Created in honor of the work of Professor Tova Forti, this collection considers the natural world in key wisdom books - Proverbs, Job and Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes, Ben Sira and Song of Songs/Solomon - and also examines particular animal and plant imagery in other texts in the Hebrew Bible. It crucially involves ancient Near Eastern parallels and like texts from the classical world, but also draws on rabbinic tradition and broader interpretative works, as well as different textual traditions such as the LXX and Qumran scrolls.Whilst the natural world, notably plants and animals, is a key uniting element, the human aspect is also crucial. To explore this, contributors also treat the wider concerns within wisdom literature on human beings in relation to their social context, and in comparison with neighbouring nations. They emphasize that the human, animal and plant worlds act together in synthesis, all enhanced and imbued by the world-view of wisdom literature.

IllustrationsContributorsA Personal Tribute to Tova L. Forti - David A. Glatt GiladAn Appreciation of the Scholarly Work of Tova L. Forti -Mordecai Cogan and Katharine DellAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsThe Works of Tova L. FortiIntroductionPart I: The Natural World in Wisdom Literature in the Hebrew Bible1. 'Ask the Plants': Job's Dialogue with Floral Metaphors in Psalms 1 and 90 - Will Kynes, Samford University, USA2. God's View of his Animals in Job 38:40-39:30 - Michael V. Fox, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA and Katharine J. Dell, University of Cambridge, UK3. How Behemoth and Leviathan 'Speak' (12:7) to Job - Mark Sneed, Lubbock Christian University, USA4. Of Leeches, Lizards, and Lions: The Humorous Function of Animal Talk in Proverbs 30 - Knut Heim, Denver Seminary, USA5. 'Mortals cannot abide in their pomp: they are like the animals that perish' (Ps 49:2 [Heb. 13]: An Intertextual Approach to Psalm 49:9-21 and Qoheleth - Katharine Dell, University of Cambridge, UK6. The Functions of Animal Imagery in Ben Sira's Ethics - Samuel L. Adams, Union Presbyterian Seminary, USA7. The Astonishing Zoo of Sirach - Nuria Calduch-Benages, Pontifical Gregorian University Rome, ItalyPart II: The Natural World in Non-Wisdom Texts in the Bible and its Interpretive Tradition8. Complex Attitudes towards Animals in the Hebrew Bible - Yael Shemesh, Bar-Ilan University, Israel9. Harmony between Humanity and the Natural World in the Song of Songs - Brittany Melton and Megan Alsene, Palm Beach Atlantic University, USA10. Dove Metaphors in the Song of Songs - Danilo Verde, KU Leuven, Belgium11. The Relationship between 'You Shall Not Let Your Cattle Mate with a Different Kind (Lev 19:19) and 'You Shall Not Plow with an Ox and Ass Together (Deut 22:10): A Re-examination - Eran Viezel, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel12. Almonds, Flocks and Classical Rhetoric: The Retelling of Num 17:16-26 in LAB 17 - Atar Livneh, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel13. The Thematic Functions of Sheep/Ox to Slaughter Imagery - David A. Glatt-Gilad, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, IsraelPart III: The Natural World in the Ancient Near East14. The First Mickey Mouse: The Enigma of the Anthropomorphized Drawings in Ancient Egypt - Nili Shupak, University of Haifa, Israel15. Instructions of Shruppak: The World's Oldest Collection - Nili Samet, Bar-Ilan University, Israel16. Wise Kings in Israel and Assyria: Mastering the Natural World in Words and Action - Amitai Baruchi-Unna, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel and Mordechai Cogan, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel17. Divine Gift: Sacrifice of Game and Domesticated Animals in Hittite and Biblical Cultures - Ada Taggar-Cohen, Doshisha University, Japan18. Gazelles: Symbols of Power and Vulnerability in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East - Jennifer L. Andruska, University of Manchester, UKIndex of ReferencesIndex of Authors