SUMMARY OF OLD TESTAMENT WISDOM LITERATURE

ORIGIN OF WISDOM TRADITIONS

Wisdom is a collection of experience. In the ancient world, it was as a reflection on experience. As communities formed in ancient times struggled to survive, they would gather the fruits of the reflection on their experience. These results eventually took forms.

Wisdom in the Ancient world was in the following levels

·         Family and Clan wisdom

·         Scribes and Sages

·         Poetry and Propaganda

·         Problem question

·         Unanswered questions

Wisdom as a literature is the collection of experiences or way of life. It is a reflection on those experiences we have and this reflection resulted in:

        I.            The emergence of Laws on the level of the society

     II.            The emergence of society’s Customs

  III.            A formalized kind of wisdom

Formation or education came as a result of trying to pass the fruit of this reflection to the younger ones. Through reflection on experience, laws and customs emerged on the level of the society while wisdom emerged on the level of the individual.

Wisdom is thus the knowledge and skill necessary to cope with life in the world. To introduce this to the younger ones, parables proverbs and narratives are used. These came in oral form or written forms.

Wisdom texts take two directions

a.       Pragmatic and optimistic

b.      Speculative and questioning.

CHARACTERISTICS OF OLD TESTAMENT WISDOM PERSPECTIVES ACCORDING TO DENIS BARTCHER

Wisdom is concerned with everyday life, how to live well.

1.  Wisdom is concerned with the issues facing humanity in general, the typical and recurring aspects of life that face human beings on a daily basis. Much of the rest of Scripture is concerned with those unique events in history in which God reveals himself.

2.  Little interest in history, politics, God who acts, miracles, sin, forgiveness guilt; these things are not discounted, only that the concern is focused on daily living on what might be called the mundane aspects of life, such as raising children, providing economic security, finding the appropriate wife, etc.

3.  The world view is not mythical or cyclical, but it is concerned with stability and order, the status quo, especially in the social arena; the goal is to live in harmonious relationship with God, others, and the world.

4.  The perspectives of wisdom are not unique to Israelites, although in Israelite wisdom commitment to God is simply assumed (cf. Prov. 1:7).

5.  The focus is on interpersonal relationships, as well as reflective questions about the meaning of life and how to live it.

Wisdom does not appeal to revealed truth.

1.  It does not address the human condition from the divine perspective, but rather from the perspective of human needs and concerns, and in terms of what human beings can and should do to address those concerns.

2.  Wisdom attempts to give expression to the way things are; it is descriptive and not prescriptive, describing and defining the world and the existing social order as a means to live within both in productive ways.

3.  Wisdom thinking grapples with understanding the world, especially the physical and social environment in which they must live; as such, it is both reflective, rational, and concerned with knowledge.

4.  It is concerned with learning enough to be able to choose the proper course of action for well being in life, often expressed metaphorically as the “two ways” or the “two paths” (cf. Psa. 1).

Wisdom’s claim to authority lies in tradition and observation

1.  There is no “thus says the Lord” grounding of authority in wisdom thinking; rather the truth of life is already there in God's creation awaiting discovery.

2.  Tradition represents the wisdom of experience, both in individuals and in the collective experiences of the community; preference is usually given to age and established and proven ways of doing things.

3.  Wisdom is grounded in social structures, such as the family, the “schools” of the wise elders, or the king and the royal court.

4.  Wisdom perspectives do not demand radical change, for example in dealing with social problems.

Israelite Wisdom is rooted in reverence and commitment to God

1.  The basic world view of Israelite wisdom is that God is Creator, both of his people and the physical world; everything else in wisdom arises from this conviction.

2.  As Creator, God has imbedded truth in all of creation; another way to say this is that all of creation reflects the wisdom, nature, and character of its creator, and therefore all of creation is a way to learn about God and his purposes for the world; creation is truly a “cosmos.”

3.  Wisdom takes seriously the confession in Genesis that the created world is good; there is no hint of an evil physical world that would emerge later in Greek thinking.

