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Sword and the Stylus: An Introduction to Wisdom in the Age of Empires
The all-too-frequent disregard of historical and social contexts by many wisdom scholars often leads to the distortion of this literature and transforms its teachings into abstract ideas lacking any incarnation in the social and historical world of human living. Leo Perdue here argues from a sociohistorical approach that the proper understanding of ancient wisdom literature requires one to move out of the realm of philosophical idealism into the flesh and blood of human history.
Arguing that wisdom was international in practice and outlook, Perdue traces the interaction between both ruling and subject nations and their sages who produced their respective cultures and their foundational worldviews. While not always easy to reconstruct, he acknowledges, the historical and social settings of texts provide necessary contexts for interpretation and engagement by later readers and hearers. Wisdom texts did not transcend their life settings to espouse values regardless of time and circumstance. Rather, they are located in a variety of historical events in an evolving nation, reflecting a vast array of different and changing moral systems, epistemologies, and religious understandings.
Arguing that wisdom was international in practice and outlook, Perdue traces the interaction between both ruling and subject nations and their sages who produced their respective cultures and their foundational worldviews. While not always easy to reconstruct, he acknowledges, the historical and social settings of texts provide necessary contexts for interpretation and engagement by later readers and hearers. Wisdom texts did not transcend their life settings to espouse values regardless of time and circumstance. Rather, they are located in a variety of historical events in an evolving nation, reflecting a vast array of different and changing moral systems, epistemologies, and religious understandings.
- GenresBiblical Studies
512 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2008
27 people want to read
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February 5, 2022
I was assigned this book for a Master’s course on Wisdom Literature. It is a rather large book (a little over 400 pages), and it felt drawn-out at times. Leo G. Perdue traces Wisdom Literature through the ages, beginning in the time of the monarch in Israel and Judah, and concluding with wisdom during the Roman Empire. Following this overview of canonical and deutero-canonical Wisdom texts, Perdue follows what he calls “continuing streams” of Wisdom Literature: apocalyptic texts, sapiential literature in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and finally, Rabbinic literature.
Perdue’s primary contribution to the study of Wisdom Literature lies in his conviction that the Wisdom texts of the Hebrew Bible should not be treated as ahistorical or simply timeless, but rather that they reflect the thoughts, ideas, ideals, and wisdom of the Jewish people as they lived through the rising and falling of many empires/kingdoms. Thus, Perdue offers key historical and political insights in all of his chapters of the specific time periods and imperial regimes at work “behind the scenes” of a given Wisdom book. The difficulty, however, with such an approach to the Wisdom Literature of the Bible is that these texts are especially difficult to date and to locate in a specific time and place (specifically Proverbs and Job). Yet, the book still serves as a helpful introduction to Wisdom Literature, although, in my opinion, it is more suitable for students who have some knowledge of the Hebrew Bible, the Hebrew language, and Wisdom Literature generally, rather than for the strict beginner.
Perdue’s primary contribution to the study of Wisdom Literature lies in his conviction that the Wisdom texts of the Hebrew Bible should not be treated as ahistorical or simply timeless, but rather that they reflect the thoughts, ideas, ideals, and wisdom of the Jewish people as they lived through the rising and falling of many empires/kingdoms. Thus, Perdue offers key historical and political insights in all of his chapters of the specific time periods and imperial regimes at work “behind the scenes” of a given Wisdom book. The difficulty, however, with such an approach to the Wisdom Literature of the Bible is that these texts are especially difficult to date and to locate in a specific time and place (specifically Proverbs and Job). Yet, the book still serves as a helpful introduction to Wisdom Literature, although, in my opinion, it is more suitable for students who have some knowledge of the Hebrew Bible, the Hebrew language, and Wisdom Literature generally, rather than for the strict beginner.
Displaying 1 of 1 review