Poetic books and

wisdom literature
Study notes Prepared By: - Sunny P. Samuel

GILGAL BIBLICAL SEMINARY, SHARJAH.

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I. STUDY FOCUS

This course is a brief study in classical Hebrew poetry, the poetical books and the
wisdom literature of the Bible. In the Christian exegetical perspective, five books
of the O.T. are called the poetical books. They are book of Job, Psalms, Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. Poetic books are nourished with poetry
reflecting the greatness of God and rich in adoration pondering the magnificent
ways of God tasted by the hymn composers. At the same time they nullify the
pompous human knowledge and so called wisdom in comparison with the
infallible and unsearchable depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of
everlasting God (Isai:40:28; Rom:11:33). Great is the Lord in his majestic
appearance in which he entangles the crooked and ungodly in their craftiness.

In this study we focus to learn the background, themes, subject matter dealt with,
and general content of these five books’ which may enable all the students to
inculcate Godly values and imbibe the same to their hearers.

II. COURSE OBJECTIVE

1) To understand the nature of Hebrew poetry and wisdom literature, and th

influence of these five books on individuals.

2) To maintain a sound and healthy relationship with the supreme mover.

3) Poetic books are the treasury of how Godly men had finished their holy
pilgrimage as the standards of God. Though centuries pass by, the fundamental
nature of man is not changing. The moral attributes of God is also not changing.
If a man of God followed the paths of God faithfully over a millennium or ago,
in the same way a modern man can also walk in hand to hand with God.

4) To equip a student to reach, teach, publish, or to defend his faith through the
Biblical values and Morales.

III.OUTLINE

I. General introduction

A) Hebrew Bible and its divisions

B) Hebrew, the Holy Tongue

C) Biblical Hebrew

D) Classical Hebrew Literature.

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II Introduction to Hebrew Poetry

A) Characteristic of ancient Hebrew Poetry

B) Classification of the Hebrew Poetry

III Introduction to Hebrew Wisdom literature

IV Analysis of Book of Job

V Analysis of Book of Psalms

VI Analysis of Book of Proverbs

VII Analysis of Book of Ecclesiastes

VIII Analysis of Book of Song of Solomon

IX BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) Dickson Bible, John A. Dickson Publishing Co, Chicago, 1960

2) Easton, Mathew George, Easton Bible Dictionary, Logos Bible Dictionary

3) Encyclopedia of the Bible, Thomas Nelson, Inc, Illustrated edition, Nashville,

TN, Jule 2004.

4) Glenda M Abramson, Hebrew Literature, 2020 Encyclopaedia Britannia, Inc.

5) Herman, Gunkel, the Psalms A reformed critical Introduction, Fortress Press,

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1967.

6) Joseph Jacob and Israel Davidson, Almanacs transcripts and maps, Hebrew
Literature, www. Jewish Encyclopaedia.com.

7) Marshall, Howard, New Bible Dictionary, Inter varsity Press, Downers Grove,
Ill, 1996.

8) Gilman, Daniel Coit, New International Encyclopedia, Dodd, Mead & Co. NY.

9) Rabbi Yehuda Shurpin, Why is Hebrew called the Holy Tongue, Chabad.org.

10) Samuel Leiter, Hebrew Literature, 2020 Encyclopaedia Britannia, Inc.

11) Smith’s Bible Dictionary, Bible Gateway.com

12) Stone, Perry, Breaking the Jewish Code, Charisma Media, FL, 2009.

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13) Tenny, Merril C, the Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, Grand Rapids,
MI.

I. General introduction

A) Hebrew Bible and its divisions

Poetical Books and Wisdom Literature are a part of the Hebrew Bible. The Jewish
Bible or the Hebrew Bible has only 24 books. And these books are generally
divided into three main categories: - Torah, Nevi’im, and Kethuvim.

1) Torah: - the first five books of the Bible is called the Torah in Hebrew. Also
called as Chumesh; they are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy. In Greek and in English, they are called “Pentateuch” simply
means “five books.”

2) Neviim: - they are the prophetic books in the Hebrew Bible. They are Joshua,
Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve Minor Prophets
– also known as Trei-Asser.

3) Kethivim: - the Hebrew word Kethuvim means writings. They are counted as
the historic books. All the remaining eleven books of the Hebrew Bible are called
Kethuvim. They are Ruth, Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms,
Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Daniel.

The Hebrew Bible is called TANAK as an abbreviation of these three.

There is no poetic book division is Hebrew Bible category. It is the classification

of the Christians. In the Christian Bible these 24 books are furthermore divided
into 39 books and classified into five categories such as The Pentateuch, The
Historic Books, The Poetic Books, Major Prophets, and Minor Prophets.

B) Hebrew the Holy Tongue (Lashon Hakodesh)

It is belived by the Jews that Hebrew language is the Lashon Ha’kodesh. The
Hebrew language is extremely potent. The Torah tells us that until the incident of
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the Tower of Babel, all of mankind spoke the same language, Biblical
Hebrew.(Midrash Tanchmah cited by Rashi to Genesis 11:1). Some Rabbinical
literature states that, In fact, the power of the Holy Tongue was what fueled the
initial success of the tower-builders. ( See Zohar I:75b). To deter
them, God “confused” their languages, and the many diverse languages were
born. (Genesis 11:6–7).

What makes this language holy?

1) Because it is the Language of Creation

In the book of Genesis we read how God created the world: “God said, ‘Let there
be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).

This was not simply rhetoric; these words contained the Godly energy that created
light. The Torah describes ten such phrases—Ten Utterances through which the
world was created. [Ethics of the Fathers 5:1. The Ten Utterances consist of the
nine times in the creation story that the verses state “God said . . . ,” as well as the
first verse in Genesis, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the
earth”]. Everything that exists was created through the energy within those
Hebrew words. (Creations that are not explicitly mentioned in the creation story
were created through the transmutation and gematria (numerical value) of the
words of the Ten Utterances). The Kabbalists explain that unlike human speech—
which once spoken is gone—Godly “speech” is everlasting, as it says in Psalms,
“Forever, O God, Your word stands in the heavens.”(Psalms 119:89). So the Ten
Utterances are still in the heavens, constantly re-creating and energizing the
world.

Since everything is created through words, the Hebrew name of an object

expresses the very energy that gives it existence. This is why it was Adam who
named the animals, for it took great wisdom to be able to grasp the character of
each animal and give it its true name.

2) Clean Language

Maimonides, in his Guide for the Perplexed, submits that Hebrew is holy because
it doesn’t explicitly name private body parts and acts: “The Hebrew language has
no special name for the reproductive organs in females or in males, or for the act
neither of procreation, nor for semen, nor for excreta. The Hebrew lexicon has no
original terms for these things, and describes them only through figurative
allusion and hints. . .”
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3) The Language of Prophecy

Nachmanides takes issue with Maimonides’ opinion, stating that a language

cannot be defined as holy simply because it omits seemingly vulgar words—
words, he argues, that are not vulgar at all, because sexuality is indeed holy if
one’s intentions are pure. Nachmanides is of the opinion that Hebrew is inherently
holy because it is the language through which God communicated the Ten
Commandments and the Torah on Mount Sinai, it’s the medium for His
communication with prophets, and it’s the language of the names of God and His
angels. (Nachmanides, commentary to Exodus 30:13).

4) Unique Spiritual Energy

Rabbi Yeshayah ha-Levi Horowitz, known as the Shaloh, points out that the
words and letters of other languages were arbitrarily chosen by man. In the Holy
Tongue, however, there is significance to the name, shape and sound of each
letter, each alluding to unique spiritual energy and attributes.

C) Biblical Hebrew

Hebrew is one of the oldest languages of the world. For about 19 centuries it was
a dead language. Biblical Hebrew, also called as Classical Hebrew, is an archaic
form of Hebrew. Being a Canaanite branch of Semitic languages it was spoken
by the Israelites in the area known as Israel, roughly west of the Jordan River and
east of the Mediterranean Sea. The spoken Hebrew persisted though and beyond
the second temple period, which ended up in the siege of Jerusalem in A.D.70.
Eventually it developed into Mishnaic Hebrew spoken up until the fifth century
A.D.

Mishnaic Hebrew is a form of the Hebrew language that is found in the Talmud-
the Rabbinic Jewish law and theology. Biblical Hebrew has been written with
number of different writing systems or alphabets. Palaeo Hebrew alphabet was
the initial one. (Samuel Leiter- Hebrew Literature, 2020 Encyclopaedia
Britannica, Inc). This was retained by Samaritan alphabet. However, the Imperial
Aramaic alphabet gradually displaced the Palaeo Hebrew alphabet for the Jews
after their exile to Babylon, and it became the source for the Modern Hebrew
alphabet.

The earliest written source refers to Biblical Hebrew by the name of the land in
which it was spoken: the language of Canaan (Isaiah 19:18). In 2 Kings 18:26and
28 it was called as Yehudiyith – the Jewish language or Hebrew language. The
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oldest form of Biblical Hebrew, Archaic Hebrew, is found in poetical section of
the Bible dating back to the early Monarchic period of Israel’s history. It is
believed that poetry preceded prose.

Modern Hebrew is known as Ivrith. It has 22 alphabets and called Aleph- Beth
Ivri. Yiddish is the language of the Ashkenazi Jews, written in Hebrew alphabet.
It is a fusion of post classical Hebrew and German. Along with Hebrew and
Aramaic, Yiddish is one of the three major literary languages of Jewish history.

D) Classical Hebrew Literature.

It is believed that literature in Hebrew language begins with oral literature of the
Leshon HaKodesh or the Holy language since ancient times and with the
teachings of Abraham, the first Patriarch of Israel, around 2000. The most
significant characteristic of Hebrew literature is that the greater part of it is
directly or indirectly the outgrowth of the Bible. The Hebrew Bible (tanak) is the
most important work of ancient Hebrew language, beyond all comparison. The
most successful work of the Hebrew literature, and the great monument of the
earliest period of Hebrew literature are the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament.
All the later on developments of the Hebrew literary forms had its foundations on
the first source- the Bible. Or in other words, classical Hebrew literature is chiefly
a religious literature. The ancient Hebrew existed till the Babylonian exile in 587
B.C.

In th exile, Jews- the common folks- almost forgot the Hebrew language; and they
learned the languages of the places to which they were deported. Though
Akkadian and Chaldean languages were spoken as local dialects; Aramaic, which
had its origin in Syria, was the official language f Babylonian and Persian Empire
(Dan: 2:4; Ezra; 4:7).

The post exilic period witnessed a major set back in ancient Hebrew language,
because it had ceased to be spoken and had been replaced by Aramaic, a related
Semitic language. The Israelites who came back from exile were badly in need of
translators to explain all those Hebrew scripture texts read aloud by Ezra, the
ready scribe (Neh:8:7).

The second temple period witnessed great output in Jewish literary works, which
are called second temple writings. Only a part of it belongs to the Biblical canon.
(Samuel Leiter- Hebrew Literature, 2020 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc).

II Introduction to Hebrew poetry

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What is poetry?

Poetry is a word of Greek origin. It comes from a verb “poiema” which means
“to make, to create.” A poem is something made or created. The poet is the creator
and language is the material out of which the work of art is created.

