The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes - Derek Kidner

The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job & Ecclesiastes: An Introduction to Wisdom Literature by Derek Kidner

Rating: 5

Readability: 6

Impact: 5

Read it Again: Not before I investigate some other books on the subject...

Recommend It: Maybe, for a quick overview... I don't know.

What to Expect

An overview where Kidner pulls from multiple biblical scholars and gives you various opinions on different aspects of wisdom literature.

Explores the text, background, and other issues briefly.

My Squib

Could have been much better if he hadn't been so eager to use a wide vocabulary...really slowed the book down and obscured what he was actually saying. (This wasn't just a nice variety..."anon" was employed combined with copious members of it's kin.;-)

He's very smart and has an amazing knowledge of the Bible, I just didn't deal well with his vocabulary and style.

Glad I read it. A lot of excellent things to think about, but not satisfying on the subject (which isn't something against it...it certainly made me want more!)

I've heard that his books specifically on the Psalms and Proverbs are good. It would be interesting to read those.

From the Book

Proverbs claims the whole of life for wisdom, and the whole range of wisdom for God.

...True, it will encourage clear thinking, but the wisdom it speaks of is the kind that must engage the whole man: not only his power to think straight, but his management of affairs, his sensitivity to people, his character and his morals; above all (or rather, at the root of all) his relation to God.

This is the last word on the matter, both in the book of Job and in the New Testament's reflection on it. And that will be the last word in the bigger drama: not that man will demand and get his answers or his imagined rights, but that God will give, to those who endure to the end in this bitter war, 'such good things as pass man's understanding.'

Doug Wilson and Jeff Meyers have books on Ecclesiastes, but does anyone know of a good book on Job? I'd be very interested in reading one.

Thanks for reading,
Miss Pickwickian