.  McDowell Richards Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Columbia Theological Seminary. She is the author of Wisdom as a Woman of Substance: A Socioeconomic Reading of Proverbs 1–9 and 31:10–31 and Proverbs (Abingdon Old Testament Commentary Series).

CHAPTER 1

W isdom a n d W isdom Liter atu r e Past, Present, and Future Will Kynes

“History, if viewed as a repository for more than anecdote or chronology, could produce a decisive transformation in the image of science by which we are now possessed.” Thus begins Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1970, 1). The study of biblical wisdom now appears to be in the midst of one of these “decisive transformations,” otherwise known as a “paradigm shift.”1 The title of this chapter, “Wisdom and Wisdom Literature,” reflects one of the semantic shifts that Kuhn argues often accompany these transformations. That “and” has long been considered conjunctive, with the interpretation of the biblical conception of wisdom inseparable from that of the genre category, Wisdom Literature. Using genre taxonomically, Wisdom Literature reifies the affinities between a set of texts and then collectively associates them with a distinct tradition, theology, social class, and so forth. For example, when Ben Sira asks God to grant his audience “wisdom of heart to judge his people in righteousness” (45:26), Menahem Kister (2004, 14 n. 6) asks, “Would we have identified ‘wisdom’ in this verse as identical with that of ‘wisdom literature’ if we had not known that its author was Ben Sira?” The interchangeable use of wisdom as concept and Wisdom as category suggests the Wisdom tradition encompasses the meaning of biblical wisdom. However, interpreters are increasingly exploring the possibility of treating that “and” as disjunctive, such that the concept, biblical wisdom, and the category, Wisdom Literature, are recognized to be distinct; related to one another, certainly, but retaining non-coextensive referents.2 1  Though, as a discipline within the humanities, biblical studies can withstand inter-paradigm debate in a way in which the sciences in Kuhn’s understanding cannot (see Shedinger 2000), the dynamics he identifies surrounding changes in dominant paradigms may still apply, as Shedinger admits in regard to particularly influential paradigms in biblical studies, such as the Documentary Hypothesis (469). 2  To reflect this semantic shift, throughout this volume Wisdom Literature and Wisdom are capitalized whenever they refer to the category or anything derived from it (“Wisdom thought,” “Wisdom tradition,” and so forth) to distinguish them from wisdom as a concept. Some would complain that this convention reifies wisdom. I would argue, however, that it reflects the reification that has already occurred.

2   Will Kynes Interest in biblical wisdom is high, as recent publishing trends indicate.3 However, confidence in Wisdom Literature as a scholarly category is low. Questions have begun to be raised with increasing frequency and urgency about issues fundamental to the category’s definition and interpretation, including its delimitation, the tradition associated with it, and even its usefulness (see Sneed 2011; Dell 2015; Weeks 2016). One scholar has even attempted to write its obituary (Kynes 2019a). And along with these questions, scare quotes have begun to appear around the term, gripping it in uncertainty. Others have jumped to the category’s defense (e.g., Schellenberg 2015), but arguments that ideas are alive and well hardly make a strong case for their vitality. Indeed, the most concerning feature of recent Wisdom scholarship has been the increasing reliance on appeals to an ethereal “general consensus” to support its existence (see Kynes 2019a, 34–59). This all makes the present a particularly exciting time to study biblical wisdom. The field is in what Kuhn would call a “revolutionary phase,” in which old paradigms and long-held assumptions may be questioned and new methods and theories proposed and debated. At the heart of these debates is the relationship between Wisdom Literature and the concept of wisdom itself. How have they been related in the past, how are they approached now, and how should they be related in the future?4

1.1  Wisdom as Concept and Category ‫( חכמה‬hokhmah), the main Hebrew word for wisdom, refers broadly to “a high-degree of knowledge and skill in any domain,” and it appears across the Hebrew Bible in contexts that range from women spinning goats’ hair into linen (Exod 35:25–26; cf. Prov 31:24) to God creating the world (Jer 10:12; Prov 3:19) (Fox 2000, 32).5 Ultimately, “wisdom aims at

3  For example, the previous decade has seen the publication of numerous introductions to Wisdom Literature, including Crenshaw 2010; Weeks 2010; Bartholomew and O’Dowd 2011; Penchansky 2012; Saur 2012; Brown 2014; Sneed 2015a; Curtis 2017; Longman 2017; Phillips 2017; Balentine 2018; McLaughlin 2018. 4  See Markus Witte’s discussion in this volume (“Literary Genres of Old Testament Wisdom”) of the fundamental engagement of the process of classification with past, present, and future perspectives on the text, and the problems which arise when people attempt to classify texts that originated in a different cultural milieu. 5  Referencing texts from the Torah, Former a