Poetry is a form of discourse that expresses powerful or profound human

emotions and feelings. The classical Greeks felt poetry was “the divine release of
soul, “inspiration was involved. In his Lyrical Ballard Wordsworth says: - All
good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings.

Bible Poetry

Bible Poetry is the expression of one’s deepest and highest thoughts and emotions
in a rhythmic mood, which contains his pain, his love, his adoration, and his hope.
It reveals the very heart of man and of God.

Hebrew poetry is poetry composed in the Hebrew language. Poetry is defined “as
the expression of sentiments or emotion in a rhythmical and regular form.”
Biblical poetry is not confined to what are called the five poetical books; it is
found in other parts of the Bible and especially in the prophets. Over 8600 verses
of the Bible are poetry- that is nearly 27.7% of all the verses in the scripture and
37% of the Hebrew Bible verses. Only one book of the Hebrew Bible lacks
poetry: Book of Esther is a highly crafted narrative without poetry, fairly unusual
in ancient literature.

Hebrew poetry seems to be governed by a basic balance between lines of a couplet

or triplet whereby each line has the same number of word units. Many of the
features of Biblical Poetry are lost when the poems are translated to English.

A) Characteristic of ancient Hebrew poetry

Hebrew poetry is rich in parallelism, quantitative rhythm, accentual rhythm, the

dirges, anadiplosis, and acrostics. We will look some of them for our basic study.

i) Parallelism in Hebrew Poetry

Hebrew Poetry is characterized by the unusual form in which it expresses its

ideas. Biblical poetry is based on “though lines” not rhymes. Therefore it is most
important to understand how the thought lines relate to each other. Biblical poetry
consists of a distinctive type of sentence structure and it is called parallelism.
Parallelism is most common and repeated structure in Hebrew poetry. Biblical

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poetry is predominately written in this form of parallelism. Parallelism describes
the recurrent use of a relatively short sentence- form that consists of two or more
brief clauses or phrases. For example:-

“Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psalams: 46:7).

“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the assembly
of the righteous” (Ps: 1:5).

The two parallel parts are regularly separated by a slight pause with a comma as
in the above examples. The second part is a continuation of the first part. It is not
a completely new beginning. The second part or the final part ends with a full
pause. When you analyze the psalms, you need to understand how these parts
relate to each other.

Types of parallelism

What is parallelism? It is the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence.
There are several types of parallelism in Hebrew poetry. Some scholars, like John
A. Dickson, may refer to three or four types of parallelism in Hebrew poetry and
place other types or less used types as sub categories. (Dickson Bible 1963, page
663). Nevertheless, modern linguistic studies brought out almost ten types of
parallelism in Hebrew poetry.

1. Synonymous Parallelism

Synonymous parallelism is the most common types of Hebrew parallelism. In this

the same thought is repeated in the two parallel lines, but with synonymous words
of thoughts. Or in other words, the second line repeats or restates the first line in
different words by having similar meaning. Or else, a synonymous parallelism
simple is the same expressed by different words by having similar meaning.

“Why do the nations conspire and peoples plot in vain” (Ps: 2:1). Ps:3:1;
6:1;15:1;21:1,2;25:1; and 36:5 are some of the examples.

2. Antithetical Parallelism

The antithetical parallelism states a truth in the second part that contrasts the idea
in the first part. In this two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve
a contrasting effect. In this the basic thought is made more clear or forceful by
the statement of its antithesis – complete opposite – or stated differently, the

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thought of the first member is illustrated by a statement expressing an opposite
thought in the second member.

“For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked
will perish” (Ps: 1:6).

“For the evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the lord will inherit the
land” (Ps:37:9).

Contrasting or completely opposite thoughts in the verses of the couplet mutually

illuminate each other. This style is used especially in Proverbs. Check it up in
1:7; 10:1;11:3;27:6,7.

Speech is silver, but silence is gold. Man proposes, but God disposes.

3. Synthetic Parallelism

The synthetic parallelism uses the second part to advance and develop the
proposition is the first part. In this the second line of the couplet explains
something new to the first line. For example Ps:1:3; 19:8; 24:3-4; Pro:3:5-7.

4. Climatic Parallelism

In climatic parallelism the second part of the verse completes the first by
repeating part of the first line and then adding to it.

“The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice”
(Ps:93:3)

“Ascribe to the LORD, tribes of the nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and
strength” (Ps:96:7).

5. Emblematic Parallelism

An emblematic parallelism is formed with a symbol or metaphor in the first part

or line that is placed side by side or in parallel to the second part with its meaning.
If we explain it in another was, a figure of speech in the first part is explained in
the second part.

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God’
(Ps:42:1).

6. Alternative Parallelism

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The alternative parallelism employs the ABAB pattern. The third part repeats the
first part and the fourth part repeats the second part. The alternative parts may be
either synonymous or antithetic.

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who
fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our
transgressions from us” (Ps: 103:11-12).

7. Chiastic Parallelism

The word chiasmus means reverse. So the chiastic parallelism is also called as
reverse parallelism. It is the synthetical reversion. In chiastic parallelism it takes
the terms in the first part and reverses them in the second part in order to present
AB/BA pattern.

“We have escaped like a bird, out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare has been
broken, and we have escaped” (Ps: 124:7).

“Every day I will praise you and extol your name forever and ever” (Ps:145:2).

“My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall be glad, even mine; Yea, my veins
shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things” (Pro: 23:23).

8. Palillogical Parallelism

In palillogical parallelism, one or more words of the first line are taken up, like
an echo in music, in the second line.

“The LORD is a jealous God and avenges, The Lord avenges and is full of wrath;
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries, And he reserves wrath for his
enemies” (Nah:1:2).

9. Progressive Parallelism

In progressive parallelism the thought of the first line is added to by what follows
without directly suggesting it.

“The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want” ( Ps:23:1).

10. Comparative Parallelism

Comparative parallelism is also used frequently in Hebrew poetry.

“As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, So is the sluggard to them that
send him.” (Prov:10:26).
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10. External Parallelism

External Parallelism occurs when the syntactic (organization of words in

sentence)units balance one another across multiple verses. Here, some of the
permitted sorts of parallelisms are added not only within a single line of verse,
but also between lines.

“Zion shall be redeemed with judgement,

and her converts with righteousness.

And the destruction of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together,

and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed (Isaiah 1:27,28).

ii). Accentual Rhythm

it is pertaining to accent, and is having rhythm based on stress, rather than on the
number of syllables or length of sounds. Accentual verse has fixed number of
stress per line regardless of the number of syllables that are present.

iii) Dirges

Dirges are sad poems or elegies. The term is used to refer both to dirges in the
Hebrew Bible, and also to later poems which are traditionally recited by Jews on
Tisha B’Av- the annual fast day. In Hebrew Bible the Hebrew term kinnoth is
used to lament, especially as sung by Jewish professional mourning women. The
Jerusalem Bible (1966) refers Isaiah 47 as the lament for Babylon; and Ezekiel
19 as kinnoth over the rulers of Israel it is suggested that Jeremiah 22:6,7 on the
prophesied downfall of Jerusalem, is written in: “kinah metre.”

iv) Anadiplosis

The word anadiplosis is a Greek word for “a doubling.” It is the repetition of the
last word of a preceding clause. The word is used at the end of a sentence and
then used again at the beginning of the next sentence.

“They came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty
(Judges 5:23).

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“From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord (Ps:121:1&2).
Similar passages occur in Psalms 120 – 134.

v) Acrostics

Acrostic is a poem in which the first letter (or syllable, or writing) in which the
first letter of each line spells out a word. These acrostics occur in the first four of
the five chapters of Book of Lamentations, Proverbs 31:10-31, and in Psalms 25,
34, 37,111,112,119 and 145 in the Hebrew Bible. Notable among the acrostic
Psalms is the longest Psalm 119, which has 22 blocks with 8verses totally 176
verses. Each block starts with the Hebrew alphabets, consecutively.

B) Classification of Hebrew Poetry

Generally all Hebrew Poetry can be classified in to four such as the poems that
deal with events, Lyrics, Didactic poems, and Poems that urge action.

i) Poems that deal with events

the poems that deals with events, being epic-lyric in character. Song of the sea
Exo 15, Song on burning Heshbon Num:21:27-30, Song of Moses Deut: 32:1-43,
song of Deborah Judg:5, Hannah’s prayer 1Sam:2:1-10 and so on.

ii) Lyrics

Poetry of this kind abounds in the Bible. Lyric poetry is the expression of the
poet’s own feeling and impulse. Song of Lamech Gen:4:23, David’s last words
2Sam: 23:1-7, psalms 18,24,126, the words of praise of liberated Israel Isa:12:1-
6, are some of the examples.

There are Lyrics of mourning, too. Kinnah on the death of Saul and Jonathan
2Sam: 1:19-27, on Abner’s death 2 Sam: 3:33, all the songs of sorrow of sufferers
psalms 16,22,27,39, and all the penitential songs of sinners Psalms
6,32,38,51,106,130,143.

iii) Didactic Poems

Didactic poems are the songs through which the poet desires to communicate
knowledge to others. They are essentially didactic in character and appealing to
reason. These include fables, parables, riddles and maxims (a short, pithy
statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct). A number of Psalms are
didactic in nature. Psalms 5 and 58 sys about God’s law teaches one to abhor sin;

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Psalms 15, 81, and 92 inculcates love for the Temple of God and the feasts of
LORD.

iv) Poems that urge action

In this category has two halves. In the first half the poet use some signal words
of help for himself. Psalms[ms 44,60, 122 and 137 are included in this class. In
the second, the poet pronounces blessings upon others, endeavoring to move God
to grand his wished. Blessing of Noah Gen:9:25-27, Isaac Gen:27:27-29 and 39-
40, Jethro Exo:18:10 and so on.

III Introduction to Hebrew Wisdom literature

Knowledge, understanding and wisdom appear as if they are similar words, but
they are entirely different.

Knowledge The
Hebrew word for knowledge is ‫( דעת‬da’at), a noun derived from the
verb ‫( ידע‬yada) meaning “to know.” The idea of “knowing” in Ancient Hebrew
thought is similar to our understanding of knowing but is more personal and
intimate. We may say that we “know” someone but simply mean we “know” of
his or her existence but, in Hebrew thought one can only “know” someone if they
have a personal and intimate relationship. In Genesis 18:19 God says about
Abraham “I know him” meaning he has a very close relationship with Abraham.
In Genesis 4:1 it says that Adam “knew Eve his wife” implying a very intimate
sexual relationship.

Knowledge is the intimate ability to perform a specific task or function. This can
be seen in Exodus chapter 31 where God had given men the ability to build the
various furnishings of the tabernacle.

Understanding
The Hebrew word for understanding is ‫( תבון‬tavun) comes from the verbal
root ‫( בין‬biyn) meaning to “understand” but the deeper meaning of this word can
be found in a related verbal root - ‫( בנה‬banah) which means to “build.” In order
to build or construct something one must have the ability to plan and understand
the processes needed. This is the idea behind the verb ‫( בין‬biyn) and its derivative
noun ‫( תבון‬tavun), to be able to discern the processes of construction.

