Union Biblical Seminary

Bibvewadi, Pune 411 037.

Group 1: Aarley Satish, Abel Cherian, Abraham Haikam, Ian N Aiman.

Date: 24th June. 2019.

Subject: Hope in Suffering & Joy in Liberation: Hebrew poem and Wisdom Literature.

Topic: Creation Mandate in Wisdom Literature.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Definitions
1.1. Wisdom
1.2. Wisdom literature
1.3. Creation Mandate

2. Creation Mandate in Pentateuch

3. Creation Mandate in Prophetic Literature

4. Creation Mandate and Wisdom Literature

4.1. Creation mandate in wisdom literature-(Psalms)
4.2. Creation mandate in wisdom literature-(Job)
4.2.1. Creation of Humans-
5. Psalm 104

6. Reflection

7. Conclusion

Bibliography

Respondent Group: Malingchan, Denish kumar, kalpanaben, Robin.

1
Introduction

This study seeks to investigate the presence and significance of creation motifs and ideological
elements found in Genesis that maybe present in the wisdom literature. Old Testament scholars
generally recognize that wisdom thinking and theology are directly related to the topic of
creation and that creation provides a perspective into the theology of the Old Testament.1 An
intertextual study has been applied to explore the biblical text in its final form. In order to set the
limits on the identification of intertextual references, we will examine the theme of creation and
terminology that connects passages from the wisdom literature with creation terminology
predominantly found in Genesis. These markers will help us identify creation possible quotes
and allusions to the biblical creation narrative. We will only examine some of the evidence and
its possible connections with Genesis.

1. Definitions

1.1. Wisdom
Wisdom is an inexact term that is commonly used to refer to knowledge regarding life that God
has built into the infrastructure of the natural and social worlds, the search for those
understandings in everyday experience, and the transmission of the results of the search. The
gathering and transmission of wisdom is an intellectual exercise and accumulation of knowledge
not simply for its own sake but to enable the best human life possible in God’s world, both
individual and communal.2 Wisdom always portrays YHWH’s position as a ruler and wise
creator. The patterns of the planets, animals and seasons are all used as teaching examples for the
grooves God has built into the world order. Old Testament wisdom provides a bridge between
the general order and the particular order for every event and every created object. 3

1.2. Wisdom literature

This discernment process was used in teaching in Israel, and gathered into literary collections,
typically called wisdom literature. The term wisdom literature designates proverbs, Job, and
Ecclesiastes, psalms, in addition to Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon in the LXX.4 Texts
categorized by scholars as “wisdom literature” appeared in Mesopotamia and Egypt beginning in
the early 3rd millennium BCE. The writers of the wisdom literature tried to categorize the world,
measure human actions, evaluate the relative status of events and movements of life, and

1
Edward M. Curtis “Old Testament Wisdom: A Model for Faith-Learning Integration,” Christian Scholars Review
15.3 (1986), 213-27.
2
Terence E. Fretheim, God and World in the Old Testament. A Relational Theology of Creation (Nashville:
Abingdon, 2005), 593-594.
3
Craig G. Bartholomew and Ryan P. O’Dowd, Old Testament wisdom Literature: A theological interpretation
(USA: intervarsity, 2011), 27-30.
4
Fretheim, God and World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation, 595.

2
prescribe paths of life. Their writings there by created a mythos, a particular view of reality
around which human society organized.5

The literary forms of wisdom compositions are varied and include, among others, catalogs and
lexical lists, instructions handed on from parents to children, introspective musings, dialogues,
and didactic stories. In other words we can say wisdom compositions are in a variety shapes and
sized and they address basic existential questions of being.6

1.3. Creation Mandate

The term creation mandate refers to the idea that God’s original intent for creation infused
mankind with supreme earthly authority, along with specific responsibilities. Among these
privileges are the rights to freely use all of earth’s animals, plants, and resources for the benefit
of humankind. The creation mandate is expressed most directly in Genesis 1:28, “God blessed
them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over
the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the
ground.’” The Hebrew term for “rule over” (radah) implies an absolute sovereignty of man over
the rest of the earth.7

This creation mandate also implies responsibilities to which mankind is bound. As the God-
appointed ruler, mankind is prohibited from abusing or wasting those aspects of Earth he
controls; since creation ultimately belongs to God, misusing it would be an act of disrespect and
irresponsibility. In short, the creation mandate says that man is sovereign over the rest of the
earth, man is obligated to responsibly use what God has placed under his control, and man is
expected to reproduce according to God’s intended design.8

