Wisdom’s Wonder: Character, Creation, and Crisis in the Bible’s Wisdom Literature

by William P. Brown

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 2014

Overview

Wisdom’s Wonder offers a fresh reading of the Hebrew Bible’s wisdom literature with a unique emphasis on “wonder” as the framework for understanding biblical wisdom. William Brown argues that wonder effectively integrates biblical wisdom’s emphasis on character formation and its outlook on creation, effectively breaking an impasse that has plagued recent wisdom studies.

Drawing from various disciplines—from philosophy to neuroscience—Brown discovers new distinctions and connections among Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. Central to each book, he claims, are certain “texts of tremendum,” which evoke the wide range of wonder’s nuance, from “fear seeking understanding” to confounding perplexity to unbridled joy.

An extensive revision and expansion of Brown’s Character in Crisis, this book demonstrates that the wisdom books are much more than simply advice literature—with wonder as the foundation for understanding, Brown maintains that wisdom is a process with transformation of the self as the goal.

In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

Key Features

• Offers a fresh reading of the Hebrew Bible’s wisdom literature
• Demonstrates that wisdom is a process with transformation of the self as the goal
• Discovers new distinctions and connections among Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes

Contents

• Introduction: Character, Creation, and Wonder in Wisdom
• Wonder, Desire, and the Art of Character Formation in Proverbs
• The Wound of Wonder: Job 1–31
• Wonder Gone Wild: Job 32–42
• Wandering among the Ruins: Ecclesiastes I
• Wondering among the Ruins: Ecclesiastes II
• Conclusion: Trembling at the Threshold

Top Highlights

“To sum up, I offer my own tentative definition of wonder: an emotion born of awe that engenders a perpetually attentive, reverently receptive orientation toward the Other by awakening both emotional and cognitive resources for contemplation and conduct—in short, for wisdom.” (Page 24)

“One proposed way for discerning the literature’s coherence is to identify creation as wisdom’s central theme and focus. The other highlights the issue of character formation with particular emphasis on the self as a developing moral agent in the world.” (Page 5)

“Attention to creation provides a generative context for sapiential insight, whereas character formation captures much of the rhetorical aim of the wisdom corpus.” (Page 5)

“Such sayings testify to the sages’ perception that the natural and social realms are an interconnected whole. The world was created wisely for human instruction. With the wealth of images and analogies they drew from nature and their cosmological outlook, the sages beckoned their audience to behold and become wise.” (Page 18)

“expressions of character which show aim, direction, purpose; they express the volitional side of character.’^{41” (Page 9)}

Product Details

• Title: Wisdom’s Wonder: Character, Creation, and Crisis in the Bible’s Wisdom Literature
• Author: William P. Brown
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 2014
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Pages: 235
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Wisdom literature › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. O.T. Job › Criticism, interpretation, etc
• ISBNs: 9780802867933, 0802867936
• Resource ID: LLS:WISDOMSWONDER
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-01-16T19:31:09Z

About William P. Brown

William P. Brown is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary. He has published numerous works, including Seeing the Psalms: A Theology of Metaphor and Ecclesiastes in the Interpretation series. He also serves on the editorial board for the esteemed Old Testament Library series, published by Westminster John Knox Press.