Excerpts from Tremper Longman III’s he Fear of the Lord Is Wisdom: A Theological Introduction to Wisdom in Israel (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A division of Baker Publishing Group, 2017), 6.
and also from Robert Gordis’ book On Man and God
Study of Wisdom
Wisdom Genre Books: Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs. Maybe Song of Songs, a portion of Psalms.
-The Hebrew word commonly translated “wisdom” is ḥokmâ. Ḥokmâ is the word used most frequently in Proverbs to denote the hoped-for consequence of reading the book of Proverbs, though there are many other closely related words found in the preface as well as throughout the book, words like “discipline” (mûsār), “understanding” (bînâ), “insight” (haśkēl), “prudence” (ʿormâ), “discretion” (məzimmâ), and others. Tremper Longman III, pg.6.
-wisdom is practical, ethical and theological. In Proverbs the three are deeply intertwined. No one can be truly wise unless one is wise practically, ethically, and theologically. Longman III, pg 6.
-wisdom is interchangeable with music/song: This relationship between song and Wisdom was so close that often no distinction was made between the two. Thus, in 1 Kings (5:10-12) we read: “Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations round about. And he spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs were 105.” Ethan and Heman are eponymous heads of the musical guilds mentioned in 1 Chron 15:19 to whom Psalms 88 and 89 are attributed. Ist Chron ascribes these guilds of singers to the Davidic age and traces their genealogy back to Korah, the contemporary of Moses. Today, the tradition is no longer dismissed as an unhistorical, artificial, “throwback” of a later institution to an earlier age. There is growing evidence in Ugaritic sources of musical and other guilds connected with the temple cult. Simple improvisation was often the rule, no line was drawn between composer and the poet, the instrumentalist and the singer: all were part of Wisdom. (See Psalm 49:4-5).(Robert Gordis Pg.32).
-In ancient Israel there were three principal intellectual and spiritual currents (priest, prophet, elder)…Jeremiah speaks of foes planning his destruction because “…instruction is surely not lost to the priest, nor counsel the wise, nor the word to the prophet!” (Jer 18:18). Ezekiel declares in the day of doom men “shall seek in vain a vision of the prophet, and instruction shall be lost to the priest and counsel from the elders!” (Ezekiel 7:26). (Robert Gordis, 20)
-(Priests) But they did much more. As the only educated group they became the custodians of culture. The literature and science of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were almost exclusively the work of the priesthood. In Israel, during the days of First Temple, the priests were medical authorities, judges in civil and criminal cases, and arbiters of all religious problems as well as guardians of the ancient historical traditions of Israel’s past. (Robert Gordis, 20)
-Source of wisdom according to Biblical wisdom books: God. Thus, no one is wise unless they fear him. No one is wise unless they have an intimate relationship with Woman Wisdom, who stands for God himself. God gives his creatures the ability to learn from their mistakes, experience and observation, and tradition. However, unless one has a proper relationship with God, these potential sources of wisdom can lead to folly and destruction, not to wisdom and success. Indeed, claims to divine inspiration can be misleading as well, as we learn from the examples of Eliphaz and Elihu. Longman III, pg.126.
-Theological Wisdom: The world, though broken, is not shattered beyond recognition, and God’s human creatures, though deeply flawed, are not insane. Wisdom remains accessible to all, at least to a certain point. That certain point, though, falls short of theological wisdom. The unbeliever does not, in the words of O’Donovan, have to be “ignorant about the structure of the family, the virtue of mercy, the vice of cowardice, or the duty of justice,” but by definition the unbeliever remains ignorant of what is the most fundamental and essential truth of the cosmos—that God created it and that everything is dependent on him. While one can live with wisdom on a practical and perhaps even on an ethical level, without fear of the Lord there is, in the final analysis, no foundation to that wisdom. Longman III, pg. 146.
Wisdom on a practical level:
-practical kind of wisdom helps a person live life well. Indeed, on this level wisdom is similar to what today we often call emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is similar to what used to be called social skills or even street smarts. Emotional intelligence is different from what we often mean when we say that a person is intelligent. The latter concerns a knowledge of facts (“knowing that”), while wisdom entails living life skillfully (“knowing how”). Raw intelligence can be measured by devices such as an IQ test, while emotional intelligence can be measured by tests that indicate a person’s EQ. Emotionally intelligent people, like the wise in the book of Proverbs, know how to say the right thing at the right time. They do the right thing at the right time. They also express emotions that are appropriate for a situation at the right intensity. Timing is everything in wisdom. Consider the following proverbs that emphasize proper timing: It is a joy to a person to give an answer! How good a word at the right time! (15:23). Longman III, pg. 7-8.
-This fear is not the fear that makes us run, but it is the fear that makes us pay attention and listen. Fear of the Lord makes us humble, a wisdom trait, rather than proud and “wise in our own eyes” (3:5, 7; 6:17; 11:2; 15:25, 33; 16:5, 18, 19; 18:12; 21:4, 24; 22:4; 25:6–7, 27; 26:12; 30:1–4, 13). This is why fear rather than love is the appropriate emotion for the wise. Longman III, pg.13.
-Fear of God guides our decision making/reactions.
Philosophical Wisdom
-(Philosophical): (regarding the wisdom teachers unsatisfied with what practical wisdom teaches like Job and Koheleth): In seeking to penetrate the great abiding issues of suffering and death, these rare wisdom teachers were unwilling to rely on tradition and conventional ideas. When they insisted on applying observation and reason to the ultimate questions, they courted tragedy-but achieved greatness. (Robert Gordis, 43).
