Osnova sekce

  • Wisdom literature is a separate group of Old Testament texts. It contains a minimum of allusions to Israel and the main events associated with its history (exodus from Egypt, conquest of the land) and focuses on the daily life experience of the individual and teaches what it means to lead a good life. In the Old Testament, this group is represented by the Book of Proverbs and the Wisdom of Ben Sira. These books treat a lot of themes under various points of view; the article by Lemmelijn offers a survey of one of the most important themes. 


    Literature: 

    - Rendtorff, Rolf, The Old Testament, p. 255-258 (Proverbs). 
    - ABD 6:931-945 (Wisdom of Ben-Sira) 
    - Lemmelijn, Bénédicte, Wisdom of life as way of life: The Wisdom of Jesus Sirach as a case in point. Old Testament essay 27 (2/2014), pp. 444-471 (see http://www.scielo.org.za/pdf/ote/v27n2/08.pdf or http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1010-99192014000200008) 


    Biblical texts for final exam: 

    The student is supposed to have read and to know all and entire Old Testament books; however, at the final exam (s)he will be confronted with one of these texts:


    Prov 8,12-36 (poem on Wisdom)

    Prov  9,1-6 (a banquet prepared by Wisdom)

    Prov  25-26 (the second Solomon's colection of proverbs)

    Prov 31,10-31 (a woman of honor)

    Sir 24,1-34 (praise of Wisdom; Wisdom and Law)

    Sir 34,18 - 35,24 (sacrifices, piety, and justice)

    Sir 44-50 (praise of the Ancestors)



    Verifying comprehension 

    1. What collections are contained in the Book of Proverbs? 
    2. What do have the books of Ben Sira and of Proverbs in common? How do they differ? 
    3. How do these books talk about "wisdom", how do they present "her"? 
    4. Describe the textual situation of Ben Sira.