Who Can Read Wisdom? The Implied Virtues of the Readers of Wisdom’s Narratives

Briggs, Richard S.

doi:10.1177/0014524620909307

Who Can Read Wisdom? The Implied Virtues of the Readers of Wisdom’s Narratives

Briggs, Richard S.

Authors

Richard S. Briggs

Abstract

This article contributes to the attempt to reformulate hermeneutical questions about ‘how to read the Bible’ in terms of theological characterisations of the kind of reader best placed to read the Bible well. It is thus situated amidst renewed interest in the intersection of character ethics and biblical interpretation. It addresses two related issues, before pointing in the direction of a substantive third concern. First, it explores what is at stake in reading wisdom texts as narratives, finding it persuasive to construe wisdom in narrative terms. Secondly, it considers what virtues are presupposed in these narrative constructions. The reading of Job draws us to consider patience; from Proverbs we consider the virtue of perceptiveness; and from Ecclesiastes a virtue of honesty. Thirdly, the larger question of how one might begin to characterise the implied reader of these texts is considered, building on a canonically constructed portrait of the reader informed by the virtues considered.

Citation

Briggs, R. S. (2020). Who Can Read Wisdom? The Implied Virtues of the Readers of Wisdom’s Narratives. Expository Times, 131(12), 536-544. https://doi.org/10.1177/0014524620909307

Journal Article Type	Article
Online Publication Date	Mar 2, 2020
Publication Date	2020-09
Deposit Date	Mar 6, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Mar 6, 2020
Journal	Expository Times
Print ISSN	0014-5246
Electronic ISSN	1745-5308
Publisher	SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	131
Issue	12
Pages	536-544
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1177/0014524620909307

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Copyright Statement
Briggs, Richard S. (2020). Who Can Read Wisdom? The Implied Virtues of the Readers of Wisdom’s Narratives. The Expository Times 131(12): 536-544. Copyright © The Author(s) 2020.
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020 DOI: 10.1177/0014524620909307