263.
4Aage Bentzen, Introduction to the Old Testament,
vol. 1 (Copenhagen: Gad, 1958), p. 161.
(1, 34, 37, 49, 73, 111, 112, 119, 127, 128).1 Kuntz
divides his list into three categories: (1) sentence
wisdom Psalms (127, 128, 133); (2) acrostic wisdom (25,
34, 37, 112, 119); and (3) integrative wisdom (1, 32,
49).2
Two criteria have been used in assessing the
wisdom character of Psalms. The Psalm must contain wisdom
themes, as listed above,3 or include "wisdom forms."4
Wisdom and the Prophets
The next section will present a brief digest of
____________________
1Perdue, Wisdom and Cult, p. 263; vid. Crenshaw,
"Wisdom," pp. 249-50, for an even longer list given by
Castellino. Cf. also Scott, The Way of Wisdom, p. 13.
James F. Ross argues strongly for Ps 73's inclusion
("Psalm 73," in Israelite Wisdom: Theological and
Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, ed. J. G.
Gammie, et al. [New York: Union Theological Seminary,
1978], p. 167).
2Kuntz, "The Canonical Wisdom Psalms," pp. 217-20;
cf. Perdue, Wisdom and Cult, p. 264.
3For discussions of a thematic nature, vid.
Murphy, "A Consideration of the Classification, 'Wisdom
Psalms,'" p. 165; Perdue, Wisdom and Cult, p. 264;
Bullock, An Introduction to the Old Testament Poetic
Books, p. 26; and, most beneficial, Kuntz, "The Canonical
Wisdom Psalms," p. 211. Scott, The Way of Wisdom, pp.
196-97. Ross even tries a vocabulary approach in "Psalm
73," pp. 167-68.
4For discussions of these forms in detail, see
Crenshaw, "Wisdom," p. 250; Kuntz, "The Canonical Wisdom
Psalms," p. 191; or Murphy, Introduction to the Wisdom
Literature, p. 41. Others who have done synthesized work
in this area are: Perdue, Wisdom and Cult, p. 264;
Kaiser, "Wisdom Theology and the Centre of Old Testament
Theology," p. 133; Morgan, Wisdom in the Old Testament
Traditions, p. 127; and Scott, The Way of Wisdom, pp.
194-95.
the work done on the relationship between the wise men and
prophets. Crenshaw well notes that a scrutiny of this
relationship really was developed first by Fichtner, in
1949, when he suggested that Isaiah was a scribe. In
1960, Lindblom, in a cogent essay, expatiated the
connection between the wise men and the prophets,
supplementing Fichtner's work on Isaiah. Terrien applied
these results, thereby solidifying a nexus between Amos
and wisdom. Finally, two longer works by McKane and
Crenshaw developed and probed the issue even further.1
The setting of both the wise men and prophets was centered
in the royal court, though some would opt for a tribal/
clan orientation (vid. Amos).2 Ward is correct when he
bemoans the fact that, for so long, priority has been
given to studying the prophets and the enhancing of their
creative genius.3 Thus, there is a debate over who
____________________
1J. Fichtner, "Isaiah among the Wise," SAIW, pp.
429-38 (more recently, Whedbee, Isaiah and Wisdom). J.
Lindblom, "Wisdom in the Old Testament Prophets," VTSup 3
(1969):192-204 is still one of the best sources. S.
Terrien, "Amos and Wisdom," SAIW, pp. 448-55; McKane,
Prophets and Wise Men; and James L. Crenshaw, Prophetic
Conflict.
2Morgan, Wisdom in the Old Testament Traditions,
p. 222; Hans W. Wolff, Amos' geistige Heimat,
Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen
Testament, vol. 18 (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener
Verlag, 1964), pp. 51-52; cf. Kovacs, "Sociological-
Structural Constraints," p. 187.
3James M. Ward, "The Servant's Knowledge in Isaiah
influenced whom. Scott allows for the prophets
influencing the wise (citing Prov 21:3; and 16:6 as proof)
and Thompson opts for the reverse. Pfeiffer manifests the
antiquated view that the prophets (650 B.C.) were
considered earlier than the sages (450 B.C.), which would
suggest the movement of influence in the same direction as
Scott's view.1 Ancient Near Eastern sources, however,
have exposed the fallaciousness of this view.
