Early Israelite Wisdom by Stuart WeeksReview by: Michael V. FoxJournal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 116, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1996), pp. 138-139Published by: American Oriental SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/606390 .

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Journal of the American Oriental Society 116.1 (1996) Journal of the American Oriental Society 116.1 (1996)

Bibliographies (with a higher proportion of German and Dutch items than one would expect in a translation) are found at the end of each section, black and white photographs are

grouped in three locations, and six pages of maps and an index are found at the end of the book.

Intended as a textbook for seminary and university courses on the Old Testament, the volume will find a place in all but the most liberal or the most conservative of schools.

Bibliographies (with a higher proportion of German and Dutch items than one would expect in a translation) are found at the end of each section, black and white photographs are

grouped in three locations, and six pages of maps and an index are found at the end of the book.

Intended as a textbook for seminary and university courses on the Old Testament, the volume will find a place in all but the most liberal or the most conservative of schools.

R. THEODORE LUTZ R. THEODORE LUTZ UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

Early Israelite Wisdom. By STUART WEEKS. Oxford Theologi- cal Monograph. Oxford: CLARENDON PRESS, 1994. Pp. 212.

$39.95.

Although the title Early Israelite Wisdom suggests an intro- duction or survey of this topic, the book is actually a critique of various theories about wisdom literature with only a few con- structive insights. Weeks's purpose is to challenge what he dubs "assured results" of wisdom scholarship. In fact, the views he

challenges-largely products of the nineteen-fifties and sixties and rather musty by now-are far from being entrenched and

universally accepted. Most have already been effectively criti- cized. These theories are, however, of a stature that justifies even now a sensible and judicious assessment such as Weeks offers.

Weeks first cautions against a simplistic importation of data from foreign wisdom in order to understand Israelite wisdom

(chapter one), though it is not clear who he believes is still do-

ing this. At the same time, Weeks avoids a simplistic rejection of foreign influences. Israelite wisdom, in Weeks's fine formu-

lation, "almost certainly lies within an undirected network of

specific influences across a large area and a long period" (p. 8). He emphasizes the importance of reckoning with native Israel- ite originality and reshaping of borrowed themes. Few would

disagree. Weeks's most original contribution comes in "Context in the

Sayings Collections" (chapter two). Weeks employs "nearest-

neighbour analysis" to ascertain the scope of sub-collections and to discover the redactor's principles of arrangement. He searches for instances of "thematic linking," "verbal linking," and "literal thinking" (e.g., adjacent lines starting with the same

letter), then charts the linkages (without defining the concept). He compares the frequencies of linkages in each chapter, al-

though the medieval chapter division has no significance for the book's redactional phases. Among his various findings he notes that over 58% of the 375 sayings in Prov. 10:1-22:16 are joined to an adjacent saying by verbal, literal, or thematic links, with a greater concentration of these in chapters 10-14. But is 58%

Early Israelite Wisdom. By STUART WEEKS. Oxford Theologi- cal Monograph. Oxford: CLARENDON PRESS, 1994. Pp. 212.

$39.95.

Although the title Early Israelite Wisdom suggests an intro- duction or survey of this topic, the book is actually a critique of various theories about wisdom literature with only a few con- structive insights. Weeks's purpose is to challenge what he dubs "assured results" of wisdom scholarship. In fact, the views he

challenges-largely products of the nineteen-fifties and sixties and rather musty by now-are far from being entrenched and

universally accepted. Most have already been effectively criti- cized. These theories are, however, of a stature that justifies even now a sensible and judicious assessment such as Weeks offers.

Weeks first cautions against a simplistic importation of data from foreign wisdom in order to understand Israelite wisdom

