The vigorous interest of recent Old Testament scholars in Israel's so-called "Wisdom Tradition" has exposed much methodological confusion and achieved no agreed results. the "wise" have not been located in any recognisable structure of Israelite society and the "Tradition" has never been pinned down as a coherent historical phenomenon. The purpose of this book is to demonstrate that the literature which has been at the centre of the debate was the characteristic product of the schools of ancient Israel, and that scholars who deny the existence of schools or ignore their influence are mistaken. Through a review of a representative sample of Old Testament writings, Dr Heaton examines the intellectual stance and literary style of the school tradition, and relates them to Egyptian prototypes. He argues that the school tradition, with its moral and rational stamina, cannot be dismissed as an eccentric development on the margin of Old Testament thought, but should be recongised as playing a fundamental role in the transmission and re-interpretation of the heritage of Israel. The book offers a lively and important challenge to the conventional presentation of Old Testament theology and to those versions of Christian theology which represent the Church as the exclusive recipient and sole guardian of the truth about God and his world.
Reviews
`this is a lively and agreeable presentation of an older approach to the literature' Expository Times
Individual chapters contain insights of detail which demonstrate the author's command of his material...and for the reader new to the subject there is much that will be helpful. This book...is to be warmly welcomed as a starting point in the subject. * The Epworth Review *
This is a stimulating, well-written and sometimes provoking book. It argues its thesis with conviction. * The Glastonbury Bulletin *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198263623
Author E. W. Heaton
Format Hardback
Page Count 222
Imprint Clarendon Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Dimensions(mm) 223mm * 144mm * 21mm