BEING WISE BETWIXT ORDER AND MYSTERY: KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS AND FEARING THE LORD

  • Hendrik L. Bosman Old & New Testament, Faculty of Theology, Stellenbosch University
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7833/111-0-25
Keywords: Divine Mystery, Fear of God, Old Testament Wisdom, Ecclesiastes 12, 13

Abstract

Any attempt to come to grips with ‘the fear of the Lord’ as a key concept for the interpretation of Old Testament wisdom, must appreciate that it is rooted in texts that presuppose an encounter with God that can cause a variety of responses: a feeling of horror or terror; as well as reverent awe that forms the basis of the pious veneration of the Lord in the form of obedience and praise. Although statistical analysis reveals a concentration of occurrences in Deuteronomy (and the so-called Deuteronomistic History), the Psalms and Wisdom literature, it does not presuppose a clear linear development. The theological interpretation of Old Testament wisdom literature must be aware of the ongoing creative tension between order (keeping the commandments) and mystery (fearing the Lord) – as summarized in the conclusion of the Book of Ecclesiastes (12:13). doi: 10.7833/111-1-25

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Published
2013-06-13
Issue
Vol. 111 (2012)
Section
Articles

Authors retain copyright and grant the Journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this Journal.

This is an open access journal, and the authors and journal should be properly acknowledged, when works are cited.

Authors may use the publishers version for teaching purposes, in books, theses, dissertations, conferences and conference papers.

A copy of the authors’ publishers version may also be hosted on the following websites:

  • Non-commercial personal webpage or blog.
  • Institutional webpage.
  • Authors Institutional Repository.

The following notice should accompany such a posting on the website: “This is an electronic version of an article published in Scriptura, Volume XXX, number XXX, pages XXX–XXX”, DOI.  Authors should also supply a hyperlink to the original paper or indicate where the original paper (http://scriptura.journals.ac.za/pub) may be found.

Authors publishers version, affiliated with the Stellenbosch University will be automatically deposited in the University’s’ Institutional Repository SUNScholar.

Articles as a whole, may not be re-published with another journal.

The following license applies:

Attribution CC BY-NC-ND 4.0