Wisdom Is a Woman: The Canonical Metaphor of Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 1–9 Understood in Light of Theological Aesthetics

by Lance Rundus

Publisher:

Pickwick Publications

, 2019

Overview

In Proverbs 1-9, we are introduced to stunning, scandalous, and mysterious Lady Wisdom. For millennia interpreters have endeavored to explain, simplify, or domesticate the vaunted and varied personification of this woman. In Wisdom Is a Woman, Lance Rundus illustrates that our difficulties with Lady Wisdom run much deeper than uncertainty about her origins and depiction, but are rooted in inherited assumptions about and definitions of metaphor, as well as a distorted disposition toward right hemisphere modes of knowledge that undercut the very attempt at discovering Wisdom at all. Wisdom Is a Woman invites the reader into the mode of aesthetic perception that opens the way to the beautiful, transcendent intimacy of relational knowledge born from constellations of canonical metaphor in Proverbs 1-9. In “obtaining scale” with Wisdom we discover that this paradoxical wonder is but a faint echo of the wonder and beauty of the Triune God in the person, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Praise for Wisdom Is a Woman

“Lance Rundus provides a fresh and insightful exploration of the Lady Wisdom imagery in Proverbs 1–9. He critiques and engages literary theorists and establishes an appropriate metaphoric methodology by which he demonstrates the nature of this revelatory figure and her provision of wisdom’s gift. This study provides new opportunities for appreciating the theological significance of metaphoric and personified imagery and its employment across the canon. An exercise in canonical theological construction.”

—Doug Miller, Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies, Tabor College



“Wisdom Is a Woman is a splendidly argued treatment of how the feminine imagery in Proverbs of Lady Wisdom and her antithesis, the Strange Woman, illuminates our understanding not only of wisdom personified as an abstract entity, but ultimately points us to the full embodiment of wisdom found and reflected in the triune revelation of Jesus Christ. The volume just excels in its interdisciplinary integration of theological aesthetics, recent neurological research, and cognitive metaphor theory. Highly recommended.”

—Jonathan King, Lecturer in Theology, Universitas Pelita Harapan, Indonesia



“In this book, Lance weaves philosophy and theology and profoundly integrates academic excellence and spirituality to point us back to the scriptural demand for fidelity. The wise are those who are faithful to their covenant relationships, divine and human. Christ’s death and resurrection make this possible. It is a must read!”

—Philemon NFOR, Senior Pastor of Patmos Baptist Church, Cameroon

Product Details

• Title: Wisdom Is a Woman: The Canonical Metaphor of Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 1–9 Understood in Light of Theological Aesthetics
• Author: Lance Rundus
• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Print Publication Date: 2019
• Logos Release Date: 2021
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9781532682728, 9781532682704, 9781532682711, 1532682727, 1532682700, 1532682719
• Resource ID: LLS:9781532682728
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T14:54:31Z

About the Author

Lance Rundus works on the family farm in north central Kansas, and does his best to be a faithful son, husband, father, friend, and servant of God.