Introduction
The five books of wisdom in the Old Testament are said to have been written by the Sages. These sages are what some theologists refer to as the Israelite intelligentsia. However, some scholars have held several debates regarding the five books of wisdom to ascertain if at all the sages groups were different from people like prophets, priests and the general intellectual movement of the Israelite elites or if they were just one group. Historians of Bible says that the sages also served as the diplomats, counselors, advisors to kings as well as the palace bureaucrats during those olden days. However, it has been established that the sages spent nearly one thousand years in writing and editing the five books of wisdom. These five books of wisdom are number five in the Protestant canon and number seven if included in the Apocryphal books. These five books of wisdom represent a significant transformation in the manner in which the historical books preceded them. These five books of wisdom can be said to be part of the Ancient Near East wisdom literature which is a genre focusing on the existential questions concerning humanity, God, nature of evil as well as the Creation story and suffering of man.
The five books of wisdom literature took the form of short and memorable insights the way it is seen clearly in the book of Proverbs. These books also took dialogue from the way it is seen clearly in the book of Job where Job's friends are seen to be seriously engaging God into a dialogue (Radzinowicz 2014). This scenario teaches and enlightens the people of God about the nature of God. Also, wisdom literature was written based on several different cultures in the Ancient Near East. However, the ones which are best known are found in the Bible canon and they Job, Proverbs, Psalms, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes. In fact, research shows that these five books of wisdom literature are the most approachable though they have confusing genres within the Bible. The book of Job can be seen to be deeply exploring the theme of suffering whereas the book of Proverbs provides the humanity with guidance regarding issues of routine to make people avoid being lazy (Radzinowicz 2014). Consequently, the book of Ecclesiastes can be seen to be reflecting upon the themes of vanities of life while the book of Job is vividly disputing the God. The book of Proverbs can be seen to be listing the blatantly contradictory phrases side by side as seen in the book of Proverbs 26:4-5. The book of Ecclesiastes can also be seen to presenting the same pessimistic views which the author felt should be added in clarifying the appendix (Radzinowicz 2014).
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The religious scholar finds himself in this confusing landscape of understanding these five books of wisdom literature, however, apart from reconciling these confusions associated with the five books of wisdom literature, the scholar just ends up revealing in them. The scholar, Penchansky, as well ended up developing the interpretive techniques as he highlighted in the year 1990 in his book of Job entitled “The Betrayal of God.” This book shows clearly the Ideological conflict in Job. This indeed inspired the author’s knowledge regarding his acceptance of truth as seen with the guild of biblical studies. The most Biblical books have been seen to be having complex developments which involves a number of contributions regarding the multiple scribes as well as the authorial groups. In fact, Penchansky argues in his book that the interpretive themes are seen in the five books of wisdom, and they include the textual dissonance marks which show that the authors or interpreters of the Bible try to hide the dissimilar voices regarding the guise of harmony. However, the scholar divides these biblical texts into their original components which are often diametrically opposed to these voices (VanGemeren 2017).
Some scholars have identified the theme of dissonant voices with the five books of wisdom literature. For example, due to the traditional interpretations of the five books of wisdom literature, the book of Job can be seen to be focusing upon the speeches of God in chapter 38-41 as well as concluding the way God allowed the suffering of God because he is the creator of the universe. Modern theologists have greatly disputed this view by identifying the accurate interpretation of these five books of wisdom literature. This modern interpretation portrays God different from the way the tradition viewpoint puts God (VanGemeren 2017). The book of Job 42:7 gives God a new character by stating that Job might have been good and God bad. Some scholars hold different views regarding the five books of wisdom literature by for example referring to the book of Job to be showing how God manages the world very poorly possibly based on the way He sent Satan to test Job who was an innocent man. They say that God unfairly ensured that He destroyed God. The scholar disputes that all the speeches of God as highlighted in the five books of wisdom literature might be wrong. This might be certain true since God himself confirm in one of the five books of wisdom literature that his negative picture is somehow true (VanGemeren 2017).
These statements are fond in the books of Ecclesiastes and Proverbs and in the book of Deutero-canonical which are the works of Wisdom of Solomon and Ben Sira. The audience of these five books of wisdom literature is supposed to continue learning more concerning these books whenever they are faced with the difficulties of understanding how God used to speak to his book in these books (Whitney 2016). In fact, the reader is supposed to decide which book among these wisdom books to listen to in order to gain with a meaningful lesson from these books. The dominant themes in these five books of wisdom literature include lie, steal, cheat and murder which all the readers are supposed to analyze as well as getting the various voices as they are speaking in these books. Many religion scholars might ponder that the voices of Moses in the Bible are a scoundrel whereas the ones of Pharaoh were normative since they were able to make multitudes of labors to shirk their responsibilities. In fact, a number of laws in the five books of wisdom literature which seem to have an absolute prescriptive are consequently exposed to be not ideal at all (Whitney 2016).
The book of Ecclesiastes is analyzed based on the factors which include fear God, enjoy life and Pessimistic. These are referred to as the competing voices. Therefore, it God for every audience of the five books of wisdom literature to be able to choose the best voice which he/she would like to their teacher. Not only the book of Ecclesiastes teaches these among the five books of wisdom, but even the remaining four wisdom books also teaches these voices. The five books of wisdom in conjunction with other books of the Bible are seen to emphasizing the importance of dependence on the particulars of the circumstances which the audience might be facing. The author of the book of proverb might not have encountered a lot of problems in by compiling conflicting proclamations side-by-side because the book encompasses various contexts which call for specific responses (Whitney 2016). For example, the book of Proverbs 26:4-5 clearly indicate that foolish people must be corrected in case they are approachable. However, the same verse goes on saying that in case that foolish man is found to be deeply entrenched in his own pigheadedness, then it is good if he/she is ignored. Nevertheless, these statements are seen to be very different as well as being opposite to each other. However, this is the heart of wisdom literature, and it outlines the general truths which are thoughtfully used to the specific circumstances and situations (Whitney 2016).
Conclusion
Indeed the majority of the biblical audiences have agreed that wisdom literature books have some of the best and most beautiful written chapters as compared to other books in the Bible. However, the only challenge when reading these books is that it is hard to rush through since they demand a lot of tension so as to understand them. The wisdom books provide the audience with a pastoral glimpse unlike the historical books of the Bible which only tells us more about the people of God and the experiences they encountered. The five books of wisdom literature might be seen as trying to show the way God's people used to experience God's love. These people are seen to be looking for God in their life's pleasures and trials. Besides, the wisdom books show the way sometimes God can tolerate doubts and people do look for His help both physically and spiritually.
References
Radzinowicz, M. A. (2014). Milton's Epics and the Book of Psalms . Princeton University Press.
VanGemeren, W. A. (2017). Psalms . HarperCollins Christian Publishing.
Whitney, D. S. (2016). Family Worship: In the Bible, in History, and in Your Home . Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway
