Student guidelines for reading and appreciating the Wisdom Books

Edgar A. Gamboa
THEO 60108
Final Examination
(The Rev.) Hugh R. Page, Jr., Dmin, PhD

Student guidelines for reading and appreciating the Wisdom Books
What is wisdom?
For a student venturing into the world of wisdom, it would appear that wisdom has the following constituents: knowledge, understanding, prudence, common sense, and the innate ability to make sense out of things. Wisdom is the ability to unravel profound mysteries in life and in the world and express them in simplified, understandable media, whether oral, written, or symbolic. One would, for example, find wisdom in stories handed down from generation to generation and in aphorisms, poems, and symbols; in “Aesop’s Fables”, in Antoine de Saint Exupery’s “The Little Prince,” and in Rembrandt’s “The Prodigal Son.”
From a student’s view, wisdom may be defined as essential knowledge and selfless understanding, enhanced by life experiences and tempered with common sense, which enlighten and inspire us to find meaning in life, discover order in the cosmos, and transcend existential barriers to reach out to the Divine.
“The first human never finished comprehending wisdom, nor will the last succeed in fathoming her.” (Sir 24.28). Bearing that in mind, it might help to view wisdom as a profound but simplified aggregation of knowledge, which links philosophy and theology and overlaps into both, illustrated as follows:


What is the biblical concept of wisdom?
From a scholar’s viewpoint, biblical wisdom is the “intellectual tradition reflected in biblical literature that centers on the Hebrew “hokmah” in its mystical and concrete attributes. (1) “Hokmah, “according to Katherine Dell, “covers a wide range of attributes…it includes the skill needed to win a war... (the) shrewdness required in government or administration; the hidden secrets and knowledge of prophets…the prudence required to deal with difficult situations; the ability to make ethical or religious decisions, and ultimately the ability to discern God as the one who created the world through wisdom and who is the fount of all knowledge and understanding. It is a rich and multifaceted term covering both the human quest for wisdom and the divine origin of wisdom. ” (2)
Ronald E. Murphy, O.Carm., drawing from the theology of Karl Rahner, defines biblical wisdom as “a thematic expression of God’s revelation as mediated through creation…(in other words) God drew the people, through their daily experience of themselves and creation, into the mystery of God’s dealing with each individual human being.” (3) Taking its unappreciated role a step farther, biblical wisdom “could well be the key to understanding the purpose of the entire biblical canon.” (4)

What is the modern concept of wisdom?
Based on a cursory survey of popular media in the United States, modern wisdom is equated with prudent advice closely associated with American pragmatism and individualism, with practical applications to the promotion of health, and the acquisition of wealth, knowledge, success, and happiness. Relying mainly on one’s character, intelligence, diligence, and potential, modern wisdom is primarily egocentric while Israel’s wisdom, as noted above and expressed in the Book of Proverbs, is theocentric. “The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Prov 1.7).

What constitutes Wisdom Literature in the Jewish tradition (Hebrew Bible and Apocrypha)?
According to Roland E. Murphy, this is the end result of literary efforts “to explain the mystery at the heart of human existence.” (5) Specifically, wisdom literature includes books or texts written approximately between 1800 BC – 180 BC, which convey to the reader, directly or indirectly, an understanding or some perspective on any or all of the following:
Meaning and purpose of human existence
Meaning, mystery, and paradox of life in general
Relationship between human beings (practical advise on how to live a good and meaningful life)
Humankind’s relationship with the cosmos (making sense and order of the universe)
Nature and mystery of the afterlife (relationship between the physical and spiritual)
Transcendence and Divine Mystery
Books that are canonically considered Wisdom Literature are:
1.The Book of Proverbs
2.The Book of Job
3.Ecclesiastes
Literature that contain wisdom motifs are:
1.The Book of Psalms
2.The Book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
3.The Song of Songs
4.The Book of Wisdom
5.The Book of Genesis (part of The Pentateuch)
6.The Book of Esther (part of The Historical Books) )
7.The Book of Judith (part of the Historical Books)
8.The Book of Tobit (part of the Historical Books)
9.The Book of Daniel (part of the Prophetic Books)

Wisdom Genre and Hermeneutics
The following guidelines are useful in the reading, interpretation, and appreciation of traditional Wisdom Literature as well as other books which, though not canonically belonging to Wisdom Literature (see list above), may ,nevertheless, be considered part of the wisdom genre by reason of wisdom texts or motifs.
1.Date and authorship
2.Background and Context – Historical, Cultural, Social, Economic, Political, Educational
3.Original text, translation, redaction, edition, sources
4.Reading of the text and interpretation
5.Structure, Form, Tone and Style (use of language, key words, symbolism, etc.)
6.Content and Themes
Nature of the Divine
Nature of humanity
Relationship of Human and Divine
Meaning in life
Foundational Cosmology (Theological, Anthropological, Teleological)
7.Dominant or unifying topic (wisdom motif/echoes)
8.Questions
9.Wise counsels or teachings
10.Relation to other texts and traditions
11.Old, medieval, and modern commentaries
12.Current relevance, timelessness, and universality
13.Reflection and personal insight
14.Distilling and sharing of wisdom derived from text

