QUEST FOR WISDOM AS QUEST FOR IDENTITY. THE CASE OF THE DEUTEROCANONICAL WISDOM LITERATURE
QUEST FOR WISDOM AS QUEST FOR IDENTITY. THE CASE OF THE DEUTEROCANONICAL WISDOM LITERATURE

Summary/Abstract: Otherness challenges religious identity. For this reason, this essay reflects upon the encounter of Hellenistic Judaism with Greek philosophy and culture that will occasion different strategies of coping with a dissimilar system of thought. Two later representatives of wisdom literature, Ben Sira and the Book of Wisdom are tested for their authors’ ability to respond to the challenge of preserving identity. While comparisons between the two books have been already performed, this essay attempts to show the importance of rethinking tradition in the preservation of identity. While in closed societies emphasis on tradition and distinctiveness may secure survival, dialogical strategies that reshape traditions may offer responses that are more innovative, more efficient with respect to the aforementioned aim, and more accessible to outward groups.

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