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Wisdom The
Hebrew word ‫ חכםה‬hokmah is used for wisdom. It has been derived from a root
word ‫ חכם‬chakam (hakham) which has shades of meanings. The parent root word
is ‫ חם‬cham (ham), which means heat.

The word ‫ חם‬ham appears as in its original pictographic script with a ‫ ח‬Heyth and
a ‫ ם‬Mem. The letter ‘Heyth’ is a picture of a wall which “separates” one side from
another. And the letter ‘Mem’(Mayim) is a picture of “water.” Combined, these
two letters literally mean “separate water.” When “heat” (ham) is applied to
water, we have evaporation, or a “separating of water.” So, what does all of this
have to do with wisdom? ‫( חכם‬hakham) is related to the idea of “separating,” as
this word means “one who is able to separate between what is good and bad.”
This one word can be translated as either “skill” when applied to a craftsman, or
as “wise” when applied to a leader or counselor.

Wisdom is the practical intelligence; the mental grasp which observes and
penetrates into the nature of things, and also the ability skilfully to perform
difficult tasks. The former faculty is intuitive, the latter creative. Hence the word
connotes both deep understanding and artistic skill. Wisdom is at once a human
and a divine property.

Wisdom in the Bible

All human wisdom and skill come from God. The spirit of God made Joseph
discreet and wise (Gen:41:38-39), inspired and prepared Bezaleel and other artists
for the work of the Tabernacle (Ex:31:3-6), and was also the source of the wisdom
of Joshua (Deut:34;9) and Solomon (I Kings: 3:12, 28). "The Lord giveth
wisdom" (Prov: 2: 6; comp. Job 38: 36; Ps. 8 and He annuls the wisdom of the
wise (Isa.29: 14). Great blame, therefore, attaches to those who disregard the
divine source of their wisdom and become conceited and sinful (Isa:5: 21, 29: 14;
Jer:4: 22, 8: 8-9, 9:22). Wisdom is acquired, moreover, by the observation of
nature (Prov:6: 6; Job 35:11) and of history (Deut:32:29; Hos: 14: 10 [A. V. 9];
Prov: 8: 33, 19: 20), as well as by study and by association with the wise (Prov:9:
9, 13: 20; Job 32: 7).

The wise were sought out for their counsel (Deut: 1: 13, 15; II Sam:14: 20, 16:
23; Prov:12:18, 13: 14), so that, like the priest with his Torah and the prophet
with his revealed word of God, they formed a special class (Jere: 18: 18). In more
primitive times "wise women" were consulted (II Sam:14: 2; 20: 16, 22), and at
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a later period females who were skilled in the art of music and song were called
"wise women" (Jere: 9: 17). Bibl is full of rich wisdom that s incredibly relevant
to our modern world. The wisdom literature of the Bible – Job, Proverbs and
Ecclesiastes reveal the collected wisdom of generations of godly people, inviting
us to consider both the complexities and simplicities of life. All these books ask
the same question: What does it mean to live a good life?

In short knowledge is the information you have learned, while wisdom is the
ability to use that knowledge in a profound way. So, knowledge is a part and
wisdom is the whole. And understanding is the capacity to learn knowledge and
wisdom.

IV Analysis of Book of Job

The Book of Job is one of the literary masterpieces of all time. In the Hebrew
Bible it is among the classification Kethuvim. It deals with Theodicy. When we
analyze the etymology of the word theodicy, it has been derived from a Greek
work theodicea, which is comprised of two words such as Theos means God and
Theodicee which means justice. Theodicy is a branch of theology that defends
God’s goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil. Theodicy
vindicates the holiness and justice of God in ordaining or permitting natural and
moral evil.

It provides a profound discussion of a righteous man. Job was called a righteous

man by Ezekiel (14:14) along with Noah and Daniel. The open two chapters or
the Prologue and the Epilogue (42:7-17) explain the experience of a righteous
man tested by suffering and the restored.

Place

The land of Uz is a crux of argument among the scholars. Some say that the land
of Uz is This country was situated in Idumea, or the land of Edom (Lam: 4:21),
and was called by name Uz, the son of Dishan, the son of Seir (Gen: 36:28).

But to some others Uz is north of Arabia-Deserta, lying between Damascus and

the Euphrates River. It was in this neighborhood, and not in that of Idumea, that
the Chaldeans and Sabeans who plundered him dwell.

The Arabs divide their country into the north, called Sham, or "the left"; and the
south, called Yemen, or "the right"; for they faced east; and so the west was on

16
their left, and the south on their right. Arabia-Deserta was on the east, Arabia-
Petraea (Nabatean Kingdom in Jordan) on the west and Arabia-Felix on the south.

To support this view, we have beyond Yemen, in Oman the so called sepulcher
of Job. Various kinds of livestock mentioned in the book of Job can be seen in
Salalah, Oman. It was believed that he was a patriarch or an Amir in the land.

Time

Date and time of Book of Job is not at all available, and is disputable. Some say
that he was a contemporary of Abraham, who lived in Arabian Peninsula.
Because, in the book of Job there is no narration at all about the Decalogue or the
Law. Whereas some others think that he was a Bedouin tribal chief. The Salalah
sepulcure supports them in this argument. If so, he was the progeny of Abraham
through Ishmael. There is another third group those argues that he lived
somewhere near the post exilic period. We can counter it with the view that
Ezekiel was an exilic prophet who mentioned about Job. So as a nutshell we can
assume and conclude that Job lived before or around the time of Abraham (2150
– 1990 B.C).

Author and Date

Although the book is set in pre-Mosaic times, the actual time of composition is
much later. Linguistic evidence seems to indicate a date in the 6th century or later
(Hurvitz, A. 1974. The Date of the Prose Tale of Job Linguistically Reconsidered.
HTR 67: 17–34.). Because the book is totally silent about the national calamity
happened in 587 B.C. 1

The author is uncertain. The name of the writer is not mentioned in the Book.
About the authorship and the time of writing is also disputed among scholars. All
are of the same opinion that as folklore the life of Job was transmitted to
generations verbally, and a later on narration had been taken place. The first
argument is that it is an autobiography of Job, who could have best recalled his
own life story in his own words. But those who oppose these viewpoints out that
it might not be Job, because the last part of the Book narrates about the death of
Job, as that of Moses in Deuteronomy. Some traditional Jewish view claims that
it was Moses who wrote the book as he had written the Pentateuch, with special
revelation. If by Moses, it was probably written during his sojourn in Midian.
But to some others it could have been Elihu. And a fourth most likely supposition

1 JAMES L. CRENSHAW Freedman, David Noel, ed., The Anchor Bible Dictionary, (New
York: Doubleday) 1997, 1992.

17
is that an eyewitness who recorded the detailed and lengthy conversations found
in the book.

Luther first suggested the theory which, in some form or other, is generally
received. He said: “I look upon the book of Job as a true history, yet I do not
believe that all took place just as it is written, but that an ingenious, pious and
learned man brought it into its present form,” Kitto says that: “The Book of Job
is not only one of the most remarkable in th Bible, but in literature. As was said
of Goliath’s sword,’There is none like it,’none in ancient or in modern literature.”
(Job, Easton’s Bible Dictionary).

Structure of the Book

The Book consists of five parts

I. The historical facts – Chapters 1-3

II. The discussion between Job and his three friends – Chapters 4-32

III. Discourse of Elihu – Chapters 32-37

IV. The Theophanic appearance of God in a whirlwind – chapters 38-42

Synopsis of the Book

As we have already seen a man named Job lived in the land of Uz. He was even
testified by God himself as a righteous man, who had complete integrity,
Blameless, upright, who feared God and turned away from evil (1:8 c.f., 3). He
was wealthy, a man of prayer, and identified as the greatest man among all the
people of the East, i.e., the Middle East (1:3). His wealthy was measured in
livestock (1:3; 42:12) as was Abraham’s (Ge; 12:16). Like the Patriarchs, Job
used God’s unique title “El Shaddai” (God Almighty). He was having a big family
with seven sons and three daughters. His servants were many. And it is worthy to
mention that He was the anointed family priest to perform the rights of holy
sacrifices.

But when day the Satan, the adversary and the accuser, came within the reach of
the court of heavenly court and accused against Job and his godly integrity. He
pointed out that if very thing is good and favourable for a man then he would be
pious (1:10:11). If God put forth his hand and touch all that he has, would
denounce his faith and curse God for his misfortune. God, who had full
confidence in Job, allowed Satan to do so.

18
One day all, of a sudden, four mishaps washed out everything Job had, including
his sons daughters, servants and wealth. But in all these he was prudent enough
not to commit sin, or charged foolishly against God.

The same drama happened again and God allowed Satan to afflict his body and
forbid not to touch his soul. With the permission of God- for He was in full
confidence in Job- Satan went out to distress Job. He was afflicted very badly in
his body. His wife too persuaded his to commit suicide by denouncing his faith.
But he was more and more durable in faith and reliable on God.

Hearing about his misfortunes, four of his friends called on him to comfort him
but became miserable comforters, tormenting him (16:2; 19:2). At last LORD
God Jehovah appeared to him in a whirlwind and spoke to him clearing all his
doubts (38:1; 40:6). He blessed him in such a wonderful way that his latter days
were of greater blessing than that of his former days. When he prayed and
sacrificed for his miserable comforters, God blessed twice as much as he had
before. He had also seven sons and three daughters. He lived for another one
hundred and forty years and well stricken in years, when he was promoted to
glory. So we can assume that around at the age of 70 he was afflicted, and after
the peril he lived 140 years with a twice the years blessing.

The conclusion of the Book of Job is that through our sufferings Satan wants to
bring out the worse from us; whereas God wants to bring out the best from us.

Purpose Job
was written to address the problems human suffering, especially for the men of
God. It does not answer the question of why suffering exists, but, rather, leads the
reader to a place of recognizing that God is supremely wise and can b trusted
regardless of even the most horrible circumstances. The book teaches that God is
in control, and H will take care of humankind and suffering. God manages many
things in the universe which are beyond human comprehension, such as laying
the foundation of the earth (38:4-6), managing snow and ail (38:22) diffusing
light and wind over the earth (38:25) and so much more.

Canon and Text

As in the case of Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes), the disturbing thoughts of Job did not
prevent its acceptance in the biblical canon. An occasional rabbinic dissent
against the historicity of the character Job has survived (Baba Bathra 15a), and
one Christian thinker, Theodore of Mopsuestia, questioned the book’s sacred
authority. The sequence of writings varied at first, Job being placed between
Psalms and Proverbs in the Talmud, and in Codex Alexandrinus, but preceding
Psalms and Proverbs in Cyril of Jerusalem, Epiphanius, Jerome, Rufinus, and the
Apostolic Canons. Jewish tradition designates the two different sequences by the
acrostic abbreviations (“truth”) for Job Proverbs
19
( ), and Psalms ( ), and (“twin”) for Psalms,
Job, and Proverbs. The Council of Trent fixed the order with Job in the initial
position.

