Syllabus, Poetical Books

Home , Book of Job, Book of Wisdom, Psalm 64

The Poetical Books (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes & Song of Songs)

Gerard van Honthorst. King David Playing the Harp (oil on canvas), 1622. Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands.

with

Dr. Bill Creasy

All rights reserved. No part of this course—audio, video, photography, maps, timelines or other media—may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval devices without permission in writing or a licensing agreement from the copyright holder.

Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

2 The Poetical Books (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes & Song of Songs)

Traditional Authors: David, Solomon & Others

Traditional Dates Written: c. 1010-539 B.C.

Traditional Periods Covered: c. 1010-539 B.C.

Introduction

In the Christian canon of Scripture, the books of the Old Testament (or better, the Hebrew Scriptures) are classified into four categories:1

• Pentateuch (or Torah) o Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy; • Historical books o Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, 1 Esdras, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther (with additions), 1 & 2 Maccabees, 3 & 4 Maccabees. • Poetical books o Job, Psalms (plus Psalm 151 and the Odes, which include the “Prayer of Manasseh”), Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs, Wisdom (also called “Wisdom of Solomon”) and Sirach (also called “Ecclesiasticus”) • Prophets o Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah/Lamentations/Baruch (including the “Letter of Jeremiah”), Ezekiel and Daniel (including “Prayer of Azariah,” “Song of the Three Holy Children,” “Suzanna” and “Bel and the Dragon”) o Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.

In this course, we will study Scripture’s poetical books, as they appear in the “common” canon: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs.

1 Protestant bibles include all the books listed above in black; Roman Catholic bibles add those listed in red; and Orthodox bibles add those listed in blue. Consequently, the number of books in the Hebrew Scriptures are: 39 for Protestant (and Jewish) bibles; 46 for Roman Catholic bibles; and 51 for Orthodox bibles. Those not included among the 39 books in Jewish and Protestant bibles (or the “common” canon) are called “Apocrypha” by Protestants and “Deuterocanonical” by Roman Catholics. For an in-depth study of all the Deuterocanonical books (or “Apocrypha”) see Dr. Creasy’s course: The Deuterocanonical Books.

3 Whether studying the “common” canon of Scripture (39 books of the Hebrew Scriptures, plus the 27 books of the New Testament, for 66 in total), or the complete canon including the Deuterocanonical books (46 or 51 books of the Hebrew Scriptures; 73 or 78 in total), the books of the Bible represent a wide variety of literary genres: mythopoeic literature, as in Genesis 1-11; historical narrative, as in 1 & 2 Samuel (the story of king David); poetry, as in the book of Psalms; prophetic literature, as in the major and minor prophets; gospels, as in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; epistles, as in Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians and Galatians; letters, as in St. Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus; and apocalyptic, as in Revelation.

Each genre places unique demands on the reader, and each genre includes its own set of literary conventions: reading poetry is very different from reading historical narrative; reading an epistle (a correspondence meant to be read aloud to a group of people) is very different from reading a letter (a correspondence meant to be read privately by the person to whom it is addressed).

The poetical books in the common canon—Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs—represent five sub-genres of literature and in this course, we’ll be taking a look at each one, learning how to engage each according to its own set of literary conventions, taking one giant step forward in becoming “educated readers of Scripture.”

Job

Let’s begin with the book of Job. As the books are arranged in the Christian canon of Scripture, Genesis through Esther offer a straight chronological narrative: the curtain rises in Genesis 1 and 2 with creation; in Genesis 3 sin enters the world; Genesis 4-11 sees the effects of sin on both humanity and creation itself; Genesis 12 introduces God’s plan of redemption; the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob see God’s plan implemented; and Exodus through 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles see God’s plan dramatically collapse, with Assyria conquering the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. and Babylon conquering the southern kingdom of Judah in 586 B.C. With the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, God’s people are taken captive to Babylon where they languish until Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, defeats the Babylonian Empire in 539 B.C., allowing the Jews (and all the others taken captive by Assyria and Babylon) to return home and rebuild their cities, temples and infrastructures. In 538 B.C., the first wave of Jewish captives arrives in Jerusalem and they begin the task of rebuilding: Ezra and Nehemiah tell their story, while Esther tells the tale of the majority of Jews who remained behind, having found prosperous and more gratifying lives in the Persia Empire.

If we begin reading Genesis 1 and we continue straight through Esther 10, Scripture presents a clear lesson: “If you do what God says, all will go well; if you don’t, it won’t.” 1 Chronicles 9: 1b supports that verdict: “Now Judah had been exiled to Babylon because of its treachery.”

4 But then we turn the page from Esther, and we run smack-dab into Job. Job is the most “blameless and upright man” alive (Job 1: 1), yet his life becomes a total disaster! What gives with that?

Léon Bonnat. Job (oil on canvas), 1880. Bonnat-Helleu Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bayonne, France.

No one knows who wrote the book of Job, nor do we know when it was written or for what audience. If we read the Odyssey, for example, we can easily imagine the blind poet Demodocus reciting his poem in the court of the Phaeacian king Alcinous, his guests enthralled by the performance, Odysseus weeping great tears at the poet’s words. When we try to picture Job’s author or the work’s performance, however, we draw a complete blank. Yet, Job is a quintessentially Jewish work, bemoaning the characteristic Jewish theme of the victim, as in the opening sentence of Franz Kafka’s The Trial:

5 “Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K., he knew he had done nothing wrong but, one morning, he was arrested.”

