Katharine J. Dell

Wealth and poverty in the book of Proverbs

The Book of Proverbs talks about wealth and poverty and the rich and poor more than any other book in the Hebrew Scriptures. Yet far from offering readers a straightforward “guide to success” as is sometimes thought, the way Proverbs uses economic language is considerably more complex. Many lines in the book seem to link wealth with the attainment of wisdom or righteousness and to associate poverty with the way of folly and wickedness. Yet other lines demand that readers of the book show justice and compassion to the needy and give generously to the poor. This seminar will briefly describe biblical wisdom literature and then offer a more in depth study of aspects of the Book of Proverbs, focusing especially on what the book has to say about wealth and poverty and the rich and poor. Saturday, March 5, 2016 9:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Northway Christian Church, Dallas

Proverbs 1–9: Issues of Social and Theological Context

This essay studies the different literary genres of Proverbs 1–9, including how they might have emerged, what social contexts generated such texts in Israel and in Egypt, and what their function might have been. A theological context is seen to be integral to both of the main genres of instruction and poem, despite the clearly more educational emphasis of the instruction texts.

I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre (PSALM XLIX 4 [5]): A cultic setting for wisdom PSALMS?

This paper explores the relationship between wisdom psalms and the cult, asking whether Mowinckels characterization of the wisdom psalms as late and non-cultic is justified. It explores the possibility of wisdom influence on the psalter in early and later times, looking at questions of context and theology. Rather than seeing wisdom influence as mainly a scribal activity that was a post-exilic editing of thefinal form of the psalter, it is argued that the influence of wisdom went back to the days of the early Israelite cult. Its influence was strong also in post-exilic times, which confirms a connection between wisdom and cult at this stage (Perdue), however wisdom forms that shaped the literary development of some psalms and wisdom ideas that included an emphasis on creation and order are seen to be an essential part of the earliest self-identification of Israel through her worship.

On stone and scroll : essays in honour of Graham Ivor Davies

The volume will appeal to those interested in the biblical text and its place within the wider archaeological and ancient near eastern context. It will appeal to those wishing to understand the diversity of historical approaches to the Bible, and to those utilising the evidence of archaeology, inscriptions, theology and linguistics to the interpretation of the Bible.

Book Review: The ‘Story’ of Proverbs: Ryan P. O’Dowd, The Story of God Bible Commentary: ProverbsO’DowdRyan P., The Story of God Bible Commentary: Proverbs (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017.

book shines in its descriptions within the chapters. When the authors engage the iconographic material, the images of deities, fauna, and flora, that is when the reader’s theological paradigms shift. It takes the visual evidence to drive home what is otherwise difficult to explain. Two further minor critiques remain. In illuminating the visual evidence the authors have a tendency to proof-text and to see what they wish in the Hebrew Bible. To their credit, however, this volume would have become a 900-page book if they had to offer thorough justifications for every reading. The other critique is of the title, Creation. It is confusing whether this means ‘act of creation’ or ‘created order’. Neither title, subtitle, or book jacket explain that it is the latter that is meant. Despite these criticisms, the knowledge contained in this work is immensely valuable and deserves high praise.

31.99. pp. 469. ISBN: 978-0-310-49113-2).

There is much to commend in this book—a helpful analysis and explanation of many of the assumptions that lie behind much of modern ‘contemporary’ worship in many churches in the USA, the UK and beyond. There are a few errors—for example the equation of what was happening in Christianity in the US as a representation of what was happening in Christianity across the world! Such a narrow and blinkered view of the worldwide church does a disservice to the authors and the majority of Christians around the globe! But there are helpful reminders and challenges too—the assertion by John Wimber himself that ‘worship is there to bless God’ that made him dismissive of consumerist attitudes to church services; the sense of expectancy and intimacy that so many found attractive and helpful in their discipleship of Christ; and the belief in the real presence of God among His people that opened up glimpses of the not-yet Kingdom the church proclaims and embodies.