Textual problems abound in the book, and the much shorter Greek versions
seldom resolve the difficulties. Often merely a paraphrase, the Greek text
sometimes elucidates a theological bias in the present MT, for example the
repointing of a negative particle in 13:15 to affirm trust in God even when faced
with the prospect of death at the deity’s hand (Pope, Job AB, 95–96). The Syriac
Peshitta assists in clarifying obscure meanings of the Hebrew text. Enough of the
Targum from Qumran has survived to confirm the same disorder in chapters 24–
27 as that in the Hebrew. One surprising feature of the Targum is its termination
at 42:11 instead of 42:17. Jerome’s Latin translation of the Hebrew text of Job
was influenced by the Greek translations of Aquila, Theodotion, Symmachus, and
the Alexandrian version as mediated by Origen’s Hexapla.2

Conclusion

It is noteworthy to say that the pessimistic life story of Job stated with a great
storm from the wilderness (1:19). The Easy English Bible says it as a bad storm.
But the optimistic history of Job starts with a whirlwind came from heaven, in
which God appeared to him and blessed him with adequate and competent
restitutions. In Him- him alone we find all rest. Blessed be His name from
generation to generation.

V Analysis of Book of Psalms

The book of Psalms is a remarkable collection of Hebrew poetry focused on

prayer and worship of God for His past faithfulness (Ps.90:1), present love
(Ps.106:1), and future hope (Ps. 2:7-9; Ps.72) in spite of life’s tremendous
difficulties (Ps.38). The Book of Psalm, which is generally believed to be the
most widely read and the most highly treasured al all the books in the Old
Testament. It is a collection of poems, hymns, and prayers that express the
religious fervor of Jews throughout the various periods of their national history.
The Book of Psalms has a special significance for understanding the religious life
of ancient. The prophets and the sages provide some insight concerning what the
Hebrews thought, but the psalms give the clearest indication of what the Hebrews

2Freedman, David Noel, ed., The Anchor Bible Dictionary, (New York: Doubleday) 1997,
1992.
20
felt. Here, we find a revelation of the hopes, the joys, the sorrows, the loyalties,
the doubts, and the aspirations of the human heart.

The title “Psalms” is that of the Septuagint. The Hebrew name of the Psalm book
is ‘Tehillim’ which signifies “Praises.” This portion of the Jewish Scriptures was
the liturgical hymn-book that had been regularly used in the Temple and
synagogue service - And also the Christian churches. The book of Psalms has a
special significance for understanding the religious life of ancient Israel.

Some manuscripts place the Psalms first in the writings, while in others Job is
placed first, as in our Bible. The Psalter is the prayer book of the Church. In its
range and scope it is the most comprehensive book in the Bible. Historically it
extends from the time of Moses to the Exile. it is an “epitome of the Bible” and
contains something of all of the elements of the Biblical systems. In the historical
section of the Bible we are well acquainted with David, the king of Israel; but it
is in the Psalms that the real David appears. It is here we see him on his knees
pouring out his soul before God, in penitence, in thanksgiving, in faith, assurance,
for strength, deliverance and instruction. It is here we find ourselves in the same
manner because we recognize in these utterances our own deepest wants, our
searching after God, those longings that only God can satisfy and those voices of
the soul that are answered in God alone.

In these respects this book stands alone. There is nothing like it in all literature.
In Job we see our suffering humanity struggling with one problem, but in the
Psalms we see ourselves in that far greater range of our spiritual nature.

No other book more truly magnifies God and the Word of God, and no other book
of the Old Testament sets forth in greater range the person and the work of
Messiah. It portrays Him from His advent to His resurrection and ascension, and
describes in the most glorious manner His universal and gracious sovereignty
over the whole earth.

The number of psalms given by the LXX and the Massoretic text is 150, as in our
Bible. In the Septuagint the 9th and 10th are one, and also 114th and 115th, but it
divides the 116th and 147th. When we describe the psalms it is not in chapter vice,
instead we should say psalms 34, 50, etc. That means each psalm is a separate
psalm, not the continuation of the prior one. in other sense we have 150 psalms,
not 150 chapters.

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Purpose

The book of Psalms was written to help us worship God. It teaches us to meditate
the Word of God day and night (1:2).

Classification

The psalms are difficult to classify because of the wide variety of experiences and
sentiments reflected in them. A further difficulty is trying to reconstruct the
background or historical situation from which the different ones were produced.
In the case of the prophets, this reconstruction can usually be done with a fair
degree of accuracy, but not so of the psalms. They represent the inner life of
individuals who lived under differing circumstances and who reacted in various
ways to the critical situations that developed throughout the entire course of
Israel’s history. These individuals did not think alike, nor did they feel the same
way about the rites and ceremonies that they observed. It would be helpful if we
could know the exact circumstances that are reflected in the different psalms, but
the best we can do in this respect is to find the particular occasions for which the
individual psalms seem to be most appropriate. As a whole, the Book of Psalms
may be regarded as a kind of epitome of the entire range of the Hebrews’ religious
life. It has been said that if all the rest of the Old Testament were lost, the essential
faith of the Israelite people could be recovered from this single book.

The Psaltery can be classified into seven main sections.

1) Laments Psalms

Lament is defined as the expression of the inner feelings of loss, sorrow, grief,
regret, annoyance, or disappointment often expressed in a passionate physical
way.

It has two sub divisions such as Community Lament and the Individual Lament.

a) Community laments are a group of Psalms forms from the Hebrew Bible,
classified by their focus on laments expressing deep sorrow for the travails of a
nation and as a group requesting for god’s blessings and intervention. Commonly
they are followed by natural disasters, plagues, or oppressions by surrounding
nations. It occasionally includes a curse upon their enemies. Psalms 12, 44, 58,
60, 74, 79, 80, 83, 85, 89, 90, 94, 123, 126, and 129 are included in this group.

22
 b) Individual lament psalms are sung by individual worshipper cries out to
YHWH in time of need. Psalms 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28,
31, 36, 39, 40:12-17, 41 ,42, 43, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61, 64, 70, 71, 77, 86,
89, 120, 139, 141, and 142 are included in this heading.

2) Specialized Lament Psalms

This includes the Penitential Psalms and the Imprecatory Psalms.

a) Penitential Psalms (Asking pardon for wrong doing)

They are also known as the Psalms of Confession. Cassiodorus of Italy, of the
6th century A.D., named these hymns as Penitential Psalms in his commentary.
They are 6th, 31st, 37th, 101st (102), 129th (130), and 142nd (143) Psalms
respectively. These psalms are expressive of sorrow for sins committed. The
name belonged originally to the fifty first Psalm, which was recited at the close
of daily morning service in the early Church. During Lent it is customary to pray
the seven penitential psalms. (Lent :-period before Easter in Christian calendar:
the period of 40 weekdays before Easter observed in some Christian churches as
a period of prayer, penance, fasting, and self-denial. This period, starting on Ash
Wednesday in Western churches, commemorates the 40 days that Jesus Christ
spent fasting in the wilderness). [Microsoft® Encarta® 2006. © 1993-2005
Microsoft Corporation].

b) Imprecatory Psalms
The word imprecation means curse. It is an oath of cures calling down of harm
on somebody. or invoke evil towards somebody. Among th Psalms there are some
imprecatory Psalms. Major imprecatory Psalms include Psalm 69 and 109 while
Psalms 5, 6, 11, 12, 35, 37, 40, 52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 79, 83, 88, 94, 137, 139, 140,
and 143 are also considered imprecatory.

The imprecatory Psalms are the most difficult obstacle we face in the Bible. The
question is whether we can pronounce a curse upon somebody. When we analyze
it furthermore, actually it is a prophetic denouncing of wrong doing based on the
Word of God impulse by the Spirit of God. Imprecation is not at all inevitable,
but optional. If you do good, you shall be blessed and if you do wrong then you
shall be cursed as per the standards of the Law of God. “And a curse, if you will
not obey the commandments of the LORD, your God” (Deut: 11:28). “Behold, I
set before you this day a blessing and a curse” (Deut: 11:26).

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But as per the New Testament perspective our LORD and Master taught us to
bless them all curse you. “Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but
instead blessing; because to this were you called, that you may inherit a blessing”
1Peter 3:9).

3) Thanksgiving Psalms

In Hebrew they are called as Todah Tehilim, which means thanksgiving Psalms.
they are divided into two such as community and Individual.

a) Community thanksgiving psalms are 12, 44 58, 60, 74, 79, 80, 85, 89, 90, 94,
123, 126, and 129.

b) Individual thanksgiving psalms are 18, 21, 30, 32, 34, 40:1-11, 66:13-20, 92,
108,116, 118, and 138.

4) Specialized Thanksgiving Psalms There fall another category of thanksgiving

Psalm those are Salvation History Songs, 8,105, 106, 135, and 136 and Songs of
trust which are 11, 16, 23, 27, 62, 63, 91, 121, 125, and 131.

5) Hymn and doxology 8, 19:1-6, 33, 66:1-12, 67, 95, 100, 103, 104, 111, 113,
117, 145 -150.

6) Liturgical Psalms for Public Worship

In this category there come four divisions such as Covenant songs (50,78, 81, 89,
132) Royal enthronement ( 2, 18, 20, 21, 29, 45, 47, 72, 93, 95 – 99, 101, 110,
144) Songs of Zion ( 46,48, 76, 84, 87, 122) and Temple Liturgies ( 15, 24, 68,
82, 95, 115, 134).

7) Community Psalms include Wisdom Psalms (1, 36, 37, 49, 73, 112, 127, 128,
and 133) and Torah Psalms (1, 19:7-14,119)

Messianic Psalms

Other than the above mentioned classifications the Christians divide the Psalms
in to one great class as the Messianic Psalms. all these Psalms foretell the coming
of the Messiah and predict events that were fulfilled in the life of Christ Jesus.
There are twenty five different psalms included in this division. Messianic Psalms
are quoted in eleven New Testament books, especially the gospels and the book
of Acts.

Division

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The Tehillim itself is divided into five books or five sections, each closing with a
doxology or a benediction. In the Rabbinical period, they, scholars interpreted
that they represent the Pentateuch. As Pentateuch has five books so has the
Psalter. They commented that Moses gave us five Books of Torah and David
handed over to us the five Books of Tehillim. And each Book has the same theme
dealt with in the Books of Torah.

In its present form, the whole psalms are divided into five Books.

Book I Psalms 1–41; stands for the Book of Genesis – Sin and Fall

Book II Psalms 42–72; stands for the Book of Exodus – Longing for the presence
of God

Book III Psalms 73–89; stands for Leviticus – Temple, sacrifice and cleanliness.

Book IV Psalms 90–106; stands for Numbers – the Church in the wilderness
under the wings of the Almighty and His Shekhinah glory over the camp.

Book V Psalms 107–150; stands for Deuteronomy which ends up with the
glorification of Moses. The Psalms end by narrating the worship moves on to the
heavenly places from earth. Here gathering together all things; both which are in
heaven and which are on earth in the fullness of time even in Him (Ephe: 1:10).

