The Wisdom Literature

Introduction
1here are Lhree books ln Lhe Cld 1esLamenL LhaL are
generally puL ln Lhe caLegory of Wlsdom LlLeraLure".
1hls ls desplLe LhaL facL LhaL Lhey are very dlerenL
from each oLher. 1hose Lhree books are, !ob, roverbs
and LccleslasLes. lor Lhe purpose of Lhls sermon
serles, we are lncludlng Song of Songs even Lhough Lhls
ls noL really a 'wlsdom' book.
!usL as Lhe salms Lend Lo be assoclaLed wlLh uavld
(wlLh 73 of Lhem havlng hls name ln Lhe uLle) Lhe
wlsdom llLeraLure has always been assoclaLed wlLh
Solomon. WheLher he acLually wroLe any of Lhe books,
or even parL of Lhem, ls noL really lmporLanL , for Lhe
1
value of Lhem lles noL ln Lhe auLhor buL ln whaL Lhey
Lell us abouL llfe llved as Lhe people of Cod. Agaln llke
Lhe salms, mosL of Lhe Wlsdom books are wrluen ln poeLry.
Pebrew wlsdom llLeraLure ls noL Lhe only example of slmllar genres ln Lhe nauons around, we
have examples from LgypL and MesopoLamla as well as ln Lhe Apocrypha. ln Lhe new 1esLamenL,
Lhe Leuer of !ames has many of Lhe characLerlsucs of Wlsdom llLeraLure readlng lL as such can be
helpful.
Proverbs
1he Pebrew word LhaL we LranslaLe as 'proverb', mosbol, ls besL undersLood Lo mean 'Lo be llke'
and we should undersLand Lhe proverbs as ob[ecL lessons whlch seL ouL Lhe rlghL course of acuon
ln glven slLuauons.
Structure of Proverbs
2
1:1-9:18 '1he proverbs of Solomon son of uavld, klng of lsrael'
10:1-22:16 '1he proverbs of Solomon'
22:17-24:22 '1he words of Lhe wlse'
24:23-34 '1hese are also Lhe saylngs of Lhe wlse'
23:1-29:27 '1hese are Lhe proverbs of Solomon LhaL Lhe omclals of klng Pezeklah
of !udah copled'
30:1-14 '1he words of Agur son of !akeh'
30:13-33 A collecuon of numerlcal proverbs
31:1-9 '1he words of klng Lemuel'
31:10-31 An acrosuc poem abouL a capable wlfe
Potential traps
unllke many 'self-help' books of our ume, Lhe book of roverbs ls noL almed aL Leachlng us how
Lo conLrol our desuny. 8aLher, Lhey are abouL Lhe worklng ouL of prlnclples LhaL have shown Lhe
LesL of ume, all wlLhln Lhe conLexL of Lhe fear of Cod, of Lrue, meanlngful, acuve falLh. 1hey are noL
a seL of rules. A slmple example of Lhls ls Lhe followlng proverb:
1
Cne of Lhe ways of expresslng whaL
Lhese books have ln common ls Lo say
LhaL Lhey are all concerned wlLh
'wlsdom'. 1hls can be [usued slmply
on Lhe level of vocabulary. varlous
forms of Lhe Pebrew rooL bkm,
meanlng 'wlsdom' occur relauvely
frequenLly ln Lhem. 1aken LogeLher,
Lhese Lhree books accounL for Lhe
ma[orlLy of Lhe occurrences of Lhe rooL
bkm ln Lhe Pebrew 8lble.
xplotloq tbe OlJ 1estomeot volome J,
79
If you wish to follow this up, any introduction to one of these books in a good commentary will deal with the
1
issue of Solomon and his authorship or otherwise.
Taken from Exploring the Old Testament Volume 3, 91
2
Introduction to the Old Testament
1raln a chlld ln Lhe way he should go
And when he ls old he wlll noL Lurn from lL. (roverbs 22:6)
1hls ls a proverb LhaL comes ouL of observlng generallues and much hearLache amongsL
Chrlsuan famllles could have been avolded lf lL were remembered LhaL lL ls a proverb noL a
promlse. A few verses furLher on ln Lhe same chapLer we read,
Pe who loves a pure hearL and whose speech ls graclous
wlll have Lhe klng for hls frlend. (roverbs 22:11)
?ou may have boLh a pure hearL and graclous speech buL noL have a klng for a frlend. WhaL we
Lake from Lhls proverb ls a general prlnclple abouL how we behave and Lhe Lype of people LhaL wlll
mean we have frlendshlps wlLh. lL remlnds us of Lhe Lype of llfe LhaL wlll be beneclal, lL does noL
glve a casL-lron guaranLee.
1hls also helps us undersLand some of Lhe examples of conLradlcuons ln Lhe book. Lxperlence
leads us Lo reallse LhaL one way of dolng Lhlngs ls noL always Lhe only way.

1ake Lhls example from roverbs 26:4

uo oot ooswet o fool occotJloq to bls folly,
ot yoo wlll be llke blm yootself.
1hen compare lL wlLh Lhe very nexL verse:
Aoswet o fool occotJloq to bls folly,
ot be wlll be wlse lo bls owo eyes.

