A study of Old Testament wisdom literature with an emphasis on understanding the context and original purpose of each writing, examining the ancient Near Eastern setting and comparable literature, and applying the ethical and theological teaching of these writings today.
This course will focus on the wisdom books of the Hebrew Bible (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes), also giving substantial attention to Hellenistic Jewish wisdom books (Ben Sira and Wisdom of Solomon). Wisdom literature from the broader ancient
At the conclusion of the course, the student should have a firm understanding of the biblical wisdom corpus and the most important historical-critical issues treated in the secondary literature.