Wisdom for Life: Essays Offered to Honor Prof. Maurice Gilbert, SJ on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday

395 Pages·2014·3.21 MB·English

by  Nuria Calduch-Benages

Wisdom for Life
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Beihefte zur Zeitschrift
für die alttestamentliche
Wissenschaft
Edited by
John Barton, Reinhard G. Kratz
and Markus Witte
Volume 445
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Wisdom for Life
Essays Offered to Honor Prof. Maurice Gilbert, SJ
on the Occasion of His Eightieth Birthday
Edited by
Nuria Calduch-Benages
DE GRUYTER
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ISSN0934-2575
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Prof. Maurice Gilbert, SJ

Preface
Almost fifteen years have passed since 28 July 1998 when I had the pleasure of
presenting at the University of Louvain Treasures of Wisdom, the first Festschrift
dedicated to Prof. Maurice Gilbert on the occasion of his 65th birthday. It was a
simple celebration, but a very special one because at the time he participated in
the XLVIIIth «Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense» and was completely taken by
surprise. For that occasion, Cardinal Carlo M. Martini had written a letter to unite
himself with the celebration and this letter was later published in the said volume.
From it I choose some passages that were and still are especially significant: “you
have made a decisive contribution to our knowledge of the Wisdom texts and
poetry of Israel. Your true concern, however, has been not only to deepen our
scientific knowledge of the biblical pages, but also to open them up to the know-
ledge and use of the faithful […] When one reads your writings, one perceives that
the basis of your searching is the search for the Lord, for his Wisdom and for his
will. This is what is most important from an entire life devoted to Scripture and
to the brethren, that grace which unites us even when our places and paths are
different. It is in this sense that I greet you from afar”.
The good wishes of Cardinal Martini have been fulfilled, and, 12 March 2014,
Prof. Gilbert will celebrate his 80th birthday, his life marked by the search for
and spreading of Wisdom. The contributors to this Festschrift are among a great
number of people (friends, colleagues, students…) who have learned from and
with him. That is why they wish to express their friendship and gratitude with the
publication of the present volume, which is, in fact, the third Festschrift dedica-
ted to him.
The first Festschrift is devoted exclusively to Sirach and Wisdom (Nuria Cal-
duch-Benages – Jacques Vermeylen, eds., Treasures of Wisdom. Studies on Ben
Sira and the Book of Wisdom. Festschrift Maurice Gilbert [BETL 143], Leuven: Uni-
versity Press – Peeters, 1999). The second has a much broader range (Françoise
Mies, ed., Toute la sagesse du monde – Hommage à Maurice Gilbert, pour le 65e
anniversaire de l’exégète et du recteur [Le livre et le rouleau 7], Brussels: Lessius,
1999). This third Festschrift concentrates on all the books of the so-called “Sapi-
ential Pentateuch” (Proverbs, Job, Qoheleth, Sirach and Wisdom) plus the Psalms.
Thanks are due to all the authors who have contributed with their articles.
Many, although sincerely wishing to, have not been able to contribute in writing
on account of work, personal commitments or health. Special thanks go to those
who have helped with the translation of texts into English, the revision of the
translations, the successive corrections of the drafts and so many other details:
Prof. Leo Arnold, Dr. Jeremy Corley, Mgr. Dr. Jan Liesen, Dr. Michael Tait and
Mr. Carlo Valentino, General Secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Institute. Last but
viii   Preface
not least, I acknowledge the help of Dr. Albrecht Döhnert, Editorial Director of the
publishing house Walter de Gruyter, who, right from the beginning, has encou-
raged and supported me in this project and has made possible the publication of
this work in the prestigious series BZAW.
Dear Prof. Gilbert, our good wish for you, for those who have written, and for
all those who will profit by reading, is: may the Word of God bring you Wisdom
for Life.
Nuria Calduch-Benages
Rome, 8th September 2013
Table of Contents
Preface   vii
Proverbs
Michael V. Fox
A Profile of the Septuagint Proverbs   3
Jean Louis Ska
Abraham, maître de sagesse selon l’idéal des Proverbes   18
Hans-Winfried Jüngling
Von der “Anstrengung des Begriffs” (Spr 1,3) und von “Not” und “Not
wendender Kraft” (Spr 24,10.11–12)   30
Angelo Passaro
The Words of Agur (Prov 30:1–9) and the Book of Proverbs: Some Historico-
Anthropological Considerations   50
Job
Françoise Mies
Job et la main de Dieu   61
Darius Iwanski
Courtroom Imagery: The Neglected Background of Job 5:1   84
Renate Egger-Wenzel
Ein Phönix in Ijob 29,18?   96
Sebastiano Pinto
The Optical Illusion: Job and the Reasons for a Protest (Job 29–31)   105