Authorship

The authorship of most of the psalms is anonymous, although tradition has long
attributed the entire collection to King David. It is possible, but not probable, that
David may have written some of them. Recent excavations and discoveries
indicate quite clearly that parallels to certain of the psalms were in existence as
early as the period of the monarchy, and the fact that David has been referred to
as the “sweet singer of Israel” lends some support to the tradition. However, most
of the psalms reflect ideas and conditions that came into existence long after the
time of King David. For example, one psalm in particular discusses an event that
occurred during the life of Isaiah. Others describe experiences pertaining to the
Babylonian captivity, and still others appear to have originated during the period
of the Maccabean wars. The earliest collection of psalms was probably titled
“Psalms of David,” and to this group several others were added at various times,
including what was known as the “Korah Psalter,” the “Asaph Psalter,” the
“Hallelujah Psalter,” the “Pilgrim Psalter,” and others. Some of them were sung
by the pilgrims on their journeys to the Central Sanctuary, for all of the faithful

25
were required to attend services at this place at least once a year if it was at all
possible for them to do so. Some of the hymns would be sung when the pilgrims
first came in sight of the city of Jerusalem and others as they stood before the
entrance to the Temple. Some of the hymns were antiphonal numbers, and their
use constituted an essential part of the worship service. Hymns and prayers of
adoration were used on appropriate occasions, such as the beginning of the New
Year, particular feast days, the enthronement of Yahweh, and celebrations of
important events in Hebrew history. There were songs of praise to Yahweh for
the mighty works that he had performed, and there were songs of thanksgiving
for the way in which the Hebrews had been delivered from the hands of their
enemies. Other songs were written in praise of the Law.

Many different themes are treated in the Book of Psalms. For example, one psalm
praises Yahweh for coming to the defense of his people when the Assyrian armies
invaded Judah. The sudden withdrawal of the army, leaving the city of Jerusalem
standing, was indeed an occasion for great rejoicing. Yahweh’s love for the poor
and the oppressed is the theme of Psalm 146. Sorrow and discouragement because
of the fate that befell the nation when the people were taken into captivity by a
foreign power are expressed in the prayers that are recorded in Psalms 42 and 43.
The same attitude can be found in Psalm 22, in which the author cries out from
the depths of his soul, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The
Babylonian captivity is the setting for Psalm 137, which reports, “By the rivers
of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.” Psalm 119, the longest
one in the entire book, is an alphabetical poem written in praise of the Law.

The psalms’ teachings are difficult to summarize because their main purpose is
not instruction but expressions of the heart made in the spirit of worship.
Nevertheless, certain ideas are set forth in the psalms that are essential to the
purposes for which they were written, including the reality and significance of
Yahweh in relation to the experiences of individuals and the nation as a whole.
True, the conception of Yahweh is not always the same in the different psalms,
but this difference is due to the fact that each author must find for himself the
conception that seems most adequate to him. Sometimes Yahweh is portrayed as
a god of loving kindness and mercy, but at other times he is a god of wrath who
brings destruction on those who disobey his commands. Always Yahweh is
presented as an everlasting God, one who is omnipotent and omniscient, and
whose power and goodness endure throughout all generations.

Analysis
26
The Book of Psalms in the canon of the sacred Scriptures gives to the modern
reader an insight into the religious life of the Hebrews that cannot be obtained
from any of the other Old Testament writings. Although Jeremiah and some of
the other prophets emphasized the inwardness of religion, they did so primarily
to counteract the formalism that had become conspicuous in the Temple services
and other practices that they observed. In Psalms, the longings, the hopes, the
sorrows, and the disappointments of individual worshipers find their clearest
expression. Here, we find what the various authors felt even in those situations
that they were not able to understand. Although some of the psalms are probably
as old as the time of King David, not until a relatively late period was the entire
collection gathered and organized in the form in which it has been preserved.

Like other portions of Old Testament literature, the original psalms were edited
and supplemented from time to time. Frequently we find evidence of a tendency
to add something to a psalm as it first appeared in order to give to it an
interpretation that would be more in accord with generally accepted ideas. For
example, in Psalm 51, the first seventeen verses are written in the spirit of the
great prophets, who insisted that the true worship of Yahweh consists not in
sacrifices made on an altar nor in the observance of ritualistic requirements but
in the inner attitudes of the human heart. The next two verses of the psalm present
a very different idea, for an editor who was evidently under the influence of the
post-exilic emphasis on the importance of ritual and ceremony added a statement
that was intended to show that the attitude of the human heart was but a prelude
to the sacrificing of bulls on the altar. It is not uncommon, even at the present
time, to find hymn books that continue to use ancient conceptions, even though
these have long been replaced with ideas that are more in harmony with the spirit
of the times.

Conclusion

As we have already seen the psalms and hymns have value in worship. Worship
accompanied by songs of Praise shall continue till Eternity. The Bible says that
the Angelic beings are the most beautiful and mellifluous singers. No sooner did
they move their wings, they drip wonderful billows of musical knots, as if from
billows. They sing the songs, conveying joy and goodness (Luke: 2:14). They
sing one to another Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD (Isaiah: 6:1-4; Rev: 4:8). Yet
the songs of

Redemption is totally reserved unto the earthen vessels, who are the posterity of
Adam, the Red clay (Rev: 5:9; 14:3). The fallen mankind scattered all over the
27
world as families, clans, tribes and races, and they boast that their family and clan
is better than all the other forgetting that they are in low estate who need
redemption. Rejuvenated themselves they sing the songs of vengeance, pride and
arrogance. But here in Revelation we see multitude of people who are redeemed
by the blood of the Lamb who is slained. Salvation through Christ united them
all one in the Lord – the redeemed ones! They sing the never ending song of
Redemption even in Eternity. So be jubilant to sing a song of Joy unto the Lord,
for he has redeemed us from our filth and all sins. Blessed be His name for ever
and ever.

VI Analysis of Book of Proverbs

Book of Proverbs is a book in the third division of the Hebrew Bible. In Hebrew
the title of the book is Mishle Shelomoh. The word Mishle means a proverb or a
parable, and Sholmoh is the root word for Peace. The feminine form of the word
is Shlomit. Here in the titile, Shelomoh designates Solomon the third King of
Israel. When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms: in
the Greek Septuagint (LXX) it became Παροιμίαι Paroimiai ("Proverbs"); in the
Latin Vulgate the title was Proverbia, from which the English name is derived.

Proverbs is not merely an anthology but a "collection of collections" relating to a

pattern of life which lasted for more than a millennium. It is an example of the
biblical wisdom literature, and raises questions of values, moral behaviour, the
meaning of human life, and right conduct, and its theological foundation is that
"the fear of God (meaning submission to the will of God) is the beginning of
wisdom." Wisdom is praised for her role in creation; God acquired her before all
else, and through her he gave order to chaos; and since humans have life and
prosperity by conforming to the order of creation, seeking wisdom is the essence
and goal of the religious life.

Structure

Proverbs 1–9: "Proverbs of Solomon, Son of David, King of Israel"

Proverbs 10–22:16: "Proverbs of Solomon"

Proverbs 22:17–24:22: "The Sayings of the Wise"

Proverbs 24:23–34: "These Also are Sayings of the Wise"

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Proverbs 25–29: "These are Other Proverbs of Solomon that the Officials of King
Hezekiah of Judah Copied"

Proverbs 30: "The Words of Agur"

Proverbs 31:1–9: "The Words of King Lemuel of Massa, Which his Mother
taught him.

Who wrote the Book of Proverbs?

Traditionally it is believed that King Solomon wrote it. The very title says so,
and in I Kings 4:32 it is recorded that King Solomon spoke 3000 Proverbs and
later on the scholars of Hezekiah, king of Judah collected them in to a book. Other
than Solomon we see king Agur, and Lemuel in the book of Proverbs; who all
contributed to the formation of this book. The Rabbinical traditions say that
Lemuel was the pet of Solomon, who was so immoral from the very early ten age
itself. When we analyze the book carefully and deeply, we understand that it is
the narration of sex education, especially the 5, 6, 7 and 31 chapters. The 31st
chapter says about a virtuous woman. She is contrasted with a street prostitute.

So as a nutshell, we can conclude that when, one day David or Bathsheba had
been looking through the window of their house or place; he/she saw a young
man moving to the house of a prostitute. The body language the foolish young
man revealed it that the youth is Solomon. With a broken heart, they both together
narrated the book for Solomon. Yea, it is written for Solomon, not by Solomon.
He might have kept in the palace achieves, from where the men of Hezekiah
found it and published it.

Home is the first and foremost religious educating agency of Hebrew education.
In a home mother is the first person of all education, especially Torah. And father
is the one who has to instruct a child in the ways of the Lord (1:1). To maintain
this, parents advice Solomon not to have children in whores, that they might be
street kids. The cistern and well (5:15) metaphorically stands for a woman, and
fountain and streams of water stands for a man (5:16). What a beautiful advice
and poetical narration! But we know it from the Bible that he was madly after
women and forbidden marriage.

Solomon reigned during what many refer to as Israel’s “Golden Age.” He was
known for his wisdom, as we feel the power of as we read, as well as his
accomplished record of buildings and other writings. His span of leadership lasted
some 40 years, like Kings David and Saul before him. This lengthy range and

29
history of prosperity during this time is a shining reflection on the type of leader
he was.
Scriptures point to Solomon carrying out the Godly work of King David.1 Kings
2:4 accounts for the charge David gave to Solomon before his death: “I am about
to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe
what the LORD your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his
decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses.
Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the
LORD may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live,
and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never
fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’” A 40-year-reign and the Book
of Proverbs later, we can see that Solomon took this charge seriously.

Context and Background of Proverbs

A proverb is defined as a statement of general truth or advice. Hebrew and Greek
translations refer to proverbs as “parallel” or “similar to.” It is thought that the
book of Proverbs was written and compiled sometime between the 10th and
6th centuries B.C. King Solomon died in 961 B.C. In 2 Cor: 1:8 we read that
Solomon answered God’s proposal of asking for whatever he would like with a
request for wisdom and knowledge so that “he may lead these people.” Verse 11
describes that God was pleased with Solomon since he did not ask for wealth or
honour, so he granted him wisdom, knowledge, and wealth. This wisdom is
evident throughout the book.
Knowable Word author Peter Krol states that in order to really take in all that the
book of Proverbs has to offer, you must first understand the first 9 chapters. These
chapters are generally more repetitive and seem to oscillate around main themes,
such as fearing the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Other themes include using
money in the right context and running from sexual impurity. These first chapters
make up the context of and set the foundation for the remainder of the book.
As you read Proverbs, you may notice how the topics intertwine and loop but in
ways just different enough that it could pass as a new topic. You might read what
feels like a new theme, only to run a few verses and then change pace. Yet a few
chapters later, the topic seems to resume. I would be curious to have a
conversation with King Solomon to understand his methods. No matter, the
curiosity and the content alone certainly keep me engaged. The Proverbs truly
represent “the Book of Life” as every verse can jump out differently on any given
day.

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Main Theme and Purpose of Proverbs
Proverbs is one of the five “wisdom books” of the Bible, with the other four being
Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon (Song of Songs). While it is a
book about wisdom and how we can and should pursue that, the book is ultimately
a guide to pleasing God and our fellow man. Proverbs 3:4 says, “…Then you will
win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man.” BibleStudyTools.com
comments,
“According to the prologue (1:1-7),
Proverbs was written to give "prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion
to the young" (1:4), and to make the wise even wiser (1:5). The frequent
references to "my son(s)" (1:8,10;2:1; 3:1; 4:1; 5:1) emphasize instructing the
young and guiding them in a way of life that yields rewarding ends. Acquiring
wisdom and knowing how to avoid the pitfalls of folly lead to personal well-
being, happy family relationships, fruitful labours and good standing in the
community. Although Proverbs is a practical book dealing with the art of living,
it bases its practical wisdom solidly on the fear of the Lord (1:7; cf Ps 34: 8- 14).
Throughout the book reverence for God and reliance on him are set forth as the
path to life, prosperity and security (cf. 3:5-10; 9:10-12; 14:26,27; 16:3,6-7;
18:10; 19:23;20:22; 22:4; 28:25; 29:25)”

What Can We Learn from Proverbs Today?

