Books of Wisdom
Old Testament Breakdown
1.Books of Law
– Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers
Duteronomy
2.Books of History
– Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2
Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah
and Ester
3. Books of Wisdom and Poetry
– Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song
of Solomon, Lamentations
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*Song of Solomon ~ Song of Songs (Orthodox
Study Bible
Wisdom of Solomon and Wisdom of Sirach
4. The Prophets
– Major and the Minor Prophets
Canonicity / Importance
Psalms
1.David was a man with divine inspiration
– “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His
word was on my tongue.”
~2 Samuel 23:2
2.Prophetic emphasis within the Psalms are
very important
3.Use of the psalms for liturgical purposes
made the preservation and canonization of
the psalms important
Canonicity / Importance
Wisdom Books ~ Proverbs, Job, Song of
Solomon and Ecclesiastes
1.Wisdom is considered a gift of God
–
28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the
king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they
saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer
justice.
~1 Kings 3:28
2.Three out of these books are related to
Solomon
Books of Wisdom also have corresponding
points to the books of Law (Pentateuch)
1.The way of Wisdom was the way of the
Covenant
“6 Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your
wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the
peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely
this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7
“For what great nation is there that has God so near to it,
as the Lord our God is to us, for whatever
reason we may call upon Him? 8 And what great nation is
there that has such statutes and righteous judgments as
are in all this law which I set before you this day?
~Deuteronomy 4:6-8
2.The books of wisdom translated out the
stipulations of the covenant into
instructions on how to live life
3.Explanation of some of the penalties for
breaking the covenant
4. The books of wisdom carry the precepts
to live by onto generations to come
5. Books of Law and Wisdom stress whole
hearted obedience to God
Recognition of these Books
Cyril of Jerusalem in 363 AD
• Recognized these books as collective
group
• Job, thought to have taken place during
the patriarchal age (Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob) was placed at the beginning of the
books
• Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song
of Solomon follow as they are related to
David and Solomon
Apocryphal Books of Wisdom
Wisdom of Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon
• They are found in the three oldest Greek
manuscripts of the Old Testament
• Latin scholar Jerome question the books
authorship and gave them a label of books for
edification not authoritative books
• Council of Trent in 1546 reversed what
Jerome said
• Roman Catholics gave some credit to Jerome
and classified them as deuterocanonical
About 1/3 of the Old Testament is in poetic
form
Hebrew Poetry is primarily a parallelism type
of poetry
Three types of parallelism
1.Synonymous
2.Antithetic
3.Synthetic
Synonymous
The initial line finds a verbal parallels in the
following line
“The heavens declare the glory of God; And
the firmament shows His handiwork.”
~Psalm 19:1
Antithetic
The second line of the couplet express the
opposite of the first
“For the Lord knows the way of the
righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
~Psalm 1:6
Synthetic
The second line expands or amplifies the
first line.
““Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of
Zion.”
~Psalm 2:6
Job
Structure of the Book
• Ch 1-2 - Divine revelation and inspiration
of the book
• Ch 3 – Job’s Curse
• Ch 4-25 – Debate between friends
• Ch 28 – Wisdom Chapter
• Ch 29-31 – Job condition
• Ch 32-37 – Young Mans contribution
• Ch 38-42 – The Lord Speaks to Job
Theology in Job
• The belief in Yahweh (one God)
– His friends were theists
• Attributes of God
– Sovereignty, omnipotence, omniscience and
justice
• Discussion of the afterlife
• Suffering is the key issue discussed in Job
Job
Literary Style
• Mostly written in Hebrew Parallelism
• But contains examples from almost every
kind of literature in the OT
– Laments, Complaints, Hymns, Proverbs and
Rhetorical Questions
Psalms
• Largest book in the Bible with 150 psalms
• Hebrew word ‘Mizmor’ is a technical term
for a song sung with musical
accompaniment
– Greek word for mizmor is ‘psalmos’
Background of Psalmody
• Hymns were used to celebrate God’s
victory over His Enemies
– Miriam / Moses, Deborah
– The Book of the Wars of the Lord (Num
21:14)
Psalms
Background of Worship
• More psalms came to be with building of
the temple of God
• David organized guilds (musical
accompaniments) in Israel for worship in
the temple
Groupings of Psalms
• Small Groupings
– “The sons of Korah” (ps 42-49)
– Asaph (73-83)
– Davidic
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Book one
Songs of ascents
Hallelujah
Maskil, Mikhtam, Hodu (Give Thanks)
Development of the Psalms
1. Predictive psalms. Psalms 2, 16, 22, 45, 110, for example, are cited
in the New Testament as personally predictive of events in the life of
Jesus.
2. Praise hymns or hallelujah psalms such as 146–150 extol the
wisdom, power and graciousness of God. Hymns are prominent in
the Psalter. Some psalms extol God’s greatness and providence
(e.g., Ps 8, 100), while others extol his sovereignty over the universe
(e.g., Pss 47, 96–99). Still others—the so-called Zion songs—praise
the city which God had chosen for his habitation.
3. Petition or supplication psalms such as 6, 39, 86 pour out the
needs of the human heart before God. Sometimes these
supplications become psalms of confidence because of the absolute
certainty that the prayers contained therein will be answered.
4. Penitential psalms such as 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143
confess sin and beg for reinstatement with God.
5. Perceptive or didactic or wisdom psalms such as 1,
19, and 119 discuss issues which perplex the human
mind.
6. Profession or confession psalms such as 33, 103 and
107 set forth the psalmists’ convictions about the mighty
works of God.
7. Patriotic or historic psalms (e.g., 78, 105, 106) review
the history of the relationship between Yahweh and his
people.
8. Pilgrimage psalms (e.g., 120–134) were sung as
worshipers made their way up the hill of Zion to
celebrate the great festivals of the Mosaic dispensation.
Proverbs
Mainly focuses on prudent and moral
behaviors, teaching wisdom to the young
and those who desire to advance
Major Theme is “the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom” (9:10
Authorship
• Solomon is the primary author
• Hezekiah’s Scribes
• Non-Solomonic proverbs
Proverbial Style
• Synonymous
• Antithetical
Proverbs
Morals and Biblical truths covered in
Proverbs
1.God's omniscience (5, 21; 15, 3-11)
2.Power (19, 21; 21, 30)
3.Providence (20, 1-24)
4.Goodness (15, 29),
5.Joy and strength resulting from
abandonment to him (3, 5; 16, 20; 18, 10)
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes is a Greek translation of a
Hebrew work Qoheleth meaning, “one
who convokes an assembly.”
Major theme of the books is Without God all
is vanity
Ecclesiastes
Structures of the book
1.Prologue
2.Autobiographical reflection on Life
3.Epilogue
Authorship
1.Solomon given the Authorship
2.Koheleth was also considered an Author but
some speculate it was Solomon or his son
Song of Song
It’s about the mutual love between the Lord
and His people with the Lord as the Lover
and the people as His beloved
“Song of Songs” is a literal translation of the
Hebrew title
Authorship is traditionally given to Solomon
Song of Songs
Interpretation of the Book
1.Allegorical Method
2.Typological Method
3.Cultic Method
4.Literal Method
Song of Songs
Outline of the Book
1. The first Meeting: Loves’ Desire
2. The second Meeting: Aspiring Courtship
3. The third Meeting: Solomon’s Wedding
4. The fourth Meeting: The Bride’s Search
for her Love
5. The fifth Meeting: Union of Spouses
6. Strength of Devoted Love
7. The conclusion