This victim theme echoes throughout Jewish literature, yet paradoxically, the hero (indeed, all the characters in Job) is a Gentile. There’s not a Jew in sight!

Whoever its author, whoever its audience, the book of Job is a stunning literary tour de force.

• Victor Hugo said, “Tomorrow, if all literature was to be destroyed and it was left to me to retain one work only, I should save Job.” • Tennyson referred to the Book of Job as the “greatest poem, whether of ancient or modern literature.” • Virginia Woolf said, “I read the book of Job last night. I don’t think God comes out well in it.” • G. K. Chesterton believed that Job posed a question so difficult that even God could not answer it. • Carl Jung thought that God suffered such a deep defeat with Job that he had to come to earth in human form and sacrifice himself.

Although we don’t know who wrote the book of Job or when it was written, it is set around the time of the patriarchs, the beginning of our linear narrative, for at the end of Job we read:

“Job lived a hundred and forty years; and he saw his children, his grandchildren, and even his great-grandchildren.”

(42: 16)

Recall the old ages we encounter in Genesis:

Methuselah 969 years Jared 962 Noah 950 Adam 930 Seth 912 Kenan 910 Enosh 905 Mahalalel 895 Lamech 777 Enoch 365 Abraham 175 Isaac 180 Jacob 147 Joseph 110 Moses 120 Psalm 90: 10 70 years or 80 for those who are strong.

Once sin enters the world in Genesis 3, the principle of entropy enters our text, a gradual “winding down” of creation, illustrated by the decreasing ages of the patriarchs. As St. Paul said: “All creation groans” under the weight of sin (Romans 8: 22). Job dying at the age of 140 places him squarely within the time of the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—the very beginning of our narrative.

We might also note that in Hebrew, Job’s vocabulary and style are noticeably antiquated, with an inordinate number of unique words, words used nowhere else in Scripture. The dominant theory today is that the author of Job was a native Aramaic speaker whose literary language was Hebrew, and that he deliberately used archaic language and style to evoke a distant, patriarchal past. If that is the case (and it’s a pretty good theory), Job was probably written sometime after the return from Babylonian captivity (539 B.C.), deliberately questioning the fundamental biblical lesson that “if you do what God says, all will go well; if you don’t, it won’t.”

Job is carefully structured as a three-act drama, framed by a prologue and an epilogue:

Prologue (1: 1 – 2: 13)

Act 1: Job’s lament (3: 1-26) “A” Cycle (4: 1 – 14: 22) “B” Cycle (15: 1 – 21: 34) “C” Cycle (22: 1 – 26: 14)

Act 2: Job’s summary defense (27: 1– 31: 40) Interlude on “Wisdom” (28: 1-28) Elihu Objects (32: 1 – 37: 24)

Act 3: God Answers (38: 1 – 42: 6)

Epilogue (42: 7 – 17)

And like most ancient literature, Job was written to be delivered orally, performed for an audience.

The prologue and epilogue framing a 3-act drama suggest that we might benefit by imagining Job performed on stage with a small cast of characters: God, the Adversary2 and angels in the prologue; Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and Elihu in the main body of the play; with our narrator then offering an epilogue, a conclusion to the drama.

The prologue is a bit problematic, though. As Stephen Mitchell writes in the introduction to his superb rendition of Job:

.designates a function, not a proper name ה The Hebrew is hasatan, “the satan.” The definite article 2 Hasatan drops the definite article, becoming “Satan” toward the end 3rd-century B.C., morphing from a function into a demonic personality (1 Chronicles 21: 1). Here in Job, hasatan is simply “the Accuser,” one of the “sons of God” (albeit a mean-spirited one), part of God’s celestial entourage in the council of the gods who appears in Job’s prologue.

7 “The world of the prologue is two-dimensional, and its divinities are very small potatoes. It’s like a puppet show. The author first brings out the patient Job, his untrusting god, and the chief spy/prosecutor, and has the figurines enact the ancient story in the puppet theater of his prose. Then, behind them, the larger curtain rises, and flesh-and-blood actors begin to voice their passions on a life-sized stage.”

Job cannot expect an answer to his profound question from the prologue’s “puppet-god,” for all such a god could say is: “Well, you see, Job, it all happened because I made this bet . . .”3 When God finally does answer Job in 38: 1– 42: 6, it is not a diminutive puppet-god speaking, but a thunderous voice within a violent storm:

“Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.”

(38: 2-3)

That is definitely not the voice of a puppet-god!

Job, a righteous man, demands to know why such terrible things have happened to him. And that’s the perennial question, isn’t it? If God is omniscient and omnipotent—all- knowing and all-powerful, and if God is a just and loving god, how could he allow innocents to suffer? Any parent who loses a child; any husband or wife who loses a spouse in a senseless, violent traffic accident; any friend who watches a loved one waste away with a horrible illness, must ask: Why? And that’s the question Job poses. All three of Job’s friends address it: Eliphaz, with the voice of experience; Bildad, with the voice of tradition; and Zophar, with the voice of religion. All three friends agree that suffering comes from God, that God is just; therefore, Job is guilty. Job agrees that suffering comes from God, but Job insists that he is innocent; therefore, God is unjust. None take the next step in the syllogism: suffering comes from God; God is just; Job is innocent. That alternative is unthinkable.

As each round plays itself out, Job stridently defends his innocence, demanding that God be placed in the dock and compelled to answer. And when God finally does answer, he appears to bludgeon Job into silence, leaving Job little choice but to bow his head and submit, saying: “My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you; therefore, I take back everything I said, and I am comforted being dust” (42: 5).