4.  Human responsibility to God involves finding the truth of God in the world as reflected in how the world operates according to the harmony of its creator, and then living within that harmony of God's order.

5.  Being wise is to search for and maintain the order of God in the world in order to live well as God has created humanity to live; a “fool” is one who does not recognize God as creator and therefore does not seek to live according to the harmony of God's creation.

6.  The "way of wisdom" is an ethical system in which humanity is responsible for searching, finding, and doing the things necessary to secure their well being in God's world.

RETRIBUTION THEOLOGY

The tenets of Retribution Theology teach that the observers of the law will be rewarded while the law-breakers will be punished. This is the dominant theology in Deuteronomy and of the Deuteronomistic theologians. This theology was taken up by the wisdom teachers only that for them, the wise are the good, just as the fools are the wicked and retribution is suppose to take place in this world.

Retribution theology indirectly plays a key role in wisdom literature but the function it plays differs from one wisdom book to another. While some defend or support retribution, others do not. Some even question it.

Proverbs and Retribution

Retribution is said to be the backbone of the book of proverbs, and the book can only be understood against the background of retribution theology. The author of this book believes that our world was created by God and He sees to it that the wise person or the virtuous will automatically be rewarded, and the fool or the wicked will receive his punishment in this very world,

Job and Retribution

The author of this book is a critic par excellence of Retribution Theology. He counters the arguments of the champions of Retribution Theology apparently based on their experinec, thus expose their bankruptcy.

Qohelet and Retribution

Many scholars agree that Qohelet questioned Retribution but the general picture is slightly blurred. His main argument is that the fate of the wicked and the fate of the virtuous are one and the same (Vanity upon vanity, all is vanity). Both righteous and wicked all perish, in fact, the fate of humans and the fate of animals are the same. But he also seems to say that God does reward the just and punish the wicked.

Wisdom of Solomon and Retribution

Influenced by Greek philosophy, the author of this book believes in the immortality and incorruptibility of the soul. This was transferred to his understanding of Retribution, where the righteous and the wicked are rewarded in the next world. Here too, the virtuous are the wise and the fools are sinners.

WISDOM SPIRITUALITY

Spirituality, according to Jon Alexander, is the beliefs, values, and practices that unify and orients our lives in respect to God as the origin and goal of human existence.

Features of Wisdom Spirituality

·         The wisdom teachers saw the realm of divine-human encounter to be ordinary human life. They believed that directing one’s life towards God was not limited to specifically religious activities and places. For Kathleen O’Connor, the image of market place is the key to understanding wisdom spirituality.

·         Emphasis on the centrality of relationships. In one’s day-to-day encounter with other human beings, certain attitudes and actions are commended by these writings while others are discouraged. How can one deal successfully and fairly with family, friends, business partners, civil leaders, the young, the elderly, the stranger, the fool? These and similar questions forms the subject matter of the sages advice and reflection.

THE BOOK OF JOB

Rabbi Victor Reichert observed that three things are considered for a literary work to be listed in the canon of world masterpiece

        I.            It must have the dimension of height; this means the quality of upreaching unto the sublime that brings one nearer to the eternal stars of light.

     II.            It must possess the dimension of breadth, that spacious universal quality wherein barriers of creed, colour, ranks and race can be leaped over, and the shared humanity that makes the world kin is revealed.

  III.            It must have the dimension of depth; wherein it dives into the soul of man, where, as ina well of living waters, surge the profoundest tensions of the heart, its pain no less than its peace, its torment but also its triumph.

The book of Job fulfils these standards. For menezes, the book of Job is not only a masterpiece of Hebrew poetry, but of Old Testament Theology as well. He calls it the peak of wisdom literature and of the whole Old Testament. No one before him and no one after him has spoken so meaningfully and honestly about the mystery that is God and no one has sounded the depths of the human soul as the author of this biblical book. It is a rare combination of poetry and Theology.

Why is the book listed among biblical wisdom and included in the canon of scriptures?

