The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes: An Introduction to Wisdom Literature

by Derek Kidner

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." In the Wisdom literature of the Bible we first hear the cool voice of a teacher calling us to think--to think hard and humbly. "How long will fools hate knowledge?" cries Wisdom in the book of Proverbs. Then in Job comes the anguished voice of the questioner, earnest enough to seek answers, honest enough to doubt easy ones. In Ecclesiastes the chastened tone of the Preacher warns of the vanity of all life under the sun. Sensitive to both literary form and theological content, Derek Kidner introduces Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes, explaining their basic character and internal structure. He also summarizes and evaluates the wealth of modern criticism focused on each book. Looking at all three books together, Kidner shows how their many voices compare, contrast and ultimately give a unified view of life. Kidner extends his analysis to include Ecclesiasticus and The Wisdom of Solomon from the Apocrypha, and he reprints excerpts from non-Israelite works that parallel the three major books treated.

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies, Christian, Religion, Old Testament, Reference, Nonfiction

175 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 1985

About the author

Frank Derek Kidner (1913-2008) was a British Old Testament scholar, best known for writing commentaries.

Reviews

[Jacob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Jeff choosing the chapters you did. I read the chapters we didn’t cover in class so I could officially check this one off on Goodreads and was not vibing with it.

As for you Kidner, you technical and detailed man you! I am glad there people like him because I think a lot of what he covers is important but I don’t really care about it!

[Neil Gerber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Good insights into the Lord and His wisdom for our life

[Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Derek Kidner had a special ability to deliver the essential information about any text of Scripture without getting bogged down in technical details. But to anybody familiar with those details, it's obvious he had thought deeply through them. Moreover, he was a brilliant writer -- his illustrations and metaphors are worth careful attention from any preacher!

This is a good, though very brief, intro to biblical wisdom literature. Technical debates are separated out into their own chapters so that laypeople can easily skip them. These technical chapters are a bit too brief to be very useful, though. They only give the barest sketch of the issues involved.

The three appendices at the end, which cover Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Apocryphal wisdom literature are great for highlighting (1) the main themes of each and (2) the commonalities and differences between them and biblical wisdom.

On the whole, this is a book worth reading.

[Brian Pate · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not helpful for me as I taught on Wisdom Literature in my church in Brazil. Kidner, with solid scholarship and trademark eloquence, engages with scholarly and liberal ideas and even explores similarities with ANE literature. But none of this was useful for me as I wanted to give our church members a big picture of each book and show how it pointed to Christ. (Far more useful were Jon Akin [Prov], Layton Talbert [Job], and Jim Hamilton [Eccl].)

[Kirby Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am in over my head on this one, but feel this should have been much longer or abbreviated a great deal. It is pamphlet like in expressing the current scholarship and ideas on the wisdom literature, and a good jumping off point, but left me dissatisfied. I would have liked a reading list with bullet points of the ideas and schools of thought, or a much deeper dive instead of this modge podge, but it wasn’t a waste of time.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chapters dealing with the more academic side of the interpretations of these books were good but not as enjoyable (or as readable) as the first chapters for each book. I enjoyed those quite a bit, especially the chapter “The book of Job: a world well managed?” That chapter is one I know I will reread and refer to again as it was a help and a comfort to me.

[Henry McNeil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each of the three books of wisdom literature in scripture presents different takes on the meaning and pursuit of wisdom. Kidner teaches they all boil down to the unified message: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and God is God and we are not. I’ll need to pick up Kidners complete commentary on Ecclesiastes soon.

[Reid Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kidner always delivers dense yet practical theology, beautifully written. These are chapters on basic themes in the wisdom books, sandwiched by defenses of the text from critical scholarship. Definitely a useful tool for further study in the subject of biblical wisdom.

[Jacob Villa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of what Kidner writes is just golden. This was no exception.