An important feature of the OT understanding of creation is that it has a fundamental relational

character. As Fretheim puts it: Israel’s God is a relational God who has created a world in which
interrelatedness is basic to the nature of reality; this God establishes relationships of varying
sorts with all creatures, including a special relationship to the people of Israel. Creation texts
abound in the OT. Genesis, Exodus, the legal texts of the Pentateuch, the prophets, wisdom texts
and the psalms all contribute to the OT theology on creation.9

2. Creation Mandate in Pentateuch

Gen.1:28 talks about the responsibility of humans in the task of protecting the future of
humanity, exercising sovereignty over nature and leading the earth to fullness.10 In Gen.2:5, God
made to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight, and that which is good for food. We are
5
Katherine J. Dell, “wisdom in the Ancient Near East” NIDB 5:863
6
Dell, “wisdom in the Ancient Near East” 5:863
7
Fretheim, God and World in the Old Testament. A Relational Theology of Creation.
8
Fretheim, God and World in the Old Testament. A Relational Theology of Creation.
9
Fretheim, God and World in the Old Testament. A Relational Theology of Creation.
10
M. M. Thomas, Contextual Theological Bible Commentary: In the beginning God [Genesis 1-12:4] (trans. T. M.
Philip; Tiruvalla: CSS Books, 2003), 28.

3
therefore entrusted to protect and make proper use of these natural resources, rather than destroy
and waste these resources.11 Lev.11:13-19, Deut.14:12-18 makes mention of different kinds of
birds that shouldn’t be consumed by humans, thereby ensuring that we preserve them. And
Lev.11:29-30 also makes mention of different kinds of creatures that swarm upon the earth,
which the humans are not supposed to consume, thereby protecting the delicate animal food
chain.12

Gen.2:20-25 talks about the necessity of a human to be social and responsible to each other.
Humans are expected to live in mutual responsibility and love.13 Human relationships were
established to accomplish two important purposes. Firstly, by their own inter-personal
relationship they would be able to experience some reflection of the interior relational life of the
personal God Himself. This would enrich their life, and enable them to do God’s Will. And
secondly, marriage would be the sacred relationship by which the reproduction of those who
would extend God’s dominion on this earth would happen.14

And humans are also called to be responsible to God. Gen.3:9-13 clearly shows the necessity of
humans to be responsible to God.15 Deut.4:15-19 commands us to be wary of not becoming idol
worshippers or nature worshippers. These natural forces have been allotted to all the peoples
under heaven, so that we make proper use of these resources.16 And Exo.20:8-11 and Deut.5:12-
14 talks about special relationship of the seventh day of creation to the people of Israel. This day
is considered as a day of rest. A day in which the people of God are commanded to set apart time
for God alone.17

3. Creation Mandate in Prophetic Literature

Creation in Isaiah 1-39 is focused on God’s sovereignty over his creation and the establishment
of a personal relationship with humanity, exemplified by the usage of the potter metaphor which
points back to Gen 2. In the entire book faithful creation is in juxtaposition to defiant
humankind, and the Creator is depicted as ceaselessly being associated with his creation by
tossing a tempest at.18,19 Whom God chooses, he additionally makes, and with that, a close and
everlasting bond is made like that between a dad and his child. While the section can be taken as
a contention for a typical prophetic message of the two prophets, with the end goal of this
examination, the attention lays on the creation symbolism, which is transmitted in an

11
P. J. Wiseman, Clues to creation in Genesis (ed. Donald J. Wiseman; London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1977),
212.
12
Douglas F. Kelly, Creation and change (Ross-shire: CFP, 2000), 188.
13
Thomas, Contextual Theological Bible Commentary, 28.
14
Kelly, Creation and change, 228.
15
Thomas, Contextual Theological Bible Commentary, 28.
16
Wiseman, Clues to creation in Genesis, 213.
17
Kelly, Creation and change, 239.
18
C. E. A Turner. “Creation in Isaiah.” Creation 9, no. 4 (September 1987): 20-22.
19
Joel S Gillespie. “The Creation Mandate.” Faith and Practice, 1995: 12-19.