        I.            The book rightly stands within the biblical canon because the God of the bible is the God whom Job challenged to “justify his ways to humans”. Also, the interaction between Job and God presupposes a relationship of a covenanting kind. The relationship between God and Job parallels other God-human relationships throughout the scripture.

     II.            It clearly represents an example of biblical wisdom literature. The questions the book raises and the assertions it makes arise out of an experience; Job’s own personal experience of innocent suffering. Others in the book, like Job’s friends, ground their remarks on received tradition or even on revelation.

  III.            The story in Job functions something like a parable, a typical wisdom way of proceeding. The exaggeration in the description of Job and his suffering compels us to re-evaluate our own thinking about virtue and ill-fortune, their sources and significance. The parable and story form draws us in and involves us in the interplay among the characters; Job’s questions become ours, and even the structure of the book ultimately leaves us perplexed and uncertain.

Historical context of the book

The story takes place in pre-mosaic times. But based on the language, modern scholars tend to date the actual writing of the book in the exilic (587-539 BCE), or early post-exilic period.

Post-exilic period represents a time of severe socio-economic crisis, as a result of the taxation system imposed by the Persians during the reign of king Darius. In this situation where people had to suffer economic disaster and the likes because of their piety and commitment to the covenant demands, the question of God’s justice and the meaning of innocent suffering arise, with all the concreteness and urgency of real-life situation.

How the author of the book of Job saw himself

        I.            The author of the book saw himself as a teacher: As a member of the elite community, he was well educated in the piety of his people, the literature and wisdom of the ancient world, and the wealth of the people’s religious traditions. He is thus able to address the questions that must have been troubling his community in the confusing and difficult circumstances of this post-exilic period, the meaning of their suffering, and the mystery of the God whom they worshipped.

     II.            The author of the book saw himself as a pastor: As a pastor, he offers solace, comfort and guidance to his people; as Job’s friends sought to do for Job. Given the challenges faced by the people, they needed hope and encouragement. The people passed through financial difficulty, disaster, humiliation, loss of face and even spiritual crisis. Job the steadfast provided a model of faith and fidelity, and serves as a beacon of hope.

The Structure of the Book

The book has the frame of the popular prose folktale. It narrates the story and experiences of an heroic figure, an apparent contemporary of Israel’s own ancestors; a resident of probably Edom (in the East).

It begins with a prologue and ends with an epilogue. It seems that the author started the prose written or revised by himself or another person. He then proceeded to compose and, or assemble the remaining chapters, to address the challenging questions and troubling issues raised by the prose tale. The prologue ended with the arrival of Job’s friends. Job’s soliloquy is in chapter 3, after seven days and seven nights of silence; Job’s speech provoked the discussion, each of his three friends spoke and Job responded to each. This debate lasted for three rounds till chapters 25-27, what would have been the fourth round descends into confusion, and abruptly ends.

Chapter 28 is a poem on the inaccessibility of wisdom, chapter 29-31 contains Job’s second Soliloquy, where he recalls his happy past, describes the disaster of his present misery, and then the utterance of the long and terrifying series of oath, by this, he affirms his innocence and in effect, challenges God to explain why he has inflicted this unjust treatment on him.

The narrative takes another surprising turn when a fourth friend or comforter arrives on the scene, the young Elihu. He makes four long speeches and disappears. Finally, God answers Job’s challenge, appearing in a majestic Theophany. Twice God spoke, and twice Job responds. Job’s second response signals reconciliation. The epilogue brings the book to a conclusion with Job’s restoration and reward of steadfastness.

Integrity of the Book

The book seems to follow a clear narrative logic, but disconcerting turns and twists raises the question of the book’s integrity; whether or not additions have been made in the course of the book’s history.

Different Jobs is presented; the patient job of the prologue-epilogue, who seems to accept the sufferings inflicted on him with a spirit of humble submission. The second job is in the poetic part of the book (chapters 3-41), who questions and challenges God, and even skirts blasphemy.

There is a disruption (chapters 25-27), and intrusion of the wisdom poem in chapter 28. The source and function of Elihu’s speeches in chapters 32-37 also raises questions of authorship and unity of the book.

