Senior College

Session 3

Tapping into Ancient Wisdom: The Books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes

Fridays: February 8, 15, 22, 29
Time: 2:30-4:20 p.m.
Where: Pappajohn Business Building W307
Registration deadline: January 25
Class limit: 70

We will examine the wisdom movement in biblical Israel with our focus on the three main books that constitute the wisdom corpus of the Hebrew canon-Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. As we approach Proverbs, which is more engaging than many suppose, we will take account of the style of aphoristic discourse, survey representative topics of human behavior covered, and target two special units in Proverbs, one celebrating Ms. Wisdom (wisdom personified in Proverbs 8) and one celebrating the good wife (in Proverbs 31). We will reflect on the main dynamics undergirding the book of Job, realizing that nobody has the authority to speak the final word on this amazing literature. Finally, we will sample Ecclesiastes for its honest, realistic, and even hopeful disclosures. Whereas none of these three books will be read in whole, we will consider their main contributions to biblical religion.

INSTRUCTOR: J. Kenneth Kuntz served on the faculty of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Iowa for 39 years. After obtaining his Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary in New York City and teaching at Wellesley College, he set foot on the University of Iowa campus in 1967. He is the author of two books and numerous articles. Ken's research interests focus primarily on biblical Hebrew poetry, especially the Book of Psalms and Israelite wisdom literature.

Online registration now available!

Return to Senior College home.

Top of page

Session 1

Session 2

Session 4

Session 5

Session 6

Session 7

Session 8

Home