Tracing God's Story: Old TestamentMinta

Wisdom Literature

The next section of the Old Testament is often called wisdom literature. Sometimes, it is referred to as the poetical books. This part of the Bible comprises five books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, although some people also include Lamentations. These books mostly contain poetry, songs, and wise sayings. They were written to emphasize the importance of gaining wisdom and having a relationship with God; they provide instructions on practically applying that wisdom and remind us to give God glory in every situation. Each book goes about this in a different way, but each shows us what it means to please God. They deal with our human struggles and real-life experiences.

These books were not written by prophets or priests like the rest of the Old Testament but instead were written by sages, which is just another word for wise men. Solomon is the major author, and David played a pretty big role as well, but there are many other sages who wrote pieces of these books.

The wisdom literature books may have been written as early as 2100 BC or as late as 600 BC. A variety of authors wrote the psalms. David's portions were written during his lifetime, which was between 1100 BC and 960 BC. The other portions were mostly written after the Babylonian captivity, which was around 500 BC.

Proverbs also had many authors, and it is likely Solomon's writings were compiled before his death in 931 BC, but the other writings were added sometime between 700 and 500 BC. The author of Ecclesiastes is identified by the Hebrew word "Koheleth," which means teacher, but most scholars agree that it is a pseudonym or title for Solomon. So, this book would have been dated before his death in 931 BC, but those who believe the author was not Solomon date it much later, possibly 3rd to 2nd century BC.

Song of Solomon, sometimes called Song of Songs, was most likely written by Solomon as well, although some also dispute this. It was likely written between 980 BC and 931 BC.

So, all of that might sound really confusing, and some of the wisdom literature will be written in a way you might find a little hard to read, but the messages are clear and simple: gain wisdom, and God loves you.

I pray that as you dig into Scripture and read some of the verses in the wisdom literature books, God speaks to you in exciting new ways and that your spirit begins coming to life.