(chapter one), though it is not clear who he believes is still do-

ing this. At the same time, Weeks avoids a simplistic rejection of foreign influences. Israelite wisdom, in Weeks's fine formu-

lation, "almost certainly lies within an undirected network of

specific influences across a large area and a long period" (p. 8). He emphasizes the importance of reckoning with native Israel- ite originality and reshaping of borrowed themes. Few would

disagree. Weeks's most original contribution comes in "Context in the

Sayings Collections" (chapter two). Weeks employs "nearest-

neighbour analysis" to ascertain the scope of sub-collections and to discover the redactor's principles of arrangement. He searches for instances of "thematic linking," "verbal linking," and "literal thinking" (e.g., adjacent lines starting with the same

letter), then charts the linkages (without defining the concept). He compares the frequencies of linkages in each chapter, al-

though the medieval chapter division has no significance for the book's redactional phases. Among his various findings he notes that over 58% of the 375 sayings in Prov. 10:1-22:16 are joined to an adjacent saying by verbal, literal, or thematic links, with a greater concentration of these in chapters 10-14. But is 58%

a lot or a little or normal? There is a vast number of possible "linkages," and since Proverbs treats a limited number of themes

using a stylized, hence restricted, vocabulary, even a random distribution of the proverbs would produce a fair number of link-

ages. To be sure, some chapters (especially 10 and 11), show a

higher frequency of linkages, but some variation in average frequencies is inevitable. Though Weeks amasses statistics, he does not weigh probabilities. He further assumes that the dif- ferent types of linkages are redactional "methods." But are the

linkages methods of redaction, or are they by-products thereof- subconscious associations such as must inevitably arise when an individual collects sayings on certain topics? "Collecting," after

all, may mean no more than a scribe recalling sayings he has heard or read somewhere and writing them down as they pop into mind. They will not do so at complete random. The issue of

significant patterns in the "literal" linkages should be definitively answerable by statistical analysis, of which neither the author nor this reviewer has much command. At any rate, Weeks, with his characteristic caution, concludes that the redactor was not

very interested in using arrangement to bring out the meaning of individual proverbs, and this is largely true.

Weeks doubts that there is material in Proverbs which defi-

nitely points to a setting in the royal court (chapter three). He believes that sayings about the king may reflect the imitation of a known convention (p. 50). It is, however, unclear how imitat-

ing a convention is different from employing it. In any case, these proverbs show too much interest in practical dealings with

kings and nobility to have originated in detachment from the court. But it is also true that a courtly perspective in some say- ings says nothing about the origin of other sayings.

Weeks then demonstrates the circularity in the theory (pro- posed variously by R. B. Y. Scott, William McKane, and R. N.

Whybray) that Israelite wisdom underwent a development or redaction from secular, pragmatic wisdom to religious, Yah- wistic wisdom (chapter four). Weeks aptly adduces the example of Egyptian wisdom, which displayed a mix of religious and

practical concerns long before Israelite wisdom came on the scene.

Weeks demonstrates that the term hakam does not refer to one

type of administrator, and that it is not exclusively connected to the literary genre we label wisdom (chapter five). Here Weeks is traversing ground well covered by R. N. Whybray (The In- tellectual Tradition in the Old Testament [Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1975]), without giving Whybray adequate credit. (References to

Whybray are limited to three specific points.) Weeks also observes deep flaws in the theory (associated with

Gerhard von Rad) that the Joseph story is founded on wisdom ideas and ideals (chapter six). He expands the arguments James Crenshaw made twenty-five years ago ("Method in Determining Wisdom Influences upon 'Historical' Literature," JBL 88 [1969]: 129-42, especially pp. 135-37). Crenshaw's brief critique, which was devastating to von Rad's theory, is inadequately acknowl-

edged for this achievement. Weeks also carefully studies and

a lot or a little or normal? There is a vast number of possible "linkages," and since Proverbs treats a limited number of themes

using a stylized, hence restricted, vocabulary, even a random distribution of the proverbs would produce a fair number of link-

ages. To be sure, some chapters (especially 10 and 11), show a

higher frequency of linkages, but some variation in average frequencies is inevitable. Though Weeks amasses statistics, he does not weigh probabilities. He further assumes that the dif- ferent types of linkages are redactional "methods." But are the

linkages methods of redaction, or are they by-products thereof- subconscious associations such as must inevitably arise when an individual collects sayings on certain topics? "Collecting," after

all, may mean no more than a scribe recalling sayings he has heard or read somewhere and writing them down as they pop into mind. They will not do so at complete random. The issue of

significant patterns in the "literal" linkages should be definitively answerable by statistical analysis, of which neither the author nor this reviewer has much command. At any rate, Weeks, with his characteristic caution, concludes that the redactor was not

very interested in using arrangement to bring out the meaning of individual proverbs, and this is largely true.

