Hebrew Bible

The Book of Proverbs, like Psalms, is largely written with a poetic structure. The book’s title refers to a particular form of poetry, with a proverb in the Hebrew tradition representing an aphoristic couplet. Most of the proverbs are attributed to King Solomon, but some later sections are ascribed to other characters whose identities remain uncertain, like Agur son of Jakeh and King Lemuel. The proverbs begin with an address from a father (Solomon) to his son, telling him to pay heed to wisdom. Wisdom is a personified character in these passages, an attribute of G-d presented in a feminine aspect, guiding people into good and noble decisions. The father focuses special attention on leaving aside the temptations of greed, violence, and sexual immorality. 

While the aphoristic couplets within the Book of Proverbs are wise, they are not intended as blanket statements that apply in all situations, but rather as rules of thumb to be used under the guidance of G-d’s own wisdom. This can be seen in the fact that some of the proverbs are mutually contradictory—as in, for instance, Proverbs 26.4-5: “Do not answer a dullard in accord with his folly, else you will become like him. Answer a dullard in accord with his folly, else he will think himself wise.” These proverbs are thus intended to be received as wise guidance, but not as a replacement for one’s own practice of discernment as one follows G-d’s wisdom in the varying circumstances of life. The underlying premise of the Book of Proverbs is that if one walks according to these ways, inclining one’s heart to the wisdom of G-d, such a person will find favor with G-d and stability in life.

Job is unusual in the Hebrew Bible in that it gives the account of someone whose story does not fall within the narrative of Israelite history as provided in the other books. It is the story of a follower of G-d who lived in or around the time of the patriarchs, although the dating of both Job’s writing and its historical setting is disputed. The book opens with a heavenly scene in which G-d and “the Adversary” (ha-satan) are disputing about Job and his righteousness. In response to G-d’s boasting about Job’s faithfulness, the Adversary asks permission to send sufferings and temptations to see if Job will remain faithful even when everything is taken from him. From there, the story focuses on Job, who suffers a series of personal catastrophes in which he loses his wealth, his children, and his health. Even his wife encourages him to despair and curse G-d for their ill fortune, but Job refuses to curse G-d and instead maintains both his faith in G-d and a sense of his own innocence. 

Job’s perspective is countered by three friends who come to mourn with him. They suggest that what happened to him must be on account of some great sin because G-d would not send sufferings of this kind on a righteous man. Job persists in his belief that he has been as righteous as he could be and that he can find no reason for the turn in his circumstances. The book proceeds through several rounds of dialogues between Job and his friends, including a more moderate viewpoint of a younger friend who enters the dialogue later on. Job’s position remains unchanged: He believes in G-d; he believes he has been a faithful servant of G-d; and while he does not believe that G-d is unjust, he questions why G-d would allow these sufferings to arise. The book ends with G-d answering Job’s questions, challenging mortal man’s prerogative to know the mind of G-d and asserting divine sovereignty in ordering the nature of things. This response is initially presented as something of a rebuke to Job, but the final scene shows that G-d ultimately vindicates Job for his faithfulness. Instead, the rebuke falls on the three friends who challenged Job’s faith. With Job’s faithfulness having been proved, G-d restores his fortunes, including his wealth, his family, and his health.

Song of Songs opens the sub-collection of Ketuvim books known as the Five Megillot, but it also stands apart in genre and theme. It is a poetic work, but unlike Psalms and Proverbs, it does not concern itself with themes of faith or philosophy. Rather, it focuses on human love, a romance between a man and a woman. It is a verse drama, a series of poetic dialogues between two lovers, along with a chorus of others who occasionally interject short sequences of lines. The male character is taken to be King Solomon, while the female character is unnamed. The text indicates the possibility that she is a commoner because she bemoans the darkness of her skin, which she attributes to having been made to work in her family’s vineyard while she grew up. 

The poems of Song of Songs are full of longing. In many of the sequences, the man and woman are together, speaking tender endearments to each other, while in others, they are apart and are pining for each other’s presence. The fact that Song of Songs holds a place within the canon of Hebrew scripture—even with its dearth of religious content and its erotic overtones—stands as an affirmation of the sacredness of human love within the plan of G-d. That said, the text has sometimes been read allegorically within the Jewish tradition. An allegorical reading interprets Song of Songs as a portrayal of the depth of G-d’s love for Israel.