Brief/Selected Commentary:
Historical dating of ancient texts, in many instances, is difficult, as is the confirmation of authorship. Works are often attributed to King Solomon because of his regal role and reputed wisdom. Having as much contextual information obviously enhances exegesis. It is helpful to know if Ben Sira was a wealthy, erudite retiree teaching the children of society’s elite (which appears to be the case) or a struggling countercultural poet or impoverished sage.
Research on text authenticity, redaction, etc. alerts the reader to which parts of the book are original ideas and which are later additions by well-meaning scribes. In any careful reading, it is important to be sensitive to the structure of the work (i.e. prose, poetry, allegory, parable, etc.) and to key words and subtle meanings.
One gets a more systematic understanding of a wisdom book if it is analyzed according to its explorations into the following major topics:
1.Essence of God
2.Nature of Humanity
3.Divine and Human Relationship
4.Meaning of Life
5.Cosmology or a view of the universe vis-à-vis God (as active or passive creator), Humankind (as masters or stewards of creation), and the created world’s ultimate purpose. (6)
Discovering the unifying theme is helpful, particularly in works that might appear to be random collections of wisdom sayings (i.e. Proverbs). Such exercise is easier in tales like the Book of Job and the Book of Tobit. Attempts to relate the wisdom texts to other wisdom motifs (i.e. Ecclesiasticus and the Egyptian Instruction of Ptahhotop, Tobit and the Wisdom of Ahikar), enhance our understanding of cross-cultural influences and widen our concept of what constitutes wisdom. (7)
Hermeneutics, derived from the Greek god Hermes who was messenger to the gods, was introduced into philosophy by Aristotle’s work “On Interpretation”. It is the science and art of biblical interpretation. Exegesis, from the Greek verb “to lead out” is the critical and extensive interpretation of a text (i.e. bible commentary). While exegesis is concerned with interpretation of the text per se, hermeneutics deals with how the text is interpreted from a certain point of view, i.e., contemporary relevance of the text. Hermeneutics in medieval Christian era built on the tradition of the Patristic writers and drew a distinction between the letter and the spirit of the text. The literal sense (sensus historicus) denoted what the text stated directly. The allegorical sense (sensus allegoricus) explained the text vis-à-vis church dogma. The moral application of the text to the reader or hearer was sensus moralis or sensus tropologicus. Metaphysical or eschatological allusions of the text represented the fourth level of meaning or sensus anagocicus. (8)

Wisdom Literature in contemporary theological reflection
The importance and significance of the Wisdom books are not as appreciated as the other books of the canonical bible that deal with and elucidate promise, covenant, and salvation history. Canonically limited to three books (Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes), the wisdom literature includes other books containing wisdom motifs so that the study of wisdom texts reveals that “hokma” has an extensive reach, to the point of being key to a better understanding of the canonical bible (see earlier comments).
Even in church liturgy, we notice that the wisdom books are underutilized. Yet, from an analysis of readings from the Revised Common Lectionary, it is clear that in the New Year’s Day selections for example, Ecclesiastes and Psalm enhance the interpretation of the apocalyptic gospel verses in Matthew and the Book of Revelation. (cf. part 2 of this paper).
Today, popular televangelists cherry pick from the wisdom books (i.e. Osteen et al.) and gloss over difficult passages (i.e. human suffering as depicted in Job and Tobit). This is a disservice, because valuable lessons are obtainable from the latter books, particularly relevant in the current debate on ethical “quality of life issues” in medicine and the legal professions. J.K. Rowling did touch on “the fringe benefits of failure” during her recent commencement address at Harvard University, though the famous author fell short of attributing her personal restoration and success to God or to a higher power. She saw her resurgence from failure as the effect of what Plutarch said: “What we change inwardly will change outward reality.”(9). JK Rowling might have aimed to be politically correct to avoid trouble from the ACLU but the fact is that contemporary wisdom is characteristically pragmatic and egocentric, while the God-inspired wisdom of the Hebrew bible is unapologetically theocentric.
Yet many lessons applicable to contemporary society can be drawn from the Wisdom Literature, to name a few:
Family and Parenting: “A wise child makes a glad father, but a foolish child is a mother’s gift.” (Prov. 10.1) “A child who gathers in summer is prudent, but a child who sleeps in harvest brings shame.” (Prov. 10.5)
Medicine: “(The Physician) too beseeches God that his diagnosis may be correct and his treatment bring about a cure.” (Sir 38.14)
Law: “A bribe corrupts the heart.” (Eccl 7.7)
Business: “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but an accurate weight is his delight.” (Prov 11.1)
Politics: “Wisdom is better than weapons of war.” (Eccl. 9.18)
Academia: “Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” (Eccl. 12.12)
Everyday life: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” (Eccl. 3.1)
The Wisdom Books have a timelessness that makes them relevant and meaningful through the centuries. It behooves us to bring these treasured scrolls to be read and studied not only in our churches, but also in our schools and our workplaces, despite and because of the cacophony of the marketplace. The curse and blessing of our age is that we have been transformed into one global digital village, and the accessibility and rapidity with which we can convey wisdom is unprecedented in humankind’s history.
May we, the recipients (and stewards) of these wisdom scrolls, be inspired to extend the quest to help make wisdom’s “Tree of Life” grow and flourish as intended by its Creator.

Notes:
1.Lecture on Wisdom Literature, Dr. Hugh R. Page, Jr.
2.Katherine Dell. ‘Get Wisdom, Get Insight’: An Introduction to Israel’s Wisdom Literature (Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc., Macon, Georgia, 2000), p. 1-2
3.Ronald E. Murphy. The Tree of Life: An Exploration of Biblical Wisdom Literature (W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002), p. 124
4.Lecture, Dr. Page.
5.Murphy, p. 232
6.Lecture, Dr. Page
7.Dell, p. 140-142.
8.Wikipedia notes on exegesis and hermeneutics.
9.JK Rowling’s Commencement Address at Harvard University, June 2008