Wisdom in Biblical Literature.

Catalog description

This course introduces the student to the biblical books of Proverbs, Job, and Qohelet (Ecclesiastes). These books share the common thread of teaching people how to live skillfully and have incited controversy for millennia. Students read these books in English, examine and discuss the major themes, literary structures, cultural contexts, and issues in interpretation that surround these books, and reflect upon their significance for several communities of readers in various periods of history. In order to situate these Israelite books within their ancient cultural contexts, students read and discuss wisdom texts from the neighboring cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia. In order to appreciate the position of these books within wisdom tradition, students also look at some wisdom writings from Israel that are not included in the biblical canon.