Proverbs, like many books of the Bible, are living words that we can draw new
life and wisdom from at any point in our life. Even if you have read Proverbs one
hundred times, we can always draw something new from this living word. As we
progress ourselves in wisdom and connection with God, old things become new
again.
Wisdom incorporates knowledge and understanding and the Proverbs supply us
with these things throughout several major themes including: revelation
knowledge, the fear of the Lord, transcendence (author of) and immanence (actor
within), the contrast of wise men and fools, wealth and poverty, and Jesus and the
church. (The Passion Translation-Proverbs Introduction)
In our current time, there is an even deeper need for this content. Infidelity,
materialism, laziness, and self-sufficiency run rampant. We have reality tv shows
that promote having different partners in the same week, news about murders over
theft, social media campaigns for getting rich quick schemes, and efforts to
remove God from our lives entirely. Even for those of us that don’t absorb that
content, it is wise for all of us to continually renew ourselves in God’s wisdom
and love found in Proverbs.
Christ in Proverbs

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VII Analysis of Book of Ecclesiastes

Initially, let it be cleared that we should not confuse between Ecclesiastes and
Ecclesiasticus also called the Wisdom of Sirach, which a pseudonym is written
by Ben Sirah. Ecclesiastes, in Hebrew Qohelet, which means Preacher, is an Old
Testament book of wisdom literature that belongs to the third section of the
biblical canon, known as the Ketuvim (Writings). In the Hebrew Bible,
Ecclesiastes stands between the Song of Solomon and Lamentations and with
them belongs to the Megillot, five scrolls that are read at various festivals of
the Jewish religious year. The common Christian English translations follow the
Septuagint in placing Ecclesiastes between Proverbs and the Song of Solomon,
an order reflecting the old tradition that Solomon wrote all three.

The book reflects the ideas of one who questioned the doctrine of retributive
justice associated with wisdom theology. His observations on life convinced him
that “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise,
nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the men of skill; but time and chance
happen to them all” (9:11). Man’s fate, the author maintains, does not depend on
righteous or wicked conduct but is an inscrutable mystery that remains hidden in
God (9:1). All attempts to penetrate this mystery and thereby gain the wisdom
necessary to secure one’s fate are “vanity,” or futile. In the face of such
uncertainty, the author’s counsel is to enjoy the good things that God provides
while one has them to enjoy.

Author and Date

No time period or writer's name is mentioned in the book, but several passages
suggest that King Solomon may be the author (1:1,12,16; 2:4-9; 7:26-29; 12:9;
cf. 1Ki 2:9; 3:12; 4:29-34; 5:12; 10:1-8).

The actual author of Ecclesiastes is unknown, but the superscription (1:1)

attributes the book to qoheleth, commonly translated in to Greek as Ekklēsiastēs,
who is identified as “the son of David, king in Jerusalem.” These words can only
refer to Solomon about mid-10th century BC.

The title “Ecclesiastes” comes from a Greek word indicating a person who calls
an assembly, so it makes sense that the author identified himself in Ecclesiastes
1:1 by the Hebrew word qoheleth, translated as “Preacher.” Despite leaving only
this rather mysterious name to indicate his identity, evidence in the book, along
with most Jewish and Christian tradition, suggests that King Solomon is the
author of Ecclesiastes.
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The Preacher went on to call himself “the son of David, king in Jerusalem,” one
who has increased in “wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before
me,” and one who has collected many proverbs (Ecclesiastes 1:1, 16; 12:9).
Solomon followed David on the throne in Jerusalem as the only Davidic son to
rule over all Israel from that city (1:12). He was the wisest man in the world
during his time (1 Kings 4:29–30) and wrote most of the book of Proverbs
(Proverbs 1:1; 10:1; 25:1). Therefore, we can safely identify Solomon as
the qoheleth of the opening verse.

Where are we?

With Solomon as the author of the book, we know it had to have been written
sometime before his death in 931 BC. The content of Ecclesiastes reflects
someone looking back on a life that was long on experience but short on lasting
rewards. As king, he had the opportunity and resources to pursue the rewards of
wisdom, pleasure, and work in and of themselves. Yet the world-weary tone of
the writing suggests that late in life, he looked back on his folly with regret,
pointing us to a better, simpler life lived in light of God’s direction (Ecclesiastes
12:13–14).

Why is Ecclesiastes so important?

The ideology found in the Book is a fusion of philosophy, wisdom literature, total
annihilation theory, and at last the theism or Yahwism. Ecclesiastes presents us a
naturalistic vision of life—one that sees life through distinctively human eyes—
but ultimately recognizes the rule and reign of God in the world. This more
humanistic quality has made the book especially popular among younger
audiences today, men and women who have seen more than their fair share of
pain and instability in life but who still cling to their hope in God.

Ecclesiastes, like much of life, represents a journey from one point to another.
Solomon articulated his starting point early in the book: “Vanity of vanities! All
is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2), indicating the utter futility and meaninglessness of
life as he saw it. Nothing made sense to him because he had already tried any
number of remedies—pleasure, work, and intellect—to alleviate his sense of
feeling lost in the world.

However, even in the writer’s desperate search for meaning and significance in
life, God remained present. For instance, we read that God provides food, drink,
and work (2:24); both the sinner and the righteous person live in God’s sight
(2:26); God’s deeds are eternal (3:14); and God empowers people to enjoy His
33
provision (5:19). Ultimately, the great truth of Ecclesiastes lies in the
acknowledgment of God’s ever-present hand on our lives. Even when injustice
and uncertainty threaten to overwhelm us, we can trust Him and follow after Him
(12:13–14).

How do I apply this?

We all desire to understand the meaning in life. Often that search takes us along
winding, up-and-down paths filled with bursts of satisfaction that shine bright for
a time but eventually fade. In one sense, it’s satisfying to see that experience
echoed throughout Ecclesiastes. An appreciation for our common humanity
emerges from reading its pages. We relate to the journey of Solomon because, for
so many of us, it is our own. When we attempt to find meaning in the pursuit of
pleasure, the commitment to a job, or through plumbing intellectual depths, we
all eventually find in each of these pursuits a dead end.

Ecclesiastes shows us a man who lived through this process and came out on the
other side with a wiser, more seasoned perspective. When we’re surrounded by
the temptation to proclaim life’s ultimate emptiness, we can find in Ecclesiastes
a vision tempered by experience and ultimately seen through divinely colored
lenses. Life is destined to remain unsatisfying apart from our recognition of God’s
intervention. It only remains to be seen whether or not we will place our trust in
His sure and able hands.

Have you struggled with misplaced pursuits in life? Does your life lack the
meaning and purpose you desire? Hear the words of Solomon that they might
encourage you to place your trust solely in the Lord.

Purpose and Teaching

The author of Ecclesiastes puts his powers of wisdom to work to examine the
human experience and assess the human situation. His perspective is limited to
what happens "under the sun" (as is that of all the wisdom teachers). He considers
life as he has experienced and observed it between the horizons of birth and death
-- life within the boundaries of this visible world. His wisdom cannot penetrate
beyond that last horizon; he can only observe the phenomenon of death and
perceive the limits it places on human beings. Within the limits of human
experience and observation, he is concerned to spell out what is "good" for people
to do. And he represents a devout wisdom. Life in the world is under God -- for
all its enigmas. Hence what begins with "Meaningless! Meaningless!" (1:2) ends

34
with "Remember your Creator" (12:1) and "Fear God and keep his
commandments" (12:13).

With a wisdom matured by many years, he takes the measure of human beings,
examining their limits and their lot. He has attempted to see what human wisdom
can do (1:13, 16-18; 7:24; 8:16), and he has discovered that human wisdom, even
when it has its beginning in "the fear of the Lord" (Pr 1:7), has limits to its powers
when it attempts to go it alone -- limits that circumscribe its perspectives and
relativize its counsel. Most significantly, it cannot find out the larger purposes of
God or the ultimate meaning of human existence. With respect to these it can only
pose questions.

Nevertheless, he does take a hard look at the human enterprise -- an enterprise in

which he himself has fully participated. He sees a busy, busy human ant hill in
mad pursuit of many things, trying now this, now that, labouring away as if by
dint of effort humans could master the world, lay bare its deepest secrets, change
its fundamental structures, somehow burst through the bounds of human
limitations, build for themselves enduring monuments, control their destiny,
achieve a state of secure and lasting happiness -- people labouring at life with an
overblown conception of human powers and consequently pursuing unrealistic
hopes and aspirations.

Structure

I. Thematic Prologue: What Profit Has a Man? (1:1-11)

II. Man’s Futile Search for Meaning "under the Sun" (1:12- 3:22)
A. Man's Futile Search for Satisfaction in Achievement
(1:12-2:26)
1. Introduction: Qoheleth's Futile Quest (1:12-18)
2. The Futile Pursuit of Pleasure (2:1-11)
3. The Futile Pursuit of Wisdom (2: 12-17)
4. The Futility of All Toil "under the Sun" (2:18-23
5. Hope for Meaning from the Hand of God (2:24-26)
B. Man's Futile Attempt to Discern God's Purpose (3:1-22)
1. All Life's Events Reflect Purpose (3:1-8)
2. God's Inscrutable Purpose for Man's Labour (3:9-15)

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 3. Man's Inscrutable Destiny in God's Plan (3:16-22)
III. The Futility of Selfish Ambition (4:1-6:12)
A. The Pervasive Tyranny of Selfish Ambition (4:1-16)
1. Unjust Oppression: First Sign of Selfish Ambition(4:1-6)
2. Bitter Alienation: Ambition's Ultimate "Harvest"(4:7-16)
B. The Costly Presumption behind Selfish Ambition (5: 1--17)
1. Man's Ultimate Loss in Presuming on God (5:1-7)
2. The Cumulative Cost of Presuming on Others (5:8-17)
C. No Ultimate Advantage to Selfish Ambition (5:18-6:12)
1. The Utter Despair of an Unsatisfied Soul (5:18- 6:6)
2. The Ultimate Inability of the Self-Determined Soul (6:7-12)
IV. Despair as a Turning Point to Wisdom (7:1-14)
A. Authentic Mourning Is Better than Unfounded Optimism (7:1-7)
1. The Wisdom of Authentic Mourning (7:1-4)
2. The Folly of Appeasing Despair (7:5-7)
B. Patient Confidence Is Better than Angry Pride (7:8-14)
1. The Folly of Angry Pride (7:8-10)
2. Wisdom's Ultimate Advantage (7:11-14)
V. The True Path to Wisdom: The Fear of God (7:15-9:10)
A. Total Depravity: Man's Greatest Obstacle to Wisdom (7:15-29)
1. Man's Hopelessly Inadequate Righteousness (7:15-22)
2. Depravity Exposed in the Search for Wisdom (7:23-29)
B. The Fear of God: Man's Only Hope in Judgment (8:1-15)
1. Wisdom's Advantage in the Face of Judgment (8:1-8)
2. Man's Only Hope: To Fear before God (8:9-15)
C. The Work of God: Man's Ultimate Source of Meaning (8:16-9:10)
1. Man's Uncertain Role in God's Inscrutable Plan (8:16-9:2)
2. Man's Hope for Meaning in His "Portion" from God (9:3-10)
VI. Shepherding Wisdom for the Work of God (9:11-12:7)
A. Wisdom's Vulnerability: The Need for Moral Vigilance (9:11-10:20)
1. Time and Chance: "Natural" Advantage Nullified (9:11-12)
2. Wisdom's Advantage Dismissed by Fools (9:13-18)
3. Wisdom's Advantage Forfeited by Folly (10:1-20)
B. Opportune Stewardship amid Life's Adversity (11:7-12:7)
1. Expeditious Stewardship in the Face of Uncertainty (11:1-6)
2. Early Stewardship in the Face of Mortality (11:7- 12:7)
VII. Epilogue: Qoheleth's Moral Authority (12:8-14)
A. Qoheleth's Teaching-The Reliable Word of God (12:8-12)
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 B. The Purpose of God's Word (12:13-14)

Conclusion

Ecclesiastes has been a story of circles. Not that it is meaninglessly repetitive, but
that it shows us the lessons gleaned from Qoheleth’s continual - and almost
cyclical - searches for meaning. By the time we get to chapter 11, we’ve learnt a
few essential things about life under the sun, and life above the sun.

