Books of Wisdom

Old Testament Breakdown Books of Law Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers Duteronomy Books of History Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Ester

Books of Wisdom and Poetry Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations *Song of Solomon ~ Song of Songs (Orthodox Study Bible Wisdom of Solomon and Wisdom of Sirach The Prophets Major and the Minor Prophets

Canonicity / Importance Psalms David was a man with divine inspiration “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.” ~2 Samuel 23:2 Prophetic emphasis within the Psalms are very important Use of the psalms for liturgical purposes made the preservation and canonization of the psalms important

Canonicity / Importance Wisdom Books ~ Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes Wisdom is considered a gift of God 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice. ~1 Kings 3:28 Three out of these books are related to Solomon

The way of Wisdom was the way of the Covenant Books of Wisdom also have corresponding points to the books of Law (Pentateuch) The way of Wisdom was the way of the Covenant “6 Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 “For what great nation is there that has God so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever

Explanation of some of the penalties for breaking the covenant reason we may call upon Him? 8 And what great nation is there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as are in all this law which I set before you this day? ~Deuteronomy 4:6-8 The books of wisdom translated out the stipulations of the covenant into instructions on how to live life Explanation of some of the penalties for breaking the covenant

The books of wisdom carry the precepts to live by onto generations to come Books of Law and Wisdom stress whole hearted obedience to God

Recognition of these Books Cyril of Jerusalem in 363 AD Recognized these books as collective group Job, thought to have taken place during the patriarchal age (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) was placed at the beginning of the books Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon follow as they are related to David and Solomon

Apocryphal Books of Wisdom Wisdom of Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon They are found in the three oldest Greek manuscripts of the Old Testament Latin scholar Jerome question the books authorship and gave them a label of books for edification not authoritative books Council of Trent in 1546 reversed what Jerome said Roman Catholics gave some credit to Jerome and classified them as deuterocanonical

About 1/3 of the Old Testament is in poetic form Hebrew Poetry is primarily a parallelism type of poetry Three types of parallelism Synonymous Antithetic Synthetic

Synonymous The initial line finds a verbal parallels in the following line “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.” ~Psalm 19:1

Antithetic The second line of the couplet express the opposite of the first “For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.” ~Psalm 1:6

Synthetic The second line expands or amplifies the first line. ““Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.” ~Psalm 2:6

Job Structure of the Book Ch 1-2 - Divine revelation and inspiration of the book Ch 3 – Job’s Curse Ch 4-25 – Debate between friends Ch 28 – Wisdom Chapter Ch 29-31 – Job condition Ch 32-37 – Young Mans contribution Ch 38-42 – The Lord Speaks to Job

The belief in Yahweh (one God) Attributes of God Theology in Job The belief in Yahweh (one God) His friends were theists Attributes of God Sovereignty, omnipotence, omniscience and justice Discussion of the afterlife Suffering is the key issue discussed in Job

Job Literary Style Mostly written in Hebrew Parallelism But contains examples from almost every kind of literature in the OT Laments, Complaints, Hymns, Proverbs and Rhetorical Questions

Psalms Largest book in the Bible with 150 psalms Hebrew word ‘Mizmor’ is a technical term for a song sung with musical accompaniment Greek word for mizmor is ‘psalmos’

Background of Psalmody Hymns were used to celebrate God’s victory over His Enemies Miriam / Moses, Deborah The Book of the Wars of the Lord (Num 21:14)

Psalms Background of Worship More psalms came to be with building of the temple of God David organized guilds (musical accompaniments) in Israel for worship in the temple

Groupings of Psalms Small Groupings “The sons of Korah” (ps 42-49) Asaph (73-83) Davidic Book one Songs of ascents Hallelujah Maskil, Mikhtam, Hodu (Give Thanks)

Development of the Psalms 1. Predictive psalms. Psalms 2, 16, 22, 45, 110, for example, are cited in the New Testament as personally predictive of events in the life of Jesus. 2. Praise hymns or hallelujah psalms such as 146–150 extol the wisdom, power and graciousness of God. Hymns are prominent in the Psalter. Some psalms extol God’s greatness and providence (e.g., Ps 8, 100), while others extol his sovereignty over the universe (e.g., Pss 47, 96–99). Still others—the so-called Zion songs—praise the city which God had chosen for his habitation. 3. Petition or supplication psalms such as 6, 39, 86 pour out the needs of the human heart before God. Sometimes these supplications become psalms of confidence because of the absolute certainty that the prayers contained therein will be answered.

4. Penitential psalms such as 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143 confess sin and beg for reinstatement with God. 5. Perceptive or didactic or wisdom psalms such as 1, 19, and 119 discuss issues which perplex the human mind. 6. Profession or confession psalms such as 33, 103 and 107 set forth the psalmists’ convictions about the mighty works of God. 7. Patriotic or historic psalms (e.g., 78, 105, 106) review the history of the relationship between Yahweh and his people. 8. Pilgrimage psalms (e.g., 120–134) were sung as worshipers made their way up the hill of Zion to celebrate the great festivals of the Mosaic dispensation.

Proverbs Mainly focuses on prudent and moral behaviors, teaching wisdom to the young and those who desire to advance Major Theme is “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (9:10

Authorship Solomon is the primary author Hezekiah’s Scribes Non-Solomonic proverbs Proverbial Style Synonymous Antithetical

Proverbs Morals and Biblical truths covered in Proverbs God's omniscience (5, 21; 15, 3-11) Power (19, 21; 21, 30) Providence (20, 1-24) Goodness (15, 29), Joy and strength resulting from abandonment to him (3, 5; 16, 20; 18, 10)

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes is a Greek translation of a Hebrew work Qoheleth meaning, “one who convokes an assembly.” Major theme of the books is Without God all is vanity

Ecclesiastes Structures of the book Prologue Autobiographical reflection on Life Epilogue Authorship Solomon given the Authorship Koheleth was also considered an Author but some speculate it was Solomon or his son

Song of Song It’s about the mutual love between the Lord and His people with the Lord as the Lover and the people as His beloved “Song of Songs” is a literal translation of the Hebrew title Authorship is traditionally given to Solomon

Song of Songs Interpretation of the Book Allegorical Method Typological Method Cultic Method Literal Method

Song of Songs Outline of the Book The first Meeting: Loves’ Desire The second Meeting: Aspiring Courtship The third Meeting: Solomon’s Wedding The fourth Meeting: The Bride’s Search for her Love The fifth Meeting: Union of Spouses Strength of Devoted Love The conclusion