SREL 476-Introduction to Wisdom Literature

The Course is an introduction to the third division of the Hebrew Bible which is Kethuviim, and the specific purpose in which Wisdom as an integral part of Jewish cosmology played a significant role. Areas to be covered will include Wisdom in early Israel, The Wisdom of Solomon, The earliest Core of Proverbs, Pre-exilic Wisdom, Post -exilic Wisdom and how the catastrophe of the exile shaped and pre-empted the issues raised in Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes. Themes such as Theodicy, the Suffering of the Righteous, the futility of life and its pursuits, Eschatology as a panacea towards the sustenance of Israel’s religion will be explored in the main Books of Wisdom Literature in the Old Testament Canon.