4
eschatological setting through the similitude of Mount Zion.20 As per Old Testament
cosmology, Zion lies at the focal point of the made world and Micah focuses to its foundation as
far as creation phrasing. Creation in Micah is centered around obliteration and ensuing re-
creation with regards to the 'day of the Lord' with its eschatological ramifications. 21 Again, there
is a setting of de-creation, which is driven by cosmological symbolism.Zephaniah 1:3 presents an
inversion of creation by posting the creatures in a turned around request as they were initially
referenced in the creation account from Gen 1.70 He moreover utilizes the well-known word-
play among “man” and “ground” known from Gen 2:7. “A situation that involves a return to the
age before creation can result only in man’s destruction.”22 Zephaniah is delineating the dynamic
loss of domain over creation by mankind and its subsequent de-creation. The trancelike state
“heavens and earth” fills in as a creation marker, yet once more, inside a negative setting of
judgment.23

Creation in Jeremiah is so broadly present that we again should restrict ourselves to various key
sections. The book starts with reference to the formation of the prophet in his mother’s womb
utilizing the lexical creation marker, “to form, fashion” which can be found in Gen 2:7.24 There
is no clear creation phrasing utilized in the book of Obadiah aside from the utilization of the
Mount Zion theme which is in juxtaposition to the mountains of Edom. The person who has
made his “nest among the stars” will be brought.25

The prophetically catastrophic subjects of change of history and last come back to an Edenic
express that are so intermittent in the book of Daniel are religiously gathered along a procedure
from creation to de-creation lastly entertainment. Eschatology, which moves towards an end
importantly, requires a start, and the topic of creation gives the religious reason against which
eschatology can occur.26 In Hag, intrude 1:10 the prophet conjures the heaven/earth
trance, exhibiting how the post-exilic network’s absence of devotion is making nature or
creation’s gifts. Further on Haggai utilizes a similar word-pair to depict how the made request is
influenced by the ‘day of the Lord’, yet this time from a Messianic point of view.27

While the ‘stretching out of the heavens’ is anything but a direct semantic creation marker it all

20
Martin G Klingbeil. “Creation in the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament: An Intertextual Approach.”
Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 20, no. 1-2 (2009) 19
21
Gillespie. “The Creation Mandate.” Faith and Practice. 12-19.
22
Gillespie. “The Creation Mandate.” Faith and Practice 13
23
Klingbeil. “Creation in the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament: An Intertextual Approach.” Journal of the
Adventist Theological Society 19.
24
Klingbeil. “Creation in the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament: An Intertextual Approach.” Journal of the
Adventist Theological Society 18
25
Klingbeil. “Creation in the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament: An Intertextual Approach.” Journal of the
Adventist Theological Society 31-32.
26
Klingbeil. “Creation in the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament: An Intertextual Approach.” Journal of the
Adventist Theological Society 33-35.
27
Klingbeil. “Creation in the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament: An Intertextual Approach.” Journal of the
Adventist Theological Society. 36.

5
things considered recovers the activity of Gen 1:6-7 and is found all through the Old
Testament . It is additionally fascinating to take note of that the object of “to form” in Zech 12:1
isn't man himself as in Gen 2:7, however “the spirit of man”.28 Creation in the last book of the
Old Testament and in its last examination is not focused on cosmogony yet on an individual
connection between God and humankind as exemplified in the request of creation. Creation in
the prophetic literature of the Old Testament is employed as a constant literary and theological
reference, which connects to a historical past, motivates the interpretation of the present, and
moves towards a perspective for the future by means of a continuous contextualization of the
topic via the triad creation, de-creation, and recreation.29 These reference points are anchored in
the creation account as presented in Gen 1-3.30

4. Creation Mandate and Wisdom Literature

Biblical wisdom literature establishes its tradition in the imagery and theology of the creation
account in Genesis.31 Wisdom literature tends to work with creation matters in two different
ways. One is primarily historical; creation is seen as a construct of wisdom, developing from an
idea with ancient roots into the mature reflection of the later stages. Second one is creation may
be understood as “the premise of all sapiential speech…. Wisdom is a word about creation.32

According to Zimmerli “wisdom thinks resolutely within the framework of a theology of

creation”.33

According to Leo G. Perdue “each of the wisdom texts finds its theological center in creation”.
This means that creation integrates all other dimensions of God talk and other theological topics
of consequence.34

Wisdom texts begin with the basic premise that God created the world with some measure of
order. It is the duty of humanity to understand that order and to maintain it. The wisdom
movement in the AWA was an attempt to define the good created order, to explore those
instances in life when humanity’s actions or mere circumstances conflicted with that order, and
to prescribe the means by which humanity could maintain or restore the good created order. The
varied forms and the content of the wisdom literature that occur in the AWA are each a valuable

28
Klingbeil. “Creation in the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament: An Intertextual Approach.” Journal of the
Adventist Theological Society 35-42.
29
Klingbeil. “Creation in the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament: An Intertextual Approach.” Journal of the
Adventist Theological Society. 42- 49.
30
Klingbeil. “Creation in the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament: An Intertextual Approach.” Journal of the
Adventist Theological Society 50-53.
31
Bartholomew and O’Dowd, Old Testament wisdom Literature: A theological interpretation, 27-30
32
Frethem, God and world in Old Testament: A Relational theology of creation . 598.
33
Walther Zimmerli, The place and limit of the wisdom in the framework of the Old Testament Theology( Texas:
SJT 17 1964), 148
34
Roland E. Murphy, “wisdom and creation,” JBL 104 (1985):4.

