Illuminating Counsel

How the Least Holy Books of the Hebrew Bible Explore Life's Most Important Issues

Jonathan Teram

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781532672385, 9781532672453
• eBook ISBN: 9781532672521
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Illuminating Counsel: How the Least Holy Books of the Hebrew Bible Explore Life's Most Important Issues is a study of eleven books of the Hebrew Bible, known collectively as the Ketuvim, or "Writings." Judaism considers these books to be less holy than the other books of the Hebrew Bible. Most people don't even know the Jewish order of the books of the Hebrew Bible is different than the Christian order. Many people seem to think the Hebrew Bible is antiquated and has little relevance to modern life. Even Christians, who value the Hebrew Bible as "Holy Scripture," tend to favor the New Testament. Herein it is argued that the least holy books of the Hebrew Bible are life-changing pieces of literature. Their poetry and prose cover virtually every emotion, every behavior, and every aspect of the human condition. They are as relevant to the committed nonreligious as they are to the religious. So, if you want to plunge the depths of literary sublimity; if you want to explore what it means to be human, to struggle with your mortality, to go through death's dark valley and come out on the other side, to confront your pain and in so doing find healing, then I invite you to read on and discover how the Hebrew Bible illuminates counsel.

1

The Writings

“Many great teachings have been given to us through the Law and the Prophets and the others books1 that followed them, and for these we should praise Israel for instruction and wisdom.”2 So said the grandson of one Yeshua ben Sira in the early second century BCE. This book you are reading is about those “other books.” My contention is that those books are some of the most life-changing pieces of literature ever written. They are as relevant to people living today as they were to people living millennia ago. They are as relevant to the committed nonreligious as they are to the religious.3

But how we read those books matters. If you read them individually, separate from each other, you’ll be moved, inspired, and challenged, for each book stands on its own and is unique. But if you wish to really plunge the depths of sublimity; if you really want to learn what it means to be human, to struggle with your mortality, to go through death’s dark valley and come out on the other side, to confront your pain and in so doing find healing, then I contend those books must be read together, not separately. They must be read as an anthology.

But if you open a Bible, you will most likely not find those books together as an anthology. Some of them will be grouped together but the rest will be scattered amongst the other books of the Bible. Why is this the case? To answer that, we need to understand a few elementary aspects of the order of the Bible’s books.

It’s a peculiar thing that the Bible is the sacred text of two religions, namely Judaism and Christianity. Yet that statement needs to be qualified. For Christians, the Bible is divided into two “testaments”—the Old Testament and the New Testament. These titles are a rather strange translation of the phrases “old covenant” and “new covenant.”4 The “old covenant” refers to the covenant God made with Israel at Sinai (Exod 19–24). The “new covenant,” prophesied by the prophet Jeremiah in Jer 31:31–34, refers to the covenant ratified by Jesus (Luke 22:20). Basically, the “old covenant” is Judaism and the “new covenant” is Christianity. But this is not what is meant by the titles “Old Testament” and “New Testament.” The Old Testament refers to the collection of thirty-nine Hebrew books.5 The New Testament—twenty-seven books written in Greek—contains the four gospels, the book of Acts (a sequel to the gospel of Luke), Paul’s letters, the “general” (or “catholic”) letters including the letter to the Hebrews, and the Johannine writings.

The part of the Bible that Judaism and Christianity share is the Old Testament. However, Judaism and Christianity have very different interpretations of the Old Testament. They have even arranged the books of their text differently, with a different order of books and with differ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Chapter 1: The Writings
• Chapter 2: Why the Least Holy Books are So Stupendous
• Chapter 3: A Very Brief Taste of the Wonders of Biblical Hebrew Poetry
• Chapter 4: A Very Brief Overview of the Psalms
• Chapter 5: Songs without Music
• Chapter 6: The Pursuit of Wisdom
• Chapter 7: Darkening and Illuminating Counsel
• Chapter 8: A Celebration of Kindness
• Chapter 9: The Power of Love
• Chapter 10: Eat, Drink, and Rejoice
• Chapter 11: No Sorrow Like Her Sorrow
• Chapter 12: The Brave Hidden Jew
• Chapter 13: The Wise Jew Who Refused to Hide
• Chapter 14: Returning Home
• Chapter 15: Ending with a New Beginning
• Epilogue
• Acknowledgments
• Bibliography