Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: On the Crucial Role of “Testimony” in Biblical Wisdom Literature and in the Book of Qoheleth in Particular

Within the field of epistemology, there is a growing interest in the crucial role of testimony in the human search for knowledge. Several philosophers argue that much of Western epistemology is marked by an individualistic attempt to understand the world. The purpose of this article is to show that this is not the case for Ancient Israel’s search for wisdom. Whereas several exegetes have pointed out that empirical research is pivotal to biblical wisdom literature, testimonial knowledge is actually much more prominent. Even Qoheleth, who is often considered an individualistic explorer of the world and a polemical thinker, draws abundantly on his community’s testimony.

Jaar van publicatie:2018

Toegankelijkheid:Open