6
element in humankind’s ongoing quest for finding order out of chaos.35 An important
interrelationship is established in the wisdom literature between humanity and the natural world.
God is the creator of the world, of humans, animals, plants, the elements, and of the order that
holds the fabric of life together.36

4.1. Creation mandate in wisdom literature-(Psalms)

When creation is described in other biblical literature, it is characterized as an integrated whole,
and it plays a foundational role in the biblical story. The psalms contain some of the most
detailed accounts of creation outside of Genesis. Typically, Psalmists describe God’s
establishment of larger cosmic orders as the context or foundation for God’s establishment of the
order of the historical sphere, so that cosmic orders are closely connected, eg., to the law (Pss 19,
93), to religious ritual (Ps 24), to the exodus and settlement (Ps 136), to the establishment of the
Davidic dynasty (Ps 89), and to the rebuilding of Zion (Ps 74). The praise of God at the psalms is
expressed not just by human beings but by all members of creation (PSs 96, 97, 98, 145, 148,
150).37 A hymn in praise of creation (8:1-10), A hymn to the creator (33:1-22), Creation
rhapsody (104)

4.2. Creation mandate in wisdom literature-(Job)

4.2.1. Creation of Humans-

Although we do not find an anthropology in Job, the writer is acquainted with the creation of
humans as recorded in Genesis, Elihu, in Job 35: 10 when arguing that often humans do not ask
for God’s help, states that “No one says, ‘Where is God my Maker’ ( ‫ עֹ ָ ֑שׂי‬- ‘ō·śāy). The participle
‫( עֹ ָ ֑שׂי‬the one who created me) is the qal participle of the verb ‫( ﬠָשָׂ ה‬to make, do, create), which is
the most common verb for ‘create’ in the Old Testament.38

The same verb is used in Genesis 1:26 when God said, “Let us make (‫ ַ ֽנﬠ ֶ ֲ֥שׂה‬- na·‘ă·śeh) human in
our image.”39 Elihu is assuming that God is the Creator of humankind. Job also uses the same
participle form to refer to God as “He who made me” (Job 31:15). He refers to himself as “the
work” (‫למַ ﬠ ֵ ֲ֖שׂה‬-
ֽ ְ ma·‘ă·śêh) of God’s hands (14:15), using a noun derived from the verb (‫ﬠָשָׂ ה‬-
40
asah). In the light of the study, although the case is not as strong as one would like it to be, it
could be argued that there seems to be an intertextual connection between the creation mandate
and that of the wisdom literature (in the book of Job)

35
Dell, “wisdom in the Ancient Near East,” 863-865
36
Murphy, “wisdom and creation,” 4
37
Hiebert, “creation,” 781.
38
David J.A. Clines, Word Biblical Commentary, Job vol. 18a, Bruce M. Metzger, David A Hubbard, Glenn W.
Bark ( Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), 789-790.
39
E.A. Speiser, The Anchor Bible, Genesis, vol. 1 (New York: Doubleday, 1962), 7.
40
Clines, Word Biblical Commentary, 794-804.

7
 4.2.2. Psalm 104
This Ps 104 is a hymn to God the creator.41 it takes the form of an individual hymn. Its individual
nature is clear not only from the initial and final self-exhortation but also from the personal
references in vv 33-34. Specifically the fact that creation, a key theme of the psalm, was
theologically associated in the OT. Psalm 104 is parallel Gen 1 and Egyptian hymn of
Amenhotep IV. Though it has parallelism with Genesis 1, there is a basic difference of style
between the two Hebrew texts. Gen 1 is logical and schematic in its approach, while the psalm is
exuberant and free, and employs a rich, varied vocabulary.42

Humbert and Gunkel argues that psalmist directly used Gen 1, on the other hand, Van der Voort
points out the differences between the two texts, such as anthropomorphisms of the psalm and its
use of myth. He argues that “they are best explained by assuming that not only does the Genesis
narrative mark a later stage of theological development, but it reflects the use of Ps 104.43

