Reading: An Overview of Biblical Wisdom Literature (Video Slides)

Bible "Big Picture”

• Covenant Making - God establishes a covenant relationship with a missional community by way of a redemptive act (primary revelatory authority based upon direct encounter)

Pentateuch

• Covenant Living - God guides the covenant relationship with a missional community by way of authorized spokespersons (secondary revelatory authority based upon unique individual calling & equipping)

Former & Latter Prophets

• Covenant Questions - God nurtures the covenant relationship with a missional community by way of spiritual wisdom and insight (tertiary revelatory authority based upon communal spiritual insight)

 

Overview of Job

• The Plot: A very rich man in the Ancient Near East becomes the focus of a conversation between God and Satan. All of Job's assets are taken away, and three rounds of poetic dialogue probe why this has happened.

• The Structure:

An opening prose narrative about Job and the tragedies

Three dramatic dialogues, each with a different group or person interacting with Job

A very brief closing statement about the outcomes

• The Intent: through this drama, questions emerge:

Is this world guided or random?

Are there moral structures and do these matter?

Is there a God, and if so, what is God's character?

What is the ultimate meaning of human existence?

 

Overview of Psalms

• The Collection: A variety of different poems by various authors and of diverse lengths and styles, expressing many different dimensions of human wondering, prayer, insight, hopes, fears, and values.

• The Structure:

One hundred fifty individual Psalms gathered into five "books,” each of which ends with a doxology (song of praise to God)

• The Intent: through these many prayers, worship emerges:

Praise to God for good events and other blessings

Petitions for help

Statements of courage and faith

Wrestlings with difficulties and doubts

 

Overview of Proverbs

• The Collection: A variety of different poetic lectures and many brief proverbs which capture the meaning of life and love and values and morality.

• The Structure:

There is an opening statement of the value of Proverbs

There is a collection of lectures about the benefits of Wisdom and the detriments of Folly

There are several collections of pithy proverbs, most attributed to Solomon, but also to other wise people

There is a concluding poem in praise of Wisdom

• The Intent: through these many lectures and proverbs, a particular understanding of life and living emerges:

God is sovereign

Humankind is morally responsible

We choose our own ethical behaviors

Good is always God's way, and proves best in the end

 

Overview of Ecclesiastes

• The Collection: A very wise and powerful ruler looks back at his life and experiences, and tries to make sense of things.

• The Structure:

An opening statement of the problems and tragedies of life

A variety of explorations and proverbs and meaning

A closing declaration about how to understand and live life meaningfully

• The Intent: through these reflections, questions emerge:

Is this world guided or random?

Are there moral structures and do these matter?

Is there a God, and if so, what is God's character?

What is the ultimate meaning of human existence?

How do we get by in the meantime?

 

Overview of Song of Songs

• The Collection: A variety of different types of poetry emerging from various voices, all of which together portray people in love and lust, and give the outcomes of the quest for intimacy in the life of a young woman.

• The Structure:

There is an opening statement made by a young woman who finds herself the object of love, and tries to figure out why this should be

There are lusty songs of praise to her and to love itself

There are several hints at events taking place around the young woman

There are choruses raised by those who observe what is happening

There is a concluding reflection on the meaning of love

• The Intent: through these many different kinds of poetry, a particular understanding of love emerges:

Humans are made to love

Love can be healthy, and it can be perverse

The best of who we are emerges in loving relationships

 

Overview of Lamentations

• The Collection: Five songs of lament, usually attributed to Jeremiah, which probe the reasons behind and lessons to be learned from the fall of Jerusalem.

• The Structure:

Four acrostic poems of differing lengths, voices and structures, followed by a fifth poem which is not shaped acrostically

• The Intent: through these laments, questions emerge:

Why did this disaster happen?

Is God in control, or not?

Are God's promises in place, or have they been forgotten?

How should we respond to overwhelming calamities?