For those like Job who believe that life should not be arbitrary, that good should be rewarded and evil punished—that there should be justice—there is no answer to Job’s question. Indeed, the very act of asking the question—“Why do the innocent suffer?— displays a profound lack of understanding. From Genesis through Esther, Scripture presents an anthropocentric world, a world in which humanity stands at the center of creation, a world which is viewed solely from humanity’s perspective: it’s all about us.

3 The Book of Job (Berkeley: North Point Press, 1987; HarperCollins e-books, 2004), loc. 90. The actor, Peter Coyote, offers an excellent reading of Stephen Mitchell’s Job on Audible.com.

8 But perhaps that’s not the case, at all. Perhaps we’re little more than Gerridae, “water striders,” who skim along the gossamer surface of a bubble, radiant inside and out, and death is but a pin; the universe, indifferent.

Job’s questions—and his friends’ answers—expose the fragile limits of human consciousness, the restricted compass of human knowledge and the profound egoism of an anthropocentric world. But it’s all an illusion. When God speaks in a great Voice from the center of a storm, he presents a vision in direct opposition to the Genesis through Esther narrative, an amoral vision of profound energy, of lightning, of thrashing seas, of monstrous creatures prowling the deep, of war horses exulting in battle, a vision shot through with profound paradoxes: a longing for the absolute darkness of death against a radiant backdrop of morning stars singing; of lions springing on prey, all sinew, teeth and claws and of torn antelopes suffering and letting go, neither lion nor antelope questioning, each playing its role in the sacred game.

To believers, that’s a disturbing thought. And it’s meant to be.

The English Romantic poet, painter and printmaker, William Blake (1757-1827), understood better than most the “fearful symmetry” embodied in the book of Job. In 1805-1806, Blake produced a series of nineteen watercolors for the book of Job for Thomas Butts, a British government official and patron of Blake. Blake then produced a second set of watercolors in 1821 for John Linell, the English painter and engraver. Linell traced the watercolors from the “Butts” set, and Blake colored them, adding two additional engravings. The “Butts” collection is in the Morgan Library and Museum, New York; the “Linnell” collection is in the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University.

We will use the “Butts” watercolors to pace our way through the book of Job.

Psalms

Now, let’s turn to the book of Psalms. There are 150 psalms in the collection, 73 of which are attributed to king David, the Davidic psalms. We won’t examine all 150 psalms in this course; rather, we’ll focus on a sampling of the psalms—many attributed to king David—to illustrate how they work and how to read them.

The 150 psalms were composed over a period of roughly 500 years, from around the time of king David (1010-970 B.C.) through the Babylonian captivity (586-539 B.C.), although some psalms may predate David, such as Psalm 90, which is attributed to Moses (1526-1406 B.C.). The Psalms have been the prayer book of Israel for the last 2,500 years, prayed daily in synagogues and Jewish homes throughout the world, and the Psalms have been the prayer book of the Church since its inception. Jesus knew the Psalms intimately, quoting them more than any other book in Scripture, and the Apostles themselves observed the Jewish custom of praying the Psalms at the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, as well as at midnight (Acts 10: 3, 9; 16: 25).

9 For centuries, Christians have prayed the Psalms daily in the Liturgy of the Hours (or the Divine Office), both privately and in community.

The Hours of Catherine of Cleves (illuminated manuscripts, M. 917, 945), c. 1440. Morgan Library and Museum, New York.

We might classify the Psalms into six categories:

• Davidic Psalms • Psalms 3-41; 51-70; 138-145 (with the possible exception of Psalms 32, 66, 67; Psalms 108-110 may be included, as well);

• Psalms of Asaph • Psalms 73-83;

• Psalms of the Sons of Korah • Psalms 42-49; 84-88 (with the possible exception of Psalms 43 and 86);

• Psalms of Ascent • Psalms 120-134;

• Egyptian Hallel [praise] Psalms • Psalms 113-118; and

• General Hallel [praise] Psalms • Psalms 146-150.

10 Although the Psalms may be classified into six categories according to attributed authorship or type of psalm, they are traditionally numbered sequentially and arranged into five books, recalling the five books of Moses, the Torah:

• Book 1 (1-41) • Book 2 (42-72) • Book 3 (73-89) • Book 4 (90-106) • Book 5 (107-150)

Those who have prayed the Psalms daily for many years often sense an internal rhythm to their sequential order. The Psalms portray a personal, intimate relationship with God, a relationship—like any other intimate relationship—that has high points, low points, profound love, deep longing, intense pain, bitter anger, disappointment, discouragement, celebration and moments of great comfort and joy. Indeed, the Psalms explore every possible response one can have to another in a loving, intimate and personal relationship.

While living and working in Bethlehem, St. Jerome (A.D. 337-420) translated both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament into Latin (from Hebrew and Greek, respectively), a translation that became known as the Latin Vulgate—the Bible of Christendom for 1,000 years. He also wrote numerous commentaries on individual books of Scripture; a Latin translation and supplement of Eusebius’ Chronicles; biographies of 135 Christian authors, from St. Peter down to himself; and numerous theological works and letters. In speaking of the Psalms, St. Jerome observed that Psalm 1 is “the gateway to the Psalter.” That is, Psalm 1 sets up a basic dichotomy between the “blessed man” and the “godless man,” between black and white, good and evil: polar opposites. The rest of the Psalms explore the gray area in between those two poles. Here is Psalm 1:

Psalm 1

Blessed, indeed, is the man who walks not in the counsel of the godless, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scorners, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by flowing water that yields its fruit in due season, and its leaf does not wither, and in all that he does he prospers.

