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In this volume, Richard J. Clifford seeks to make the biblical
wisdom literature intelligible to modern readers. It is easy to
quote the occasional proverb, say a few things about "the problem
of evil" in Job, or quote "vanity of vanities, " but far more
rewarding to read the whole book with an appreciative and informed
eye.
Opening chapters of The Wisdom Literature comment on the
striking similarities between ancient and modern "wisdom
literature" and on the comparable literature from ancient
Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Canaan. Thereafter, a chapter is devoted to
each biblical wisdom book (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of
Songs, Sirach, and Wisdom of Solomon), studying not only its
content but also its rhetoric -- how it engages the reader.
Through translation, technical notes, and insightful commentary,
Richard Clifford sheds new understanding on Proverbs. By focusing
on the rhetoric of Proverbs, Clifford demonstrates how the book
fosters a lifelong search for wisdom, and enables readers to see
how the instructions and sayings are concerned with contemporary
issues.
This second volume completes Richard Clifford's Commentary on the
Psalms. The rich imagery of the Psalms has guided and molded
pray-ers since ancient times. As we seek to understand the threads
and colors of the Psalms, Clifford helps us see their inner
dramatic logic, how they organize the experience and desires of the
pray-er, and how they seek to move us. His primary concern is to
help readers see the pattern and progression within the Psalms,
while attending to their complex, evocative nature.
The last fifty years have seen a dramatic increase of interest in
the wisdom literature of the Bible, as scholars have come to
appreciate the subtlety and originality of Proverbs, Job, and
Ecclesiastes as well as of Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon. Interest
has likewise grown in the wisdom literatures of the neighboring
cultures of Canaan, Egypt, and especially Mesopotamia. To help
readers understand the place of biblical wisdom within this broader
context, including its originality and distinctiveness, this volume
offers a rich collection of essays by distinguished Assyriologists
and biblicists on the social, intellectual, and literary setting of
Mesopotamian wisdom; on specific wisdom texts; and on key themes
common to both Mesopotamian and biblical culture. Scholars,
pastors, and laity will find these essays both fascinating and
enriching. Contributors to the volume include Paul-Alain Beaulieu,
Richard J. Clifford, James L. Crenshaw, Edward Greenstein, Victor
Avigdor Hurowitz, Karel van der Toorn, and Raymond C. Van Leeuwen.
Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical
Literature (www.sbl-site.org)
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