Description
As wisdom itself, biblical Wisdom Literature tends to escape formal definition, and yet is vividly present in the Old Testament and deuterocanonical books. How do you see God, if He does not manifest Himself? And what is Wisdom but the ability to see God, when He is apparently absent, as in the book of Job? And when is Wisdom more needed than in such circumstances, both tragic and day-to-day? God?s invisible presence, conspicuous absence, and the art of divine discernment on the part of humanity constitute the underlying theme in the great diversity of Wisdom books. Wisdom themes run through the entire book of Proverbs, embracing wisdom as practical and moral advice, and culminating in Wisdom?s part in Creation as a divine companion, a mystical hypostasis. Wisdom Literature comprises poetry and prose, from the archetypal book of Proverbs and ?Wisdom Psalms? to the narrative Wisdom of Tobit, Daniel, Esther, and Joseph; from Ecclesiastes and Ecclesiasticus to the Wisdom of Solomon; f