Product Description

The Old Testament books of wisdom and poetry carry themselves differently from those of the Pentateuch, the histories or the prophets. The divine voice does not peal from Sinai, there are no narratives carried along by prophetic interpretation nor are oracles declaimed by a prophet. Here Scripture often speaks in the words of human response to God and God's world. The hymns, laments and thanksgivings of Israel, the dirge of Lamentations, the questionings of Qohelet, the love poetry of the Song of Songs, the bold drama of Job and the proverbial wisdom of Israel all offer their textures to this great body of biblical literature. Then too there are the finely crafted stories of Ruth and Esther that narrate the silent providence of God in the course of Israelite and Jewish lives.

This third Old Testament volume in InterVarsity Press's celebrated "Black Dictionary" series offers nearly 150 articles covering all the important aspects of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ruth and Esther. Over ninety contributors, many of them experts in this literature, have contributed to the Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings. This volume maintains the quality of scholarship that students, scholars and pastors have come to expect from this series.

Coverage of each biblical book includes an introduction to the book itself as well as separate articles on its ancient Near Eastern background and its history of interpretation. Additional articles amply explore the literary dimensions of Hebrew poetry and prose, including acrostic, ellipsis, inclusio, intertextuality, parallelism and rhyme. And there are well-rounded treatments of Israelite wisdom and wisdom literature, including wisdom poems, sources and theology. In addition, a wide range of interpretive approaches is canvassed in articles on hermeneutics, feminist interpretation, form criticism, historical criticism, rhetorical criticism and social-scientific approaches.

The Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings is sure to command shelf space within arm's reach of any student, teacher or preacher working in this portion of biblical literature.

Tremper Longman III and Peter E. Enns edit this collection of 148 articles by 90 contributors on Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ruth and Esther.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12513 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 967 pages

From the Publisher
* Third Old Testament volume in InterVarsity Press's celebrated Black Dictionary series
* 148 articles covering all aspects of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ruth and Esther
* Over 90 contributors, many of them experts in this literature
* Coverage of each biblical book, including separate articles on ancient Near Eastern background and the history of interpretation of each book
* Full coverage of literary dimensions of poetry and prose
* Well-rounded treatments of Israelite wisdom and Wisdom literature
* Up-to-date bibliographies

About the Author
Tremper Longman III (Ph.D., Yale University) is Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He is also Visiting Professor of Old Testament at Mars Hill Graduate School, Visiting Professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary and adjunct of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. He lectures regularly at Mars Hill, Regent College in Vancouver and the Canadian Theological Seminary in Calgary.

Longman is the author of How to Read Genesis, How to Read the Psalms, How to Read Proverbs and Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation, and coeditor of A Complete Literary Guide to the Bible. He is coauthor with Dan Allender of Bold Love, Cry of the Soul, Intimate Allies, The Intimate Mystery and the Intimate Marriage Bible Studies.

eter Enns is professor of Old Testament and biblical hermeneutics at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the author of a commentary on Exodus and Inspiration and Incarnation as well as numerous articles on the Old Testament.

Customer Reviews

Another Great Reference Book from IVP!
This is the third volume in the Dictionary of the Old Testament series put out by IVP, and covers Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ruth and Esther in 148 articles and nearly 1,000 pages.

Bible college and Seminary students in particular may find the following articles of use/importance: Ernest Lucas's discussion of Wisdom theology (p. 901-12); Marvin Sweeney's survey of form-critical approaches to the Wisdom literature (p. 227-41); Peter Enns' entry on the Book of Ecclesiastes, with its firm insistence that Qohelet's thought cannot be aligned with any conventional biblical teaching (p. 121-32); and an article on "Chaos and Death" by Frederick J. Mabie (p. 41-54).

An essential volume for bible college students, seminary students, professors, and theological and church libraries. Recommended!

I need to get the whole set
I am very pleased with this purchase. As a seminary student it is an excellent reference book.

Great book.
This brand new book is fantastic and a great source for anyone in Biblical studies.