[Walter Shaw - · Rating 5 out of 5]

Derek Kidner’s book “The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job & Ecclesiastes” is an introduction to wisdom literature in the Old Testament, and the academic discussions that surround the wisdom books. He works his way through the three books one-by-one: first introducing them, and then reflecting on the issues of the day regarding each book. Kidner was a solidly Evangelical Old Testament scholar in a context where that was a rare find, so keep that name in the back of your mind as you come into contact with other works of his.
~
What I really appreciated about this book was the way that Kidner showed how each of the other wisdom books (Job and Ecclesiastes) filled out the general baseline of wisdom found in Proverbs. Where one might be tempted to view any of the books out of context and unevenly, he weaved the three together as an organic whole. Job reminds Proverbs that sometimes the blameless face tragedy. Ecclesiastes points out that all the wisdom in the world does not change the fact that we are all going to die one day. Altogether, the three books paint a holistic picture of wise living in a fallen world.
~
Reader, be aware that Kidner spends significant portions of this book describing how each of the wisdom books are viewed in scholarship that is contemporary to his writing. For a more strictly popular-level approach to a wisdom book, “How to Read Proverbs” by Tremper Longman III is a great introduction to the book of Proverbs and wisdom literature more broadly. The chapters of this book that serve as introductions to Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes are top notch!
~
I would recommend this book to anyone who desires to learn more about the Wisdom literature books of the Old Testament!

[Robert Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd never say anything bad about Kidner, but this is kind of a mixed bag. His views on Ecclesiastes are simplistic, but his other book-views are superb, helpful and succinct. Since he does a chapter comparing and contrast (his) views of the three books, that's another sketchy chapter. But its worth it for his Proverbs and Job stuff.

[Jason Knecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kidner is a wonderful exegete that must be consulted. He is a pleasure to read and you will be left wanting more of his insights.

[Lee Irons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything by Kidner is good, and this book is no exception. I read this book in order to prepare for a series of Bible studies on the OT Wisdom books (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes) at our church. Kidner has two chapters on each book: one chapter providing a basic interpretation of that book, the second chapter summarizing and evaluating modern (up to 1985) scholarship on that book. Appendix A gives the student a taste of the wisdom literature of the nations surrounding Israel, especially from Egypt and Mesopotamia.

I like this quote by Kidner on the nature of Wisdom literature in general:

“In the Wisdom books the tone of voice and even the speakers have changed. The blunt ‘Thou shalt’ or ‘shalt not’ of the Law, and the urgent ‘Thus saith the LORD’ of the Prophets, are joined now by the cooler comments of the teacher and the often anguished questions of the learner. Where the bulk of the Old Testament calls us simply to obey and to believe, this part of it ... summons us to think hard as well as humbly; to keep our eyes open, to use our conscience and our common sense, and not to shirk the most disturbing questions” (p. 11).

One topic that Kidner helpfully addresses is the inter-relationships among the three Wisdom books. For example, is Job a critique of Proverbs? Proverbs 13:9 confidently promises that “the light of the righteous rejoices, but the lamp of the wicked will be put out,” whereas Job 21:17 cynically asks, “How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out?” But Kidner thinks it is not quite accurate to say that Job is a critique of Proverbs. Rather the book of Job “attacks the arrogance of pontificating about the application of these truths, and of thereby misrepresenting God and misjudging one’s fellow men ... The book shows (by its context, the opening scene in heaven) how small a part of any situation is the fragment that we see” (p. 61). Job’s friends misapplied the truth and ended up misrepresenting God (see Job 13:1-12).

[Brad Hough · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 // This is a helpful reference that I will return to in the future. For the most part, Kidner does a good job of making Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes accessible (read as: less daunting) while mining their depths (even in so short a book) and providing frameworks to help guide readers in understanding some of the more confusing or unnerving aspects of these books. Ultimately, Kidner made me want to dig back into Scripture, and that is always a reflection of success in my book.

There were many things I would have underlined, but I borrowed the book (I have since ordered my own copy). Two quotes stood out.

On Job and the presence of evil in the world:
“Where we might wish to argue that omnipotence ought to have stamped out evil at its first appearance, God’s chosen way was not to crush it out of hand but to wrestle with it; and to do so in weakness rather than in strength, through men more often than through miracles, and through costly permissions rather than through flat refusals. Putting the matter in our own terms we might say that he has resolved to overcome it in fair combat, not by veto but by hard-won victory.”

On the supposed pessimism of the author of Ecclesiastes:
“Where other writers would commend the light to us directly, [the author of Ecclesiastes] does it by making the darkness intolerable, allowing the light only the rarest gleam to provoke the observant into second thoughts.”

