Wisdom for Life: Essays Offered to Honor Prof. Maurice Gilbert S. J. on the Occasion

Professor Maurice Gilbert SJ is widely acknowledged as one of the leading authorities on biblical wisdom literature, in particular the Book of Ben Sira and the Wisdom of Solomon, on which he has produced many publications. This Festschrift, the third one in his honor, brings together twenty-four essays written by both established scholars who are friends and colleagues of Professor Gilbert and younger members of the field who wrote their doctoral dissertation under his guidance at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. There he was rector (1978–1984) and full professor until his retirement (1975–2011). The volume is divided into six main sections, focusing respectively on Proverbs, Job, Qoheleth, Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon, and Psalms. Some essays display rigorous attention to textual and linguistic issues, whereas others deal with more theological questions (fear before God, joy in Qoheleth, arguments for justice in Wisdom of Solomon) or focus on the comparison between two books (for instance, Qoheleth and Sirach, Sirach and Genesis, Sirach and Tobit). A Profile Of The Septuagint Proverbs / Michael V. Fox -- Abraham, Maître De Sagesse Selon L'idéal Des Proverbes / Jean Louis Ska -- Von Der Anstrengung Des Begriffs (spr 1,3) Und Von Not Und Not Wendender Kraft (spr 24,10.11-12) / Hans-winfried Jüngling -- The Words Of Agur (prov 30:1-9) And The Book Of Proverbs: Some Historico-anthropological Considerations / Angelo Passaro -- Job Et La Main De Dieu / Françoise Mies -- Courtroom Imagery: The Neglected Background Of Job 5:1 / Darius Iwanski -- Ein Phönix In Ijob 29,18? / Renate Egger-wenzel -- The Optical Illusion: Job And The Reasons For A Protest (job 29-31) / Sebastiano Pinto -- Qoheleth's Hatred Of Life: A Passing Phase Or An Enduring Sentiment? / James L. Crenshaw -- Power In Qoheleth And The Prophets / Jesús M. Asurmendi -- Qoheleth And Sirach: A Comparison / Jeremy Corley -- The Snowball And The Cord Of Three Strands: Qoh 4:12b In The Rabbinic Tradition / Krzysztof Bardski -- Parallels Of Ben Sira's Wisdom In Tobit 4:3-19 / Alexander A. Di Lella -- Ben Sira 23:27, A Pivotal Verse / Nuria Calduch-benages -- A Rereading Of The Primeval Narratives: Ben Sira 40:1-17 And 16:26-17:4 / Pancratius C. Beentjes -- Perform Your Work Promptly, And, In His Time, He Will Give You Your Reward (sira[superscript G] 51:30): Some Observations On The Use Of [ergon/...] In The Book Of Ben Sira / Maria Carmela Palmisano -- The Antithetical Pair To Punish And To Benefit ([kolazō] And [euergeteō]) In The Book Of Wisdom / Luca Mazzinghi -- The Hereafter In The Book Of Wisdom (wisdom 1-3) / Marco Nobile -- Building A Temple To Wisdom (wis 9:8) / Michelangelo Priotto -- L'[epieikeia] Divine Ou La Mesure Du Jugement Selon Sg 11:15-12,27 / Alexis Leproux -- Quand La Structure Révèle Un Sens: Les Psaumes Quasi-alphabétiques 33 Et 103 / Jacques Vermeylen -- Melchisedek In Psalm 110:4 / Ambrogio Spreafico -- The Structure Of Psalm 111 / Gianni Barbiero -- Ps[superscript G] 117:22-23 And The Parable Of The Wicked Vinedressers / Renato De Zan. Edited By Nuria Calduch-benages. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 354-359) And Indexes. Preface 7 Proverbs 13 A Profile of the Septuagint Proverbs 15 Abraham, maître de sagesse selon l’idéal des Proverbes 30 Von der “Anstrengung des Begriffs” (Spr 1,3) und von “Not” und “Not wendender Kraft” (Spr 24,10.11–12) 42 The Words of Agur (Prov 30:1–9) and the Book of Proverbs: Some Historico-Anthropological Considerations 62 Job 71 Job et la main de Dieu 73 Courtroom Imagery: The Neglected Background of Job 5:1 96 Ein Phönix in Ijob 29,18? 108 The Optical Illusion: Job and the Reasons for a Protest (Job 29–31) 117 Qoheleth 129 Qoheleth’s Hatred of Life: A Passing Phase or an Enduring Sentiment? 131 Power in Qoheleth and the Prophets 144 Qoheleth and Sirach: A Comparison 157 The Snowball and the Cord of Three Stands: Qoh 4:12b in the Rabbinic Tradition 168 Ben Sira 181 Parallels of Ben Sira’s Wisdom in Tobit 4:3–19 183 Ben Sira 23:27 – A Pivotal Verse 198 A Reareading of the Primeval Narratives: Ben Sira 40:1–17 and 16:26–17:4 213 “Perform your work promptly, and, in his time, he will give you your reward” (SirG 51:30). Some Observations on the Use of ?????/ hf,[]m; in the Book of Ben Sira 230 Wisdom of Solomon 247 The Antithetical Pair “to punish” and “to benefit” (?????? and e?e??et??) in the Book of Wisdom 249 The Hereafter in the Book of Wisdom (Wisdom 1–3) 262 Building a Temple to Wisdom (Wis 9:8) 272 L’?p?e??e?a divine ou la mesure du jugement selon Sg 11,15–12,27 284 Psalms 303 Quand la structure révèle un sens: Les Psaumes “quasi-alphabétiques” 33 et 103 305 Melchisedek in Psalm 110:4 321 The Structure of Psalm 111 333 PsG 117:22–23 and the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers 352 Bibliography of Prof. Maurice Gilbert, SJ (2000–2014) 365 List of Abbreviations 372 Index of Authors 376 Index of References 382 This volume brings together twenty four essays on biblical wisdom literature in honor of Professor Maurice Gilbert SJ, one of the leading authorities in this field. The book is divided into six main sections, focusing respectively on Proverbs, Job, Qoheleth, Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon, and Psalms. Some essays display rigorous attention to textual and linguistic issues, whereas others deal with more theological questions or focus on the comparison between two books. Biographical note: Nuria Calduch-Benages, Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome