OGS Statement of Interest UPDATED

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2009-2010 OGS – Statement of Interest – Nathalie LaCoste

The focus of my MA research will be on the methods of acquiring wisdom which developed in Jewish and Christian wisdom literature from the Second Temple period.

The preparation I received in my B.A. degree will enable me to pursue original research at the M.A. level which I began September 2008. My preparation includes the study of ancient languages (Hebrew and Greek), historical studies, biblical interpretation and methodology. I am also learning Biblical Aramaic. I have worked with several professors at the University of Toronto whose research interests are closely aligned with my own, Hindy Najman in the field of Second Temple Judaism, Sarianna Metso in the Dead Sea Scrolls and John Kloppenborg in Early Christian writings.

My investigation will explore two aspects of the acquisition of wisdom in the Second Temple period. The first aspect will investigate the transmission and reception of wisdom. The acquisition of wisdom was made possible through ancient prophetic figures invoked in Second Temple texts. For example, Solomon was invoked as the author of a text called the Wisdom of Solomon even though in reality the text was written centuries after his death. It is through the invocation of ancient figures that the wisdom of old is made accessible to later generations through inspired texts which are interpreted and re-presented to the community. The second aspect of my study will explore the pathway to wisdom through Hellenistic philosophy. As Pierre Hadot wrote “Philosophy was a method of spiritual progress which demanded a radical conversion and transformation of the individual’s way of being” (Hadot, Philosophy as a Way of Life, 265). Hellenistic philosophical traditions taught the idea of moral and intellectual perfection as the method of acquiring wisdom. Philo of Alexandra was the first to apply the philosophical ideas about wisdom to the reading and interpretation of the Torah. He was radically innovative in his approach to Jewish authoritative texts in his allegorical interpretation of the Torah as a method of incorporating Hellenistic philosophical ideals.

The field of Hellenistic Judaism has historically focused on the study of wisdom literature as a literary genre. I intend to take a different approach by using textual analysis and comparison to analyze the different methods in which wisdom can be acquired. My approach will build upon the work done by Hindy Najman and Pierre Hadot. I will combine Hindy Najman’s understanding of discourse analysis and the contruction of dialogue between texts with Pierre Hadot’s ideas of Greek philosophy as a method of gaining divine wisdom. My approach will contribute a new perspective to the field of Hellenistic Judaism by focusing on the Hellenistic philosophical tradition and the ways in which it is incorporated into the acquisition of wisdom. My primary texts for transmission and reception are 4Ezra, Ben Sira, Wisdom of Solomon and 4Q Sapiential. The writings of Philo of Alexandria, Marcus Aurelius and Seneca will be my primary texts for the acquisition of Hellenistic wisdom.

There are several broad implications for this project. The first is that my research will illuminate texts which have historically not been connected to the study of Hellenistic Jewish sources. My project also sheds light upon several early connections between the early Jewish and Christian communities. Finally, my research contributes to the contemporary inter-religious debate between the Jewish and Christian traditions, rather than being . They are often viewed as “intimately separate” though they are born out of the same textual origin. By creating a conversation that crosses the traditional linguistic divide, I will seek to construct a dialogue between these texts.