Human Interaction with the Natural World in Wisdom Literature and Beyond

"Created in honor of the work of Professor Tova Forti, this collection will consider the natural world in key wisdom books - Proverbs, Job and Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes, Ben Sira and Song of Songs/Solomon - and also examine particular animal and plant imagery in other texts in the Hebrew Bible. It will crucially involve ancient Near Eastern parallels and like texts from the classical world, but will also draw on rabbinic tradition and broader interpretative works, as well as different textual traditions such as the LXX and Qumran scrolls. Whilst the natural world, notably plants and animals, is a key uniting element, the human aspect is also crucial. To explore this, contributors will also treat the wider concerns within wisdom literature on human beings in relation to their social context, and in comparison with neighbouring nations. They emphasize that the human, animal and plant worlds act together in synthesis, all enhanced and imbued by the world-view of wisdom literature."--