What is wisdom literature?

These three books belong to a portion of the Old Testament very distinct in its character from all the rest. While the historical books are, as a whole, the language of the divine historian, and the books of the prophets are still more directly the words of Jehovah Himself; addressed through the prophet to the people, that section of the Scripture which comprises Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon, is eminently man's voice, Of course I do not mean that they are less fully inspired on that account. Every word, I doubt not, is penned for us by the Holy Ghost Himself; so that we have nothing but what is profitable and needed. Still, if we find, as in Job for instance we do find, even Satan speaking, we do not any the more adopt his sayings as the expression of divine truth. They are carefully registered for us with a divine purpose. But we do not say "it is written" of Job, that if God put forth His hand and touch all that he hath, he will curse Him to His face. That was what Satan said, although it is written. So in like manner, when the Lord says to Job's friends," Ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, like my servant Job," it is plain we cannot indiscriminately adopt their sayings, as divine truth either. And when we come to Job's own sayings, spite of the commendation so far expressed, we find that he, too, in his words, had "justified himself rather than God" (Job 32:2). So that neither can we adopt without reservation his words either.

"As the work of the Chokma [the didactic class], the book of Job stands, with the three other works belonging to this class of the Israelitish literature, among the Hagiographa, which are called in Hebrew simply the Kethubim. Thus, by the side of the Law and the Prophets, the third division of the canon is styled, in which are included all those writings belonging neither to the province of prophetic history nor prophetic declaration. Among the Hagiographa are writings even of a prophetic character, as Psalms and Daniel, but their writers are not properly prophets. [?] At present, Lamentations stands among them, but this is not its original place; as also Ruth appears to have stood originally between Judges and Samuel. Both Lamentations and Ruth are placed among Hagiographa, that there the so-called MEGILLOTH, or scrolls, may stand together; the Song of Songs, the feast-book of the eighth passover-day; Ruth, that of the second Shabuoth-day; Lamentations, that of the ninth of Ab; Ecclesiastes, that of the eighth tabernacle-day; Esther, that of Purim … The position which [the book of Job] occupies is, moreover, a very shifting one. In the Alexandrine canon, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, follow the four books of the Kings. The historical books, therefore, stand, from the earliest to the latest, side by side; then begins, with Job, Psalms, Proverbs, a new row, opened with these three, in stricter sense, poetical books. Then Meli to of Sardis, in the second century, places Chronicles with the books of Kings, but arranges immediately after them the non-historical Hagiographa in the following order: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Job. Here the Solomonic writings are joined to the Davidic psalter, and the anonymous book of Job stands last. In our editions of the Bible, the Hagiographa division begins with Psalms, Proverbs, Job, (the succession peculiar to MSS. of the German class); in the Talmud, with Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs; in the Masora, and in MSS. of the Spanish class, with Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs. All these modes of arrangement are well considered."

"As the work of the Chokma [the didactic class], the book of Job stands, with the three other works belonging to this class of the Israelitish literature, among the Hagiographa, which are called in Hebrew simply Kethubim. Thus, by the side of the Law and the Prophets, the third division of the canon is styled, in which are included all those writings belonging neither to the province of prophetic history nor prophetic declaration. Among the Hagiographa are writings even of a prophetic character, as Psalms and Daniel, but their writers are not properly prophets. At present, Lamentations stands among them but this is not its original place, as also Ruth appears to have stood originally between Judges and Samuel. Both Lamentations and Ruth are placed among Hagiographa, that there the five so-called Megilloth, or scrolls, may stand together: the Song of Songs, the feast-book of the eighth passover-day; Ruth that of the second Shabuoth-day; Lamentations, that of the ninth of Ab; Ecclesiastes, that of the eighth Tabernacle-day; Esther, that of Purim….The position which [the book of Job] occupies is, moreover, a very shifting one. In the Alexandrine canon, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, follow the four books of the Kings. The historical books, therefore, stand, from the earliest to the latest, side by side; then begins with Job, Psalms, Proverbs, a new row, opened with these three in stricter sense poetical books. Then Melito of Sardis, in the second century, places Chronicles with the books of the Kings, but arranges immediately after them the non-historical Hagiographa in the following order: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Job. Here, the Solomonic writings are joined to the Davidic psalter, and the anonymous book of Job stands last. In our editions of the Bible, the Hagiographa division begins with Psalms, Proverbs, Job (the succession peculiar to MSS. of the German class): in the Talmud, with Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs; in the Masora, and in MSS. of the Spanish class, with Chronicles, Psalms, Job, Proverbs. All these modes of arrangement are well considered."