Book Review: Ecclesiastes: A Story of Questioning and Change: Benjamin J. Segel, Kohelet’s Pursuit of Truth: A New Reading of EcclesiastesSegelBenjamin J., Kohelet’s Pursuit of Truth: A New Reading of Ecclesiastes (Lawrence, NJ: Gefen Publishing House, 2016.

Abstract Qoheleth’s apparent lack of internal coherence was not lost on the ancient rabbis, and is still a recurring issue in modern scholarship. Attempts at both structural and thematic reconstructions of the shape of the Ecclesiastes text are popular amongst modern scholars, but no real agreement has been reached. Scholars are divided: there are those who assume a self-contained intellectual work with a progressive inner structure, and those who believe that Qoheleth is a loose collection of separate units. The main concern of this paper is to discern a rhetorical phenomenon labelled a Janus saying, i.e. an aphorism that looks forward and backward, both structurally and thematically, and to evaluate its syntactical and thematic setting within Qoheleth’s teaching as a linking device.

13.50. pp. x + 177. ISBN: 978-965-229-892-8).

This article explores the nature of Jobs malady on various levels, using insights from disability studies as they have been applied to other parts of the Hebrew Bible, but rarely Job. What was the nature of Jobs skin disease? Beyond that, how should we assess Jobs mental torment accompanying his physical illness, as part of a broader intertextual resonance of lament as known from certain Psalms? It is argued that it is Jobs feelings of social exclusion that are a major aspect of his malady, a factor well attested in disability studies but often left out of account in traditional biblical studies evaluations, which tend to focus on moral issues. The relevance of the moral judgment of the friends who regard Jobs disease as a punishment for sin is assessed. A fresh interpretation is offered of the strange omission of Jobs restoration from illness from the Epilogue.

Janus Sayings: A Linking Device in Qoheleth’s Discourse

This article explores the burgeoning interest in biblical studies in the use of the Bible in music, as a medium and as an ever fresh way of expounding and expressing the stories and sentiments of the Bible. It looks at some recent scholarship on the Bible and music and then goes on to look closely at a sample book, that of Ecclesiastes, to see which texts have been used as inspiration for musical expression and in what ways that has evolved in ever fresh historical and cultural contexts. It is seen that particular themes such as time (Eccl 3:1-8), the fate of humans and animals (Eccl 3:9-14) and that of ‘vanity’ (the repeated refrain of the book) have been of particular interest to librettists and composers.

What Was Job's Malady?*:

The Abingdon commentary series caters for preachers and teachers in a fairly slim volume with an accessible approach to each text. This commentary on Proverbs follows the series format, with introduction, literary analysis, exegetical analysis and theological/ethical analysis for each major unit with reference to the Hebrew original where pertinent. One of the problems with writing on Proverbs is the piecemeal nature of the material, especially after chapter 10, but Yoder copes with this by treating larger units, as well as each proverb individually. She is not a fan of the view that sees highly purposeful arrangement in these chapters, rather she sees lack of arrangement being its keynote. However that does not mean that the book of Proverbs is without editorial arrangement – each section emphasizes different genres or themes and a significant frame is that of the two women (woman wisdom and the strange woman) in Proverbs 1-9 and the ‘woman of substance’ of Proverbs 31:10-31. She writes, “The implied reader begins as a silent youth urged to pursue and love wisdom, to accept the invitation to her household (chs. 1-9), and ends as an esteemed adult who resides in wisdom’s household (31:10-31)” (p. xxviii). Yoder is particularly interested in the way techniques of repetition (and yet subtle variation) and contradiction work in Proverbs and this emphasis comes out in her commentary. She gives an interesting analysis of how humans are portrayed in Proverbs – in relationship, embodied (note many references to the human body and mind in Proverbs), having choices and responsibility for the consequences of those choices; and as creations of God who should ‘fear the Lord’ as a first priority. She presents a balanced view of passages in the book and of wider issues such as date, social context and development over time. The bibliography points to further reading for those wishing to pursue points further. A useful addition to the corpus, even if not rivetingly novel in its approach.