The Intellectual Tradition in the Old Testament

172 Pages·1974·14.057 MB·English

by  R.N. Whybray

R. N. Whybray
The Intellectual Tradition
in the Old Testament

R. N. Whybray
The Intellectual Tradition
in the Old Testament
w
_DEG
Walter de Gruyter • Berlin • New York
1974
Beiheft zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
Herausgegeben von Georg Fohrer
135
ISBN 3 11 004424 2
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 73—78236
1974
by Walter de Gruyter & Co., vormals G. J. Göschen'sche Verlagshandlung—J. Guttentag,
Verlagsbuchhandlung — Georg Reimer — Karl J. Trübner — Veit & Comp., Berlin 30
Alle Rechte des Nachdrucks, der photomechanischen Wiedergabe,
der Übersetzung, der Herstellung von Mikrofilmen und Photokopien,
auch auszugsweise, vorbehalten.
Printed in Germany
Satz und Druck: Walter de Gruyter & Co.
Bindearbeiten: Lüderitz & Bauer, 1 Berlin 61
To Hélène and Peter

Preface
I wish to thank those with whom I have discussed the subject of
this study, especially members of the Faculty of Divinity at the Uni-
versity of Cambridge, the Faculty of Theology at the University of
Durham, the Department of Theology at the University of Nottingham
and the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield,
to whom some parts of it were read in their early stages, for their
suggestions for its improvement. I am also indebted to my colleague,
Dr. J. W. McKay of the University of Hull, for reading the typescript
and for his constructive criticisms.
I should also like to express my thanks to Professor Dr. Georg
Fohrer for his readiness to accept the work for inclusion among the
Beihefte to ZAW.
R. N. Whybray

Table of Contents
Chapter I : The Problem l
Chapter II: The "Wise" in Israel 6
I. "Wisdom" as Intelligence 6
II. A Professional Class ? 15
A. The "Wise Man" as Counsellor 15
1. "Wise Men" at Foreign Courts 15
2. "Wise Men" at Israelite Courts 17
a) Historical Narratives 17
b) Isaiah 18
c) Jeremiah 21
3. Conclusions 31
B. The "Wise Man" as Teacher 31
1. General Considerations 32
2. Schools in Israel ? 33
3. The häkäm in Proverbs 43
4. "Teacher" in Biblical Hebrew 45
5. The häkäm in Job, Ecclesiastes and the Psalms 46
C. The "Wise Man" as Author 48
D. Conclusion 54
Chapter III : Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes and their Authors 55
I. Proverbs 55
II. Job 61
III. Ecclesiastes 67
IV. Conclusion 69
Chapter IV: The Intellectual Tradition in the Old Testament . . 71
I. Methods for Identifying the Intellectual Tradition 71
A. Subject-Matter 71
B. Form 72
C. Vocabulary 74
II. Criteria for Determining the Terminology of the Intellectual
Tradition 75
III. The Distribution of the Root hkrn in the Old Testament. . 76
A. The Occurrences of hhm 76
B. Evaluation of the Occurrences 83
C. Analysis of Significant Occurrences 85
1. The Joseph Story 87
2. The Introductory Section of Deuteronomy 87
X Table of Contents
3. The Song of Moses 88
4. The Succession Narrative 89
5. The History of Solomon 91
6. Psalms 93
7. I Isaiah 98
8. Jeremiah 99
9. Ezekiel 28 100
10. Daniel 101
D. Non-Occurrences of hkm 104
1. Narratives 104
a) Gen 1—36 104
i. The Primeval History (ch. 1—11) 105
ii. The Patriarchal Stories (ch. 12—36) 108
b) Exodus and Numbers 108
c) Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings 109
d) Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah Ill
e) Other Narrative Books 112
2. Laws 113
3. Psalms and Lamentations 116
4. The Prophetical Books 117
5. The Song of Solomon 119
IV. Other Characteristic Terminology 121
A. Criteria 121
B. Analysis 123
1. Words Occurring Only in Proverbs, Job and/or Ecclesiastes . . . 124
2. Words Occurring Frequently Both in Proverbs, Job and/or Eccle-
siastes and also in Other Old Testament Traditions 124
3. Words Characteristic of Proverbs, Job and/or Ecclesiastes, but
Occurring Occasionally in Other Old Testament Traditions . . .. 134
A Note on nSkoah 140
4. Words Apparently Exclusive to the Intellectual Tradition . . .. 142
V. Conclusions 149
A. Passages Already Designated as Belonging to the Intellectual Tradition
on the Basis of the Occurrence of hkm 160
B. Passages to be Added to the List of Those Belonging to the Intellectual
Tradition 162
C. Results of the Terminological Investigation 164
Concluding Remarks 166
Index of Authors 167