Weeks doubts that there is material in Proverbs which defi-

nitely points to a setting in the royal court (chapter three). He believes that sayings about the king may reflect the imitation of a known convention (p. 50). It is, however, unclear how imitat-

ing a convention is different from employing it. In any case, these proverbs show too much interest in practical dealings with

kings and nobility to have originated in detachment from the court. But it is also true that a courtly perspective in some say- ings says nothing about the origin of other sayings.

Weeks then demonstrates the circularity in the theory (pro- posed variously by R. B. Y. Scott, William McKane, and R. N.

Whybray) that Israelite wisdom underwent a development or redaction from secular, pragmatic wisdom to religious, Yah- wistic wisdom (chapter four). Weeks aptly adduces the example of Egyptian wisdom, which displayed a mix of religious and

practical concerns long before Israelite wisdom came on the scene.

Weeks demonstrates that the term hakam does not refer to one

type of administrator, and that it is not exclusively connected to the literary genre we label wisdom (chapter five). Here Weeks is traversing ground well covered by R. N. Whybray (The In- tellectual Tradition in the Old Testament [Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1975]), without giving Whybray adequate credit. (References to

Whybray are limited to three specific points.) Weeks also observes deep flaws in the theory (associated with

Gerhard von Rad) that the Joseph story is founded on wisdom ideas and ideals (chapter six). He expands the arguments James Crenshaw made twenty-five years ago ("Method in Determining Wisdom Influences upon 'Historical' Literature," JBL 88 [1969]: 129-42, especially pp. 135-37). Crenshaw's brief critique, which was devastating to von Rad's theory, is inadequately acknowl-

edged for this achievement. Weeks also carefully studies and

138 138

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Reviews of Books Reviews of Books

rejects a number of proposed Egyptian importations into Solo- mon's administration (chapter seven).

Weeks surveys the evidence for the existence of schools in an- cient Israel and finds it wanting-again, a widely accepted idea

(chapter eight). He also observes that even if schools did exist, we would have no reason to suppose that wisdom literature was used in the education of scribes. Wisdom literature, though edu- cational, would be of little use in professional training. This is a significant point: the debate about the Sitz im Leben of wisdom should not revolve around the question of schools.

Early Israelite Wisdom is polemic of a moderate, cautious sort. It seeks to clear away theories that have often served to

disguise ignorance. In this it is quite successful, but it leaves be- hind an empty playing field. An equally patient consideration of what we do know about Israelite wisdom and its social-historical

setting would be welcome. Perhaps that is planned.

MICHAEL V. Fox UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

Biblical Dan. By AVRAHAM BIRAN. Jerusalem: ISRAEL EXPLORA- TION SOCIETY; HEBREW UNION COLLEGE-JEWISH INSTITUTE OF RELIGION, 1994. Pp. 280 (including 228 illustrations and 44 color plates). $32 ($24 to members of the Israel Exploration Society).

Biblical Dan is a translation of the Hebrew original, Dan: 25 Years of Excavation of Tel Dan. Biblical Dan, which has been "edited, revised and augmented," and includes an additional

chapter on the Aramaic stele found in 1993, consists essentially of Avraham Biran's personal reminiscences of work at Tel Dan. Since Biblical Dan was not intended for professionals, archae-

ologists will find little of use in the book; that fact, however, is more of a disappointment than a surprise. The surprise is that Biblical Dan fails also to satisfy the casual reader.

Biran alludes to the great wealth of information from the ex- cavations of twenty-five years, but most of it remains undis- closed to the reader. In fact, at several points the book dedicates more attention to extraneous matters than to material dubbed

important; for example, more lines (plus a photograph, p. 60) are used to present a nest of burrowing owls than an object "of

special interest" (p. 57) to the story of Middle Bronze IIA. Where Biblical Dan turns to broader conclusions, the reader finds archaeological truisms or romanticisms: "a sort of techni- cal revolution in pottery manufacture occurred in the Middle Bronze period" (p. 48); "consequently, the people buried in the tomb lived at a time when the stony slope already existed. Could they have belonged to one of the leading families of the city re- sponsible for the construction of the earthen ramparts?" (p. 66);

rejects a number of proposed Egyptian importations into Solo- mon's administration (chapter seven).

