Old Testament Paper
Adourian Ruffin
Paul McCuistion
REL123
“What is Wisdom in the Old Testament sense
I believe having a clear definition and understanding wisdom can help us better interpret the Bible’s original intent of Scripture. First of all we must consider the meaning of the primary Hebrew word for wisdom which is (hakam, “wise” and hokma, “wisdom”), and secondly, we must take into account the themes, content and forms that are found in the Old Testament wisdom material. One of the books in the Bible which is known as the book of wisdom if know as Proverbs. The practical nature of wisdom is reflected in the statement David made to Solomon from his death bed as he pointed out to Solomon the problem Joab would pose for his survival as king. Wisdom is very important and useful in understanding the authorial intent of Scripture. Wisdom does not involve a moral decision. Isaiah 40:20 AND Jeremiah 10:6 describe people who are wise or skilled in making idols, and certain wise men of Egypt and Mesopotamia were wise or skilled in magic and divination (Gen. 41:8; Isa. 44:25 and Dan2:10-12). This sensible dimension is important to understand the author and the history of that day. Misunderstanding wisdom can lead to misunderstanding and misinterpreting scripture. There are a number of passages of that state that wisdom is a gift from God, yet when the content of the biblical wisdom literature is considered and compared with the similar material from Egypt and Mesopotamia it suggests that this material comes from God in what appears to us as a secondary sense. God’s creation of the word with it’s order and regularity and God’ creation of man in his image are essential prerequisites for perceiving the wisdom that we are suggesting should be identified as the first level of wisdom. A lot of material on wisdom is misunderstood because of man’s struggle to perceive truth as he looks at life in the world God has created. Most of the proverbs involve observations about life and
Paul McCuistion
REL123
“What is Wisdom in the Old Testament sense
I believe having a clear definition and understanding wisdom can help us better interpret the Bible’s original intent of Scripture. First of all we must consider the meaning of the primary Hebrew word for wisdom which is (hakam, “wise” and hokma, “wisdom”), and secondly, we must take into account the themes, content and forms that are found in the Old Testament wisdom material. One of the books in the Bible which is known as the book of wisdom if know as Proverbs. The practical nature of wisdom is reflected in the statement David made to Solomon from his death bed as he pointed out to Solomon the problem Joab would pose for his survival as king. Wisdom is very important and useful in understanding the authorial intent of Scripture. Wisdom does not involve a moral decision. Isaiah 40:20 AND Jeremiah 10:6 describe people who are wise or skilled in making idols, and certain wise men of Egypt and Mesopotamia were wise or skilled in magic and divination (Gen. 41:8; Isa. 44:25 and Dan2:10-12). This sensible dimension is important to understand the author and the history of that day. Misunderstanding wisdom can lead to misunderstanding and misinterpreting scripture. There are a number of passages of that state that wisdom is a gift from God, yet when the content of the biblical wisdom literature is considered and compared with the similar material from Egypt and Mesopotamia it suggests that this material comes from God in what appears to us as a secondary sense. God’s creation of the word with it’s order and regularity and God’ creation of man in his image are essential prerequisites for perceiving the wisdom that we are suggesting should be identified as the first level of wisdom. A lot of material on wisdom is misunderstood because of man’s struggle to perceive truth as he looks at life in the world God has created. Most of the proverbs involve observations about life and
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