Not so are the godless, not so; they are like winnowed chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore, the godless will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the just.

For the Lord knows the way of the just, but the way of the godless will perish.

11 In our lessons on the Psalms, we’ll deeply analyze Psalm 1 to discover how Hebrew poetry works, exploring its use of parallelism, chiastic structures, similes and metaphors, word and sound repetitions, and much more. We’ll find, too, that many of the 73 Davidic psalms find context in David’s life: his fleeing from king Saul; his being hunted as a wanted criminal on the run; his doubts about God; his adultery with Bathsheba; his betrayal by his beloved son, Absalom; his final thoughts on his deathbed; and so on. Although David’s life plays out on a grand stage, we have all experienced the inner life of David as it is expressed in the 73 psalms attributed to him, even if our experience is not as intense, dramatic and as sharply defined as his.

Jan de Bray. King David Playing the Harp (oil on canvas), 1670. Private Collection.

The Psalms are the beating heart of Scripture, their pulse felt throughout every chapter and verse. If you want to draw closer to God, if you want to form a more intimate, loving relationship with him, the single best thing you can do is grow more intimate with the Psalms. In these lessons on the Psalms, you will learn how to read them.4

4 Dr. Creasy taught a year-long, in-depth course on the Psalms, which included a written analysis and audio lecture on each of the 150 psalms. The Psalms, a Journey through the Poetry of Experience is available as an interactive e-book on LogosBibleStudy.com.

12 Proverbs

The book of Proverbs sits squarely at the center of the biblical “wisdom” tradition, along with Sirach and The Book of Wisdom. It is more than a random collection of wise sayings; rather, it is a “collection of collections.” The Book of Proverbs begins with a title and introduction (1: 1-7), followed by six individual collections:

• “Proverbs of Solomon, Son of David, King of Israel” (1: 8 - 9: 18) • “More Proverbs of Solomon” (10: 1 – 22: 16) • “The Sayings of the Wise” (22: 17 - 24: 34) • “Other Proverbs of Solomon that Officials of King Hezekiah of Judah Copied” (25: 1 – 29: 27) • “The Words of Agur” (30: 1-33) • “The Words of King Lemuel of Massa, Which His Mother Taught Him (including ‘The Woman of Valor’)” (31: 1-31)

Here’s how Proverbs begins:

The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel:

That people may know wisdom and discipline, may understand intelligent sayings; May receive instruction in wise conduct, in what is right, just and fair; That resourcefulness may be imparted to the naïve, knowledge and discretion to the young. The wise by hearing them will advance in learning, the intelligent will gain sound guidance, To comprehend proverb and byword, the words of the wise and their riddles. Fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.

(1: 1-7)

Solomon then gives specific advice to his son (perhaps, Rehoboam?), and what he tells him falls into three categories:

• Choose your friends wisely, for you are known by the company you keep; • Manage your finances carefully; and • Don’t get involved with “loose” women or fool around with another man’s wife!

Chapters 1-9, attributed to Solomon, fit the “advice to a son” genre of literature very nicely, a genre well illustrated in the 16th and 17th centuries by:

13 • William Cecil, Lord Burghley’s advice to his son in Memorial for Thomas Cecil (1561) and Certain Precepts for the Well Ordering of a Man’s Life (c. 1584); • Sir Walter Raleigh’s Instructions to His Son and to Posterity (1632); and • Francis Osborne’s Advice to a Son (1656).5

Of course, the most famous “advice to a son” is the advice Polonius gives to his son, Laertes, in Shakespeare’s Hamlet (c. 1600):

“Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportioned thought his act. Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel; But do not dull thy palm with entertainment Of each new-hatch’d, unfledged comrade. Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in, Bear’t that the opposed may beware of thee. Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice; Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment. Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy; For the apparel oft proclaims the man . . . Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

(I, iii, 59-80)

Solomon’s wisdom is, itself, proverbial. We read in 1 Kings that:

“God gave Solomon wisdom, exceptional understanding, and knowledge, as vast as the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom surpassed that of all the peoples of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, or Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the musicians—and his fame spread throughout the neighboring peoples. Solomon also uttered three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He spoke of plants, from the cedar on Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall, and he spoke about beasts,

5 All four of these works have been edited by Louis B. Wright and published in a single volume for the Folger Shakespeare Library: Advice to a Son: Precepts of Lord Burghley, Sir Walter Raleigh and Francis Osborne. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1962.

14 birds, reptiles, and fishes. People from all nations came to hear Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.” (1 Kings 5: 9-14)

Proverbs 10: 1 - 22: 16 includes the largest number of Solomon’s proverbs, 375 of them; , הֹמלְשׁ ] curiously, the numerical value of the consonants that spell Solomon’s name “Shělomoh”] is also 375. These proverbs are typically clever, 2-line statements in which the second line contrasts with the first. Here are some examples:

“A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother” (10: 1);

“When pride comes, then disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom” (11: 2);

“Better a meal of vegetables where there is love, than a fattened calf with hatred” (15: 17);

“All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord” (16: 2);

“Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life” (16: 31);

“A fool finds no pleasure in understanding, but delights in airing his own opinions” (18: 2);

“A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping (19: 13);

“Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?” (20: 6);

“‘It’s no good, it’s no good! Says the buyer; then off he goes and boasts about his purchase” (20: 14);

“Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife” (21: 19).

You get the idea.