-(while some teachers made their peace with traditional religion): others, tougher-minded, refused to take on faith what reason could not demonstrate. Consequently, their writings reveal various degrees and types of skepticism and heterodoxy. Several of these devotees of the higher, speculative wisdom were able to transmute the frustration and pain of their quest into some of the world’s greatest masterpieces, notably Job and Koheleth. (Robert Gordis, 43).
Wisdom on an ethical level:
-(in Proverbs)We get the first hint of the ethical dimension of wisdom from the preface. In 1:3b we read that the purpose of the book includes the impartation of “righteousness, justice, and virtue.” What constitutes these qualities is not specified here, which raises the question of the relationship between wisdom and the law found in the Torah. Both wisdom and law demand certain types of behaviors. God calls for obedience to the law. Longman III, Pg. 10.
-The relationship between wisdom and law has been much debated, with some scholars seeing a close connection between the two and others denying any substantial relationship. Certainly there are differences between commandment and advice. As our study progresses, we observe with even more clarity that the proverb is not universally true but true only when applied to the right situation, while the commandment is always true. However, when the proverb is rightly applied, it has the force of commandment. Tremper Longman III, pg. 10.
-Throughout the book of Proverbs, righteousness and wisdom are interchangeable terms. One cannot be wise without being righteous. In the same way, folly and wickedness are inextricably intertwined. Longman III, Pg.11.
Wisdom Theology in the Bible
-”Wisdom thinks resolutely within the framework of a theology of creation.” In perhaps the most quoted single sentence concerning wisdom literature over the past forty years, Zimmerli pronounces that creation theology is the basis of wisdom thinking. As we examine his thesis in this chapter, we will observe that the connection he draws between wisdom and creation has less to do with wisdom’s explicit interaction with creation (though there is some of that) and more to do with a perceived absence of connection to the major themes of the redemptive history (including not only the history of Israel but also covenant, law, and cult). Longman III, pg. 127.
-According to the Zimmerli school, wisdom is a secular concept, but it became a component of both Testaments of the Bible because it is inherent in creation—specifically, human creation. Longman III, pg. 129.
-The wisdom literature of Israel and the wisdom literature of the surrounding cultures, particularly Egypt and Mesopotamia, share many features and much specific content, leading to the idea that wisdom literature is universalistic in its appeal (and thus based on creation) rather than particular to Israel and its unique redemptive history. Longman III, pg. 129.
What the wisdom literature doesn’t mention:
-Redemption, covenant, law, afterlife, patriarchs or the promises given to them, the monarchy, conquest of land, exile, restoration, it gives no names of famous Biblical characters, priests, prophets.
Names of God used in Wisdom Books
– In the lower wisdom books like Proverbs, YHWH, the national name of the God of Israel, occurs exclusively in the oldest collections (Prov 10:1-22; 25-29), which are probably pre-Exilic. Yet even here, when YHW does occur, it is often in stock phrases like “the fear of YHWH”, “the blessing of YHWH”, “the abomination of YHWH”, and “the knowledge of YHWH”. The late collections in proverbs use YHWH much less consistently. (Robert Gordis, pg.46).
-In the higher wisdom books, the name YHWH is avoided with such consistency that it cannot be accidental. In Koheleth, ‘elohim is the exclusive designation of the Diety. In the poetic portions of Job, the specific name of YHWH is almost completely rejected in favor of the general terms: ‘el, ‘eloah, ‘elohim, Saddai. Only in the prose narrative, which is a recasting of an ancient folk tale, does the traditional YHWH occur. In avoiding local or national divine names in favor of the general designations, the higher wisdom writers were seeking to express their concept of God in the broadest and most universal terms.
Afterlife in Biblical Wisdom literature
-Actually, the wisdom writers, whether conventional or not, accepted neither the older nor the newer views that ran counter to their group associations. Neither the hope for a Messianic era on earth nor the belief in an afterlife is echoed in their writing. Nowhere in the entire literature do we find the prophets’ faith in a dynamic (future) world. The wisdom teachers are pre-eminently guides to the status quo in which they anticipate no alteration. Whether they accept contemporary society as fundamentally just, as do the conventional wisdom writers, or have doubts, as does Koheleth, or are passionately convinced that justice and truth are trampled under foot by God and man, as does Job- they do not contemplate any serious change in the structure of society. (Robert Gordis, pg.51).
Hokmah (Hebrew for Wisdom) referred to people in the OT: Hebrew for “wisdom” is “Hokmah”. Greek for “wisdom” is “sophia”
“Hakam”= “sage”, “zaken” = “elder” (Hebrew). Hokmah may be defined as a realistic approach to the problems of life, including all the practical skills and technical arts if civilization.
-“wise of heart” is referred to Bezalel, the skilled craftsman who built the tabernacle and its appointments in the wilderness and all his associates. (Exod. 28:3; 35:31; 36:1).
-“Hakamim” is used to describe weavers (Exod 35:25), goldsmiths (Jer 10:9), and sailors (Ezek 27:8; Ps 107:27).
“Hakamah” is used to describe those skilled in lamentation (Jer 9:16) and magicians and soothsayers with their occult (Gen 41:8; 1Kings 5:10-12; Isa 44:25; Jer 9:16). (Robert Gordis, 31).