The Fear of the Lord Is Wisdom

“Israel’s wisdom literature has long been misunderstood as secular and experiential, a foreign import and therefore a human response to the challenges of life rather than a divine word. By building on newer work demonstrating wisdom’s religious roots and revelatory character, Longman masterfully explores the theological particularity of Israel’s wisdom tradition. The result is an excellent introduction for students and the general Christian reader, as well as a fitting culmination of Longman’s career-long engagement with this literature. His book is unusually comprehensive in scope, extending its coverage to the Apocrypha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the New Testament. It concludes with thoughtful reflections on the potential for Israel’s wisdom to contribute significantly to church and society in the twenty-first century.”

“With masterful elegance Longman navigates through the topic of wisdom in the Old Testament, making a compelling and exegetically rich argument that wisdom is not independent of the redemptive-historical narrative of the Old Testament but intrinsic to it. Insightful and refreshing, this brilliant exposition of wisdom is a must read for anyone seeking a more coherent theology of wisdom and its place in the canon.”

“Longman doesn’t get swept away by fashions, but neither does he dismiss ideas merely because they are new. He looks at them with interest but keeps a cool head. So he is the kind of person that the wise men and women of Israel would appreciate, and he appreciates them. His book is a balanced and informative introduction both to a ‘distinctive but not discordant note’ within the Old Testament and to its theological message.”

“Longman provides a combination of innovative scholarship and clear, accessible prose. He covers the tradition’s bases but also addresses a postmodern reading context. The Fear of the Lord Is Wisdom will be an excellent guide for undergraduates, seminarians, and scholars alike.”

“Longman once again makes the riches of the Old Testament accessible to readers today. After unpacking the core texts related to the wisdom tradition in the Old Testament, he highlights key features that prepare us to read these texts theologically with greater sensitivity to their historical and canonical contexts.”

“Longman offers a synchronic theological treatment of wisdom that is both comprehensive and accessible. His extensive experience with the topic yields a seasoned pedagogical and theological contribution to the foundational biblical concept of wisdom. I recommend this book warmly and will be using it as a resource in my own teaching.”

“Longman challenges persistent assumptions about wisdom in Israel and provides an introduction to wisdom theology that casts aside the constraints of a strict conception of the wisdom literature genre. He explores wisdom as a concept across the Hebrew Bible; through ancient Near Eastern, Second Temple, and New Testament texts; and into the twenty-first century. His treatment transcends the oppositions of common depictions of biblical wisdom, instead arguing that wisdom is both practical and theological, universal and particular to Israel, tied to creation theology and to redemptive history and covenant. This clear and accessible discussion of the fundamental theological questions these texts raise will also prompt readers to consider biblical wisdom as both ancient and relevant.”