15 Ecclesiastes

Now let’s turn to Ecclesiastes, another work traditionally attributed to king Solomon, one perhaps written in his old age. Have a look:

:Qoheleth], son of David, king in Jerusalem , ֹק ֶה תֶל ] The words of the Teacher

“‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’” 6

(1: 1-2)

King David, Solomon’s father, forged a loose confederation of twelve tribes into a united monarchy, and he elevated it to a position of world power. Solomon inherited David’s kingdom and he overlaid it with a brilliant administrative structure that stretched from Egypt to Mesopotamia, making him one of the wealthiest men who ever lived. Here’s what we read in 1 Kings:

“The gold that came to Solomon in one year weighed six hundred and sixty-six gold talents,7 in addition to what came from the tolls on travelers, from the traffic of merchants, and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country. King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold (six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield) and three hundred bucklers of beaten gold (three minas of gold went into each buckler); and the king put them in the house of the Forest of Lebanon. The king made a large ivory throne, and overlaid it with refined gold. The throne had six steps, a back with a round top, and an arm on each side of the seat, with two lions standing next to the arms, and twelve other lions standing there on the steps, two to a step, one on either side of each step. Nothing like this was made in any other kingdom. All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the utensils in the house of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, for in Solomon’s time silver was reckoned as nothing. For the king had a fleet of trading ships at sea with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of trading ships would come with a cargo of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. Thus, king Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.”

(10: 14-23)

And yet, it was all meaningless.

is לֶבֶה .heh’-vel], meaning “empty,” “worthless” or “insubstantial”: a vapor] , לֶבֶה The Hebrew is 6 traditionally translated “vanity,” but “vanity” evokes a shallow pride for contemporary readers, and it ”.better translated, I think, as “meaningless , לֶבֶה misses the “hollow,” “empty” sense of

7 That’s about 25 tons of gold. At the current price of $1,296/oz., that’s an annual income of over $1 billion (32,000 ounces in a ton x 25 x $1,296). And that was Solomon’s base income!

Edward Poynter. The Queen of Sheba Visits King Solomon (oil on canvas), 1890. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Song of Songs

And that brings us to another writing attributed to Solomon: the Song of Songs. We learned in 1 Kings 5: 12 that Solomon wrote “three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five.” Of those 1,005 songs, the “Song of Songs” is #1 on the Hit Parade! Although Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11: 3), as an old man he remembers back many decades earlier to his first love, a love now lost. For Solomon, the beautiful young woman [her name was Abishag, as we’ll learn] was perhaps the only person or thing he ever truly loved.

Solomon’s “Song of Songs” is—quite frankly—a highly-charged erotic love poem; consequently, it didn’t enter the Hebrew canon of Scripture until the late 2nd century A.D., and it did so solely because it was attributed to king Solomon. To make it acceptable to pious ears, the Song of Songs has been read traditionally in Judaism as an allegory of God’s love for Israel; likewise, in Christianity the Song of Songs has been read traditionally as an allegory of Christ’s love for the Church. But the fact is, it’s an erotic love poem. Here’s how it begins:

17 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s

“Let him kiss me with kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine, better than the fragrance of your perfumes. Your name is a flowing perfume— therefore [the] young women love you. Draw me after you! Let us run! The king has brought me to his bed chambers . . . While the king was upon his couch, my spikenard gave forth its fragrance. My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh; between my breasts he lies. My lover is to me a cluster of henna from the vineyards of Ein Gedi . . .

(1: 1-4a; 12-14)

Gustave Moreau. Song of Songs (watercolor on paper), 1893. Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki, Japan.

18 . . . Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my lover among men. In his shadow, I delight to sit, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banquet hall and his glance at me signaled love. Strengthen me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, for I am sick with love. His left hand is under my head and his right arm embraces me . . . My lover belongs to me and I to him; he feeds among the lilies.”

(2: 3-6; 16)

Well, you get the point. The Song of Songs embraces and celebrates all the tropes of erotic love poetry, including a catalogue of the lovers’ physical charms: her eyes are “like doves,” her hair “like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead,” her mouth “like a scarlet strand,” her breasts “like two fawns”; his complexion is “radiant and ruddy,” his hair “black as a raven,” his lips like “lilies that drip flowing honey,” his loins “a work of ivory covered with sapphires.”

Ah, to be young and in love again!

19 The Poetical Books Syllabus

Lesson #1: An Introduction to the Book of Job, Prologue (1: 1 - 2: 13)

Léon Bonnat. Job (oil on canvas), 1880. Bonnat-Helleu Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bayonne, France.

If we begin reading Genesis 1 and we continue straight through Esther 10, the linear narrative of Scripture presents a clear lesson: “If you do what God says, all will go well; if you don’t, it won’t.” 1 Chronicles 9: 1b supports that verdict: “Now Judah had been exiled to Babylon because of its treachery.” But then we turn the page from Esther, and we run head-long into Job. Job is the most “blameless and upright man” alive (Job 1: 1), yet his life is a total disaster.

Job is structured as a 3-act drama, framed by a prologue and an epilogue. The prologue, however, is problematic. As Stephen Mitchell writes in the introduction to his superb rendition of Job:

20 “The world of the prologue is two-dimensional, and its divinities are very small potatoes. It’s like a puppet show. The author first brings out the patient Job, his untrusting god, and the chief spy/prosecutor, and has the figurines enact the ancient story in the puppet theater of his prose. Then, behind them, the larger curtain rises, and flesh-and-blood actors begin to voice their passions on a life-sized stage.”

