Wisdom (RELS)

What is going on in the prologue of JOB

It is established that job is rich and perfect, its set in heaven and is among the divine council where god and satan bet on Job’s faithfulness, whether he is good because he just is or if he is good because he is rewarded.

Why do the prologue and epilogue of JOB suggest it may be associated or from an older folktale

It begins in “once upon a time” and the live stock and children are counted in 7s and 3s which are symbolic numbers

Why might job have been written

In response to the theodicy initially laid out which is that if u sin you’ll be punished and if you are righteous you will prosper. The book calls this into question

Aphermisms

Short, pithy statements expressing a general truth or principle.

Generally what are the responses Job gets from his friends

they give aphermisms that offer no real help and are only in accordance with the original theodicy of the time

What is the first argument between job and his friend JOB 4-7

Job is told by eliphaz that he needs to pray more and that his suffering is simply gods plan, Job responds by saying that they contradicts with the original theodicy and argues that his suffering is worse than all his other friends even though he hasn’t done anything wrong. This leads him to blame god— says that god is the accuser and thinks he’s unjustly being punished and just wats forgiveness

Job 8-10

Bildad says god is fair— he is also pious which isnt a godly act, thinks he’s better than everyone “be like me and u wouldb’t be punished” whole time Job is more righteous than him. Job then responds and says he wants a lawyer because his punishment is dealt to him by a non bipartisan judge (God) and says that just because god is all powerful doesn’t mean he should be able to cause such calamity toward his innocent subjects. Says that if he’s bad its because god made him bad

Job 11-14

Zophar speaks to Job and says that God knows better than him and if he was god he’d punish him worse. Job responds by sarcastically saying Zophar is wise when in reality he’s dumber than a bag of rocks. He again questions why he was punished and that there are ppl worse than him that haven’t received an ounce of the suffering he has. He wants God to just tell him what he did wrong and stop punishing him

What is the ambiguity of Jobs words in Job 40:4-5

It can be read as Job is humbling himself before the eyes of God and says that he is out of line. Greenstein interprets as him lacking respect for God and deciding not to speak any longer because he might as well save his breath

What is the ambiguity of Jobs words in Job 42:2-6

Again, it can be read as Job humbling himself before the eyes of God, turning blame on himself. Greenstein views this as a moment of insincerity, takes him saying “I despise myself” as “im fed up”. It pities god

What is the ambiguity of Jobs words in Job 2:10

This can be read as a question where Job is arguing that good cannot exist without evil. Or as a statement where Job claims that good is from God and evil is from a different being like the devil. Both however advocate for God not against him

What are the contrasting images of the strange women and Wisdome featured in Proverbs 1-8, in the context of parental education

The women embodies the opposite of wisdom stated in parental education. She acts deviantly and not practically. Wisdom is homegrown, and the correct way to act. Acting like the strange women guarantees an unrighteousness path an d leads to destruction (relationships and health) while wisdom grants prosperity

Explain how the practical nature of wisdom facilitated the borrowing go the instruction of amenemope into proverbs 22:17-24:22

The practical nature of wisdom emphasizes moral and ethical living, which aligns with the teachings in the Instruction of Amenemope. This allowed for the integration of its maxims into Proverbs, as both texts promote wise behavior and the benefits of following sound principles, reinforcing the importance of wisdom in everyday life.

Verses teach things like knowing who to trust, addiction, enjoying life and not being caught up ion things like money

How does Ecclesiastes constitute a debate about the meaning of life

it explores three “options”:

enjoy it while u have it

no point

or the religious interpretation which likely was added to emphazise faith