1o undersLand a proverb correcLly, Lhen, we need Lo always bear ln mlnd LhaL Lhey lack a
conLexL. 1he Lwo examples above are boLh Lrue, buL Lhey are Lrue ln dlerenL slLuauons. We have
slmllar conLradlcuons ln Lngllsh proverbs. ln cerLaln clrcumsLances Lhe proverb, 'Look before you
leap' ls an approprlaLe admonluon, ln oLhers 'Pe who heslLaLes ls losL' provldes a valuable
lnslghL."
3
Job
!ob ls one of Lhe mosL dlmculL, yeL rewardlng, of books ln Lhe Cld 1esLamenL. lL deals wlLh Lhe
problem of suerlng and Cod's orderlng of Lhe unlverse, Loplcs whlch conunue Lo ralse lssues for
bellevers and unbellevers allke.
lL ls dlmculL Lo sum up Lhe message of !ob ln a few senLences, however Lhe followlng ldeas may
help.
4
-
Crounds for courage ln Lhe face of Lhe mysLery of suerlng
-
Suerlng can deepen our knowledge of Cod
-
valulng Cod's presence for lLs own sake
-
1he 'redempuon of Cod'
-
A challenge Lo human self-undersLandlng
1he cenLral passage seems Lo be Cod's speeches Lo !ob and hls responses ln chapLers 38-42.
Pere, Cod reveals hlmself Lo !ob as Lhe one who ls boLh creaLor and soverelgn, !ob's response Lo
Lhls revelauon of Cod's power and glory ls,
My ears had heard of you
8uL now my eyes have seen you
1herefore l desplse myself
And repenL ln dusL and ashes. (!ob 42:3-6)
!ob does noL oer slmple answers Lo Lhe dlmculL quesuon of suerlng, someLhlng we should
seek Lo emulaLe. 1here are some Lhlngs ln Lhls llfe whlch we, as human belngs, wlll fall Lo
2
Exploring the Old Testament, Volume 3, 95
3
These ideas are taken from Exploring the Old Testament, Volume 3, 138-140
4
undersLand. ln our world, where conLrol of our clrcumsLances seems Lo be so lmporLanL Lo us, lL ls
soberlng Lo reallse LhaL Lhere are Lhlngs LhaL are ouL of our conLrol !ob, as a book, encourages us
Lo deal wlLh dlmculues by an accepLance, Lhrough, falLh, of our llmlLauons and of Cod's overall
soverelgnLy and plan.
Structure
5
1:1-2:13 rologue: 1he 1esung of !ob
3:1-31:40 1he Speeches of !ob and Pls lrlends
32:1-37:24 Lllhu's Speeches
38:1-42:6 ?ahweh's Speeches Lo !ob
42:7-17 Lpllogue: 1he vlndlcauon of !ob
Ecclesiastes
Llke !ob, LccleslasLes ls a dlmculL book. ln boLh !ewlsh and Chrlsuan hlsLory lL has been
quesuoned wheLher lL should remaln ln Lhe canon, Lhe answer has always been a posluve one.
1hls ls desplLe Lhe facL LhaL no lmporLanL evenLs ln !ewlsh hlsLory are menuoned, Lhere ls no Lalk of
Lhe covenanL, and Lhere appears Lo be a negauve amLude Lowards llfe wlLh no hope of
resurrecuon. lndeed, Lhe openlng quesuon ls, WhaL does man galn from all hls labour aL whlch
he Lolls under Lhe sun?" (LccleslasLes 1:3) lL ls a book LhaL forces us Lo sLruggle wlLh Lhe reallLy of
llfe, and llfe ls dlmculL and complex. lL also does noL L ln wlLh our modern, WesLern deslre for a
loglcal progresslon of ldeas and LhoughLs. lL reslsLs auempLs Lo say LhaL chapLer 3:2 ls a
developmenL from chapLer 2:1. lL may be, buL equally lL may noL be. As wlLh all wlsdom books, we
have Lo engage our bralns and Lhlnk carefully when readlng LccleslasLes. 8uL Lhe care wlll brlng
greaL rewards.
lnLerpreLers have Lrled Lo deal wlLh Lhe dlmculues posed by Lhe book ln a number of ways. 1he
mosL common way, Lhough, ls whaL probably prevalls Loday, we accepL LccleslasLes ln prlnclple.
buL . lgnore lL ln pracuce" . 1haL seems Lo me Lo be nelLher helpful nor show much lnLegrlLy.
6
Structure
7
1:1-11 lnLroducuon
1:12-2:26 Wlsdom, leasure and !oy
3:1-22 A 1lme for LveryLhlng
4:1-16 AchlevemenL and Cppresslon
3:1-7 1rue Worshlp
3:8-6:12 1he ursulL of WealLh
7:1-12 Wlsdom ls a ShelLer
7:13-29 1he unlverse 8eyond Cur
Crasp
8:1-17 ueallng wlLh an un[usL World
9:1-12 Llvlng ln Lhe lace of ueaLh
9:13-10:20 1he Way of Wlsdom
11:1-8 1he MysLerlous Cod
11:9-12:8 ln Lhe uays of ?ouLh
