Title Toews Voices of the Sages Uncorrected Draft.pdf ✅

Praise for Voices of the Sages “Brian Toews does readers of Israel’s Scriptures a real service with his impressive study. He examines the third section of the Writings, that section that seems to be the “leftovers” of the Hebrew Bible after the Torah and the Prophets, and views it as an extremely important wisdom contribution to the entire canon. Creatively viewing the various books in this collection in the form of sages gathered together around a discussion of major themes of Scripture, he shows the importance of this section of the Tanak, as well as the distinctive contribution of its many voices. There are many highlights in his treatment such as the treatment of Proverbs as providing a way to live the Shema in everyday practical life, a significant female perspective (the Megillot) and the importance of marriage. There is important synthesis of themes like the kingdom of God, along with a helpful tracing of these ideas in the New Testament. Some helpful practical applications to contemporary believers round out the study. Toews has clearly sat at the feet of these sages and learned much!” - Dr. Stephen Dempster, Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies, Crandall University “Imagine that you have been invited to a dinner featuring a dozen biblical authors of the Old Testament Writings. That is what Brian Toews does in his new book as he explores the many common themes in these familiar and not-so-familiar books of the Bible. Toews’ engaging writing draws us into the discussion and gives us new insights that enrich our understanding and appreciation of this portion of the Bible that he has studied deeply and taught for thirty years.” - Dr. Daniel Estes, Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Cedarville University “There’s a seat for us at the table. Brian Toews brings us to a friendly conversation between the authors of and persons within the neglected wisdom writings of the Old Testament. In Voices of the Sages, David and Naomi interact with Job. Esther gets advice from the likes of Daniel, Ruth, Lady Wisdom of Proverbs, and even the Song of Songs. These and many other conversations reveal how God’s wisdom works. Listening at the table has opened my ears to the wisdom conversations I need to hear. Every student and every minister of the word needs to study this book.” - Dr. Gary Edward Schnittjer, Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Cairn University “Reading and recommending this book brings me great joy. I have had the privilege of learning from Brian Toews for almost thirty years, and the book in your hands is just a portion of the fruit of Dr. Toews’ lifetime of careful scholarship and creative thinking about the Bible. I commend it to those who are new to the Old Testament, as well as to those who have spent many years meditating on the scriptures. It is engaging, edifying, and clearly written — a delight to read as you reflect on the text of scripture.” - Dr. Jonathan Master, President, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary “The world of OT scholarship is ripe for this book, and I can think of no one better qualified than Brian to address the unity of the Writings. Drawing on his expertise in canonical and compositional studies, biblical theology, and intertextuality, his contribution is both readable by students, and stimulating for scholars. No conversation on the Writings will be complete without listening to his pioneering voice here.” - Dr. Ray Lubeck, Professor in Bible & Theology, Jessup University-Multnomah “Voices of the Sages will be the most eye-opening book about the Bible that you read this year. It is not difficult to find resources that will provide excellent content about an individual book in the Bible, but it is quite rare to find a text that links themes and ideas across so many biblical books as well as Voices of the Sages. Toews pulls back the curtain to reveal the hidden connections that the wisdom literature shares with other books of the Old Testament. Using what he calls con-textuality and montage, Toews offers sure guidance into the deep ties between Ruth and Proverbs, the Chronicles and the Psalter, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs, and many others. Discovering these links will propel the reader into a richer understanding of the Hebrew Bible as a whole. The product of a lifetime of reading and studying the Bible, Voices of the Sages is amazingly accessible and understandable, even for those readers without Hebrew. This book will be deeply satisfying for all who study, teach and preach the Old Testament.” - Dr. Timothy S. Yoder, Professor of Theological Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary
Voices of the Sages Old Testament Wisdom in Dialogue “Brian Toews has done all Christians, as students of the Old Testament, a wonderful service by providing an accessible introduction to the Old Testament that avoids overspecialization and overgeneralization. His approach to the texts as conversations between sages works well to show how the texts function within their canonical context and how we, as modern readers, can learn from Old Testament authors as sages. These authors and their texts are the masters who want us, as their disciples, to learn the deep things of God. This accessible study of the Old Testament is a generous contribution to the church and should be on the bookshelves of pastors and all laity.” - Dr. Greg Peters, Professor of Medieval and Spiritual Theology, Biola University “Dr. Toews looks at how joined the Old Testament books are instead of seeing them as randomly compiled individual stories. He does this by engaging the conversational themes interconnecting the books following the particular threads of Wisdom and Kingdom in the texts. Readers of Voices of the Sages will learn how using the contextual order of the Writings is revealing and helpful in rightly interpreting the Word of God.” - Dr. Mark Menga, Communication & Cinema Studies Professor, Lancaster Bible College “Three decades’ worth of Old Testament students have experienced the Bible coming alive through Prof. Toews’s careful study and engaging teaching. Voices of the Sages is the culmination of his thoughtful research on the Writings, the third section of the Hebrew canon. Rather than emphasizing a particular linear order of the books of the Writings, Toews creatively presents the books as linked in conversation around the central theme of wisdom, demonstrating the interconnectedness of Scripture. Academics, pastors, and lay people will appreciate this essential guide through an oft-neglected part of the Hebrew Bible.” - Dr. Benjamin D. Giffone, Assoc. Professor of Biblical Studies, Hindustan Bible Institute & College “In Voices of the Sages, Brian Toews, a lifelong student, teacher, and scholar of the Hebrew Bible, experiments with the implications of reading and hearing the Writings-corpus as a corpus, while also allowing for each individual book to speak on its own terms. Toews pursues reading the Writings as a collection of literature that is unified by its overall message, while bringing attention to the fact that Israelites and Judean sages, at times, engage in sharp theological conversation with one another. The validity of this volume’s thesis is legitimized by the way in which the Writings have been assembled in the history of their existence. The lexical, conceptual, and thematic linkages between texts pressured ancient editors to make various associations within the collection that led them to order the corpus into various canonical arrangements. Books already in conversation with one another were thus stitched together in ways that much more overtly brought these theological dialogues to light. It is here that Toews joins the sages by highlighting much of the same throughout each chapter of this thought-provoking volume.” - Dr. Robert C. Kashow, Adjunct Professor, Salve Regina University “Toews has done an excellent job comparing and contrasting the various books to show how both human wisdom and divine wisdom are personified. I would heartily recommend the book to anyone seeking to grow in God’s wisdom.” - Dr. Tom Halsted, Dean of the School of Biblical Studies, The Master’s University

Voices of the Sages: Old Testament Wisdom in Dialogue Copyright © 2024 by Brian G. Toews All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other— except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior per- mission of the publisher. Cover artwork created using DALL·E, an AI program by OpenAI. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. McGahan Publishing House | Lynchburg, Tennessee www.mphbooks.com Requests for information should be sent to: [email protected] ISBN 978-1-951252-29-8 (Paperback) ____________________________________________________ To Brenda, שלי אשת חיל