Discerning Wisdom: The Sapiential Literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Ben Sira was the only Hebrew wisdom text from the late Second Temple period. The Qumran scrolls provide an abundance of previously unknown Hebrew sapiential material. Discerning Wisdom provides a systematic overview of all the Qumran texts that are commonly identified as wisdom compositions. This literature raises issues such as the incorporation of apocalypticism and Torah piety into the sapiential tradition. The Dead Sea Scrolls offer crucial evidence for understanding the wisdom of the late Second Temple period and the reception of traditional wisdom in Early Judaism.

Contents: Introduction -- A Wisdom Text With an Apocalyptic Worldview: 4QInstruction (1Q26; 4Q415-18, 423) -- Eschatological Wisdom: The Book of Mysteries (1Q27; 4Q299- 301) -- Gendered Wisdom: 4QWiles of the Wicked Woman (4Q184) -- The Rewards of Wisdom: 4QSapiential Work (4Q185) -- Wisdom for the Yaḥad : 4QWords of the Ma śkîl t o All Sons o f Dawn (4 Q 298) -- Wisdom and Halakhah: 4QWays of Righteousness (4Q420-21) -- Practical Wisdom: The Instruction of 4Q424 -- Wisdom and the Torah: 4QBeatitudes (4Q525) -- Songs Of oWisdom: Wisdom Psalms in the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls -- The Minor Wisdom Texts -- Conclusion: The Qumran Wisdom Texts and the Sapiential Tradition