 This psalm turns creation truth into song, environmental theory into wonder and
praise. The sequence of the psalm accords with Genesis 1 and we can imagine a
poet meditating on that great statement of the creator and his work and giving free
play to his imagination.
 There is a broad structural parallel between two passages. The psalm begins with
a prologue, a summons to personal praise and adoration (1) and ends with an
epilogue of adoration and personal praise (31-35). In between, the body of the
psalm follows Genesis 1.
 With 2 cf. Gen 1:3-5;
 with 3-4. Gen 1:6-8;
 with 5-13. Gen 1:9-10;
 with 14-18. Gen 1:11-13;
 with 19-24. Gen 1:14-19;
 with 25-26. Gen 1:20-28;
 with 27-30. Gen 1:29-31.

Structure of the Psalm 104:

Vss 1-9; Creator and Creation: transcendent, indwelling, dominant

Vss 10-23; Creatoor ad Creation: Creation organized to sustain life.

Vss 24-30: Creator and Creation: the creator is Lord of life, death and renewal.

41
Michell Dahood, “The Anchor Bible: Psalms 101:150 (New York: Doubleday & company,1970), 33.
42
Leslie C. Allen, word Biblical commentary: Psalm 101-150(Texas: word books,1983), v21,28
43
Allen, word Biblical commentary:. v21, 31

8
Vss 31-35; Creator and creation: the Holy creator and his joy in creation.44

5. Application

This is perhaps a perfect psalm to address the environmental issues of this generation. It may be
described as an environmental psalm. The created order is cared for by God. In Genesis, God
entrusted the same care of the creation to human beings. In this psalm, however, we see creation
and human beings as recipients of God’s care and provision. While the model in Genesis 1 and 2
is that of stewardship, this psalm models for us coexistence between human beings and other
creatures. It is the responsibility of human beings to take care of the rest of the creation, not to
destroy but to maintain and use in a right manner.

6. Conclusion

There was so much emphasis on creation mandate in wisdom literature. Creation theology plays
a major role in every aspect of the wisdom literature. In the context of the psalm the different
theological motifs, namely God as a creator, God’s transcendence, and God’s creation organized
to sustain life, the creator is Lord of life, death, and renewal. These are the some of the possible
quotes and allusions of creation narrative which portrayed in the wisdom literature.

44
J. A. Motyer, New Biblical Commentary (Leicester: InterVarsity, 2002), 553-54.

9
Bibliography

Allen, Leslie C. Word Biblical Commentary. Texas: Word Books, 1983.

Bartholomew, Craig G, and P Ryan O'Dowd. Old Testament wisdom Literature: A theological
interpretation. New York: InterVarsity, 2011.

Clines, David J A. Word Biblical Commentary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006.

Curtis, Edward M. “Old Testament Wisdom: A Model for faith-learning Integration.” Christian
Scholars Review, 1986: 213-27.

Dahood, Michell. The Anchor Bible: Psalms 101:150. New York: Doubleday & Company, 1970.

Dell, Katherine J. “Wisdom in the Ancient Near East.” NIBD, 05: 863-865.

Frethem, Terence E. God and World in Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005.

Gillespie, Joel S. “The Creation Mandate.” Faith and Practice, 1995: 12-19.

Hiebert, Theodore. “Creation.” NIBD, 05: 781.

Kelly, Douglas F. Creation and Change. Ross-shire: CFP, 2000.

Klingbeil, Martin G. “Creation in the Prophetic Literature of the Old Testament: An Intertextual
Approach.” Journal of the Adventist Theological Society 20, no. 1-2 (2009): 19-54.

Motyer, J A. New Biblical Commentary. Leicester: InterVarsity, 2002.

Murphy, Roland E. “Wisdom & Creation.” JBL, 1985: 4.

Speiser, E A. The Anchor Bible. New York: Doubleday, 1962.

Thomas, M M. Contextual Theological Bible Commentary: In the Beginning God [Genesis 1-

12:4]. Translated by T M Philip. Tiruvalla: CSS Books, 2003.

Turner, C. E. A. “Creation in Isaiah.” Creation 9, no. 4 (September 1987): 20-22.

Wiseman, P J. Clues to creation in Genesis. Edited by Donald J Wiseman. London: Marshall,

Morgan & Scott, 1977.

Zimmerli, Walther. The place and limit of the wisdom in the frameword of the Old Testament
Theology. Texas: SJT, 1964.

10