ABSTRACT
It is well known that in Old Testament the word 'wisdom' has a specialised as well as a general sense. The earliest literary wisdom in Israel had preceded the classical prophets, who might have been influenced by its themes and literary forms. During last twenty years there has been a growing tendency among scholars to recognise a native Israelite wisdom tradition, which already existed before the establishment of the Israelite state with its foreign cultural tradition. This chapter discusses the question of the nature of Old Testament wisdom per se but to survey the history of the study of the relationship between prophecy and wisdom. One of the most recent exponents of the theme 'prophecy and wisdom', Whedbee, was aware of the problems attending the investigation and attempted to avoid them. That part of Whedbee's study which is concerned with parables and proverbs in Isaiah is the most thorough investigation of wisdom and prophecy up to the present time.