Job cannot expect an answer to his profound question from the prologue’s “puppet-god,” for all such a god could say is: “Well, you see, Job, it all happened because I made this bet . . .”

The prologue and epilogue framing a 3-act drama suggest that we might benefit by imagining Job performed on stage with a small cast of characters: God, the Adversary and angels in the prologue; Job, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and Elihu in the main body of the play; with our narrator then offering an epilogue, a conclusion to the drama.

And that’s how we’ll begin.

21 Lesson #2: “Job’s Defense, Part 1” (3: 1 – 31: 40)

William Blake. Job’s Despair (watercolor on paper), 1806. Morgan Library and Museum, New York.

In the “puppet-show” prologue, Job loses everything—his home, his fortune, his family and his health—and we leave him sitting in an ash heap, scratching his boil- infested, rotting flesh with a pottery shard, his three friends seated around him, silent comforters. The curtain drops, the puppet-show is wheeled off stage, and when the curtain rises, live actors are seated on stage, commiserating with Job. Job then stands on shaky legs, walks to the front of the stage, looks over the audience and begins a heart-rending lament (3: 1-26).

One by one, his friends take issue with Job’s lament: Eliphaz, with the voice of experience; Bildad, with the voice of tradition; and Zophar, with the voice of religion. All agree, that suffering comes from God, that God is just; therefore, Job must be guilty of grievous sin. Job agrees that suffering comes from God, but Job vehemently insists that he is innocent, he has done nothing to merit such suffering; therefore, God is unjust. As each of three rounds plays itself out, Job stridently defends his innocence, demanding that God be placed in the dock and compelled to answer. Neither Job nor his friends take

22 the next step in the syllogism, however: suffering comes from God; God is just; Job is innocent. That alternative is unthinkable.

Lesson #3: “Job’s Defense, Part 2—Elihu” (32: 1 – 37: 24)

William Blake. The Wrath of Elihu (watercolor on paper), 1806. Morgan Library and Museum, New York.

After Job’s three friends speak—Eliphaz, with the voice of experience; Bildad, with the voice of tradition; and Zophar, with the voice of religion—none has offered Job an adequate explanation of Job’s suffering. During the three rounds of debate, a crowd has gathered, and as Job’s friends end their arguments, a young man named Elihu steps forward. Although beginning politely, Elihu quickly turns confrontational, pointing out the inadequacy of the previous arguments, as well as Job’s responses to them. As Elihu becomes ever-more strident, the approaching storm grows ever-more fierce, the wind howling and the lightning and thunder flashing and crashing.

Elihu’s words summarize Job’s friends’ arguments, touching on their main points, questioning them and probing them. Elihu’s speech forms a transition from the previous

23 arguments to the booming Voice from the Storm—the voice of God—that will immediately follow.

Lesson #4: “The Voice from the Storm” (38: 1 – 42: 17)

William Blake. The Lord Answering Job Out of the Whirlwind (watercolor on paper), 1806. Morgan Library and Museum, New York.

Job’s questions—and his friends’ answers—expose the fragile limits of human consciousness, the restricted compass of human knowledge and the profound egoism of an anthropocentric world. But it’s all an illusion. When God speaks in a great Voice from the center of a storm, he presents a vision in direct opposition to the Genesis through Esther narrative, a vision of profound energy, of lightning, of thrashing seas, of monstrous creatures prowling the deep, of war horses exulting in battle, a vision shot through with profound paradoxes: a longing for the absolute darkness of death against a radiant backdrop of morning stars singing; of lions springing on prey, all sinew, teeth and claws and of torn antelopes suffering and letting go, neither lion nor antelope questioning, each playing its role in the sacred game.

God presents a vision of creation far beyond anything Job and his friends ever imagined, a vision beyond their ability to conceive. In the end, God never answers Job’s question of why the innocent suffer; rather, Job’s question simply disappears on the periphery of a much larger canvas.

24 Lesson #5: An Introduction to the Psalms

A Franciscan friar praying the Psalms at Capernaum on the shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

The book of Psalms consists of 150 psalms which were composed over a period of roughly 500 years, from around the time of king David (1010-970 B.C.) through the Babylonian captivity (586-539 B.C.), although some psalms may predate David, such as Psalm 90, which is attributed to Moses (1526-1406 B.C.). The Psalms have been the prayer book of Israel for the last 2,500 years, prayed daily in synagogues and Jewish homes throughout the world, and the Psalms have been the prayer book of the Church since its inception. Jesus knew the Psalms intimately, quoting them more than any other book in Scripture, and the Apostles themselves observed the Jewish custom of praying the Psalms at the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, as well as at midnight (Acts 10: 3, 9; 16: 25).

The Psalms are the beating heart of Scripture, their pulse felt throughout every chapter and verse. For centuries, Christians have prayed the Psalms daily in the Liturgy of the Hours (or the Divine Office), both privately and in community. If you want to draw closer to God, if you want to form a more intimate, loving relationship with him, the single best thing you can do is grow more intimate with the Psalms.

25 Lesson #6: The Davidic Psalms.

Vespasian Psalter (Illuminated manuscript on vellum, Cotton Vespasian A1. Fol. 30v, 31r), c. 725-750. British Library, London.

[The Vespasian Psalter is an Anglo-Saxon illuminated psalter containing an interlinear gloss in Old English, the oldest extant English translation of any portion of scripture. This is the beginning of Psalm 26 (27 in modern numbering), a psalm of David. On the left (30v) David is seated on his throne, surrounded by musicians; on the right (31r), the initial letter D (“Dominus lux mea et salutare meum . . .” [“The Lord is my light and my salvation . . .”]) contains David and Jonathan].