Weeks surveys the evidence for the existence of schools in an- cient Israel and finds it wanting-again, a widely accepted idea

(chapter eight). He also observes that even if schools did exist, we would have no reason to suppose that wisdom literature was used in the education of scribes. Wisdom literature, though edu- cational, would be of little use in professional training. This is a significant point: the debate about the Sitz im Leben of wisdom should not revolve around the question of schools.

Early Israelite Wisdom is polemic of a moderate, cautious sort. It seeks to clear away theories that have often served to

disguise ignorance. In this it is quite successful, but it leaves be- hind an empty playing field. An equally patient consideration of what we do know about Israelite wisdom and its social-historical

setting would be welcome. Perhaps that is planned.

MICHAEL V. Fox UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

Biblical Dan. By AVRAHAM BIRAN. Jerusalem: ISRAEL EXPLORA- TION SOCIETY; HEBREW UNION COLLEGE-JEWISH INSTITUTE OF RELIGION, 1994. Pp. 280 (including 228 illustrations and 44 color plates). $32 ($24 to members of the Israel Exploration Society).

Biblical Dan is a translation of the Hebrew original, Dan: 25 Years of Excavation of Tel Dan. Biblical Dan, which has been "edited, revised and augmented," and includes an additional

chapter on the Aramaic stele found in 1993, consists essentially of Avraham Biran's personal reminiscences of work at Tel Dan. Since Biblical Dan was not intended for professionals, archae-

ologists will find little of use in the book; that fact, however, is more of a disappointment than a surprise. The surprise is that Biblical Dan fails also to satisfy the casual reader.

Biran alludes to the great wealth of information from the ex- cavations of twenty-five years, but most of it remains undis- closed to the reader. In fact, at several points the book dedicates more attention to extraneous matters than to material dubbed

important; for example, more lines (plus a photograph, p. 60) are used to present a nest of burrowing owls than an object "of

special interest" (p. 57) to the story of Middle Bronze IIA. Where Biblical Dan turns to broader conclusions, the reader finds archaeological truisms or romanticisms: "a sort of techni- cal revolution in pottery manufacture occurred in the Middle Bronze period" (p. 48); "consequently, the people buried in the tomb lived at a time when the stony slope already existed. Could they have belonged to one of the leading families of the city re- sponsible for the construction of the earthen ramparts?" (p. 66);

"music and dance have been part of human culture from time immemorial" (p. 120). I include here the frequent forced con- nections to the biblical narrative, such as that of Early Bronze "Laish" to Genesis 11, Deuteronomy 33, Jeremiah 49, and Song of Songs 4. Or, where there is no archaeological evidence, Biran retells a portion of biblical narrative, presumably as if that is a

report about Dan/Laish. "Lite" fare, even for the coffee-table crowd.

Whereas Iron Age Dan receives some one hundred thirty pages in three chapters, other major strata are passed over

lightly. A major town is posited on the basis of a few square meters of excavated materials (Early Bronze); an important ar-

chaeological era is relegated to a single sentence (transitional Middle Bronze IIA-B); an entire population (Late Bronze II) is subsumed under a couple of tombs, a "furnace" (probably an oven), a cobbled floor, and a plaque called the "Dancer from Dan." Additionally, the presentation of Dan as an Israelite site in chapter six begs the question, and at the same time ignores refutations of such pass6 arguments for identifying Israelites in Iron Age I as collared-rim jars functioning as type-indicators.

A single volume cannot do justice to twenty-five years of ex- cavation at one of the richest sites in the Levant, even in a popu- lar presentation. However, the selection of what to publish, as well as a lack of careful editing, produced in this instance a book which greatly under-represents Dan's archaeological wealth. Technical and editorial problems mar the book: few illustrations are mentioned in the text; likewise, illustrations and plates gen- erally fail to refer to the text; almost universally lacking are scales in photographs and plans; some references to illustrations

