Ancient Wisdom Today » Proverbs

The Sages and Midrash

Maer — Thu, 29 May 2008 23:10:23 +0000

In his article entitled “Ancient Biblical Interpretation and the Biblical Sage,” James Kugel surveys the development of the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible after the exile and shows the influence that the sages had on its development. The post-exilic condition that ushered in this new wave of biblical interpretation is what Kugel calls the “mode of return” (5). Basically, the dilemma faced by those returning from exile was how to go back to the glorious days.

The interpreters of Scriptures were not only priests or Levites (due the the centrality of the laws) but also wisdom sages. If we read Proverbs, Qohelet, or Job, one of their striking characteristics is that they are quite detached from history. The post-exilic sages, however, went back to the biblical writings and showed how principles of wisdom could be derived from them. Kugel first talks about how previously the sages used the meshalim and then how these teachers of wisdom became teachers of Scripture using Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon as examples of these “transitional figures” (12).

The Wisdom of Words

Maer — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:26:18 +0000

In chapter 2 “Proverbs – The Wisdom of Words,” Roland talks about the nature of the book of Proverbs and that “the true subtlety of the book is seldom recognized in its popular usage. A moral code undergirds it, but the real intent is to train a person, to form character, to show what life is really like and how best to cope with it” (15). One of the main things that Proverbs tries to do is persuade the reader. He looks at the first division, chapters 1-9, and considers verses 1:1-6 its hermeneutical key. Verse 1:7 is the motto of the book (with parallels in 9:10 and 31:30) and he quotes von Rad who said that this verse “contains in a nutshell the whole Israelite theory of knowledge” (16). I thought this was a very insightful way of understanding verse 7. I heard N. T. Wright once talk about being intrigued by the idea of love as a way of knowing. Here von Rad says that the fear of Yahweh is Israel’s epistemological center. I wonder how far we can take that idea.

The Tree of Life: Biblical Wisdom Literature

Maer — Sun, 18 May 2008 12:51:45 +0000

The Tree of Life: An Examination of Biblical Wisdom Literature was written by Roland Murphy and seems to be highly recommended (with your usual caveats) as an introduction to wisdom literature. Part of the reason I wanted to read this book was because Murphy also covers Ben Sira and Wisdom of Solomon, and I wanted to sink my teeth into these books (I plan to read them when I get to chapters 5 and 6).

People have said that Murphy’s take on Wisdom was very much influenced by von Rad and that it might be a good idea to read him first (I don’t know if this is really accurate). Well, I am not going to do that because I plan to read von Rad’s two volumes of his Old Testament theology (which I already own) and interact with him in the near future. Right now, I would like to see what Murphy has to say about wisdom literature and try to summarize his thoughts. I will probably concentrate on things that caught my attention and helped me think a little more clearly about this subject. This is not going to be a thorough review or a summary, but it might contain a little of both. I might comment on his arguments where necessary or read a separate article in his bibliography to supplement my reading. I will probably cover a couple of chapters at a time, but it will depend on the depth of the chapters in view. Here I will cover his first chapter.