4QInstruction’s Mystery and Mastery of Wisdom

To paraphrase Victor Shklovsky, the idea that 4QInstruction presents a combination of distinct apocalyptic and sapiential components has survived the downfall of the theory that supports it. Scholars increasingly describe wisdom and apocalypticism as coexistent, mutually influencing currents of thou...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hankins, Davis (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2016
In: Dead Sea discoveries
Year: 2016, Volume: 23, Issue: 2, Pages: 183-205
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B 4QInstruction / Old Testament / Apocalypticism / Wisdom literature
IxTheo Classification:HB Old Testament
HD Early Judaism
NBQ Eschatology
Further subjects:B Wisdom Apocalypticism 4QInstruction Epistemology Ideological Criticism
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Summary:To paraphrase Victor Shklovsky, the idea that 4QInstruction presents a combination of distinct apocalyptic and sapiential components has survived the downfall of the theory that supports it. Scholars increasingly describe wisdom and apocalypticism as coexistent, mutually influencing currents of thought within a broader Hellenistic environment. Nevertheless, characterizations of their co-presence in texts like 4QInstruction tend to rely upon more simple, typological notions. This paper explores how the relationships of similarity and difference among various texts alter significantly when we discard such typologies and instead adopt a more complex, structural approach to the logic underlying their discursive components. I discuss several texts from Proverbs, Job, Daniel, and Ben Sira, but I focus on 4QInstruction, which I argue presents apocalyptic-infused teachings within a framework that is congruent with—even more logically rigorous than—traditional wisdom. However, amidst Second Temple Judaism’s heightened concerns with knowledge, this logical advance accompanies dangerous sociopolitical consequences.
ISSN:1568-5179
Contains:Enthalten in: Dead Sea discoveries
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15685179-12341388