The Sage in Israel and the Ancient Near East

“This volume seeks to make a modest contribution to the intellectual and social history of Israel and the ancient Near East. As the title of the volume suggests, the focus is upon those wise men and women in ancient Israel who composed Israel’s wisdom literature, counseled her kings, and consoled—and sought to guide—her people on the basis of Israel’s sapiential tradition” (from the Preface). With 37 contributions from an international pool of authors, each of whom is known for his/her contributions in the area assigned, the volume is intended to provide comprehensive coverage of the state of research and point to further direction for investigation.

The essays are organized in six sections: The Sage in Ancient Near Eastern Literature; The Social Locations and Functions of the Sage; The Sage in the Wisdom Literature of the Hebrew Bible; The Sage in Other Biblical Texts; The Sage from Before the Close of the Hebrew Canon to Post-Biblical Times; The Symbolic Universe of the Sage. Indexed, and with a bibliography for further reading.

Preface

Abbreviations

I. The Sage in Ancient Near Eastern Literature

The Female ‘Sage’ in Mesopotamian Literature (with an Appendix on Egypt) - Rivkah Harris

The Sage in Egyptian Literature - Ronald J. Williams

The Sage in Sumerian Literature: A Composite Portrait - Samuel Noah Kramer

The Sage in Akkadian Literature: A Philological Study - Ronald F. G. Sweet

A Survey and Reading Guide to the Didactic Literature of Ugarit: Prolegomenon to a Study on the Sage - Loren R. Mack-Fisher

The Sage in Ancient Iranian Literature - James R. Russell

II. The Social Locations and Functions of the Sage

The Functions of the Sage in the Egyptian Royal Court - Ronald J. Williams

The Sage in Mesopotamian Palaces and Royal Courts - Ronald F. G. Sweet

The Scribe (and Sage) in the Royal Court in Ugarit - Loren R. Mack-Fisher

The Social Significance of Solomon as a Patron of Wisdom - Walter A. Brueggemann

The Sage in the Israelite Royal Court - R. N. Whybray

Sages and Scribes at the Courts of Ancient Iran - James R. Russell

The Sage in Hellenistic Royal Courts - John G. Gammie

The Sage in Family and Tribe - Carole R. Fontaine

The Sage in School and Temple - Andre Lemaire

III. The Sage in the Wisdom Literature of the Hebrew Bible

The Female Sage in Ancient Israel and in the Biblical Wisdom Literature - Claudia V. Camp

The Sage in Proverbs - James L. Crenshaw

The Sage in the Psalms - Anthony R. Ceresko

Job as a Sage - Samuel Terrien

The Sage and Pious Wisdom in the Book of Job: The Friends’ Perspective - Rainer Albertz

The Sage in Ecclesiastes and Qoheleth the Sage - Roland E. Murphy

IV. The Sage in Other Biblical Texts

The Sage in the Pentateuch: Soundings - Tikva Frymer-Kensky

The Sage in the Deuteronomistic History - P. Kyle McCarter Jr.

The Sage in the Prophetic Literature - Raymond C. Van Leeuwen

The Sage, the Scribe, and Scribalism in the Chronicler’s Work - Joseph Blenkinsopp

V. The Sage from Before the Close of the Hebrew Canon to Post-biblical Times

The Sage in Hellenistic Philosophical Literature (399 B.C.E.-199 C.E.) - George B. Kerferd

The Sage in Select Hellenistic and Roman Literary Genres (Philosophic Epistles, Political Discourses, History, Comedy, and Romances) - Benjamin Fiore

The Sage in the Apocalyptic and Pseudepigraphic Literature - John J. Collins

The Sage in Sirach - John G. Gammie

The Sage in the Literature of Qumran: The Functions of the Maskil - Carol A. Newson

The Sage as Mystic in the Wisdom of Solomon - David Winston

Jesus as Sage: An Innovating Voice in Common Wisdom - Bernard Brandon Scott

The Early Rabbinic Sage - Steven D. Fraade

VI. The Symbolic Universe of the Sage

From Scribalism to Rabbinism: Perspectives on the Emergence of Classical Judaism - Michael Fishbane

Cosmology and the Social Order in the Wisdom Tradition - Leo G. Perdue

From Prudentialism to Apocalypticism: The Houses of the Sages amid the Varying Forms of Wisdom - John G. Gammie

Bibliography

Index of Modern Authors

Index of Classical Authors

Index of Ancient Near Eastern Writings

Egyptian Writings

Iranian Writings

Sumero-Akkadian Literary Compositions

Sumero-Akkadian Texts

Ugaritic Literary Compositions

Ugaritic Texts

Index of Scripture and Related Literature

Old Testament

Deuterocanonical Books

New Testament

Pseudepigrapha

Dead Sea Scrolls

Mishnaic and Other Rabbinic Writings

Nag Hammadi

Josephus