Job–Sirach

Abstract

Job–Sirach Christopher T. Begg, Fred W. Guyette, Michael W. Duggan, Brian J. Meldrum, Richard A. Taylor, and J. Edward Owens Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America Fred W. Guyette Erskine College and Seminary Michael W. Duggan Calgary AB, Canada Brian J. Meldrum Catholic University of America Richard A. Taylor Dallas Theological Seminary J. Edward Owens OSST, University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio TX 1455. [The Library of the Ketubim and the Wisdom Books] Stéphanie Anthonioz, "La bibliothèque des Ketûvîm et les livres de sagesse. Histoire d'un cosmopolitisme d'époque hellénistique," Hen N.S. 42 (1, 2020) 7-19. In Jewish tradition, "Wisdom Literature" is closely associated with the library of the Ketubim, even though the two are not identical. What then, my question runs, is the origin of the former term and what is the nature of the connection between the two corpora? In other words, my focus here is on the history of the OT wisdom books and that of the Ketubim collection, as well as on the possible intellectual influences on these developments, and the social and political crisis that made the Hellenistic period so painful a time in [End Page 526] Judea and elsewhere and yet at the same time also so fruitful a period that the concept of "cosmpolitization" seems entirely appropriate to designate it and the collections of wisdom writings that emerged during it. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1456. [The Exegesis of OT Wisdom Literature in the Last Two Centuries] Eberhard Bons, "La sagesse de l'Ancien Testament au carrefour des nations. Quelques réflexions sur l'exégèse biblique des deux derniers siècles," Hen N.S. 42 (1, 2020) 20-33. Whereas the Pentateuch, the Historical Books and the Prophetic Books of the OT have all been the subject of countless publications, this is much less the case with the OT's Wisdom Literature, even though there has been some increase in scholarly treatments of the latter in recent years. Against this background, I seek to make the case for two hypotheses: first, the above state of affairs is partly a reflection of the history of exegesis during the last 100 years, and more particularly of the influence of the views of Julius Wellhausen on that history, and second, if Wisdom indeed stands at the crossroads of the nations as the overall title for the above issue of Henoch suggests, then it also stands at the crossroads between Israelite traditions and those of other peoples. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 1457. [A Dialogue between Proverbs from Africa and Biblical Wisdom Literature] Eleonora Hof, "Wijsheid is niet slechts in één huis te vinden—dialoog tussen spreekwoorden uit Afrika en Bijblelse wijsheidsliteratur [Wisdom is not found in only one house: The Dialogue between Proverbs from Africa and Biblical Wisdom Literature]," ACEBT 31 (2017) 107-18. African approaches to biblical wisdom literature tend to critique the dominant Eurocentric hermeneutical approach, doing so on the basis of the consideration that this literature needs to interpreted, not only on the basis of ANE parallels, but also through the lens of indigenous African wisdom. My paper surveys approaches to such a dialogue between African and biblical wisdom. First, the African Proverbs Project has for more than 20 years been collecting a wide range of indigenous proverbs and making these available on its website and Facebook pages. This project offers a positive outlook on African proverbs and urges pastors to root their sermons deeply in African soil by drawing on indigenous categories of wisdom. Two other authors, K. Bediako-Akoto and L. P. Kimilike, take a more critical approach. The former paints a particularly bleak picture concerning the skewed view of gender relationships, menstruation, and female sexuality reflected in these proverbs. He does not discern any possibilities of salvaging such sayings, but rather calls for a liberating re-reading of biblical texts. Similarly, Kimilike voices his concerns about the gender violence that comes to expression in many proverbial African sayings, but still discerns a liberating potential in the sayings about poverty. This liberating potential emerges...