OBST 800 Week 8 Reading Assessment 10-13-2023

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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY Reading Assessment: Wisdom Literature Submitted to Dr. Michael Graham, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the course OBST 800-B02 Old Testament Backgrounds by Kristopher Williams L25494524 13 October 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS THE WORLD AROUND THE OLD TESTAMENT……………………………………... 1 IVP BIBLE BACKGROUND COMMENTARY: POETIC & WISDOM LITERATURE.. 2 ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN THEMES IN BIBLICAL THEOLOGY…………………...3 OLD TESTAMENT PARALLELS……………………………………………………….. 4 ii

THE WORLD AROUND THE OLD TESTAMENT Persia and the Persians 1 Pierre Briant provides an extensive, detailed overview of the history of the Persian Empire that affected the peoples of the Bible, but also the overall geographical area. In describing the political structure of the Achaemenid Empire, Briant makes the observation that the “entire Persian political and imperial system was organized around the person of the king” (Briant 383). This may seem a simple observation and one that modern readers assume when regarding the Persian king as an absolute monarch, but even here these assumptions are not absolute. We see that while primogeniture was normal, there were no formal rules of succession, and challengers to the throne arose during and after the reign of a king. Persian kings were never secure on their throne. Also noteworthy is the “nomadic” aspect of the Persian monarch’s court in which “the king and his court moved from one residence to another throughout the year” (Briant 387). These residences maintained an imperial flavor and promoted a melding of the peoples of the empire since “the building materials used in the palace’s construction were brought from every corner of the empire (cedars from Lebanon; wood from Gandhara and Carmania; ebony and other wood from Egypt, ivory from Nubia, India, and Arachosia; and lapis lazuli from Sogdiana)” (Briant 388). Ruling the empire was maintained through governors, or satraps, at the personal command of the king but with nearly regal authority in his absence. The Persian “Great King” promoted an open religious system for conquered peoples, allowing those to maintain the worship of their gods as long as they did not rebel against his authority (Briant 401). In contrast to the Assyrians and Babylonians who deported nations and replaced them with other conquered peoples, the Persian monarchs reversed this course and 1 Pierre Briant, “Persia and the Persians,” in The World around the Old Testament: The People and Places of the Ancient Near East , ed. Bill T. Arnold and Brent A. Strawn (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2016), pp. 379- 416. 1

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allowed those who wished to return to their ancestral homes to leave, many times with financial backing of the monarch. We see this with the return of Jewish elites to Judea (Ezra-Nehemiah). Ugarit and the Ugaritians 2 Mark Smith provides an introduction to the city-state of Ugarit, located to the northwest of the ancient kingdom of Israel along the Mediterranean coast, and utilizes archaeological finds related to it, namely cuneiform texts discovered in 1929, that shed light on biblical texts and the greater culture of Canaan in the late 2 nd millennium B.C. The material shows that the language of Ugarit was cognate with Hebrew and that many words and concepts mentioned in the Hebrew Bible that seem obscure are sometimes illuminated through comparisons with the Ugaritic literature. A major conclusion promoted by Smith is that “Ugarit yielded many texts that furnish close parallels to passages in the Bible, pointing to a shared cultural heritage” (Smith 141). Much of the remainder of this selection involves examination of various texts in order to substantiate this claim. The materials allow for reconstruction of Ugaritic religious beliefs and practices, and also allow for understanding of certain motifs utilized in the biblical texts, perhaps as polemics denying the power and authority of the Ugaritic pantheon, especially within the Baal Cycle. IVP BIBLE BACKGROUND COMMENTARY: POETIC & WISDOM LITERATURE Victor Matthews, Mark Chavalas, and John Walton introduce the section by recognizing that comparisons of some biblical literature we classify as “wisdom” versus some ANE accounts demonstrate clear overlaps and thematic messaging. While recognizing the similarities of concerns, from relief of suffering to deliverance, one thing to note is that “deep-seated differences in the worldviews of Israel and her neighbors can be discerned from this literature” 2 Mark S. Smith, “Ugarit and the Ugaritians,” in The World around the Old Testament: The People and Places of the Ancient Near East , ed. Bill T. Arnold and Brent A. Strawn (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2016), pp. 139-166. 2

