An Introduction to Reading Biblical Wisdom Texts is designed forundergraduate students and laypersons who are studying inconfessional contexts that a rm the inspired and authoritativenature of Scripture. By way of introduction, Part One posesfundamental and universal questions that are addressed by thegenre of wisdom literature, explores definitions of wisdom andfolly from the biblical perspective, describes the characteristicsand forms of wisdom poetry, and places Israel s wisdom traditionin a wider historical-cultural context. Part Two addresses thepractical wisdom associated with Proverbs, treating both thecontents and the academic questions that arise. Parts Threeand Four focus on Ecclesiastes and Job, respectively, and on theinterpretive challenges they raise. Finally, Part Five recognizesthe place of Song of Songs in the wisdom tradition. Two briefappendices address Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom ofSolomon.

This highly accessible and engagingly written introduction to theBible s wisdom literature is built on a strong scholarly foundationbut also aims to nurture the reader s love for God, the source ofwisdom and truth, and to help the reader wrestle in the contextof his or her own faith journey with the love, fear, doubt, joy, anger, and ecstasy expressed by the biblical writers."