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Archive for the ‘JiSeong Kwon’ Category


An Introduction to the Study of Wisdom Literature

In Bloomsbury, HB/OT, JiSeong Kwon, Stuart WEEKS, Wisdom Literature on May 12, 2014 at 11:50 am

9780567184436

2014.5.13 | Stuart Weeks. An Introduction to the Study of Wisdom Literature. T & T Clark Approaches to Biblical Studies. London and New York: T & T Clark, 2010. Pp. ix + 165. ISBN 9780567184436. Paperback.

Review by JiSeong Kwon, Durham University.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury for providing a review copy.

Stuart Weeks in this book provides a concise and insightful introduction to Israelite Wisdom Literature for beginners to biblical studies. The entire biblical wisdom corpus (including deuterocanonical texts) is reviewed—the book of Proverbs, the book of Job, Ecclesiastes, the wisdom psalms, the Wisdom of Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch 3.9-4.4, and the Wisdom of Solomon—as well as wisdom texts from Qumran. This scholarly work, however, is very distinctive compared with other sorts of introductory books of Wisdom Literature such as those by Roland E. Murphy, James Crenshaw, and Leo Perdue, in that Weeks carefully examines the conventional thoughts in terms of the origin and the cultural setting of ‘Wisdom Literature’. Read the rest of this entry »


Job 1-21: Interpretation & Commentary

In Book of Job, C. L. SEOW, Eerdmans, HB/OT, JiSeong Kwon on May 4, 2014 at 2:09 pm

9780802848956

2014.5.10 | C. L. Seow. Job 1-21: Interpretation & Commentary. Illuminations Series. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2013. 999 pages. ISBN:  9780802848956. Hardcover.

Review by JiSeong Kwon, Durham University

Many thanks to Eerdmans for providing a review copy.

The work by C. L. Seow is among the most thoughtful and insightful commentaries on the book of Job. Seow divides this commentary into two parts: ‘Introduction’—whose subsections include ‘Texts and Versions’, ‘Language’, ‘Integrity’, ‘Provenance’, ‘Setting’, ‘Genre(s)’, ‘Structure’, ‘Artistry’, ‘Theology’, and ‘History of Consequences’—and ‘Commentary’—whose subsections include ‘Interpretation’ (with ‘History of Consequences’), ‘Retrospect’, and ‘Commentary’ (textual notes). Each section deals with important issues in the book of Job with thoroughness and scholarly depth. Especially noteworthy are Seow’s discussions of literary technique in the book of Job and the book’s history of interpretation.

The virtue of Seow’s commentary is that he attempts to compensate for the weak points of previous commentators. For instance, the literary genre of Job as a whole is a longstanding matter of debate. Read the rest of this entry »


“My Brother Esau is a Hairy Man”: Hair and Identity in Ancient Israel

In HB/OT, Identity, JiSeong Kwon, Oxford University Press, Susan NIDITCH on May 22, 2013 at 9:48 am

Hairy

2013.05.09 | Susan Niditch. “My Brother Esau is a Hairy Man”: Hair and Identity in Ancient Israel. Oxford: OUP, 2008. Pp. 168. ISBN: 978-0-19-518114-2. Hardback.

Review by JiSeong Kwon, Durham University.

Many thanks to OUP for kindly providing us with a review copy.

In this book, Niditch argues that the growing, cutting, and altering of ‘hair’ in Israel reflect the significant social, historical, religious circumstances of the ancient Near East and help us to read the cultural meanings behind texts. Biblical descriptions with regard to the treatment of hair—various terms such as ‘hair’, ‘razor’, ‘shave’, ‘cut’, and ‘beard’—enable us to be aware of the common cultural/social context in the corresponding culture and time. Read the rest of this entry »