Of the 150 Psalms, 73 are attributed to David: Psalms 3-9; 11-32; 34-41; 51-65; 68-70; 86; 101; 108-110; 122; 124; 133 and 138-145. In addition, two other psalms are attributed to David in the New Testament: Psalm 2 (Acts 4: 25) and Psalm 95 (Hebrews 4: 7). Many of these psalms find context within David’s life: his fleeing from king Saul; his being hunted as a wanted criminal on the run; his doubts about God; his adultery with Bathsheba; his betrayal by his beloved son, Absalom; his final thoughts on his deathbed; and so on. Although David’s life plays out on a grand stage, we all have experienced the inner life of David as it is expressed in the 73 + 2 psalms attributed to him, even if our experience is not as intense, dramatic and as sharply defined as his.

In Lesson 6, 7 & 8, we’ll explore some of these Davidic psalms.

26 Lesson #7: The Davidic Psalms, Part 2

“Psalm 81” from Utrecht Psalter (illuminated manuscript on vellum with pen and ink drawings, MS Bibl. Rhenotraiectinae I Nr 32.), c. A.D. 800. Utrecht University Library, Netherlands.

[The Utrecht Psalter is a masterpiece of Carolingian art, and perhaps the most studied illuminated manuscript in the world. It consists of 108 vellum leaves in quires of eight pages each. The 166 pen and ink drawings illustrate the psalms, and they are bristling with action, leaping creatures and fluttering folds of clothing and draperies. You can see a digital reproduction of the entire manuscript here: http://psalter.library.uu.nl/page?p=0&res=1&x=0&y=0].

We continue our exploration of the Davidic psalms.

27 Lesson #8: The Davidic Psalms, Part 3

“Psalm 137” [“By the waters of Babylon there we sat and wept . . .”] from Eadwine Psalter (illuminated manuscript on vellum with hand-colored pen and ink drawings, MS R.17.1, fol. 243v), c. 1155. Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge.

[The Eadwine Psalter is the work of Eadwine, a monk of Christ Church, Canterbury (now Canterbury Cathedral). It presents the Psalms in three languages: Latin, with Old English and Anglo-Norman translations. The Anglo-Norman translation is the oldest surviving text of the Psalms in French. Most of the images were copied from the Utrecht Psalter which was at Canterbury during the 12th century. The Psalter contains 281 vellum folios, and it is the most extensively decorated 12th-century English manuscript. The 166 images from the Utrecht Psalter have been redrawn and filled in with water color. There are also four painted leaves with 130 scenes.]

We conclude our exploration of the Davidic psalms.

28 Week 5 (June 3, 4)

Lesson #9: The Psalms, continued.

“Psalm 64” [“Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint . . .”] from Eadwine Psalter (illuminated manuscript on vellum with hand-colored pen and ink drawings, MS R.17.1, fol. 108v), c. 1155. Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge.

[The drawing in the Eadwine Psalter is copied from the Utrech Psalter, fol. 39v, and it is hand-colored. The illustrations render the psalm’s lines literally: 1. “Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint”; 2. “protect my life from the threat of the enemy”; 3. “Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the noisy crowd of evildoers”; 4. “They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their words like deadly arrows”; 5. “They shoot from ambush at the innocent man; they shoot at him suddenly, without fear” (NIV)].

In Lessons 9 & 10 we’ll look at psalms that have unique characteristics: a collection of acrostic psalms; imprecatory psalms; and psalms for special occasions.

29 Lesson #10: The Psalms, continued.

“Psalm 64” [“Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint . . .”] from Eadwine Psalter (illuminated manuscript on vellum with hand-colored pen and ink drawings, MS R.17.1, fol. 283v), c. 1155. Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge.

[At the end of the Eadwine Psalter we have a portrait of Eadwine himself. The text surrounding the portrait says in Latin uncial script: “Scribe. I am the first among scribes, and neither praise nor fame shall die; shout out, oh my letter, who I may be. Letter: By its fame your script proclaims you, Eadwine, whom the painted figure represents, alive through the ages whose genius the beauty of this book demonstrates. Receive, O God, the book and its donor as an acceptable gift.” You can see a digital reproduction of the entire manuscript here: http://trin-sites- pub.trin.cam.ac.uk/manuscripts/uv/view.php?n=R.17.1#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&xywh=-1857%2C- 218%2C6600%2C4343].

We conclude our study of psalms that have unique characteristics.

30 Week 6 (June 10, 11)

Lesson #11: Proverbs, an Introduction

Luca Giordano. Dream of Solomon (oil on canvas), c. 1694-1695. Prado Museum, Madrid.

Proverbs 1-9, attributed to Solomon, fits the “advice to a son” genre of literature very nicely, and that’s how we’ll view these first chapters in this lesson.

31 Lesson #12: Proverbs, continued.

Peter Paul Rubens. The Judgment of Solomon (oil on canvas), c. 1617. National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen.

Solomon’s wisdom is, itself, proverbial. We read in 1 Kings that:

32 Week 7 (June 17, 18)

Lesson #13: Ecclesiastes, an Introduction.

Edward Poynter. The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon (oil on canvas), 1890. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia.

In Lesson #13 we turn to Ecclesiastes, another work traditionally attributed to king Solomon, one perhaps written in his old age. Have a look:

:Qoheleth], son of David, king in Jerusalem , ֹק ֶה תֶל ] The words of the Teacher

“‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’”

(1: 1-2)

Well, that’s depressing! What’s up with Solomon?

