WISDOM IN ANCIENT ISRAEL (OT-2582)
(01/30/2023-05/19/2023)
Course Memo
This intermediate course - a mixture of lecture and seminar formats - focuses on the wisdom literature of the Old Testament and the deuterocanonical books. The first half of the course focuses on the wisdom books of Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, the Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom of Ben Sira, while the second half explores wisdom themes in the books of Esther, Tobit, Judith, Daniel, Song of Songs, Baruch, Psalms and 1 & 2 Maccabees. Among the questions that we will address together are the following: 1) Is there a distinctive worldview that can be gleaned from biblical wisdom literature?; 2) How is this literature shaped by the historical context of its production?; 3) What does it mean for one to live “wisely” according to this literature? Students will read primary texts along with brief secondary readings prior to class meetings, and will be evaluated on the basis of attendance/participation, short reading responses, a midterm exam, and a final exegesis paper. [Faculty Consent required; 15 max enrollment]