The Fear of the Lord Is Wisdom: A Theological Introduction to Wisdom in Israel

A Jesus Creed 2017 Old Testament Book of the Year

Wisdom plays an important role in the Old Testament, particularly in Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. Now in paperback, this major work from renowned scholar Tremper Longman III examines wisdom in the Old Testament and explores its theological influence on the intertestamental books, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and especially the New Testament.

Longman notes that wisdom is a practical category (the skill of living), an ethical category (a wise person is a virtuous person), and most foundationally a theological category (the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom). The author discusses Israelite wisdom in the context of the broader ancient Near East, examines the connection between wisdom in the New Testament and in the Old Testament, and deals with a number of contested issues, such as the relationship of wisdom to prophecy, history, and law.

Tremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University) is distinguished scholar and professor emeritus of Biblical Studies at Westmont College. He is a senior translator in the Bible Translation Committee for the New Living Translation and the author of more than thirty-five books on how to interpret the Bible. His work has been translated into eighteen languages.