The last of the Old Testament books, the poetical, are also grouped into a Pentateuch. Here, the book of Psalms stands in its prominence for a Genesis as a seed plot of all. Job narrates, in the language of experience, the deliverance of the individual not only from the bondage of trial, but from the more galling bondage of self-righteousness. The Song of Songs is the sanctuary or Leviticus of experience; while Ecclesiastes, as Numbers, points out many a weary road over the wilderness which faith can avoid; and Proverbs again gathers up the experience of the way into practical lessons answering to Deuteronomy.

How good it is that God has given us such books as these — books that tell out, on the one hand, our own weakness, our own depression in the midst of trial, but that go on to bring out God's sufficiency, and His succor, in that very place of trial! They are very wonderful and interesting books in that way. They comprise first of all, as the beginning, the book of Psalms, the largest and that which has the widest scope of any of them; the Genesis, as you might say. Next to that comes the book of Job, which gives us the affliction of God's people and their deliverance out of it, and the lesson they learn through that affliction. Then, corresponding to the book of Leviticus, the sanctuary, you have that lovely song of Solomon which introduces us into the very presence of the Lord Himself. After that, as a Numbers, the book of Ecclesiastes, which is the wilderness-book of the wilderness-books; and finally, Deuteronomy, or the gathered wisdom for the way, in the book of Proverbs.

Job, the Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, all plainly give us experiences also, the fruits of which are harvested for us in Proverbs, and the grain beaten out. Proverbs is thus the experimental Deuteronomy, the fresh giving of the law as ascertained and justified by experience and is thus the fitting close of the Old Testament as a whole. Its peculiar form is thus perfectly explained.

Again: taking away from the Kethubim the historical and prophetical books, we have a didactic series of five, at the head of which the Psalms are found; Job, Solomon's Song, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, completing another Pentateuch.

The three remaining books are of a different character from these two; and in them the human voice is not simply controlled by but harmonized with the divine wisdom; and are thus either true songs, as are the Psalms and the Song itself, or precepts, as the Proverbs. The allowance of human thoughts is necessarily limited, as it is plainly marked off from the rest; but we have cause to thank God for what has been permitted.

The collection of "the words of the wise" which next claims our heed is as different in character from the book of Psalms as one can conceive, though both may be in form poetical, the latter in the highest degree. But they are the inverse of one another: the Psalms mostly presenting to us Jehovah, or God in His nature rather than in covenant, the expression by the Holy Spirit of His people's and His own feelings in their varying experience, in hopes and fears, joy and distress, as well as in the acknowledgment of His ways; the Proverbs, His wisdom in view of the difficulties and trials, snares and joys, and all other circumstances in the earthly path. The fear of Jehovah is the key-note. The special design of the book is unmistakable. No other part of the Bible fulfils or even shares its place. It communicates Jehovah's wisdom in its authoritative instruction of His people. Hence "God" as such occurs very sparingly in the prologue, Prov. 2:5, 17, Prov. 3:4; not at all in the strict "proverbs of Solomon" (10-24); once in the supplement which Hezekiah's men transcribed (Prov. 25:2); and twice in the appendix of Agur's words (Prov. 30:5, 9). This however gives no countenance to the dream of Astruc, but one more plain proof that it is false, senseless, and misleading.

The Book of Proverbs gives us the application of that wisdom which created the heavens and the earth to the details of life in this world of confusion and evil. This thought brings out the immensity of grace unfolded here. God deigns to apply His wisdom to the circumstances of our practical life, and to shew us, with His own intelligence, the consequences of all the ways in which man may walk. For it is often in the way of knowledge, not of precept, that the statements made in the Book of Proverbs are presented. It is a great blessing to be provided for in the labyrinth of this world, in which a false step may lead to such bitter consequences, with a book that sets forth the path of prudence and of life; and that in connection with a wisdom which comes from God.