Wisdom: The Three Key Books Of The Bible

Wisdom is a concept that most people are interested in. As human beings, we want to learn how to receive wisdom, know how it affects us, and what wisdom really is. Humankind has contemplated these questions for countless years and have come up with a variety of answers. However, as an alternative to the ideas of these philosophers, the Bible addresses these questions through books that are defined as wisdom literature, or literature that gives thought to “universal, humanistic, and philosophical standpoints” (Dell 1). Job, Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs are three key books of the Bible that can assist in the observation of the idea of wisdom. The book of Job addresses the why’s of life, but when taking a look at a specific chapter of Job, it can be seen that Job address the questions that human beings have about wisdom. Job can be defined as a wisdom poem because it explains the struggles of wisdom, where it

Ecclesiastes address the “so what” of life. This book has an exceptionally negative and controversial tone, but it gives insight into the questions of wisdom. Ecclesiastes explains that everything is pointless, or “Hebel”. There is no point to anything in the world because eventually everything dies and fades away. However, it is better to choose wisdom over folly because “The wise have eyes in their head, but fools walk around in darkness,” and “God will definitely bring every deed to judgement” (Ecclesiastes 2:14, 12:13). People can gain this wisdom through God alone. God will give wisdom to those who please Him through worship and the following of His commandments, but it is important to keep in mind that “in much wisdom is much aggravation; the more knowledge, the more pain” (Ecclesiastes 1:18). Although the book of Ecclesiastes in some ways “criticizes traditional wisdom theology”, it also contains many of the same concepts, such as where wisdom comes from and how it can be obtained (Dell