BIB 475 Wisdom Literature

This course examines the background and theology of Israel’s wisdom literature. The main focus is on the Old Testament wisdom books considered to be canonical in the Protestant tradition (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes), but considerable attention will also be given to the so-called deutero-canonical works (Ben Sira, Wisdom of Solomon, Baruch) and to the Dead Sea Scrolls. The goals are to understand what “wisdom” means in these literatures, what distinguishes wisdom literature from other kinds of ancient literature, and how these themes inform ethics in the modern Christian tradition. Prerequisite(s): BIB 277, BIB 278. 3 hour(s).