Biblical Theology: Past, Present, and Future (I)
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 55, No. 2 – Spring 2013
Managing Editor: Terry L. Wilder
Well-known wisdom scholar Craig Bartholomew has teamed up with his former student, Ryan O’Dowd, to deliver readers an engaging, thought-provoking introduction to the Old Testament Wisdom Literature. Readers of this book benefit from Bartholomew’s previous work on Ecclesiastes (Reading Ecclesiastes: Old Testament Exegesis and Hermeneutical Theory [Rome: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico, 1998] and Ecclesiastes [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009]) as well as O’Dowd’s excellent treatment of epistemology in Deuteronomy and the Wisdom books (The Wisdom of Torah: Epistemology in Deuteronomy and the Wisdom Literature [Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2009]).
This volume is a valuable addition to the plethora of introductions to various segments of the Bible. However, the term “introduction” is perhaps misleading, as it does not cover in detail the typical topics included in introductions, such as such as authorship, date, Sitz im Leben, history of interpretation, and other critical issues, though the authors do include helpful outlines of each book. This text is also somewhat unique in its genre because it neglects Psalms and Song of Songs, both of which one would expect to find in this type of work. However, this lacuna is balanced by a thorough treatment of wisdom themes in the New Testament.
Whereas the term “introduction” may cause pause, the term “theological” is the operative word in the title, for it is the authors’ theological treatment of Wisdom Literature that distinguishes this book from other introductions to Wisdom. That Bartholomew and O’Dowd focus their efforts on “readings of biblical texts that consciously seek to do justice to the perceived theological nature of the texts and embrace the influence of theology (corporate and personal; past and present) upon the interpreter’s enquiry, context, and method”1 is obvious in their exegesis of each Biblical book. While some chapters (e.g. “Where Can Wisdom Be Found?”) include a section explicitly devoted to “theological reflections,” nearly every page includes rich reflection on the theology of Wisdom Literature.
The first three chapters lay the foundation for the rest of the book. “An Introduction to Wisdom Literature” outlines the major themes of Wisdom and its distinguishing characteristics. “The Ancient World of Wisdom” places Old Testament wisdom within the larger world of ancient Near Easter Wisdom, noting the features of Biblical wisdom that make it unique in its historical and cultural setting. “The Poetry of Wisdom and the Wisdom of Poetry” announces a clarion call for Christians to rediscover the wonder captured in the Old Testament Wisdom Literature, most notably the wonder of creation—something that has been lost in our modern, Western culture (13). Furthermore, this chapter cogently argues for the usefulness of poetry for the Christian life, successfully resurrecting the notion that “[l]iterature and poetry are uniquely positioned to enable us to imagine what was and what could be, as well as to find meaning in the broken past” (69).
Bartholomew and O’Dowd spend the next six chapters examining Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. The authors first give an overview of each book (one chapter per book) and its major theological themes and emphases, then devote a second chapter to a particular issue within the book. For example, they analyze in detail Proverbs 31, Job 28, and Ecclesiastes 3. Homileticians will find these more detailed chapters invaluable for developing a methodology for understanding and communicating the theological import of the wisdom books. Old Testament Wisdom Literature is rounded out with three chapters that focus on wisdom in the New Testament, the overall theology of Wisdom Literature, and the application of wisdom’s theology to present-day life.
It is difficult to point to any significant flaws in Old Testament Wisdom Literature, though its expansion to include Song of Songs and the Psalms would make it more usable in a classroom setting. The book’s strengths, including its rigorous exegesis, faithfulness to the Biblical text, readability, recommended reading lists, thorough indices, and accessibility and applicability to Christians across the spectrum—laity, pastors, and scholars—make this an essential volume for studying the Old Testament Wisdom Literature.
- Christopher Spinks, Scripture, Community, and Crisis of Meaning: Debates on the Theological Interpretation of Scripture (New York: T&T Clark, 2007), 7. ↩︎
