Light in a Spotless Mirror: Reflections on Wisdom Traditions in Judaism and Early Christianity

160 Pages·2003·6.56 MB·English

by  James H. Charlesworth

Light in a Spotless Mirror
FAITH AND SCHOLARSHIP
COLLOQUIES SERIES
The Old and New Testaments
The Dead Sea Scrolls and Christian Faith
Jesus Two Thousand Years Later
Light in a Spotless Mirror
Light in a Spotless Mirror
Reflections on Wisdom Traditions
in Judaism and Early Christianity
Edited by
James H. Charlesworth
and Michael A. Daise
Faith and Scholarship Colloquies
TRINITY PRESS INTERNATIONAL
A Continuum imprint
HARRISBURG • LONDON • NEW YORK
Copyright © 2003 by Trinity Press International
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher,
Trinity Press International.
Trinity Press International, P.O. Box 1321, Harrisburg, PA 17105
Trinity Press International is a member of the
Continuum International Publishing Group.
Cover art: A Conversation between Philosophers, mosaic from Pompeii.
Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Italy.
Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY.
Cover design: Wesley Hoke
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Light in a spotless mirror : reflections on wisdom traditions in Judaism and
and early Christianity / edited by James H. Charlesworth and Michael A.
Daise.
p. cm. - (Faith and scholarship colloquies)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and indexes.
ISBN 1-56338-399-3
1. Wisdom (Biblical personification) - Congresses. 2. Wisdom - Religious
aspects-Judaism-History of doctrines-Congresses. 3. Wisdom -
Religious aspects-Christianity-History of doctrines-Congresses.
I. Charlesworth, James H. II. Daise, Michael A. III. Series.
BS580.W58L54 2003
223'.06-dc21
2002012929
Printed in the United States of America
03 04 05 06 07 08 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedicated to
Dr. joe Wesley Dickerson
and Irma Lou Wilcox
dedicated philanthropists
and fellow travelers
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Contents
Contributors viii
Series Description: Faith and Scholarship Colloquies ix
Introduction: Wisdom, a Spotless Mirror,
and Reflections of Traditions 1
James H. Charles worth
1. Israel's Wisdom: Dialogue between the Sages 7
Roland Murphy
2. Wisdom Finds a Home: Torah as Wisdom 26
Peter Schafer
3. The Gospel of John and Philo of Alexandria 45
Peder Borgen
4. John and the Synoptics: Historical Tradition
and the Passion Narrative 77
D. Moody Smith
5. Lady Wisdom and Johannine Christology 92
James H. Charlesworth
Selected Bibliography 135
Index of Ancient Sources 139
Index of Modern Authors 148
vii
Contributors
PEDER BORGEN is Professor Emeritus of New Testament
and Religion n the Greco-Roman World at the University of
Trondheim in Norway.
JAMES H. CHARLESWORTH is George L. Collord Profes-
sor of New Testament Language and Literature and Director
of the Dead Sea Scrolls project at Princeton Theological
Seminary.
ROLAND MURPHY, O.Carm., was George Washington Ivey
Professor of Old Testament, Emeritus, at Duke University.
PETER SCHAFER is Perelman Professor of Jewish Studies
and Professor of Religion at Princeton University and Direc-
tor of the Institut fur Judaistik at the Freie Universitat in
Berlin.
D. MOODY SMITH is George Washington Ivey Professor of
New Testament, Emeritus, at Duke University.
via
Series Description
Faith and Scholarship Colloquies
JLhis series explores the boundaries where faith
and academic study intersect. At these borders, the sharp
edge of current biblical scholarship is allowed to cut theolog-
ically and pose its often challenging questions for traditional
faith. The series includes contributions from leading scholars
in contemporary biblical studies. As Christian faith seeks to
send a word on target in our day, as powerful as those in
the past, it needs to sharpen its perception and proclamation
from honest and truthful insights in human knowledge, from
first-century archaeology to modern linguistics.
ix