Radical Wisdom vs Conventional Wisdom
A Bible Study: Proverbs & Ecclesiastes
The origins of the Hebrew Wisdom books, like most of the Jewish scriptures, are obscure, and there are various theories.
Some scholars think materials such as the sayings in Proverbs are all conscious, intentional acts of creativity–that is, somebody sat down and wrote them, as a form of aphoristic poetry, a kind of Hebrew haiku. Many such scholars believe they were produced in large part for use in teaching apprentice scribes. They’re primers of a sort, both for learning to write, and as part of a scribe’s preparation for his role as adviser to the powerful.