Literary Form of Job

The book does not conform to any single literary form. The book is original. Scholars classify it as sui generi (“in its unique category”).

Issues in the book

        I.            Can God fashion a creature who would love Him freely without any hope of reward?

     II.            Why must the innocent suffer? An example is the children of Job who are destroyed for the sake of God’s waging with the Satan.

  III.            How can God be all-powerful yet all-just?

  IV.            If He is all-powerful, is He not also responsible for evil and suffering?

Major Themes in the Book

·         Innocent suffering

·         Disinterested piety

·         Trust in the deity

·         The ineffability of God

·         Human limitations

·         Challenge to Divine Justice

·         The Credibility of God

·         The inadequacy of any theory of Retribution or of the world order for that matter

The meaning and significance of suffering

Ø  Suffering can be for Retribution

Ø  Suffering can be a disciplinary measure

Ø  Suffering can be for Test

Ø  Suffering can be temporary

Ø  Suffering is inevitable

Ø  Suffering is mysterious

Ø  Suffering is half hazard/ accidental

Ø  Suffering can have vicarious value (it can bring good to another person)

Ø  Suffering can be Redemptive

Relevance of the book of Job

Ø  The importance of the Book of Job lies in its continuing relevance. It is remarkable and mesmerizing how the author presented one of the great existential questions of human life: the inescapable, ultimate question of suffering. In recent decades, this problem has been escalated as a challenge not only to God’s justice but to God’s very existence; the philosophical debate called the problem of evil. The evidential argument for the existence of evil questions and challenges the understanding of suffering. Does God cause it, or allow it, for good reason? How do the answers to these questions influence our belief or disbelief in God? How does belief or disbelief influence our ability to cope with the seemingly endless litany of suffering which wreaks havoc on our world, and similar questions?

Ø  The Book of Job has extraordinary relevance not only for those who believe in God (yet for whom suffering is often a serious challenge to that belief), but also for those who reject belief in God (and do so largely because of the apparent inability to intellectually reconcile suffering with a loving, powerful, and just God). Job, as such, has much to offer anyone who seeks insight into the question of God and suffering.

Ø  In the theophany,  God’s answer to Job, Job experiences God first-hand and submits, recognizing that his previous understanding was limited; he had known only about God but now knows God more clearly as powerful, loving, just and wise in the creation and care for all creatures. God has the power to intervene coercively against evil, but permits the wicked, and the hostile, granting them freedom that is restricted by divinely imposed limits. God’s revelation to Job reveals, in effect, that He remains in control of creation

THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF WISDOM

1.      Order is necessary for understanding both God’s creation and the role of humans in God’s plans. Order governs proper manners and ethical behavior role and limits of everything. Without order, chaos and anarchy is inevitable.

2.      Acts have consequences. There is cause and effect; decisions for good and evil meets their reward.

3.      God is revealed in creation. The beauty and order of nature teaches us about God and gives us confidence to trust our experience. cf. Wisdom 13: 1-9

4.      Wisdom can be personified. Wisdom pictures that the transcendent nature of God is actually pictured in the world, often explained as hypostasis.

5.      Suffering has some meaning. It is either the consequence of evil done, a test of faith or correction measure. Fidelity to suffering may even be rewarded in the after-life.

6.      Life is good. Creation is good since it is from God. it is orderly since it is from God. If misfortune happens, there is an explanation, and there is hope.

7.      Humans are responsible for the world, co-creators, and God’s deputy in the earth.

8.      The Divine plan is a gift beyond human control or understanding. Fidelity to divine revelation is truer than human reason trying to figure it. Wisdom is above all ethical reasoning and fear of the Lord requires humility.

9.      Wisdom knows its limits and our place in divine order. God’s course is beyond our understanding, and we must not challenge the basic structure of the universe nor make God conform to our expectations. The basic virtue of the wise is trust, and on this bases our total commitment to God for better for worst.

10.  Wisdom does not stand opposed to the Pentateuch, and the Torah. It stands to integrate the idea of faith into the reality of everyday life.