Wisdom in the Hebrew Bible

What is the source of wisdom? What is the biblical understanding of it, and how is it revealed? In this book, T. A. Perry brings his creative impulse and critical mind to some of the most enigmatic passages of the Hebrew Bible. Perry provides serious students with an insightful and incisive lens through which to interpret, among other biblical passages, the story of Judah and Tamar, the riddle proposed by Samson, and the words of Qohelet (Ecclesiastes) reflecting on the advancing years of life. "T. A. Perry finds biblical wisdom in some of the most likely and some of the most unlikely places. His fresh readings of familiar texts range from the intriguing to the brilliant. Unpacking riddles, proverbs, puzzling narratives, and more, Perry draws on Jewish and Western sources to add wisdom to wisdom. Perry's unconventional 'introduction' to biblical wisdom is the most stimulating work on the subject that I know." --Edward L. Greenstein, Meiser Professor of Biblical Studies and Director of the Institute for Jewish Biblical Interpretation at Bar-Ilan University, Israel T. A. Perry (PhD, Romance Philology and Comparative Literature, Yale University) is a Faculty Associate at Hartford Seminary and was recently Corcoran Visiting Chair in Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College. He has also taught at Ben Gurion University, Loyola University, and Hebrew University.