Description
Book SynopsisThe goal of this book is to suggest that Jesus as a creative artist was heavily influenced by the Hebrew Bible's Book of Proverbs. It posits that he created some of his short parables from specific verses found in Proverbs, suggests that he expanded some basic sapient themes present in this book when composing his parables, and shows him reacting negatively to the commonly held belief that this Book's overall concept of wisdom is that the wise are rewarded and the fools are punished by God through their own self-destructive choices and subsequent actions. Thus this text points to Jesus as an inventive artist, a concept not usually associated with him, and it complicates simplistic ways of defining biblical wisdom. Part I demonstrates how Jesus might have created his tales from specific proverbs found in the Book of Proverbs. The overarching theme for these parables is wisdom: Jesus as wisdom (I Cor. 1:24) speaking wisdom in new ways.
Part II discusses Jesus as a self-actualiz
Trade Review
“We are storytellers for whom meaning is animated through personal and collective responsivity. Carole Lambert brilliantly shows how Jesus creatively leveraged the wisdom of Proverbs into parables, stories of elemental meaning which have, for millennia, galvanized faithful generativity the world over. For Lambert, Christ’s kingdom is a story already and not yet completed, given to the reconciliation and healing of humanity. New Testament, theology, and literature students will deeply appreciate this work of careful and accessible scholarship.”—The Rev. Dr. Kevin S. Reimer, author of Living L’Arche; co-author, The Reciprocating Self
“We sometimes forget that the Bible is literature, but in this new, learned and wonderfully written volume Carole Lambert shows us all the power and wisdom of reading the parables of Jesus as literature. She then goes on to explain their enduring beauty and power, showing that his teachings make sense in the larger context of wisdom literature. Readers will come away with a new appreciation for the depth and beauty of the apparently simple teachings of Christ.”—Alan G. Padgett, Professor of Systematic Theology, Luther Seminary
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments – Introduction – The Importance of Wisdom – Parables and Proverbs – Jesus’ Hebrew Bible Sources for His Parables – Jesus Speaking Wisdom as Wisdom – Reflections on Jesus’ Parabolic Wisdom – What Shaped Jesus’ Artistry? – How Might Jesus Have Become an Author? – Why Did Jesus Draw from the Book of Proverbs? – How Did Jesus Respond to Conventional Proverbial Wisdom? – Conclusion – List of Parables – Index.