(e.g., p. 91) are incorrect; sometimes pottery plates are associ- ated with a stratum, sometimes only with an age, and (with the

exception of tomb and pit materials) scarcely ever with specific loci; a "300 liter" pithos reported on p. 168 is almost certainly in error. Add to this that several photographs are of poor illus- trative quality (figs. 1, 3, 25, 61, 173, 196) or include modern

implements in them (figs. 5, 48, 74, 90, 94, 208; pls. 5, 6, 35). Most seriously, errors in logic in determining the dates of

stratigraphically problematic architecture appear too frequently: Biran states that pottery found beneath a floor "provides the lat- est possible dating" (p. 189) for the floor and its associated ar- chitecture (an argument reappearing on pp. 215, 246, and 277). Even the casual reader will understand that the youngest pottery in a sub-surface makeup indicates only the date after which the floor was constructed; at best it can indicate the earliest possible date. Potentially such faulty reasoning grossly misdates entire strata at Tel Dan. Elsewhere Biran argues (p. 132) that the stra- tum VI population was "not indigenous to the area" because collared-rim jars were found in pits dug into Late Bronze Age levels, a logic which does not stand scrutiny.

Biblical Dan is not a fair representation of the archaeological wealth Dan has yielded. It surveys no new territory and pro- vides few data, settling frequently for old (often refuted) argu- ments. Most unfortunately, it does not even elucidate to the

"music and dance have been part of human culture from time immemorial" (p. 120). I include here the frequent forced con- nections to the biblical narrative, such as that of Early Bronze "Laish" to Genesis 11, Deuteronomy 33, Jeremiah 49, and Song of Songs 4. Or, where there is no archaeological evidence, Biran retells a portion of biblical narrative, presumably as if that is a

report about Dan/Laish. "Lite" fare, even for the coffee-table crowd.

Whereas Iron Age Dan receives some one hundred thirty pages in three chapters, other major strata are passed over

lightly. A major town is posited on the basis of a few square meters of excavated materials (Early Bronze); an important ar-

chaeological era is relegated to a single sentence (transitional Middle Bronze IIA-B); an entire population (Late Bronze II) is subsumed under a couple of tombs, a "furnace" (probably an oven), a cobbled floor, and a plaque called the "Dancer from Dan." Additionally, the presentation of Dan as an Israelite site in chapter six begs the question, and at the same time ignores refutations of such pass6 arguments for identifying Israelites in Iron Age I as collared-rim jars functioning as type-indicators.

A single volume cannot do justice to twenty-five years of ex- cavation at one of the richest sites in the Levant, even in a popu- lar presentation. However, the selection of what to publish, as well as a lack of careful editing, produced in this instance a book which greatly under-represents Dan's archaeological wealth. Technical and editorial problems mar the book: few illustrations are mentioned in the text; likewise, illustrations and plates gen- erally fail to refer to the text; almost universally lacking are scales in photographs and plans; some references to illustrations

(e.g., p. 91) are incorrect; sometimes pottery plates are associ- ated with a stratum, sometimes only with an age, and (with the

exception of tomb and pit materials) scarcely ever with specific loci; a "300 liter" pithos reported on p. 168 is almost certainly in error. Add to this that several photographs are of poor illus- trative quality (figs. 1, 3, 25, 61, 173, 196) or include modern

implements in them (figs. 5, 48, 74, 90, 94, 208; pls. 5, 6, 35). Most seriously, errors in logic in determining the dates of

stratigraphically problematic architecture appear too frequently: Biran states that pottery found beneath a floor "provides the lat- est possible dating" (p. 189) for the floor and its associated ar- chitecture (an argument reappearing on pp. 215, 246, and 277). Even the casual reader will understand that the youngest pottery in a sub-surface makeup indicates only the date after which the floor was constructed; at best it can indicate the earliest possible date. Potentially such faulty reasoning grossly misdates entire strata at Tel Dan. Elsewhere Biran argues (p. 132) that the stra- tum VI population was "not indigenous to the area" because collared-rim jars were found in pits dug into Late Bronze Age levels, a logic which does not stand scrutiny.

Biblical Dan is not a fair representation of the archaeological wealth Dan has yielded. It surveys no new territory and pro- vides few data, settling frequently for old (often refuted) argu- ments. Most unfortunately, it does not even elucidate to the

139 139

This content downloaded from 185.44.78.129 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 16:45:59 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions