The Social World of the Sages

An Introduction to Israelite and Jewish Wisdom Literature

Mark R. Sneed

• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN:
  9781451470369
• eBook ISBN:
  9781451479874
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

The notion of a distinct "wisdom tradition" in ancient Israel has a long history—but does it have a basis in the evidence? Mark R. Sneed argues for a redefinition of the wisdom literature as a loosely cohering collection of books aimed at educating scribal apprentices in moral instruction and the art of living. He presents archaeological and literary data illustrating scribal culture and pedagogy in the ancient Near East and draws a portrait of Israel's scribal culture, on the basis of which he argues that Israel's wisdom literature was meant to complement, not to compete with, other modes of literature in the Hebrew Bible. The result is a surprising new picture of the authors and tradents of the wisdom materials alongside the rich mixture of other traditions in ancient Israel, a presentation carried out with regard to Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, Wisdom, and the wisdom writings in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Features include informational sidebars, photos, diagrams, and maps illustrating archaeological discoveries.

1

Illustration 1. A seal found at Tell en-Nasbeh in North Israel (eighth century b.c.e.) (see McCown 1947, pl. 63) by Lauren R. Sneed. Diana Edelman interprets it as representing two men flanking a tree of life = wisdom (2006, 149-53). They appear to be magically imbibing wisdom.

The Social World of the Sages

An Introduction to Israelite and Jewish Wisdom Literature

Mark R. Sneed

Fortress Press

Minneapolis

THE SOCIAL WORLD OF THE SAGES

An Introduction to the Israelite and Jewish Wisdom Literature

 

Copyright © 2015 Fortress Press. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Visit http://www.augsburgfortress.org/copyrights/ or write to Permissions, Augsburg Fortress, Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440.

 

 

Cover image: Illustration of a seal found at Tell en-Nasbeh in North Israel © Lauren R. Sneed

Cover design: Alisha Lofgren

 

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Print ISBN: 978-1-4514-7036-9

eBook ISBN: 978-1-4514-7987-4

 

 

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences — Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984.

 

Manufactured in the U.S.A.

This book was produced using Pressbooks.com.

Contents

• Illustration 1
• Acknowledgements and Dedication
• Maps, Illustrations, Figures and Sidebars
• Abbreviations
• 1. The Nature of Wisdom and Its Practitioners
  • Defining Wisdom
  • The Semantic Domain of Wisdom
  • Two Broad Kinds of Wisdom
  • Who Were the Sages?
• 2. The World and Worldview of the Wise An Anthropological Approach
  • Geography and Climate of Ancient Palestine
  • Israelite Society
  • Economy of Ancient Israel
  • The Ancien...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Illustration 1
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table Of Contents
• Acknowledgements and Dedication
• Maps, Illustrations, Figures and Sidebars
• Abbreviations
• The Nature of Wisdom and Its Practitioners
• The World and Worldview of the Wise
• Scribalism in Egypt and Mesopotamia
• Western Periphery Scribalism
• Israelite Scribalism and the Place of Wisdom Literature within It
• The Wisdom Corpus as a Mode of Literature
• The Poetics, Axiology, and Rhetoric of Wisdom Literature
• Social World of the Sages
• The Book of Proverbs
• The Book of Job
• Ecclesiastes
• Sirach and Sapientia
• Wisdom Psalms and the Dead Sea Scroll Wisdom Literature
• Works Consulted
• Index of Scripture Passages
• Index of Names and Subjects