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in the day, when I was a student, we had some curriculum written by a handful of scholars that was trusted by our professors - and the style of this book reminded me of that time. It is one of those books. It is not much wrong with the scholarship here, I think; it is more the style and what Derek Kidner chose to include. Coming from just reading Tremper Longman III, this book is a desert - almost. Each book is presented rather dryly, quite mixed in the approach, and then some points that are debated - and it never got to me that this was in no way exhaustive - at best it could guide you on some pointers, but it never followed anything fully through. I don't want the summary chapters - for that, a student needs to read the source material. Yes, it is here with some commentary, but there is commentary even when it is unnecessary. So, I would say, this should be part of your study into Hebrew wisdom literature, but do not have high hopes for it to add much to furthering your research - it is more of a nod towards the research in an overtly difficult language and a mix of simple points and a bit more advanced discussions.

[Kyle Tomlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Derek Kidner has given us a very helpful starting place for understanding how to read the three wisdom books of the Old Testament -- Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes -- in this short, but accessible, book. In it, he not only traces out the overriding message of each book, but he also examines issues surrounding authorship, difficult verses, and some of the alternative ways that these books have been read and understood throughout time. On top of this, in three appendices, he compares the biblical wisdom books to other wisdom books from the nations surrounding Israel and he provides helpful overviews of two wisdom books found in the Apocrypha, Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon. For anyone who is preparing to do a Bible study on one of these books or for anyone just interested in getting a better handle on the wisdom literature, this is great book to read.

[Mike Skinner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kidner - I’m a fan, but his work is often a mixed bag and perhaps particularly here. My main focus was on Ecclesiastes, though (and his Proverbs and Job sections did seem more promising, though I only have them a cursory read). He largely surveys the differing work of scholars while offering some fresh observations along the way. He doesn’t always convince with some of his theses - perhaps because he prefers brevity or an extended argument or perhaps because they simply aren’t well-supported by the evidence. The large collection, overview, and brief observations of various scholarly approaches were the primary reason i read the book and he did not disappoint me in that regard.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biggest strength of this book is that Kidner steps back and looks at how Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes focus on different questions about living life before God in this world. He shows how these different perspectives ask hard questions and seemingly challenge one another. However, they help the believer wrestle through life's difficulties.

The biggest weakness is that Kidner gives many different interpretations of each book by other scholars but leaves little room to give his own interpretation and reasons for holding it.

In the end it is still a helpful book if you want to do a bigger picture study of the wisdom literature in the Bible.

[Brian Hui · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kidner argues that all three wisdom books ought to be read together and in tension. He gives a brief and honest treatment of each book, individually, including some scholarly issues. Then demonstrates points of commonality and tension. Notable is his treatment of Ecclesiastes, which stands out among the trio as the most nihilistic; left me seeking further study

[Mason I. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dropped. Sorry, the book just wasn’t really what I expected… the author also uses a completely incomprehensible vocabulary; I found myself needing a dictionary for every other word. Maybe I’m just dumb, I dunno. The apologetics also weren’t very necessary in my opinion, although I’m sure they’ll benefit some.

It’s a decent book, just not for me, I guess.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading, though brief. Quotable. The chapters surveying scholarship were more yawn-y than the chapters on the books themselves, though Kidner's introductory comments made me chuckle several times.

[Kelle Craft · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinder’s insights on Job are worth the book itself, though his Proverbs comments are great as well. DK has a great way of making simple even difficult passages and always communicates clearly in a perceptive manner

[Adam Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction and overview of the titular books. This explores the basic messages without going into detail, as suggested by the length of the book. It functions well for some commentary in the ideas of the biblical text.

[Joe Haack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview. I wish all writers shared his condensed and meaningFUL prose.

[Oliver Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything Kisner writes is generally worth reading. This is did not disappoint

[Joshua Centanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful. And surprisingly enjoyable to read.

[Jonathan Hatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction for wisdom literature

[Lauren]

Excellent

[Andy Swart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief and helpful introduction to the wisdom literature.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to contain really fascinating takes on these three books of wisdom lit! However, the research in the "modern research" chapters is old now so that's the one drawback.