Excerpt from The Influence of the Egyptian and the Babylonian Wisdom Literatures Upon the Hebrew Wisdom Literature: Thesis We have often heard it said that nations are like individuals and that that nation develops most that borro most. The most original of peoples appropriate most, drinkincr deeply from the common heritage of mankind.1 We can have patience with those individuals and with those nations which take the best of that which they borrow and so thoroughly assimilate it that the stamp of the original source is blotted out. To accomplish such a thing requires skill and time, but the name of plagiarist and copy-cat are not just in such a case. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The Wisdom of Amenemope (also called the Wisdom of Amenemopet, Instruction of Amenemope, or Instructions of Amenemopet) is an ancient Egyptian text that has mostly survived to the present, dating to sometime between 1550 and 1350 BC. Egyptian wisdom literature served as an inspiration for several ancient Israelite books, including the Deuteronomy, Psalms, Proverbs, and the Wisdom of Joshua ben Sira. The most significant influence of Amenemope on the Israelite texts is found in the book of Proverbs, which appears to be directly influenced by Amenemope. The Wisdom of Amenemope was lost for over 2000 years, however, in the late 1800s, several copies were found by Egyptologists both on papyrus and tablets. The various copies all dated to the 21st through 27th dynasties of Egypt, circa 1170 to 500 BC, meaning the Wisdom of Amenemope was in circulation for over 600 years before being lost. It is not clear when exactly it was lost, but it was no longer in circulation by the time the Septuagint was translated at the Library of Alexandria circa 250 BC, and there is no evidence the Library ever acquired a copy of it. If the biblical story of Solomon is essentially accurate, then his Egyptian wife would have almost certainly given him a copy of the Wisdom of Amenemope, as it carried the name of her father. This was not the Amenemope that wrote the Wisdom of Amenemope, however, it still would have made a good present to a barbarian king she would no doubt want to Egyptianize. The influence of Solomon's wives over his beliefs is a central aspect of his story within the biblical narrative, with the Levites that wrote the surviving versions of the books of Kingdoms (Samuel and Kings) ultimately describing the downfall of the unified kingdom of Israel (Judea and Samaria) as being because of his actions. Yet, he was described as building the first temple in Jerusalem, and so continued to be revered by the Levites. Whether Solomon existed or not, the Book of Proverbs was compiled by someone who ascribed it to him. This person drew on many ancient sources but clearly had a copy of the Wisdom of Amenemope in his possession. The fact that the author of Proverbs translated texts directly from Amenemope is not in doubt, and almost all major Christian denominations have recognized the preeminence of the Wisdom of Amenemope in the compilation of Proverbs.

Israelite wisdom, literature, David Penchansky argues, records the disputes of ancient sages over basic human questions: What is the purpose of life? Is God just? Why do we suffer? Does God even exist? Penchansky sees confl icting answers to these questions in Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Ben Sira, and the Wisdom of Solomon -- and does not try to harmonize them. Instead, he fi nds meaning in the very dissonance and contradiction within these texts. Employing the latest scholarship yet remaining accessible to nonspecialists and students, Penchansky strikingly focuses on the "big picture" behind wisdom literature -- making it easy for readers to follow and appreciate these challenging texts -- without undermining each book's distinctive features. In the process, Penchansky opens up this rich and fertile vein of Israelite thought and demonstrates the renewed relevance of ancient Hebrew wisdom for today.

"Is there evidence for a distinct 'wisdom tradition' in ancient Israel? Mark R. Sneed redefines the wisdom literature as a loosely cohering collection of books that educated scribal apprentices in moral instruction. Sneed discusses the data for scribal culture and pedagogy in the ancient Near East, suggesting that wisdom literature was meant to complement, not to compete with, other modes of literature in the Hebrew Bible. The result is a surprising new picture of the authors and tradents of the wisdom literature"--

This valuable resource introduces readers to the Old Testament books of wisdom and poetry--Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs--and helps them better understand each book's overall flow. Estes summarizes some of each book's key issues, offers an exposition of the book that interacts with major commentaries and recent studies, and concludes with an extensive bibliography. Now in paperback.