Lindblom notes that the prophetic awareness of
foreign wisdom (Edomite, Jer 49:7; Obad 8; Phoenician,
Ezek 28; Egyptian, Isa 19:11; Babylonian, Isa 44:25; Jer
50:35; and Assyrian, Isa 10:13) would imply a
consciousness of Israelite wisdom as well. It is odd that
such a favorable comparison between Solomon's wisdom and
the wisdom of non-Israelite sages is mentioned in
Scripture (1 Kgs 4:31f. [MT 5:10f.]) because certainly any
comparison of Israelite prophets to foreign prophets or
priests would not have been written in such a complaisant
____________________
40-50," in Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary
Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, ed. J. G. Gammie et al.
(New York: Union Theological Seminary, 1978), p. 121.
1Scott, The Way of Wisdom, pp. 123-24; Thompson,
The Form and Function, pp. 100-102; and R. H. Pfeiffer,
"Wisdom and Vision in the Old Testament," ZAW 52
(1934):94.
manner.1 While Whybray has objected,2 it is suggested
that Israel had three groups of religious leaders:
prophets, priests, and sages (Jer 8:8; 18:18). The
difference is in "sphere and function rather than in
theory or theology."3
Some writers have fixated on the tension between
the wise men and the prophets which is manifested in the
scathing prophetic denunciations against the wise (Isa
19:11-13; 29:14-16; 30:1-5; Jer 9:22f.; 50:35; Ezek
28:2ff.).4
The wise men allegedly shunned all that was
precious to the prophetic message (salvation history,
covenant, and election).5 McKane concisely summarizes
the
____________________
1Lindblom, "Wisdom in the Old Testament Prophets,"
p. 192; Crenshaw, Old Testament Wisdom, p. 55.
2Whybray, The Intellectual Tradition, pp. 24-27.
3Frank E. Eakin, "Wisdom, Creation and Covenant,"
Perspectives in Religious Studies 4 (Fall 1977):226. He
cites an excellent statement from Robert C. Dentan, The
Knowledge of God in Ancient Israel (New York: The Seabury
Press, 1968), p. 81. Contrast this to Scott, The Way of
Wisdom, p. 113 and, even more abrasively, Mckane, Prophets
and Wise Men, p. 128.
4Especially provocative is McKane's Prophets and
Wise Men, pp. 19, 65, 68, 128. Fox, "Aspects of the
Religious on the Book of Proverbs," p. 64, and, against
foreign wise men and their hybris, W. H. Gispen, "The Wise
Men in Israel," Free University Quarterly 5 (November
1957):11; Ranston, The Old Testament Wisdom Books and
Their Teaching, p. 20. Cf. Murphy, "The Wisdom Literature
of the Old Testament," p. 129; and Ward, "The Servant's
Knowledge in Isaiah 40-50," pp. 124-25.
5Gaspar, Social Ideas in the Wisdom Literature of
root of this altercation when he writes:
If the Israelite prophets were doing no more than
raising their voices against certain abuses and were
simply seeking to contain wisdom within its proper
limits, the theological importance of the conflict
would be greatly reduced . . . . The prophets are not
saying to these hakamim that they are unworthy
representatives of their tradition; they are calling
in question the basic presuppositions of the tradition
itself.1
The tension is further highlighted in the 'esa/dabar
conflict. Numerous scholars have portrayed prophecy as a
dabar from God--often in the form, "thus says Yahweh."2
The sage, on the other hand, is characterized as having a
word, not based on divine commission, but on his
observations of creation. Thus, its level of authority is
a call to weigh the advice and scrutinize its value,
rather than demanding, as the prophets did, strict
obedience to a sovereign God who had spoken. This
authority distinction has been seen as the basis of this
conflict between prophets and sages. As cited above,
Crenshaw's judicious analysis has helped stay this alleged
authority crisis in wisdom.3
Thompson (and also Bryce), in a balanced manner,
____________________
the Old Testament, p. 109.
1McKane, Prophets and Wise Men, p. 128.
2Fichtner, "Isaiah among the Wise," pp. 429, 436;
Scott, The Way of Wisdom, pp. 114, 133; J. A. Emerton,
"Wisdom," in Tradition and Interpretation, ed. G. W.
Anderson (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979), pp. 223-24.
3Crenshaw, Prophetic Conflict, pp. 116-23.
remarks that the words against the sages do not
demonstrate any foundational opposition between the two
groups any more than the prophets' condemnations of false
prophecy imply their displeasure with the institution of
prophecy.1
The existence of wisdom in the prophets exposes
the specious reasoning of those who would exaggerate the
tensions between the two groups. The evaluation of the
extent to which wisdom is found in a prophet is based
again on the presence of certain motifs, certain "wisdom"
forms and also vocabulary usages.2
Kovacs notes the juncture of prophecy, scribal
elements, and wisdom in the Egyptian texts, "The
Admonitions of Ipu-Wer" and "Prophecy of Neferrohu."3
Also interesting is Trible's mention of the connection
between the wisdom poem in Proverbs 1:20-33 and prophetic
____________________
1Thompson, The Form and Function, p. 100; Glendon
E. Bryce, review of Wisdom in Israel, by Gerhard von Rad,
in TToday 30 (1974):438.
2For a general survey see Lindblom, "Wisdom in the
Old Testament Prophets," p. 201; Morgan, Wisdom in the Old
Testament Traditions, pp. 77ff.; or Morgan, "Wisdom and
the Prophets," pp. 229-32. For an interesting chart
utilizing the folklore analysis of N. Barley, see Carole
R. Fontaine, Traditional Sayings in the Old Testament, p.
252.
3Kovacs, "Sociological-Structural Constraints," p.
239; cf. Pritchard, ANET, pp. 444-46, 467.
homiletics.1
The recent trend is to see wisdom everywhere. The
detection of wisdom in Isaiah2 helped initiate and sustain
the interest in wisdom and the prophets. Isaiah continues
to be the focus of attention.
Jeremiah, on the other hand, has not been
sufficiently treated in regard to his personal involvement
with the wise, although his statements about the wise men
and their connection with other institutions have been
thoroughly examined (Jer 18:18; cf. Ezek 7:26). Lucas
observes the presence of proverbial sayings in Jeremiah,
which he attributes to the wise men (cf. Jer 17:9-10 with
Prov 16:2).3 A proverb may also be found in Jeremiah
13:12-14. Brueggemann also perceives some "wisdom" forms
in Jeremiah: (1) rhetorical questions (Jer 8:4-5, 8-9,
12, 19), (2) use of analogy (Jer 8:6-7), and (3) the
____________________
1Phyllis Trible, "Wisdom Builds a Poem: The
Architecture of Proverbs 1:20-33," JBL 94.4 (December
1975):509.
2Fichtner, "Isaiah among the Wise," pp. 429-38;
Morgan, Wisdom in the Old Testament Traditions, pp. 76-83;
Joseph Jensen, The Use of tora by Isaiah; James W.
Whedbee, Isaiah and Wisdom; Ward, "The Servant's Knowledge
in Isaiah 40-50," pp. 121-36; and Scott, The Way of
Wisdom, pp. 79, 125, 128.
3Odilo M. Lucas, "Wisdom Literature in the Old
Testament," Biblebhashyam 4 (1978):288.
admonition (Jer. 9:3-4).1
The minor prophets have been examined in detail
and many wisdom influences have been proposed. Gowan
gives a nice qualifier to this whole discussion when he
writes:
If no special relationship with the wisdom
movement is postulated for the prophet Habakkuk, this
fact in itself has some implications for the study of
wisdom itself. When we begin to find wisdom
influences everywhere in the Old Testament, surely
this teaches us that wisdom was not a closed
fraternity whose members spoke only with one another
and with their pupils, but that it represented a
certain outlook on life, conveyed in a special
language, which was well known to the average
Israelite.2
Various writers have worked with Habakkuk3 and Amos (which
has received much attention)4 and wisdom elements have
also been suggested in Micah and Hosea.5 One has even
____________________
1Walter A. Brueggemann, "The Epistemological Crisis
of Israel's Two Histories (Jer 9:22-23)," in Israelite
Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel
Terrien, ed. J. G. Gammie et al. (New York: Union
Theological Seminary, 1978), p. 90.
