Wisdom Literature

Question 1

Ecclesiastes description

Answer 1

Life is tough!

Question 2

Psalms description

Answer 2

emotions: grief, joy, thanksgiving, anger (relationships)
Catholic Mass: Responsorial Psalm/Liturgy of the Hours
Relationship with God, addressing God
2 party system: Israel stands before God like a child before a father
-150 psalms

Question 3

Song of Songs description

Answer 3

Sexual, erotic, love poems, allegory

Question 4

Wisdom Literature Books

Answer 4

Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Solomon), Sirach, Wisdom

Question 5

Wisdom literature description

Answer 5

“There is an absence of references to Moses, Mt. Sinai, patriarchs, and other items in Israelites Tradition”

• emotion, honesty, philosophical questioning
• Universal Appeal (appeals to everyone, even non-religious people)

Question 6

Real relationship

Answer 6

• Wisdom lit has a real relationship (risk, contact)

- Two-Party System: it takes 2

Question 7

Christ in Wisdom Lit

Answer 7

-1 Corinthians 1:24,30..”Jesus is the wisdom and power of God”
“O come O come O Wisdom from on high”

Question 8

Job

Answer 8

First book of Wisdom lit
Anonymous author
Fictional character
7th-5th BC (587 BC-Babylonian Exile)
-Ch. 1-2 Job's problem....37-42 Job meets God (appears as a whirlwind)

Question 9

Ecclesiastes

Answer 9

12 chapters

• salty, negative, pessimistic, resentful, sad, depressing
• pointlessness of life
• life sucks
• all is vanity (pointless)

Question 10

Anti-moral pattern

Answer 10

Job is good:
-"blameless and upright"
-feared God, turned from evil
-"the Lord gives and the Lord takes away"
-sacrifices
-humbled himself
-devoted
Job gets bad:
-burned up sheep and servants
-house (property) fell on his sons and daughters (descendants) and died 
-Satan curses him
-boils
-wife curses God=dies

Question 11

Why is Ecclesiastes so negative?

Answer 11

Control

• grieving the delusion of control
• anger, sadness (5 stages of grieving)

Question 12

Psalms

Answer 12

• “song”
• sung accompanied by harp/lyre (selah)
• attributed to David
• 150 psalms
• Jesus quoted Psalms: “in your hands I commit my spirit”….”My God my God why have you foresaken me”

Question 13

Song of Songs

Answer 13

“Salvation is an inside job”
Israel (beloved) learns to receive the gift of salvation from God (lover)
-God initiates salvation; He is in control
-does not mention name of God once

Question 14

Why doesn’t Song of Songs mention God’s name?

Answer 14

Name defines a boundary (control)
If I can define God, I have control
“All of the scriptures could fall away, but if SS remained, that would be enough” -Rabbi Akiva

Question 15

Job description

Answer 15

Bad things happen to good people?

• destroys logic of the Moral Pattern
• does good, gets bad
• salvation is a gift, cannot be earned, Israel is NOT in control

Question 16

Hallelujah Song allusions

Answer 16

Secret chord that David played that pleased the Lord (Psalms)
Bathing on the roof (Bathsheba)
She cut your hair (Samson/Delilah)
-Alleluia means “praise the Lord”
How is it used?
Consolation, when all fails still rely on God, can’t do it alone, sarcastic/ironic
-God is still with us even in defeat/struggle
-honesty (2 party system)

Question 17

Dark Night of the Soul

Answer 17

Promised Land= “my house”
-safe
Where is Christ?
-Christ is waiting for us to let go of PL and find our way to him
-“Beloved waiting for him”
-leave behind safety
-contact, real relationship, trust, feel God’s presence

Question 18

Creative Essay: why are the parentheses blank for the Wisdom Literature unit? (very intentional, but why?)

Answer 18

• no specific law in Wisdom Literature
• “there is an absence of references to Moses, Mt. Sinai, patriarchs, and other items in the Israelite Tradition”
• philosophical questioning, not laws
• Universal appeal

Question 19

Changes//Tupac

Answer 19

"Is life worth living?"
"That's just the way it is"
Similar approach to Ecclesiastes 
-salty, negative approach
-life is a cycle