Wisdom for a Changing World: Wisdom in Old Testament Theology

by Ronald E. Clements

In this transcript of the Bailey Lectures given at Berkeley in April 1989, Europe's best known Baptist scholar of the Old Testament offers a provocative and careful study of the wisdom tradition and its relationship to issues central to both ancient Israel and contemporary society. Readers will gain not only a fuller appreciation of Israelite wisdom but also a deeper understanding of Hebrew spirituality and its pertinence today. This work was the kernel upon which was based his later long work on Wisdom. The book's brevity and ease of reading, however, have kept it in print and make it an ideal supplementary textbook or introduction to wisdom literature for clergy or lay persons.

88 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1990

About the author

Ronald E. Clements is the best known Baptist scholar of the Old Testament in Europe at the present time. Currently the Davidson Professor of Old Testament at King's College in the University of London, he earned his degrees at Spurgeon's College in London; Christ's College, Cambridge; and the University of Sheffield, where he received his Ph.D. in 1961. After lecturing seven years at the University of Edinburgh, he spent 1967-83 as a lecturer at Cambridge University. An ordained Baptist minister in England since 1956, he has written more than a dozen significant books on the Old Testament.
For more, see Andy Goodliff's information page on RE Clements.

Reviews

[Michael Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clements' thesis is that "wisdom was developed to form a bridge between the cult-centered pre-exilic national faith and the post-exilic faith of the Jewish diaspora." While much of his evidence is speculative, his treatment of health and healing in wisdom literature was helpful.