2Donald E. Gowan, "Habakkuk and Wisdom," Perspective 9 (1968):164.
3Ibid.
4Crenshaw, "The Influence of the Wise upon Amos,"
ZAW 79 (1967):42-52; S. Terrien, "Amos and Wisdom," SAIW,
pp. 448-55; Morgan, Wisdom in the Old Testament Traditions,
pp. 67-72.
5Hans W. Wolff, "Micah the Moreshite--The Prophet
and His Background," in Israelite Wisdom: Theological and
Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, ed. J. G.
Gammie et al. (New York: Union Theological Seminary,
1978), pp. 77-84. For brief comments on Hosea, see Morgan,
Wisdom in the Old Testament Traditions, pp. 72-74.
suggested that Jonah is a masal.1
Finally, the bond between the wise men and
apocalyptic literature has been broached by von Rad, who
sees the apocalyptic genre as the daughter of wisdom
rather than of the prophets. He pictures the connection
in the strong use of the determined times motif which is
present in Daniel and in wisdom (cf. Eccl 3:1; 8:31; Sir
39:33f.).2 Because the word hokma appears in Daniel 2 and
7, Whybray sees wisdom influence in apocalyptic as well.3
Crenshaw again points to the need for a control and
suggests that prophecy, rather than wisdom, be seen as the
matrix for apocalyptic.4
____________________
1George M. Landes, "Jonah: A Masal?" in Israelite
Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of
Samuel Terrien, ed. J. G. Gammie et al. (New York: Union
Theological Seminary, 1978), pp. 137-58.
2von Rad, Wisdom in Israel, pp. 263-82 and Old
Testament Theology, vol. 2, trans. D. M. G. Stalker (New
York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1965), pp. 301-15.
3Whybray, The Intellectual Tradition, pp. 100-104.
De Vries lists thought forms, particularly their shared
conceptions of time and history. Simon J. De Vries,
"Observations on Quantitative and Qualitative Time in
Wisdom and Apocalyptic," in Israelite Wisdom: Theological
and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, ed. J. G.
Gammie et al. (New York: Union Theological Seminary,
1978), pp. 263-76 (it should be noted that De Vries
rejects the notion of wisdom as the origin of apocalyptic,
p. 272). Cf. also Morgan, Wisdom in the Old Testament
Traditions, p. 132; and John G. Gammie, "Spatial and
Ethical Dualism in Jewish Wisdom and Apocalyptic
Literature," JBL 93 (1974):356-85.
4James L. Crenshaw, review of Wisdom in Israel, by
Gerhard von Rad, in Religious Studies Review 2.2 (April
1976):10; cf. also Kovacs, "Sociological-Structural
Conclusion
This concludes a brief survey of the integration
of wisdom into the canon. Its purpose has been to provide
a synopsis of work which has been done in scholarly
circles concerning the nature and extent of wisdom in the
canon. It points out common forms, vocabulary, and motifs
between wisdom and the rest of the canon, demonstrating
that it is no longer to be considered the orphan of the
Old Testament. This survey also highlights the need for a
more clear methodology for determining wisdom influence,
as Crenshaw and Whybray have clarioned. Finally, it would
appear that if one is to ascertain the presence of wisdom
outside of the corpus of the wisdom books themselves, one
must have explicit knowledge of the forms, vocabulary, and
motifs employed in the wisdom books themselves. Thus,
this study hopes to provide an analysis of the syntactic
structure of the sentence literature which lies at the
____________________
Constraints," pp. 176, 195. De Vries agrees, in
"Observations on Quantitative and Qualitative Time in
Wisdom and Apocalyptic," p. 272.
heart of the old wisdom corpus.1
____________________
1Reference should be made at this point to
materials which interface wisdom with the New Testament.
