Description
Book SynopsisA comprehensive introduction to ancient wisdom literature, with fascinating essays on a broad range of topics. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Wisdom Literature is a wide-ranging introduction to the texts, themes, and receptions of the wisdom literature of the Bible and the ancient world. This comprehensive volume brings together original essays from established scholars and emerging voices to offer a variety of perspectives on the wisdom biblical books, early Christian and rabbinic literature, and beyond. Varied and engaging essays provide fresh insights on topics of timeless relevance, exploring the distinct features of instructional texts and discussing their interpretation in both antiquity and the modern world. Designed for non-specialists, this accessible volume provides readers with balanced coverage of traditional biblical wisdom texts, including Proverbs, Job, Psalms, and Ecclesiastes; lesser-known Egyptian and Mesopotamian wisdom; and African proverbs. The contributors ex
Trade Review“…a strength of this volume is its breadth, and readers who are looking for an introduction to wisdom in the Hellenistic period and beyond will welcome this volume.” – Lance Hawley for Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, 2021, Vol. 75(3) 252–271
Table of ContentsNotes on Contributors viii
Acknowledgments xiii
Abbreviations xiv
Editors’ Introduction 1
Samuel L. Adams and Matthew Goff
I. Texts 11
1 Proverbs 13
Jacqueline Vayntrub
2 Job 30
Davis Hankins
3 Ecclesiastes 49
Jennie Grillo
4 Psalms 67
William P. Brown
5 Sirach/Ben Sira 87
Bradley C. Gregory
6 Wisdom of Solomon 104
Randall D. Chesnutt
7 Wisdom Texts From the Dead Sea Scrolls 122
Elisa Uusimäki
8 Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes in the Septuagint (LXX) 139
Patrick Pouchelle
II. Themes 157
9 The Figure of Solomon 159
Blake A. Jurgens
10 Female Imagery in Wisdom Literature 177
Tova Forti
11 Scribes and Pedagogy in Ancient Israel and Second Temple Judaism 195
Matthew Goff
12 God in Wisdom Literature 213
James L. Crenshaw
13 Jewish Wisdom in the Contest of Hellenistic Philosophy and Culture: Pseudo‐Phocylides and Philo of Alexandria 229
Michael Cover
14 Wisdom and Apocalypticism 248
Jason M. Zurawski
15 The Orality of Wisdom Literature 267
Timothy J. Sandoval
III. Antecedents 287
16 Ahiqar and Other Legendary Sages 289
Seth A. Bledsoe
17 Wisdom Literature in Egypt 310
Samuel L. Adams
18 Mesopotamian Wisdom 328
Nili Samet
IV. Reception 349
19 Wisdom in the New Testament 351
Benjamin Wold
20 Wisdom and the Rabbis 368
Ari Mermelstein
21 The Wisdom Tradition in Early Christianity through Late Antiquity 389
Carson Bay
22 Jewish Sapiential Traditions in the Nag Hammadi Library 412
Dylan M. Burns
23 The Sapiential Books in the Latin Middle Ages 429
Gilbert Dahan
24 The Reception History of Job 447
Mark Larrimore
25 Wisdom from African Proverbs Meets Wisdom from the Book of Proverbs 464
Madipoane Masenya (Ngwan’a Mphahlele)
26 Cinematic Wisdom: Film and Biblical Wisdom Literature 479
Matthew S. Rindge
Index 496
