Aspekte van die verhouding tussen heerskappy en gemeenskap in die kritiese wysheid van Israel

Abstract

Die bydrae van die lsraelitiese wysheidsliteratuur word in die teologiese nadenke oor die wese sowel as die regverdigheid van God in 'n groot mate onderbenut gelaat. Dit hoef egter nie so te wees nie. lndien die wysheid van Israel teen die agtergrond of breer konteks van die ontwikkeling in die konvensionele oud-Oosterse wysheid en vanuit 'n toepaslike orienteringspunt benader word, kan die betekenis daarvan histories en eksegeties op so 'n wyse ontsluit word dat die relevansie met betrekking tot die teologiese gesprek oor God en die teodisee aangetoon kan word. In die lig hiervan word die kritiese wysheid van Israel aan die hand van 'n elliptiese ordeningsbeginsel, wat enersyds die heerskappy van God en andersyds die moontlikheid van gemeenskap tussen God en mens as wentelpunte het, histories en eksegeties ondersoek. Verskillende reaksies op 'n gemeenskaplike ervaring van God se transendensie word in die lsraelitiese wysheid gehandhaaf en ontwikkel. Al word die terme 'transendensie', 'immanensie' en 'teodisee' nerens in die wysheidstekste van Israel gebruik nie, kom die motiewe nogtans voor. Die alternatiewe wat gehandhaaf en uitgewerk word, beklemtoon die verband tussen godsbeskouing en die ervaring van God as of verwyderd of immanent. Op soek na die balans tussen die transendensie en immanensie van God, bied die kritiese wysheid van Israel wel 'n perspektief waarin so 'n omvangryke ervaring van die wese van God moontlik is dat die beperkinge van rasionaliteit, en daarom ook vrae wat uit die teodisee-vraagstuk voortvloei, oorkom kan word.

The contribution of the sapiential literature of ancient Israel to theological reflection on both the essence and the justice of God is to a large extent neglected. This need not be the case. If Israelite wisdom is approached from a suitable vantage point and against the background or in the wider context of the sapiential movement in the ancient Near East, it becomes possible to historically and exegetically unravel the meaning and relevance of Old Testament wisdom in theological discussion of God and theodicy. In this light a historical and exegetical exploration of Israel's critical wisdom is undertaken with the aid of an elliptical guiding principle in which the supreme lordship of God is the one focal point, and the possibility of intimate communion between God and humans the other. Different reactions to a common experience of the transcendence of God are maintained and developed in the wisdom of ancient Israel. Although the terms 'transcendence', 'immanence' and 'theodicy' are never used in their wisdom texts, the motifs themselves did occur. The connection between the God concept and the experience of God as either remote or immanent, is emphasized by the alternatives which are developed in both the conventional and critical wisdom. In search of balance between the transcendence and immanence of God, the critical wisdom of Israel does offer a perspective within which comprehensive experience of the essence of God is possible to such an extent that the limitations of rationality, and therefore also the questions emanating from the riddle of theodicy, can be exceeded.