Kregel Academic does it again! I had previously read the
volume Interpreting Apocalyptic Literature and was amazed by the depth of
knowledge of the writers! So when Kregel asked me to review the exegetical book
“Interpreting the Wisdom Books” I couldn’t say no! So lots of people have
written section by section what they like about the book or what each section
covers; so I won’t waste your time doing that; instead I am going to hit some
highlights of what made this book stand out to me, as both a scholar and as a
future pastor.
For me, a lot of the time, I forget to look at the big
picture of a book or the theme of the book I am reading. Section 2 for me was
the beginning of the main course, if you will. I had just finished learning
about “What Wisdom is” and how Poetry played a part in that; but the real meal
began for me when we started talking about themes, then delving into them a bit
deeper. This series of books does not just scratch the surface of the Bible,
while written as a text book, and not particularly thick, the books still take
time to really bite into the meat and to give you enough of a grasp that you
can continue to tear pieces out of the book you are studying and gain a greater
understanding of the Bible.
As a minister of the Gospel, sometimes I, like many of my
fellow ministers, shy away from the Song of Solomon. As a book that is written
as a love poem between two people, it’s hard to pick out themes in the book
which may relate to our society. However, this book made the SOS easier to use
it to proclaim God’s love; especially since the Song of Solomon is a highly
relational book—geared more towards relationships between men and women. So for
me, as a single woman, this book made SOS a bit friendlier, useful and has
given me some courage towards being able to quote this book without wondering
if the quote I am choosing is truly relational, and how it is relational
towards people.
Finally, I really like how each of these books as a series,
and this one is no different, gives you the tools to prepare for
interpretation, also guidance on how to interpret and finally to proclaim the
wisdom these books give us. A lot of people don’t have the opportunity or
desire to sit through hours, weeks, or months of Hebrew/Greek classes—So while
these books are text books, they are also very friendly towards lay-speakers
and armchair theologians.
Would I recommend this to my friends who have never read the
Wisdom books for learning exegesis? Yes! The book is easy to read, it’s written
to both lay members, scholars and ordained ministers alike. I don’t think the
language of the book is lacking anywhere, all points are concise and given
proper space for the type of book this is. Out of 5 stars, I would give this
book a solid 4; it wasn’t a boring text book and I do recommend this book to
anyone wishing to learn more about interpreting the wisdom books.
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