Human Interaction with the Natural World in Wisdom Literature and Beyond: Essays in Honour of Tova L. Forti

Created in honor of the work of Professor Tova Forti, this collection considers the natural world in key wisdom books - Proverbs, Job and Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes, Ben Sira and Song of Songs/Solomon - and also examines particular animal and plant imagery in other texts in the Hebrew Bible. It crucially involves ancient Near Eastern parallels and like texts from the classical world, but also draws 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 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.

Mordechai Cogan is Professor Emeritus at the The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

Katharine J. Dell is Reader in Old Testament Literature and Theology at the University of Cambridge, UK.

David A. Glatt-Gilad is Senior Lecturer at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.