(Matthews, Chavalas, and Walton). While an “obvious” worldview difference would be the idea of Yahweh as the sole, omnipotent creator, it must be observed that “(m)any biblical metaphors come out of the cultural setting of the time,” from the idea of the divinity being as firm as a rock to phrases, such as “being raised from the pit” (Matthews, Chavalas, and Walton). The idea of wisdom extending beyond intelligence or common sense is stated clearly when they note that wisdom for peoples of the ANE, including the biblical authors, is “probably best understood as the ability to bring order out of chaos or to perceive order in the midst of chaos” (Matthews, Chavalas, and Walton). Wisdom in Egypt and Mesopotamia certainly focused on the idea of establishing truth and justice in the world. The biblical authors would have agreed, though their addition would have been that these items depended solely upon Yahweh and were only achievable through submission to and reverence of Yahweh, utilizing the idea of “the beginning of wisdom is the fear of Yahweh.” Order out of chaos can only be found by submitting to and following the precepts of the being who keeps chaos at bay. The concepts of divine justice and retribution, sometimes referenced as theodicy, can be observed across the Fertile Crescent, with the most famous biblical account being that of Job. ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN THEMES IN BIBLICAL THEOLOGY In his concluding chapter, “A Symphony of Parallels,” Jeffrey Niehaus notes that the entirety of his exploration of the similarities and differences between the Hebrew Bible and ANE literature reveals that “the pagan cultures of the ancient Near East had certain fundamentally important concepts in common with the biblical authors, but it also has shown that those pagan cultures shared a theological structure of thought with that of the biblical writers” (Niehaus 177). Simplistic ideas of plagiarism by the biblical authors cannot be sustained since copying, and then “sanitizing” the texts of pagan motifs for a contemporary audience (that are “rediscovered” by a 3

modern audience) fail to convince. Perhaps the greatest concession that Niehaus states clearly that may cause consternation among lay Christians is his brief aside on the divine council in the Bible (he notes he is not delving in) along with the idea that “The ancient world understood that there was a supreme God, with whom all things originated and who held all authority and yet was relatively inactive in human affairs” (Niehaus 180). In other words, the OT & NT prophets and apostles shared the same worldview, yet their “deviation” was in their insistence that the supreme God cared and, to quote Michael Heiser, “wants the nations back.” 3 OLD TESTAMENT PARALLELS In these selections, Victor Matthews and Don Benjamin offer introductions to and translations of a variety of texts that demonstrate various genres that can be found within the biblical texts. Citing “Declarations” from the Egyptian Book of the Dead , we see an individual note “negative confessions” that stress what he did not do (rather than what he necessarily did do ), with the implication that refraining from poor behaviors is in itself righteous. 4 With the idea given that “(w)hen you reach the Hall of Justice, confess your sins and say” (Matthews and Benjamin 234) the following items, namely what one did not do, it is difficult to see how this can be seen as confessing sinful behavior. The “Sufferer” texts demonstrate interactions between one suffering and either a teacher or friend, similar to what is seen in Job. A takeaway I stressed in my discussion board is that it seems that the ANE literature is much more nuanced in admitting that the gods are fickle, unjust, and actually created humans to sin, along with the concept that, sometimes, bad things happen because of the gods. The individuals “comforting” Job were correct in not laying the blame at the feet of Yahweh, but they were equally incorrect in laying the blame for Job’s suffering on his actions. I see the book of Job more of a correction of 3 Dr. Heiser was a friend and great teacher of mine while he resided in Jacksonville. 4 One may be able to see a much later parallel with Jesus’ ideas that looking with lust is equivalent to adultery, such that avoiding lust is itself a meritorious thing. 4

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incorrect theology that had taken hold. Similarly, reading the hymns of praise and also the lamentations from other ANE cultures demonstrates the human condition extant in the world and their awareness of a sometimes helpless state. In short, these items demonstrate that the literature in the Bible is not unique in itself. We see these items seeking justice and guidance, regardless of the deity invoked. THE BIBLE AMONG THE MYTHS Origins of the Biblical Worldview: Alternatives In this section, John Oswalt examines four of the most popular, currently promoted scholarly views. The viewpoint of John van Seters, which Oswalt argues “has been more of a catalyst for discussion than it has been generally accepted” (Oswalt 174), denies any oral or textual transmission of material that became the Hebrew Bible and essentially paints the authors as “creative fiction” writers seeking to situate themselves in the greater thought world of their overarching cultural milieu. Frank Cross denies the position of van Seters and understands the thought world of the ancient Hebrews/Israelites occurring as the “result of a rewriting of a poetic epic much like the works of Homer into a prose form” (Oswalt 175). The purpose was to explain and maintain the cultic shrines extant in the day. William Dever understands the Israelite worldview as one of imposition of belief by a small elite of royal and priestly figures. Dever argues for solid archaeological evidence for the existence of Israel as a people, but also denies that the archaeological record provides sufficient evidence to support the historical claims of the Hebrew Bible. He believes that the religion of Yahweh believers was essentially indistinguishable from those of other peoples living in Canaan and only became distinct following the period of the Babylonian Exile. Mark Smith (see above, Ugarit and the Ugaritians) “argues at great length for the origins of Israel’s faith in Canaanite polytheism” though Oswalt notes that he is “at pains to locate any references in the Bible that could point to such origins” 5

(Oswalt 181). Smith sees the development of monotheistic faith in Yahweh as a development within Canaan, rather than something after the Exile, that was more or less inevitable for one of the people groups. 6