Part I. The Context of Wisdom Literature: 1. Introduction the editors; 2. The scope of wisdom literature Tremper Longman III; 3. The multiple genres of wisdom Suzanna Millar; 4. The literary context(s) and development of wisdom literature in ancient Israel Knut Heim; 5. The scribal world Mark Sneed; 6. Theological themes in the 'wisdom literature': proverbs, job and ecclesiastes Katharine J. Dell; 7. The solomonic connection David Firth; Part II. Wisdom Literature in the Hebrew Bible: 8. Proverbs Christopher B. Ansberry; 9. Job Will Kynes; 10. Ecclesiastes/Qoheleth Mette Bundvad; 11. The song of songs J. L. Andruska; 12. Wisdom psalms Simon Chi-chung Cheung; 13. Wisdom's wider resonance Michael C. Legaspi; Part III. Wisdom Literature Beyond the Hebrew Bible: 14. Ben Sira/Sirach Seth A. Bledsoe; 15. Wisdom of Solomon Joachim Schaper; 16. Wisdom at Qumran David A. Skelton; 17. Egyptian wisdom Michael V. Fox and Suzanna Millar; 18. Syro-Palestinian wisdom Noga Ayali-Darshan; 19. Mesopotamian wisdom Paul Alain Beaulieu; Part IV. Themes in the Wisdom Literature: 20. Creation in the wisdom literature Zoltán Schwáb; 21. Reward and retribution Peter T. H. Hatton; 22. From rebuke to testimony to proverb: wisdom's many pedagogies William P. Brown; 23. The wisdom literature and virtue ethics Arthur Jan Keefer; Bibliography; Index of Subjects.

An essential guide to wisdom texts, and the major changes in the approach to different biblical and non-biblical wisdom books.