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| Name of a book of the Hebrew Bible. It is an example of wisdom tradition in Israelite culture. |
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| A nonreligious celebraion in the Jewish month of Adar (February to March) that recalls the escape the Jews from a pogrom in the fifth-century Persian Empire. The book of Esther serves to establish this as a feast Jews should keep. |
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| Leading character in the book of Job. God allows terrible things to happen to him and his family as a demonstration that Job is not faithful to God only because God blesses him. This book raises the issue of theodicy and questions the deuteronomistic scheme. |
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| A literary term that designates a brief wise saying; for example, "pride goes before a fall." |
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| God's general guidance and care of the world as seen in the form of creation, the broad outlines of history, and perhaps even in the events in the lives of individuals. This goodness of God supports human acts that lead to a world that more closely reflects what God wants. |
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| A word that means opposer. In the book of Job this figure in the heavenly courts serves as the prosecuting attorney in heaven. By the time of the New Testament, that term has become the name of the ruler of the demonic realm. |
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| The problem of the presence of evil and basic unfairness that exist in a world made by an all-good God. It is sometimes expressed by a person asking why bad things happen to good people. |
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| The idea that things have no purpose or meaning. Ecclesiastes uses this term to describe life, and various aspects of life. |
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| Books that reflect the literary forms and outlook of the Wisdom tradition. They rely more on observation and interpretation of the world than on direct revelation from God. |
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