This thesis investigates the notion of divine inscrutability as expressed in Wisdom Literature of Ancient Israel and Mesopotamia. Working with a definition that Wisdom Literature is a group of texts that advocates a way of living life, this thesis analyzes these texts divided into compositions that convey traditional thought and those that provide a nuanced approach to traditional thought. It is argued that critical wisdom compositionsparticularly the categories of the "Righteous Sufferer" and the "Vanity Theme"were not marginal viewpoints but prevalent and important manifestations of ancient thought.
While divine inscrutability occurs in a variety of ways and serves a variety of functions, this notion challenges the worth of human efforts to change ones circumstances. The emphasis upon the unknown sin, the failure of omens, the inability to understand the behavior of gods, the inability to enter the divine realm, and the concealment of wisdom render the correlation between sin and sufferingitself an emphasis upon human actionto be unimportant. The change of focus finds two answers within compositions of the Hebrew Bible and Mesopotamia: total submission to divine mercy and the exhortation to enjoy the moment.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-03302010-134554 |
| Date | 13 April 2010 |
| Creators | Davis, Ryan Conrad |
| Contributors | Annalisa Azzoni, Jack M. Sasson |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-03302010-134554/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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