We’ve learnt that man is on a search for something better, and that this something
better cannot be found under the sun. We’ve learnt that man lives in time as a
creature, and that God judges in time, finally in death. We’ve learnt that life under
the sun is evil - a cursed life that was not meant to be this way, but is this way.
We’ve learnt that everyone can live life in two ways - folly or wisdom. And we’ve
learnt that God has placed eternity in the hearts of man!

We long for life above the sun, but we can’t reach it on our own. It has to come
down to us. Ecclesiastes tells us that God is above the sun, and it tells us that the
great limit of lives below the sun is death - inescapable, inevitable death that
teaches us wisdom if we consider it rightly. In this closing segment, Qoheleth
tells us a few more things about how we should live our lives. Read on to find out
more!

There is reason for doing and living. In 3:13 says to eat and drink and enjoy our
work - this is God's gift to man. There is reason to enjoy your life. And 9:9 says
enjoy life with the woman you love - this is your reward in life. On the other hand,
there is no reason in doing anything prideful and over-ambitiously for selfish
gain. Ecclesiastes 2:21says that a man works really hard and leaves his legacy to
another who did not labour for it - this is vanity and a great evil. Only God knows
for sure...but we can have faith in His Word and do what it says!

Ecclesiastes is incredibly helpful in the journey of life. The reason being, it is like
having a person who has done it all and knowing the joys and pitfalls of life,
warning and giving me advice about life. On the spiritual level, it is God who
speaks to the reader. Although, it is often said that it is depressing, and to some
extent, it is a profound book because indeed some aspects of life ARE depressing
and sad, and Ecclesiastes comments on them. It also neutralizes many false ideas
and goals that many seek in order to attain happiness. Frankly, if the reader were
not a believer, I would find Ecclesiastes to be one of the most depressing reads I
ever picked up because it describes the futility of life lived apart from God.
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The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man. When you read the last verses of the last chapter,
they give you the conclusion of the author: Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14 the end of the
matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the
whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every
secret thing, whether good or evil. To understand this conclusion better, it helps
to remember a few things about Solomon. He was arguably the Bill Gates of his
time—rich beyond compare, powerful and influential, well-known way beyond
the realm of his kingdom, not only for his wealth, but for his wisdom and
influence. There literally was nothing material out of his reach, and he had the
world at his command. But in spite of his wisdom and power, he had a weakness
for foreign, ungodly women, who were successful in their efforts to tempt him
into joining them in some of their pagan rituals and relaxing God’s commands
concerning the laws that God had given the nation of Israel regarding worship. In
the book of Ecclesiastes Solomon laments many of the mistakes that he made and
comments on his personal experiences with wealth, influence, women, and what
he had also observed in the lives of others who also sought after worldly
pleasures. Like so many people who seem—according to the world’s standards—
to “have it all,” he found that there is nothing that truly satisfies in this life but to
love and serve God. This explains what he refers to as “the end of the matter” in
Ecclesiastes 12:13. He is letting his readers know that as a man who seemingly
had it all, the “all” that so many chase is utterly meaningless, and we’ll do better
to spend our best energy seeking to serve and please God rather than pursuing
earthly pleasures.

VIII Analysis of Book of Song of Solomon

Song of Songs takes the form of a dialogue between a man and a woman who
declare their love for each other. When we analyse the song all together, the
woman sings a song for her lover, who is portrayed first as a king and then a
shepherd. The man answers her song, praising the woman’s beauty and
adornment (1:1-17).

Song of Solomon also called Canticle of Canticles, or Song of Songs, an Old

Testament book that belongs to the third section of the biblical canon, known as
the Ketuvim, or “Writings.” In Hebrew it is Šîr Hašîrîm, and in Greek Âsma
Āsmátōn, whereas in Ecclesiastical Latin Canticum Canticōrum from which
38
Canticle of Canticle is derived. In the Hebrew Bible the Song of Solomon stands
with Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther and with them makes up
the Megillot, five scrolls that are read on various religious festivals of the Jewish
year. This book is the festal scroll for Pesaḥ (Passover), which celebrates the
Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. The book in its present form postdates
the Babylonian Exile (5th century BC onward), but the poems that it preserves
date from about the 10th century BC, the period of the Davidic monarchy.

Author and Date

Verse 1 appears to ascribe authorship to Solomon (see note on 1:1; but see also
Title above). Solomon is referred to seven times (1:1,5; 3:7,9,11; 8:11-12), and
several verses speak of the "king" (1:4,12; 7:5), but whether he was the author
remains an open question.
To date the Song in the tenth century B.C. during Solomon's reign is not
impossible. In fact, mention of Tirzah and Jerusalem in one breath (6:4; see note
there) has been used to prove a date prior to King Omri (885-874 B.C.; see 1Ki
16:23-24), though the reason for Tirzah's mention is not clear. On the other hand,
many have appealed to the language of the Song as proof of a much later date,
but on present evidence the linguistic data are ambiguous.
Consistency of language, style, tone, perspective and recurring refrains seems to
argue for a single author. However, many who have doubted that the Song came
from one pen, or even from one time or place, explain this consistency by
ascribing all the Song's parts to a single literary tradition, since Near Eastern
traditions were very careful to maintain stylistic uniformity.
The book, whose author is unknown (Solomon’s name is a later addition), is a
collection of love poems spoken alternately by a man and a woman. There is
no coherent story in the book. A number of the poems systematically describe the
beauty and excellence of the beloved. The Song of Solomon has received various
interpretations, the most common being allegorical, dramatic, cultic, and literal.
Among Jews, the allegorical interpretation regards the book as an allegory of
God’s love for the Israelites, with whom he has made a sacred covenant. Among
Christians, the book is interpreted as describing the covenantal love of Christ for
his church. The Christian church's interpretation of the Song as evidence of God's
love for his people, both collectively and individually, began with Origen.
In medieval mysticism, the Song of Solomon was construed to apply to the love
between Christ and the human soul.

39
Dramatic interpretations of the Song of Solomon are based on much of the book’s
being in dialogue form. According to this view, the speakers in it are enacting
roles in a dramatic love story that varies in outline according to the particular
interpretation. In view of the absence of drama in ancient Semitic literatures,
however, such interpretations are not very probable. The cultic interpretation
views the book as a collection of songs associated with the practice of sacred
marriage as observed by the Sumerians and other ancient Mesopotamian peoples.

The fourth interpretation, and the one that has perhaps gained the
most credence among modern scholars, is simply that the Song of Solomon is a
collection of secular love poems without any religious implications. According
to this interpretation, the songs celebrate the joy and goodness of human love
between the sexes and the sense of inner fulfillment and harmony with God’s
creation that arise from such love.

Over the centuries the emphases of interpretation shifted, first reading the Song
as a depiction of the love between Christ and Church, the 11th century adding a
moral element, and the 12th century understanding of the Bride as the Virgin
Mary, with each new reading absorbing rather than simply replacing earlier ones,
so that the commentary became ever more complex.
These theological themes are not in the poem, but derive from a theological
reading; nevertheless, what is notable about this approach is the way it leads to
conclusions not found in the overtly theological books of the Bible. Those books
reveal an abiding imbalance in the relationship between God and man, ranging
from slight to enormous; but reading Songs as a theological metaphor produces
quite a different outcome, one in which the two partners are equals, bound in a
committed relationship.
Structure

• Dialogue between the lovers (1:7–2:7)

• The woman recalls a visit from her lover (2:8–17)
• The woman addresses the daughters of Zion (3:1–5)
• Sighting a royal wedding procession (3:6–11)
• The man describes his lover's beauty (4:1–5:1)
• The woman addresses the daughters of Jerusalem (5:2–6:4)
• The man describes his lover, who visits him (6:5–12)
• Observers describe the woman's beauty (6:13–8:4)
• Appendix (8:5–14)
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Summary
The Song of Solomon is a series of lyrical poems organized as a lengthy dialogue
between a young woman and her lover. A third party, or chorus, occasionally
addresses the lovers. The first poem is spoken by the young maiden, who longs
to be near her lover and enjoy his kisses. She explains that she has a dark
complexion because her family sends her to work in the vineyards. She searches
for her lover, comparing him to a wandering shepherd, and the chorus encourages
her to follow the flocks to his tent.

The lovers lie on a couch together. The man praises the beauty of his beloved,
comparing her to a young mare and comparing her eyes to doves’ eyes. He
describes verdant and fertile surroundings. The maiden calls herself a rose and a
lily, covered by the shade of her beloved, a fruit tree. She compares her beloved
to a lively gazelle that arrives to take her away during spring when the plants are
budding. The maiden boasts that the man now pastures his flocks of sheep among
her lilies. She warns other women, “the daughters of Jerusalem,” not to fall in
love too early (2:7).

While in bed, the maiden dreams that she is searching the city streets for her lover
and that she finds him and takes him home. She envisions a lavish wedding
procession, in which her happy bridegroom appears as King Solomon. The man
speaks, comparing each part of the maiden’s body to animals and precious
objects. He calls for her to come down from the mountain peaks to be with him.
With intense yearning, he characterizes her as an enclosed “garden” full of ripe
foliage and a flowing fountain (4:12–15). The maiden bids the wind to blow on
her garden and invites the man into the garden. The man dines in the garden and
calls for their friends to celebrate with the lovers.

In another dream, the maiden hears her lover knocking at her door late one night,
but he disappears. Again, she roams the streets, but this time the city guards accost
the maiden. She asks the “daughters of Jerusalem” to help her find her lover. The
chorus asks her to describe the young man, and she compares each part of his
body to precious metals, jewels, and animals.

