Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings - (IVP Bible Dictionary) by Tremper Longman III & Peter Enns (Hardcover)

About the Book

Tremper Longman III and Peter E. Enns edit this collection of 148 articles by over 90 contributors on Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ruth and Esther.

Book Synopsis

Christianity Today Merit Award winner
ECPA Gold Medallion

The Old Testament books of wisdom and poetry carry themselves differently from those of the Pentateuch, the histories or the prophets. The divine voice does not peal from Sinai, there are no narratives carried along by prophetic interpretation nor are oracles declaimed by a prophet. Here Scripture often speaks in the words of human response to God and God's world. The hymns, laments and thanksgivings of Israel, the dirge of Lamentations, the questionings of Qohelet, the love poetry of the Song of Songs, the bold drama of Job and the proverbial wisdom of Israel all offer their textures to this great body of biblical literature. Then too there are the finely crafted stories of Ruth and Esther that narrate the silent providence of God in the course of Israelite and Jewish lives.

This third Old Testament volume in InterVarsity Press's celebrated "Black Dictionary" series offers nearly 150 articles covering all the important aspects of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ruth and Esther. Over ninety contributors, many of them experts in this literature, have contributed to the Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry Writings. This volume maintains the quality of scholarship that students, scholars and pastors have come to expect from this series.

Coverage of each biblical book includes an introduction to the book itself as well as separate articles on its ancient Near Eastern background and its history of interpretation. Additional articles amply explore the literary dimensions of Hebrew poetry and prose, including acrostic, ellipsis, inclusio, intertextuality, parallelism and rhyme. And there are well-rounded treatments of Israelite wisdom and wisdom literature, including wisdom poems, sources and theology. In addition, a wide range of interpretive approaches is canvassed in articles on hermeneutics, feminist interpretation, form criticism, historical criticism, rhetorical criticism and social-scientific approaches.

The Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry Writings is sure to command shelf space within arm's reach of any student, teacher or preacher working in this portion of biblical literature.

Tremper Longman III and Peter E. Enns edit this collection of 148 articles by 90 contributors on Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ruth and Esther.

Reference volumes in the IVP Bible Dictionary Series provide in-depth treatment of biblical and theological topics in an accessible, encyclopedia format, including cross-sectional themes, methods of interpretation, significant historical or cultural background, and each Old and New Testament book as a whole.

Review Quotes

"This useful addition to this series of dictionaries provides an excellent resource for students and others who require an accessible overview of the study of biblical books and general topics in the wisdom and poetry category."

--J. McKeown, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2009

"An excellent resource for students and others who require accessible overview of the study of biblical books and general topics in the wisdom and poetry category."

--J. McKeow, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 33.5, 2009

"Authors and editors have taken great care to make the articles both scholarly and readable, and one can say that they have succeeded in producing a work that supplements all existing biblical reference works."

--International Review of Biblical Studies, 2008-2009

"Every student serious about pursuing biblical studies and every pastor committed to solid exegetical work should keep a copy of this indispensible volume within arm's reach."

--Luke Lin, Koinonia

"Students and professors of Scripture have, in this volume, a precious and incredibly up-to-date resource."

--James Chukwuma Okoye, Catholic Library World, March 2010

"The Dictionary offers a lot of helpful, accessible material at a reasonable price."

--Charles Telfer, Mid America Journal of Theology, 2009

"The volume covers much ground and covers it well. Well worth the price for any layperson, student, or scholar who wishes to engage the varied corpus that this dictionary covers."

--Scott C. Jones, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 71, 2009

"This Dictionary should be in the collection of any library covering Biblical studies regardless of religious affiliation. Once again IVP has done the scholarly community a great service."

--Philosophy and Religion, Vol. 23, No. 5, 2009

"A beautiful accession to the series, and its price is unbelievable!"

--P.C. Beentjes, International Journal in Philosophy and Theology, 70, 2009

"Editors Longman and Enns have assembled a truly outstanding team of both senior and junior scholars who present up-to-date research with current bibliographies on all the major issues confronting the interpreter of these important books. If you are only going to buy one encyclopedic dictionary on the Bible, this is the one I would recommend."

--Paul J. Kissling, SCJ, Spring 2009

About the Author

Peter Enns is professor of Old Testament and biblical hermeneutics at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the author of a commentary on Exodus and Inspiration and Incarnation, as well as numerous articles on the Old Testament.

Tremper Longman III is Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He is the author of numerous books, including An Introduction to the Old Testament (with Raymond Dillard) and commentaries on Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs and Daniel.