33 Lesson #14: Ecclesiastes, continued.

Isaak Asknaziy. Ecclesiastes (Illustration), c. 1900. In the Brockhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia, 16 vols.: St. Petersberg, Russia, c. 1906-1913.

“The gold that came to Solomon in one year weighed six hundred and sixty-six gold talents, in addition to what came from the tolls on travelers, from the traffic of merchants, and from all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country. King Solomon made two hundred shields of beaten gold (six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield) and three hundred bucklers of beaten gold (three minas of gold went into each buckler); and the king put them in the house of the Forest of Lebanon. The king made a large ivory throne, and overlaid it with refined gold. The throne had six steps, a back with a round top, and an arm on each side of the seat, with two lions standing next to the arms, and twelve other lions standing there on the steps, two to a step, one on either side of each step. Nothing like this was made in any other kingdom. All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the utensils in the house of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, for in Solomon’s time silver was reckoned as nothing. For the king had a fleet of trading ships at sea with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years the fleet of trading ships would come with a cargo of gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. Thus, king Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.”

(10: 14-23)

And yet, it was all meaningless.

34 Week 8 (June 24, 25)

Lesson #15: Song of Songs, Introduction

Cornelis de Vos. The Anointing of Solomon (oil on canvas), c. 1630. Picture Gallery of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

We learned in 1 Kings 5: 12 that Solomon wrote “three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five.” Of those 1,005 songs, the “Song of Songs” is #1 on the Hit Parade! Although Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11: 3), as an old man he remembers back many decades ago to his first love, a love now lost. For Solomon, the beautiful young woman [her name was Abishag, as we’ll learn] was perhaps the only person or thing he ever truly loved.

And that’s how we’ll read it.

35 Lesson #16: Song of Songs, continued

Gustave Moreau. Song of Songs (watercolor on paper), 1893. Ohara Museum of Art, Kurashiki, Japan.

Ah, to be young and in love again!

36 Bibliography

General Poetical Books

Robert Alter. The Art of Biblical Poetry, rev. ed. New York: Basic Books, 2011.

Dianne Bergant. Israel’s Wisdom Literature: A Liberation-Critical Reading. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1997.

James L. Crenshaw. Old Testament Wisdom: An Introduction, 3rd ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010.

Ellen E. Davis. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs (Westminster Bible Companion). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000.

Roland E. Murphy. The Tree of Life: An Exploration of the Biblical Wisdom Literature, 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1990.

Job

Samuel E. Balentine. Have You Considered My Servant Job?: Understanding the Biblical Archetype of Patience (Studies on Personalities of the Old Testament. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2015.

_____. Job (Smyth and Helwys Bible Commentary). Macon, GA: Smyth and Helwys Publishing, Inc., 2006.

Norman C. Habel. The Book of Job (Old Testament Library). Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox Press, 1985.

Stephen Mitchell. The Book of Job, revised ed. Berkeley: North Point Press, 1987, 2004).

Carol A. Newsom. The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Kathleen M. O’Connor. Job (New Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old Testament, vol. 19). Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2012.

Marvin H. Pope. Job, rev. ed. (Anchor Bible, 15). New York: Doubleday & Company, 1965.

37 Psalms

Dianne Bergant. Psalms 1–72 (New Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old Testament, vol. 22). Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2013.

_____. Psalms 73-150 (New Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old Testament, vol. 23). Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2013.

Walter Brueggemann. The Psalms and the Life of Faith, ed. by Patrick D. Miller. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Press, 1995.

James Limburg. Psalms (Westminster Bible Companion). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2000.

J. Clinton McCann, Jr. A Theological Introduction to the Book of Psalms: The Psalms as Torah. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1993.

Patrick D. Miller. They Cried to the Lord. The Form and Theology of Israelite Prayer. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000.

Konrad Schaefer. Psalms (Berit Olam: Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry). Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2001.

Proverbs

Richard J. Clifford. Proverbs: A Commentary (The Old Testament Library). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1999.

Katherine J. Dell. The Book of Proverbs in Social and Theological Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Michael V. Fox. Proverbs 1–9: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Bible, 18A). New York: Doubleday, 2000.

______. Proverbs 10–31: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Yale Bible, 18B). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009.

Katherine Hayes. Proverbs (New Collegeville Bible Commentary: Old Testament, vol. 18). Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2013.

Roland Murphy. Proverbs (Word Bible Commentary, vol. 22). Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1998.

38 Ecclesiastes

James L. Crenshaw. Ecclesiastes: A Commentary (The Old Testament Library). Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1987.

Thomas Krüger. Qoheleth (Hermeneia (Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible)). Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2004.

Norbert Lohfink. Qoheleth (A Continental Commentary), trans. By Sean McEvenue. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.

Roland E. Murphy. Ecclesiastes (Word Bible Commentary, 23A). Dallas, TX: Word Books, Publisher, 1992.

Irene Nowell. Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther (New Collegeville Commentary Series: Old Testament, vol. 24). Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2013.

C. L. Seow. Ecclesiastes: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (Anchor Bible, 18C). New York: Doubleday, 1997.

Song of Songs

Dianne Bergant. The Song of Songs (Berit Olam: Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry). Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2001.

Athalya Brenner, ed. The Song of Songs: A Feminist Companion to the Bible. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993, 2001.

Roland E. Murphy. The Song of Songs (Hermeneia: A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible). Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990.