Character in Crisis: A Fresh Approach to the Wisdom Literature of the Old TestamentAt a time when the chasm between academic scholarship and theological reflection seems to be widening, both the academic guild and the church share in common an uncertainty over how to study and appropriate the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. On the one hand, mainline denominations have for the most part avoided the books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes in their preaching and educational curriculum. Biblical scholars, on the other hand, have labored hard to identify the theological significance and thematic center of the wisdom literature, but without much consensus. In Character in Crisis, William P. Brown helps to break the impasse by demonstrating that the aim of the Bible's wisdom literature is the formation of moral character - both for individuals and for the community. Brown traces the theme of moral identity and conduct throughout the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, with a concluding reflection on the Epistle of James in the New Testament, and explores a range of issues that includes literary characterization, moral discourse, worldview, and the theology of the ancient sages. He examines the ways in which central characters such as God, wisdom, and human beings are profiled in the wisdom books and shows how their characterizations impart ethical meaning to the reading community, both ancient and modern. |
Contents
Introduction The Ethics and Ethos of Biblical Wisdom | 1 |
Descriptive Character | 4 |
Prescriptive or Moral Character | 6 |
Literary and Moral | 16 |
Narrative and Character | 17 |
Character and Wisdom Literature | 19 |
The Formation of Character in Proverbs or Virtue and the Art of Community Maintenance | 22 |
17 | 23 |
Yahwehs Discourse | 89 |
Job Restored | 111 |
The Ecology of Character | 115 |
Character Reconstructed Ecclesiastes | 120 |
The Shaking of the Foundations | 123 |
Wisdom Recharacterized | 126 |
The Absurd | 129 |
Character Reconstructed | 134 |
The Ethos of Instruction | 30 |
The Profile of Virtue in Parental Discourse | 33 |
From Character to Creation | 36 |
Proverbs 9712 | 41 |
Prolegomena Revisited | 42 |
Beyond Proverbs 19 Virtues for a Dissolute Age | 43 |
The Deformation of Character Job 131 | 50 |
The Profile of Integrity 11213 | 51 |
Integrity Reprofiled | 60 |
The Reformation of Character Job 3242 | 83 |
The Untamed Wise Youth | 84 |
Conclusion | 148 |
Conclusion The Journey of Character | 151 |
The Self Moving Outward | 152 |
The Self Returning | 154 |
What Is Gained in the Journey | 155 |
A Synthesis of Character? | 157 |
Wisdom for the Church | 160 |
165 | |
177 | |
Common terms and phrases
absurd accuses anthropocentric appropriate Behemoth biblical wisdom book of Job book of Proverbs chaos Chapter claim coherence context cosmic cosmology cosmos creation creation theology curse death dialogues discern divine Eccl Ecclesiastes Elihu Eliphaz embodies enjoyment epilogue equity ethical character ethos fear formation of character God's Habel Hauerwas hebel Hebrew human Ibid instruction instrumental virtues James Job's character Job's defense Job's friends Job's integrity journey justice lament language Leviathan litany literary means moral virtues narrative Nicomachean Ethics normative character NRSV Old Testament one's parental patriarch Perdue perspective prologue Prov provides prudence Pseudepigrapha Qoheleth quest R. N. Whybray rebuke reference restoration reverence rhetorical righteousness role sage sapiential satan sense social speech Stanley Hauerwas step back story term Testament of Job theological tion toil traditional wisdom values verse vindication wicked wisdom corpus Wisdom in Revolt wisdom literature wise words Yahweh youth