The following provide a starting point in that direction.
Dieter Zeller, Die wesheitlichen Mahnspruche bei den
Synoptikern, Forschung zur Bible Band 17 (Wurzburg:
Echter Verlag, 1977). Robert L. Wilken, ed., Aspects of
Wisdom in Judaism and Early Christianity (Notre Dame:
University of Notre Dame, 1975). James M. Reese, "Christ
as Wisdom Incarnate: Wiser than Solomon, Loftier than
Lady Wisdom," BTB (1981):44-47. M. D. Johnson,
"Reflections on a Wisdom Approach to Matthew's
Christology," CBQ 36 (1974):44-64. Thomas Finan,
"Hellenistic Humanism in the Book of Wisdom," ITQ 27
(1960):30-48. Cain H. Felder, "Wisdom, Law and Social
Concern in the Epistle of James" (Ph.D. dissertation,
Columbia University, 1982). Monty W. Casebolt, "God's
Provision of Wisdom in I Corinthians 1:30 and James 1:5"
(M.Div. thesis, Grace Theological Seminary, 1983).
William A. Beardslee, "The Wisdom Tradition and the
Synoptic Gospels," JAAR 35 (1967):231-40; and Beardslee,
"Use of the Proverb in the Synoptic Gospels," Int 24:1
(1970):61-73. H. Gese, "Wisdom, Son of Man and Origins of
Christology: The Consistent Development of Biblical
Theology," Horizons in Biblical Theology (1981):23-57.
CHAPTER IV
THE HISTORICAL SETTINGS OF WISDOM
The Context of Sentence Literature?
Proverbs provides numerous difficulties,
particularly regarding how its sentences are to be
contextualized. Too many view Proverbs 10-15 as a
disjointed collection of atomic statements, each of which
is self-contained and bears little or no significant
relationship with what precedes or with what follows.
McKane, in his magnum opus on Proverbs, ruefully writes
concerning the unconnected character of the sentence
literature: "In such literature [sentence literature]
there is no context, for each sentence is an entity in
itself and the collection amounts to no more than the
gathering together of a large number of independent
sentences, each of which is intended to be a well-
considered and definitive observation on a particular
topic."1 He further considers the associational features
between these individualistic units as interesting, but
secondary in nature. R. Gordon voices a similar literary
misconception when he writes: "The difficultly remains in
that each saying or section stands on its own and cannot
____________________
1McKane, Proverbs, p. 413.
normally be related to what went before or to what
follows."1 Murphy, while accepting the cohesiveness of the
sentence literature, cautiously rejects the notion that
neighboring proverbs provide a determinative context for
ascertaining the meaning of a particular sentence.2 Others
appreciate Proverbs' a-historical character, allowing the
proverbial material to appeal to all men everywhere.3
The Multifaceted Context of Wisdom
While the above cautions are in order
hermeneutically (though this writer considers them
simplistic architectonically), there are several layers of
general context which provide the needed background for
appreciating the sentence literature. An investigation of
several possible matrices will provide a rather loose
functional and historical setting for the proverbial
sentences. Such sentence literature settings are
____________________
1R. Gordon, "Motivation in Proverbs," Biblical
Theology 25.3 (1975):49. This statement will be shown to
be an impediment to collectional aspects of proverbs study.
This dissertation will, on the contrary, emphasize the
connectedness of the sentences as much as possible. Cf. B.
S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture
(Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1979), p. 79.
2Murphy, Wisdom Literature, pp. 63-64. Murphy is
well aware of the work of H.-J. Hermisson, Studien zur
israelitischen Spruchweisheit, pp. 171-83 and O. Ploger,
"Zur Auslegung der Sentenzensammlungen des
Proverbienbuches," in Probleme biblischer Theologie, ed.
H. W. Wolff (Munich: Chr. Kaiser Verlag, 1971), pp.
404-16.
3von Rad, Wisdom in Israel, p. 32.
common not only to the Israelite milieu, but also are found
in all the major cultures of the ancient Near East
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