The Feminine in Biblical Wisdom Literature : The Feminine in Biblical Wisdom Literature
What is wisdom? : What is wisdom? Wisdom is a capacity of the mind; in the OT it involves both knowledge and the ability to direct the mind toward a full understanding of human life and toward its moral fulfillment. Wisdom is thus a special capacity, necessary for full human living, but one which can be acquired through education and the application of the mind.
(Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible)
Wisdom Defined : Wisdom Defined Wisdom (generally ḥoḵmâ, though other words are used; e.g.: bînâ, ‘understanding’; teḇûnâ, ‘insight’; śeḵel or śēḵel, ‘prudence’) is intensely practical, not theoretical
The art of being successful, of forming the correct plan to gain the desired results
Its seat is the heart, the center of moral and intellectual decision
(New Bible Dictionary)
Origin of Wisdom : Origin of Wisdom Wisdom forms a central part of the nature of God. In wisdom God created the universe (Prv 3:19) and mankind (Ps 104:24)
The potential for human wisdom is rooted in the creation of mankind
...wisdom in human beings cannot be understood apart from God
(Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible)
Wisdom Literature : Wisdom Literature is literature which has this special concept of wisdom as its central theme.
Wisdom Books of the Bible : Wisdom Books of the Bible Protestant:
Job
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes Catholic/Orthodox/Anglican:
All of the Modern plus:
Wisdom of Solomon
Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus)
Proverbs : Proverbs The starting point of all biblical Wisdom literature
Concerns morality and how to live properly
Designed to be learned and memorized
(Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible)
Ecclesiastes : Ecclesiastes Reflects the wisdom of a man who has lived long and seen the world from all perspectives
He observed the world through honest and objective eyes and could see that justice was not always done
He sought truth with his rational mind but even truth eluded him
(Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible)
Wisdom of Solomon : Wisdom of Solomon Deuterocanonical book
A poetic discourse composed in Greek by a Hellenistic Jew, probably in Alexandria, Egypt during the persecution of Egyptian Jews under Gaius Caligula in a.d. 38-41
Its purpose: to support the Jewish community facing persecution and resisting the dangers of idolatry in a pagan culture
(Harper's Bible Dictionary)
Sirach : Sirach Deuterocanonical book
Author is generally referred to as Jesus ben Sirach, a Hebrew sage who lived in the beginning of the second century BC
Valued highly by both Jews and Christians
Used the canonical Proverbs as a model
His instruction adheres closely to Jewish orthodoxy
(Tyndale Bible Dictionary)
Wisdom PersonifiedProverbs : Wisdom PersonifiedProverbs
The Foolish WomanProverbs : The Foolish WomanProverbs
Wisdom PersonifiedEcclesiastes : Wisdom PersonifiedEcclesiastes
QohelethThe Preacher/Teacher : QohelethThe Preacher/Teacher No one English word represents the Hebrew קהלת qôheleth adequately. According to Hebrew usage, it can be applied to men in office, but it is strictly a feminine participle, and describes a person in the act of calling together an assembly of people as if with the intention of addressing them. The word thus understood refers to Wisdom personified.
(Notes on the Bible by Albert Barnes)
Wisdom PersonifiedWisdom of Solomon : Wisdom PersonifiedWisdom of Solomon
Wisdom PersonifiedSirach : Wisdom PersonifiedSirach
Some Scholarly Thoughts : Some Scholarly Thoughts The descriptions of personified Wisdom variously resemble a teacher, a woman of the night, a prophetess, and a goddess (Diane Jacobson, Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary)
Wisdom is an agent of creation, of redemption, and of providential power (Rev.Dr. Byron E. Shafer, Rutgers Presbyterian Church)
Wisdom was created by God (Charles H.H. Scobie, The Ways of Our God)
Wisdom in the Trinity : Wisdom in the Trinity God is God as Spirit-Sophia, the mobile, pure, people-loving Spirit
God is God again as Jesus Christ, Sophia's child and prophet... irreversibly connected with the joy and anguish of human history, in the flesh
God is God again as the unimaginable abyss... Holy wisdom unknown and unknowable(Elizabeth A. Johnson, “Wisdom Was Made Flesh and Pitched Her Tent Among Us”)
Lady Wisdom : Lady Wisdom
Attributes of Lady Wisdom : Attributes of Lady Wisdom A core personality trait of God
Comes from God
Created before the universe
Present in all of creation
Calls to humankind
The Feminine in the Divine : The Feminine in the Divine
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