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What is the source of Wisdom? What, in fact, is the biblical understanding of Wisdom? And how is Wisdom revealed? In God’s Twilight Zone, T. A. Perry has brought his creative impulse and critical mind to some of the most enigmatic passages of the Hebrew Bible. Instead of confining his study to the so-called “Wisdom literature” genre, Perry proceeds based on the assumption that Wisdom can be found strategically throughout the Hebrew Bible, often in poorly understood passages that seem out of place within their wider context.

Perry provides serious students with an insightful and incisive lens through which to interpret, among other biblical passages, the story of Judah and Tamar, the riddle proposed by Samson, and the words of Qohelet (Ecclesiastes) reflecting on the advancing years of life. Solomon’s genius in the tale of the two mothers, Perry demonstrates, is not in ascertaining the true mother, but in understanding the Wisdom of preserving life. Through this thoughtful study, the reader will see that God’s Wisdom is profound and sometimes viewed best in the murky light of the twilight zone at the start and end of a day.

“God’s Twilight Zone—Wisdom in the Hebrew Bible sparkles with unexpected readings of familiar texts and sustains one's interest by its stylistic brilliance. Those who are prepared to detect the influence of sages throughout the Bible, which I am not, will find Perry's argument persuasive. Whether agreeing with him or not, they will certainly profit from lively engagement with his fertile imagination steeped in rabbinic lore.”
—James L. Crenshaw, Robert L. Flowers Professor of Old Testament, Duke University

“Readers may occasionally wonder whether what Perry calls 'strong readings' are not occasionally what Harold Bloom would call 'strong misreadings,' mistaking midrash for Bible or the inventiveness of the critic for the proverbial wisdom of the text. But what a rich wonder that is, provoked over and again in familiar and surprising contexts!"
—Leslie Brisman, Karl Young Professor of English, Yale University

Reviews

“This book is about creativity: divine creativity in shaping and maintaining the world and human creativity in understanding that world and prospering within it. The title Twilight Zone captures the flux yet connectedness of life as described in the biblical writings under consideration. The book consists of close readings of nine Old Testament passages. The first three chapters deal with some aspect of the antithetical wisdom pair “righteous and wicked.” The next four chapters highlight wisdom literary methods employed in the exposition of wisdom themes. The last two chapters focus on wisdom’s optimistic point of view. Perry’s fresh insights arise from his faithful analysis of the text from a new critical perspective. Though this is a serious study, well documented throughout, the style of writing is very readable. Scholar and serious student alike will benefit from reading it.”
—The Bible Today

“In God’s Twilight Zone, wisdom’s piercing rays are illumined in neglected and enigmatic biblical passages, and her ways are illustrated through familiar and vivid biblical characters. Much like the ancient sages focused on careful interpretation of wisdom, Perry desires to focus on wisdom’s ‘life-supporting values and methods of textual interpretation in order to help us recover (the sages’) access to the twilight zone.’ (p. xxi) .”
—Criswell Theological Review

“[God's Twilight Zone] is a fascinating and worthwhile read . . . a text-centered book that is brutally honest about the ambiguity of the Hebrew language and forthright in its challenges to conventional views of wisdom in the Hebrew Bible. Observing Perry's investigative method will help any student of scripture delve more deeply into the Hebrew Bible. I suspect future commentaries will begin interacting with Perry's keen and penetrating treatment of certain texts within this book, much like they do with groundbreaking scholarly articles. I recommend God's Twilight Zone—Wisdom in the Hebrew Bible as a challenging and stimulating read for students of scripture. It is one of those rare works which, although displaying certain phrases and presuppositions with which conservative evangelicals will be at odds, will benefit and expand the careful and attentive reader.”
—Midwestern Journal of Theology

“Perry’s work is a tour de force. He moves deftly, at one point in dialogue with modern scholars, at another with medieval Jewish commentators, here making subtle (perhaps too subtle) intertextual connections between texts, there picking up equally subtle allusions. . . . He is an astute reader sensitive to the multiple meanings of biblical texts without falling into the easy position that the texts may mean, or can be made to mean, anything. His articulation of wisdom as dealing with the ambiguity of the divine-human relation is important and need not be locked into a rigid chronological schema that places it after or during the so-called death of prophecy in ancient Israel. . . . Anybody working in the texts Perry has discussed will want to take his insights into account.”
—Review of Biblical Literature

P's reference to God's 'twilight zone' is to indicate a realm between divine revelation and absence, where the divine is revealed through dreams, oracles, riddles and the creative work of sages. This is an innovative work, which reflects P.'s rabbinic background and his sheer enjoyment of these texts (e.g. he writes, 'I just love this Bible!' p. 108) .”
—Society for Old Testament Study Book List

“Perry’s work presents a mix of fresh ideas and in-depth knowledge of both the OT and the Jewish interpretive traditions. Therefore, it is welcome and warmly recommended for readers of wisdom literature.”
—Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society

“. . . In the end, though, because he is both learned and independent, Perry's work provides a noteworthy example of constant dialogue with the biblical text, the sources of Jewish tradition, and the world of contributors to biblical scholarship. He is neither merely reflecting the views of others, nor repeating well-known traditions. Neither is he necessarily affirming established scholarly consensus. Those who find it fascinating to follow a brilliant mind at work will experience a great thrill even if they stumble a bit in Perry's twilight zone.”
—Seminary Studies

T.A. Perry holds a PhD from Yale and is Professor Emeritus at the University of Connecticut. He taught Jewish Studies and Linguistics at Ben Gurion, Loyola, and Hebrew University, and has done post-doctoral work in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies and in Hebrew Bible at Brandeis and Hebrew University.

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