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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

"In God’s Twilight Zone, Bible scholar T. Anthony Perry presents an unusual and thought-provoking discourse on elements of wisdom in the Hebrew Bible. Perry finds wisdom throughout the Bible, beginning with Genesis. He begins with Noah, Jacob, Judah, Tamar, and Joseph, often referring to a subject as a tsaddik, or righteous human being. Perry considers that God created and maintained a righteous world. For him, the Hebrew Bible is a study in survival, and after the prophets were gone, the sages assumed the helm of creativity. As he selectively portrays certain passages and their interpretations, he eventually reaches the realm of the Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.

"The chapter on Solomon's decision in I Kings (3:16 through 3:28) about the baby claimed by two women is fascinating. Perry cites several interpretations of the story and discusses which figure was wise—Solomon or the real mother (whoever she was). He considers the meaning of a real mother and the meaning of life. In a burst of enthusiasm, he ends the chapter by exclaiming, “I just love this Bible!”

"God’s Twilight Zone includes a bibliography as well as indexes of Hebrew words, names and subjects, and ancient sources. Recommended as an intellectual exercise for clergy, seminarians, and Bible study groups."
—Congregational Libraries Today “

"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).
— Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

"Twilight is a twice-daily phenomenon when life becomes blurred and open to multiple interpretations. For T. A. Perry "God's Twilight Zone" denotes the initial twilight in Genesis (in which wisdom was compacted, awaiting later exposure) and a second twilight after the lapse of priests and prophets left a vacuum for methods accessing God's message, a vacuum filled by sages through "a twilight zone of ambiguous oracles and signs, dreams, riddles, and an ideology" (xi).

"Perry endeavors to trace in three movements how the HE records the transfer from divine to human creativity and how this theme remains a focus throughout. In part 1 ("Creating and Maintaining a Righteous World Order"), he provides readings in Genesis and Exodus to develop a critical definition of the Tsaddiq (the righteous). If "the righteous person is the foundation of the world" (Prov 10:25), just who or what is the Tsaddiq (the righteous)? The answer, embedded in Genesis: Noah (one who avoids violence, generates offspring, and cooperates with God), Judah via the tutelage of Tamar and Joseph (one who decides in favor of justice over personal prestige and repents publically from sin), Joseph (one who possesses the power of words and is a knowing participant in divine providence), and from Gen 2 (one who takes up where God leaves off in the business of creation). Pharaoh, in contrast, stands as the Rasha'-the anti-Tsaddiq who threatens Israel's role of righteousness.

"In part 2 ("Interpreting in the Twilight Zone"), Perry explores texts outside the traditional boundaries of Wisdom literature: Samson's battle of wits with the Philistines through riddles (Judg 14), a study in proverb evolution in the thrice-told "Is Saul too among the prophets?" (1 Sam 10 and 19), Solomon's famous judgment between two mothers and a baby (1 Kgs 3), and a reading of Ps 1 as a wisdom psalm and the introduction to the book of Psalms. In the third, and final, section of the book ("The Rebirth of Vulnerability and Wonder") Perry turns to the canon of Wisdom literature to examine the ideas of vulnerability (Qoh 12: 1-8) and wonder (Prov 30: 18-20).

"The task of any book that revisits common literature is to propose alternative readings in a consistent and persuasive fashion and to formulate a scenario in which these readings make a difference on a scale larger than the isolated verse, chapter, or book. To this end Perry succeeds by providing thought-provoking readings that engage his reader's imagination and critical faculties. He is not always persuasive; sometimes the evidence is too thin (e.g., the syntax of Gen 2:4 as a hinge between a theomorphic and an anthropomorphic version of creation) or moves too much against the broader literary context (e.g., his rereading of Samson and claim that he "is an early model of peaceful coexistence, a model judge rather than a savior" [75]). Elsewhere Perry's interpretations are provocative as he vies with other, ultimately stronger readings (e.g., Solomon's proclamation that "she is the mother" as "she will be considered the mother because she responds like one," or reading Qoh 12: 1-8 as a positive admonition of the embrace of compensatory gains or age-appropriate pleasures as one grows older). I find his most persuasive and helpful work to be the definition of the Tsaddiq based on the stories of righteous persons in Genesis. I also especially appreciate the fact that Perry's alternative readings are often renewed interpretations as he revives rabbinic exegesis long neglected by the guild.

"God's Twilight Zone would be a good supplemental text for graduate courses in Wisdom literature or theology. It will not replace standard introductions to Wisdom literature or commentaries, but it will provide a broader landscape on which to discuss the themes and gemes of Wisdom since Perry features texts outside traditional Wisdom literature."
—Restoration Quarterly

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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