The two find each other in the garden. The man continues to praise each part of
the maiden’s body. He bids her to dance and likens her to a palm tree with breasts
like fruit. The maiden invites her lover to the fields and villages, promising to
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give him her love among the blossoming vineyards. She wishes that he were her
brother so that people would not comment about their open displays of affection.
She urges him to “seal” his heart with her love, for love is strong. The maiden
thinks back on her earlier chastity but is glad she has lost it peacefully “in his
eyes” (8:10). The man says that, while King Solomon may have many vineyards,
he is happy with his one vineyard, the maiden.

Canonicity
The Song was accepted into the Jewish canon of scripture in the 2nd century CE,
after a period of controversy in the 1st century. It was accepted as canonical
because of its supposed authorship by Solomon and based on an allegorical
reading where the subject-matter was taken to be not sexual desire but God's love
for Israel. For instance, the famed first and second century Rabbi Akiva forbade
the use of the Song of Songs in popular celebrations. He reportedly said, "He who
sings the Song of Songs in wine taverns, treating it as if it were a vulgar song,
forfeits his share in the world to come". However, Rabbi Akiva famously
defended the canonicity of the Song of Songs, reportedly saying when the
question came up of whether it should be considered a defiling work, "God
forbid! [...] For all of eternity in its entirety is not as worthy as the day on which
Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all the Writings are holy, but Song of Songs
is the Holy of Holies."
In modern Judaism, certain verses from the Song are read on Shabbat eve or
at Passover, which marks the beginning of the grain harvest as well as
commemorating the Exodus from Egypt, to symbolize the love between the
Jewish People and their God. Jewish tradition reads it as an allegory of the
relationship between God and Israel.
In Christianity, where sexuality is counted as taboo, the Book is forbidden to read
publically, and rarely interpreted in open discourse. But we have so many
exegetical books on it.

Analysis
The Song of Solomon is also called “The Song of Songs,” suggesting that it is the
greatest of all songs. The first title implies that King Solomon composed the
collection of love poems, but Solomon’s name was probably added at a later date
by the song’s editors, perhaps because of references within the text to the wise
and prolific king. This attribution to Solomon led to the book’s inclusion in the

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Hebrew Bible and later, Christian versions of the Old Testament. Early Hebrew
and Christian scholars long maintained that the love story is an allegory of God’s
love for humankind, or of the intensity of divine love within the human heart.
However, it is undeniable that the song celebrates not only human love but also
the sensuous and mystical quality of erotic desire.

Modern scholars see similarities between The Song of Solomon and other ancient
Near-Eastern stories in which the fertility of the earth depends upon the sexual
encounter of a male and female deity. Although the biblical maiden and her lover
themselves do not affect the fertility of the land, there are numerous parallels
between the fertile vegetation of their surroundings and the success of their
romance. The lovers recline on a green couch, whose colour suggests a
connection with nature. The song also explicitly compares the man and woman
to vegetation: the woman is a flower and the man is a fruit tree. Images of plants
and frolicking animals are symbols of life, and as such they are metaphors for the
procreative act of human sexual relations. The song’s references to spring and the
budding of plants further emphasize the budding of romantic arousal. The couple
always celebrates their love in such verdant environments—in the wilderness, the
vineyard, or the garden. It is in the city, where plants do not grow and the city
guards are brutal, that the maiden searches for her lover but cannot find him.

The man’s comparison of the maiden to a “garden locked” and “fountain sealed”
establishes the relationship between chastity and femininity (4:12). The image of
an enclosed garden is a metaphor for female virginity that is frequently repeated
in later medieval and Renaissance literature. In the Song of Solomon, the closed
garden suggests that the girl is chaste and unsullied. The man’s dining in the
garden implies that the two have consummated their relationship, and his
invitation to the chorus to celebrate this event with feasting further indicates the
completion of this rite of passage. Later, the two walk in a vineyard, and the girl
remembers her earlier virginity when she was cursed to labour in the vineyard
instead of enjoying it. Her memory while in the vineyard suggests the bitter sweet
nature of the loss of innocence.

The garden motif is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden in Genesis, where Adam
and Eve enjoy God’s creation prior to the emergence of human wickedness. The
parallels to Eden in The Song of Solomon suggest that the celebration of human
sensuality is, itself, a good and not a wicked thing. The maiden and her lover,
however, must enjoy their love within the boundaries and confines of gardens and
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fields. This limitation on the enjoyment of their sexual behavior is in keeping with
the ongoing biblical theme that there are ethical requirements for enjoying God’s
promises—for Adam and Eve to remain in the Garden of Eden and for the
Israelites to dwell in the Promised Land.

Uniqueness
The Song of Songs is unique within the Hebrew Bible: it shows no interest in
Law or Covenant or the God of Israel, nor does it teach or explore wisdom
like Proverbs or Ecclesiastes (although it does have some affinities to wisdom
literature, as the ascription to Solomon indicates); instead, it celebrates sexual
love, giving "the voices of two lovers, praising each other, yearning for each
other, proffering invitations to enjoy". The two are in harmony, each desiring the
other and rejoicing in sexual intimacy; the women of Jerusalem form a chorus to
the lovers, functioning as an audience whose participation in the lovers' erotic
encounters facilitates the participation of the reader.
In modern Judaism the Song is read on the Sabbath during the Passover, which
marks the beginning of the grain harvest as well as commemorating the
Exodus from Egypt. Jewish tradition reads it as an allegory of the relationship
between God and Israel, Christianity as an allegory of Christ and his bride,
the Church.
There is widespread consensus that, although the book has no plot, it does have
what can be called a framework, as indicated by the links between its beginning
and end. Beyond this, however, there appears to be little agreement: attempts to
find a chiastic structure have not been compelling, and attempts to analyze it into
units have used differing methods and arrived at differing results. Introduction
(1:1–6)

Literary Features
No one who reads the Song with care can question the artistry of the poet. The
subtle delicacy with which he evokes intense sensuous awareness while avoiding
crude titillation is one of the chief marks of his achievement. This he
accomplishes largely by indirection, by analogy and by bringing to the
foreground the sensuous in the world of nature (or in food, drink, cosmetics and
jewelry). To liken a lover's enjoyment of his beloved to a gazelle "browsing
among lilies" (2:16), or her breasts to "twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among
the lilies" (4:5), or the beloved herself to a garden filled with choice fruits inviting
the lover to feast (4:12-16) -- these combine exquisite artistry and fine sensitivity.
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Whether the Song has the unity of a single dramatic line linking all the subunits
into a continuing story is a matter of ongoing debate among interpreters. There
do appear to be connected scenes in the love relationship (see Outline).
Virtually all agree that the literary climax of the Song is found in 8:6-7, where
the unsurpassed power and value of love -- the love that draws man and woman
together -- are finally expressly asserted. Literary relaxation follows the
intenseness of that declaration. A final expression of mutual desire between the
lovers brings the Song to an end, suggesting that love goes on. This last segment
(8:8-14) is in some sense also a return to the beginning, as references to the
beloved's brothers, to her vineyard and to Solomon (the king) link 8:8-
12 with 1:2-6. In this song of love the voice of the beloved is dominant. It is her
experience of love, both as the one who loves and as the one who is loved, that is
most clearly expressed. The Song begins with her wish for the lover's kiss and
ends with her urgent invitation to him for love's intimacy.

Conclusion
In ancient Israel everything human came to expression in words: reverence,
gratitude, anger, sorrow, suffering, trust, friendship, commitment, loyalty, hope,
wisdom, moral outrage, repentance. In the Song, it is love that finds words --
inspired words that disclose its exquisite charm and beauty as one of God's
choicest gifts. The voice of love in the Song, like that of wisdom in Pr 8:1 -- 9:12,
is a woman's voice, suggesting that love and wisdom draw men powerfully with
the subtlety and mystery of a woman's allurements.
This feminine voice speaks profoundly of love. She portrays its beauty and
delights. She claims its exclusiveness ("My lover is mine and I am his," 2:16) and
insists on the necessity of its pure spontaneity ("Do not arouse or awaken love
until it so desires," 2:7). She also proclaims its overwhelming power -- it rivals
that of the fearsome enemy, death; it burns with the intensity of a blazing fire; it
is unquenchable even by the ocean depths (8:6-7a). She affirms its preciousness:
All that one possesses cannot purchase it, nor (alternatively) should it be
exchanged for it (8:7b). She hints, without saying so explicitly (see the last NIV
text note on 8:6), that it is the Lord's gift.
The key verse in the book is 8:7, where we see the greatness and loyalty of true
love. They key word in this verse in Hebrew is shal-heh-beth-yah which means
the very flame of the LORD. It is so aggressive.

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Shal-heh-beth means most vehement flame, the flame of love. The root word for
shal-heh-beth is lehab which means a) a flame and b) a flashing point of spear or
blade of sword. Fire can consume whereas sword can destroy.
God intends that such love, grossly distorted and abused by both ancient and
modern people, be a normal part of marital life in his good creation (Genesis;
1:26-31; 2:24). Indeed, in the Song the faithful Israelite could ascertain how to
live lovingly within the theocratic arrangement. Such marital love is designed by
the Creator-King to come to natural expression within his realm.
So we can conclude by saying that this Book can be renamed as
Shal’heh’beth’yah, instead Song of Songs.

CHRIST AS SEEN IN THE SONG OF SOLOMON:

This book illustrates Christ’s love for the church which is seen as the bride of
Christ in the New Testament (cf. 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:23-25; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:9).

Epitom

Understanding the Old Testament is vital in order to get a complete picture of

God’s character and His saving work throughout history. The character and
attributes of God and His acts, His long suffering, love, mercy, and forgiveness
are unfolded from the beginning of creation right up to the promised second
coming of Christ. The Old Testament is also a rich repository of human
experiences that cover aspects of life that the New Testament does not. What the
New Testament teaches about the way of salvation is rooted in the Old Testament.
We have all sinned and deserve God’s judgment. God, the Father, sent His only
Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him. Jesus, the creator and
eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our
sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and rose from the
dead according to the Bible.

CHRIST IN THE POETICAL BOOKS

As noted previously, Christ, the Messiah, is the heart of the entire Bible. With the
two disciples on the Emmaus road who were so saddened and perplexed over the
events of the previous days as the crucifixion, death, and reports of the
resurrection, the resurrected Savior came along side and explained the things
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concerning Himself in all the Scriptures (Luke 24:27). Then later when he
appeared to the eleven and He said: “These are My words which I spoke to you
while I was still with you, than all things which are written about Me in the law
of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44).

With this in mind, before launching into the overview of each of these poetical
books, it would be well to get their Christological perspective. Regarding this
element Geisler writes:

Whereas the foundation was laid for Christ in the Law and preparation was made
for Christ in the books of History, the books of Poetry reveal the aspiration for
Christ in the hearts of the people. They aspired to a life fulfilled in Christ in both
an explicit and an implicit way, both consciously and unconsciously. The
following list will serve as an overall guide to the Christ-centered aspirations of
the poetical books:

1. Job—aspiration for mediation by Christ.

2. Psalms—aspiration for communion with Christ.

3. Proverbs—aspiration for wisdom in Christ.

4. Ecclesiastes—aspiration for ultimate satisfaction.

5. Song of Solomon—aspiration for union in love with Christ.

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