Wisdom in Classical and Biblical Tradition

Michael Legaspi

A history of the concept of wisdom in classical and Biblical studies
Combines critical analysis of ancient texts with Western intellectual history
A synthetic contribution to the growing field of wisdom studies

Wisdom in Classical and Biblical Tradition

Michael Legaspi

Description

Wisdom in Classical and Biblical Tradition begins with the recognition that modern culture emerged from a synthesis of the legacies of ancient Greek civilization and the theological perspectives of Jewish and Christian scriptures. Part of what made this synthesis possible was a shared outlook: a common aspiration toward wholeness of understanding that refused to separate knowledge from goodness, virtue from happiness, cosmos from polis, and divine authority from human responsibility. This wholeness of understanding, or wisdom, features prominently in both classical and biblical literatures as an ultimate good.
Wisdom in Classical and Biblical Tradition has two central aims. The first is to explain in formal terms what wisdom is. Though wisdom involves matters of practical judgment affecting the life of the individual and the social sphere, it has also been identified with an understanding of the world and of the ultimate realities that give meaning to human thought and action. Michael Legaspi explains how, in its traditional form, wisdom was understood to govern intellectual, social, and ethical endeavors. Legaspi's second aim is to analyze figures and texts that have yielded and shaped the traditional understanding of wisdom. This book examines accounts of wisdom from foundational texts that range from the period of Homer to the destruction of the Second Temple, and explains why the search for wisdom remains an important but problematic endeavor today.

Wisdom in Classical and Biblical Tradition

Michael Legaspi

Introduction
Chapter 1. Homer and the Wisdom of the Hero
Chapter 2. Wisdom and Knowledge in the Hebrew Bible
Chapter 3. Job the True Sage
Chapter 4. Piety and Wisdom in Socrates
Chapter 5. A Nation of Philosophers
Chapter 6. The School of Solomon
Chapter 7. An End to Wisdom
Conclusion
Bibliography

Wisdom in Classical and Biblical Tradition

Michael Legaspi

Author Information

Michael Legaspi, Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Jewish Studies, Pennsylvania State University

William Legaspi is Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Penn State University, and the author of The Death of Scripture and the Rise of Biblical Studies.

Wisdom in Classical and Biblical Tradition

Michael Legaspi

Reviews and Awards

"Overall, this is a rich and indeed wise portrait of wisdom, with real insight for philosophers, theologians, and biblical scholars." - Richard S. Briggs, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

"The idea of 'metaphysical vulnerability' (see especially pp. 105-7) that Legaspi employs to interpret Job and the Hebrew bible is particularly striking. Placing Socrates in the midst of Jewish and Christian religious writings, and foregrounding the religious nature of Socrates' teaching (111) may well be unfamiliar to many classicists but allow us to look at some of Plato's dialogues in a new light." - Stuart R. Thomson, Classics for all

"This superb monograph is an important contribution to our understanding of wisdom in the ancient world." - Bradley C. Gregory, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

"Wisdom in Classical and Biblical Tradition succeeds in illustrating several facets of wisdom, a concept that is notoriously difficult to define. Legaspi's definition of wisdom as "a program for life" is refreshing and opens new avenues for research, instead of being mired with the perennial-and non-productive-question of defining wisdom as a genre or category of literature." - Elisa Uusimäki, Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, Reading Religion

"Summing up: Recommended" - CHOICE