12:9-14 1he 1eacher was a Wlse Man
Themes
1here are a number of Lhemes we could draw from Lhe book buL l wlsh Lo concenLraLe on [usL
one, one whlch Lhe book ls probably mosL famous for. ChapLer 1: 2 says Lhls,
Meanlngless! Meanlngless!"
Says Lhe 1eacher.
uuerly meanlngless!
LveryLhlng ls meanlngless."
3
This is adapted from Exploring 118, where you will nd a much more detailed breakdown of the book
5
NIVAC, 24
6
Adapted from NIVAC, 43
7
Introduction to the Old Testament
1he word LranslaLed meanlngless" ls Lhe Pebrew bebel. ln
oLher conLexLs Lhls ls LranslaLed, 'breaLh' or 'eeung' and
8
emphaslses Lhe LranslenL naLure of llfe. Cne example wlll
sumce,
Charm ls decepuve, and beauLy ls eeung (bebel),
8uL a woman who fears Lhe Lord ls Lo be pralsed. (roverbs
31:30).
lf we use Lhls Lranslauon, we nd Lhe 1eacher encouraglng
us Lo do Lwo Lhlngs, rsLly Lo fear Cod (chapLer 12:1-8) and
secondly Lo recognlse our own morLallLy, whlch Lhe 1eacher
sees as Lhe maln obsLacle Lo llvlng well ln Lhe world. Pe LargeLs
Lwo speclc areas where we Lry Lo conLrol our llfe raLher Lhan
submlmng Lo Cod's wlll. 1hese are our search for knowledge
and our quesL for wealLh. Pls message - slmllar Lo LhaL ln !ob -
ls LhaL we should slmply llve ouL our llfe before Cod raLher Lhan Lrylng Lo conLrol our desuny.
Song of Songs
1he book has caused problems Lo commenLaLors down Lhe ages because of Lhe expllclL sexual
naLure of Lhe poems. 1hls led Lo an allegorlcal readlng belng Lhe mosL common where Lhe
relauonshlp beLween Lhe man and Lhe woman was seen as a plcLure of Lhe relauonshlp beLween
Cod and lsrael, or ChrlsL and Lhe church. Whlle Lhere may be an allegorlcal meanlng, we musL,
rsLly, LreaL Lhe LexL on lLs own Lerms and read lL as lL seems Lo be a poem - or serles of poems -
abouL human love and sexuallLy.
1here are varlous ways ln whlch Lhe Song of Songs can be undersLood. lL could be a drama wlLh
Lwo, or Lhree maln characLers and a chorus. lL could be a collecuon of relaLed songs, an anLhology.
Powever we declde Lo break lL down, Lhe baslc message would seem Lo be LhaL Cod creaLed sex as
he dld oLher aspecLs of our humanlLy. 1he book encourages us Lo place our sexuallLy wlLhln lLs
correcL conLexL and Lo, Lhus, re[ecL Lhe Lwo exLremes LhaL are prevalenL ln Lhe church and our
culLure of elLher represslng sexual deslre or encouraglng lndlscrlmlnaLe sausfacuon of LhaL deslre.
Sex ls noL abouL personal needs and deslres, or abouL power and conLrol, ways ln whlch human
sexuallLy are dlsLorLed ln our ume. 8aLher lL ls abouL Lhe en[oymenL of a gl of Cod wlLhln Lhe
conLexL dened by a good Cod who made all Lhlngs and knows whaL ls besL for hls creaLures."
9
Structure
10
MosL modern Lranslauons glve a sLrucLure Lo Lhe poem wlLh Lhelr headlngs. lL ls good Lo
remember LhaL Lhls represenLs only one of several posslble sLrucLure (as does Lhe one below).
When readlng, lL ls worLh Lhlnklng Lhrough who Lhe characLers speaklng may be for yourself.
1:1-17 1he Lovers resenLed
2:1-17 Sprlngume ln alesune
3:1-11 1he 1errors of Lhe nlghL

4:1-3:1 A Man LnrapLured

3:2-6:10 1he Lovers LnLranced
6:11-7:13 1he uance of uellghLs
8:1-14 Love SLrong as ueaLh
Reading
-
xplotloq tbe OlJ 1estomeot volome J, 1be lsolms ooJ wlsJom lltetotote, L. Lucas, SCk
-
1be Nlv Appllcouoo commeototy - ccleslostes/5ooq of 5ooqs, l rovan, Zondervan
4
W h a L e v e r L r u L h .
LccleslasLes has Lo Lell us ln Lhe
conLexL of blbllcal LruLh overall,
Chrlsuan readers know LhaL lL
wlll be LruLh LhaL seLs us free
(!ohn 8:32). Cherlshed bellefs
LhaL are found noL Lo be Lrue,
by conLrasL, when examlned by
Lhe searchllghL of blbllcal LruLh,
are noL worLh reLalnlng and
can do us no good lf we lnslsL
on dolng so.
NlvAc, 23
See NIVAC 51-52 for a detailed discussion.
8
NIVAC, 253
9
Adapted from NIVAC 256
10