1. Books of Wisdom

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. Job Structure of the Book
Ch Divine revelation and inspiration of the book
Ch 3 – Job’s Curse
Ch 4-25 – Debate between friends
Ch 28 – Wisdom Chapter
Ch – Job condition
Ch – Young Mans contribution
Ch – The Lord Speaks to Job

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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’

19. 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)

20. 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

21. 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)

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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

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

26. 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)

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

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

31. 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