Ruth is a relatively short book, titled in both Hebrew and English after its main character. Ruth is a story set within the period of the judges, and yet the perspective of the story is different from that in the Book of Judges. Ruth is a winsome romantic tale with an optimistic perspective. It tells of an Israelite family from Bethlehem that moves to Moab to escape a famine. This family has two sons who marry Moabite women, one of whom is named Ruth. Unfortunately, the men of the family all die, and Ruth decides to stay with her mother-in-law, Naomi, accompanying her back into Israel. There in Bethlehem, the two women try to survive in a dire economic position. Ruth begins going out to collect stray grain on the edges of farmland, and there she is observed by a landowner named Boaz. Boaz, who is actually a relative of the family, is in a position under Israelite customs to take Ruth as his wife. The two wed and have a child, thus carrying on Naomi’s family line. This happy ending also offers a pleasant surprise for the reader, as it is revealed that Ruth is an ancestor in King David’s line. The Book of Ruth thus offers a picture of the welcoming grace of G-d, accepting a Moabite into the people of Israel.

Lamentations is a very short book, traditionally assigned to Jeremiah’s authorship (though modern scholars suspect it may be a compilation of poems from anonymous authors). Lamentations is exactly what the name suggests: a series of laments, reflecting on the fall of Jerusalem to its Babylonian captors. The first two chapters are composed of anguished poetry, mourning the desolation of Jerusalem. With the third chapter, the author turns to his own condition, recounting his many sufferings. Yet, even in the middle of the utter catastrophe of his own life and the ruin of the city he loves, his faith in G-d’s ultimate goodness is unshaken: “The kindness of the L-rd has not ended, His mercies are not spent. They are renewed every morning—ample is Your grace!” (Lamentations 3.22-23). The fourth chapter returns to a lament over Jerusalem but includes a recognition that the tragedy that has befallen them is on account of the citizens’ own sins. The fifth chapter then addresses itself directly to G-d, praying for a restoration from their hopeless state.

Ecclesiastes is another book traditionally attributed to Solomon, though many scholars suspect a much later date of composition. Throughout the book, the author refers to himself mainly as Kohelet (“the Assembler”). Ecclesiastes is unique in the Hebrew Bible in that while it does suggest a sense of faith in G-d, much of the book’s perspective on life is rather pessimistic. Kohelet relates his insight after years of seeking wisdom: that life is largely meaningless, an exercise in futility. Everything is futile because nothing lasts, neither the pursuit of pleasure, nor wealth, nor fame. This apparent pessimism does not lead Kohelet to assert a nihilistic stance. Rather, he advises his readers to enjoy life and take what they can from the experience. In the end, Kohelet (or a later commentator adding an addendum) comes back to a note of concord with the rest of the Hebrew Bible, advising his reader to ground themself in reverence toward G-d: “The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere G-d and observe His commandments!” (Ecclesiastes 12.13). Having found that everything is temporal and thus cannot provide meaning for life, only those things that are not temporal—i.e., G-d himself—can provide a sense of meaningfulness.

Esther, the final book of the sub-collection of the Five Megillot, relates a portion of Jewish history after the rise of the Persian Empire, under whose administration the restorations of Ezra and Nehemiah take place. Many Jews who did not return to Israel remain in Mesopotamia under Persian rule. The Book of Esther is a Persian court drama set in the reign of Ahasuerus (usually identified as either Xerxes or Artaxerxes, emperors who ruled in the fifth century BCE). Esther is unique in the Hebrew Bible as the only book that does not specifically mention G-d, although most interpreters view the idea of divine providence as a significant background theme of the text.

Ahasuerus decides to put away his wife for a minor offense and find a new wife. Esther, a Jewish woman whose ethnicity is as yet unknown to Persian officials, is selected and crowned as the new queen. Meanwhile, Haman, a high official of the administration, becomes infuriated with another member of Esther’s family, a man named Mordecai, who will not bow down to Haman as he passes in the street. In response to this affront, Haman plans a genocidal policy against Mordecai’s people, setting a date on which Persian citizens are instructed to massacre Jews and plunder their property. Mordecai prevails on Esther to persuade Ahasuerus to change Haman’s legislation. Esther does so at great personal risk, both because the emperor does not yet know her ancestry and because Persian customs do not normally permit the queen to make such requests. She successfully unmasks Haman’s machinations and prevails on Ahasuerus to alter the law so that the Jews will be able to defend themselves. When the appointed day comes, it passes without the planned massacre taking place. This successful turnabout, seen in Jewish tradition as a providential act of G-d, is celebrated in the festival of Purim. Haman is turned over to execution in the manner that he had planned for Mordecai, and Ahasuerus chooses Mordecai to take Haman’s former office.