Our Wisdom literature journey continues, and we encounter Ephesians...or do we?

Dear Bible Challenge participants,

I hope this finds you enjoying a lovely summertime. While I kept up with our reading, I missed the prayerful work of these emails while on vacation...it's good to be back!

At this time approximately mid-way through our year of reading the Bible, I invite you to share your thoughts and wonderings, and hope you'll prayerfully consider the following:

Looking back on our reading of Job: 

What was your take on Job the person, his three "friends," and the young friend, Elihu (meaning: My God He is, or He is My God) who chimes in at the end, just before God has God's say, (ie, "When was the last time you created a cosmos?!")  

What do you think of God's response to Job?

To me it feels like there's a piece missing: the conversation in the divine council between God and ha-satan after Job's trial. Anyone else feel this lack? And if so, what do you imagine might have been said in that "scene," had it been part of the story?

Our Hebrew Bible readings continue with Proverbs.  Professor Darr encouraged us to imagine this book's likely original life: namely that it was used to train scribes in their copying, and to imagine being a young man, having to copy and copy and copy, and imagine how the Proverbs, their language, humor, imagery, and even "color," would hold our scribes' attention.

In Proverbs we meet Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly, although some translations may opt for what I think is a less interesting interpretation, keeping (W)isdom in lower case, and taking a de-personifying route.  Doing this (to my mind) makes the contrast between Lady Wisdom and Lady Folly much less colorful and engaging, and leaves the conversation of the role of Wisdom less theologically rich as well.  Some wonderful ink has been well-spilled contemplating the relationship of Wisdom and the Divine, of Wisdom, like the Logos in John's Gospel, being present with God in creation... and what fun theological wonderings can arise when we spend some time there.

I find that keeping my focus is challenging when reading the Proverbs. Each is a gem in itself, and I'm tempted to imagine a context, a story, a time when one person would say a particular proverb to another, and my mind starts to flesh out setting, characters, back story... For example, from today's reading:

"Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without good sense (Proverbs 11:22)

I bet there's quite a story behind that proverb!

In our New Testament readings we've read through Paul's letter to the Galatians, in which we encountered a bit of Paul's frustration, as he railed against those who have been freed by Christ, and yet who seem determined to remain slaves to the law...with very strong language for those he feels have led them astray by advocating for circumcision.  We also encounter some of Paul's wonderful language "there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female..."  --language that we may have come to take for granted, but was truly radical in his day.

I love the part in which Paul takes over for his scribe and says, "See what big letters I use when I write for myself!" Rather like an Ancient Near Eastern bold italic underline.

And now we've come to the Epistle to the Ephesians.  This is a truly lovely epistle, but as with a number of other biblical text, there is some disagreement on authorship, and even its original audience.  

Regarding authorship, it's safe to say that a majority of scholars think that the Epistle to the Ephesians is "Deutero-Pauline," written by a disciple of Paul's at a later date (between 80-100 CE). Their reasons for this include the contents of the letter, word usage and style, and the fact that the author does not seem to have encountered the Church in Ephesus himself, referring to having heard about them, but not referring to actual experience of them-- when there are multiple sources that indicate Paul was one of the founders of the church.  

Regarding the original, intended audience, the greatest argument that this letter was not written expressly for the Church in Ephesus is that the oldest text do not refer to Ephesus in the greeting, and that the Church in Ephesus is not referred to within the body of the letter-- while the other churches are in epistles generally agreed to be Pauline. A number of scholars believe that this letter was intended to be a circular, that would be read at many churches in many places.

We've read Romans, the Letters to the Corinthians and Galatians, and so have spent a good deal of time within the letters generally agreed to be Paul's, hearing Paul's voice, and getting a sense of him as a writer... So, dear Bible Challengers, I as you: what is your take? Does this letter sound like Paul himself, or a faithful student of Paul's?

As ever, thank you for being on this journey!

Peace,

Paige+