Wisdom Literature
March - June 2026
OT016-612 and OT021-812
Why are the ‘Wisdom books’ so strange—and how can we preach the gospel from them?
Join us this March as we explore these questions with Dr Kamina Wüst. This unit first covers fundamentals such as wisdom writings in Ancient Near Eastern literary traditions, the category of ‘wisdom literature’ in the Bible and how to read Biblical poetry. You'll study Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs and the Song of Songs alongside major themes such as retribution, suffering, women in Wisdom literature and the wisdom of Solomon. Ultimately you'll explore how to preach Christ from the Wisdom literature, appreciating how the Wisdom books enrich and are enriched by the gospel of Jesus.
How this unit can help your ministry
Apply the teaching of Old Testament Wisdom Literature to contemporary Christian living and ministry contexts
Be able to preach Christ from the Wisdom literature in a way that is literarily and theologically coherent
Handle these quirky books with confidence and enjoyment
What makes Mary Andrews College different?
We're the only theological college in Australia focused on equipping women.
We specialise in pastoral care and mental health.
Our units are geared to practical theology and ministry that is just as useful for volunteers as those in vocational ministry.
Our students consistently tell us we're a lovely community to be part of.
Our lecturers are world-class, with a wealth of pastoral and teaching experience.
And, you can be confident that everything we offer is firmly grounded in God's word.
In this unit we'll be learning about...
01
What is Wisdom Literature?
Wisdom vs wisdom vs Wisdom Literature
Did ‘wisdom literature’ really exist?
Wisdom writings in the Ancient Near East
02
Biblical Wisdom Literature
Why these four books?
Strategies for reading the Wisdom books
“Doing” biblical theology with Wisdom literature
03
Reading Hebrew poetry
The problem of poetry
Understanding Hebrew poetry
Reading the Wisdom literature as poetry
04
Proverbs
The ‘big theology’ of Proverbs
Proverbs and real life, then and now
The wisdom of Proverbs
05
Women in Wisdom Literature
Lady Wisdom & the Excellent Wife
The Foreign Woman & the metaphor of adultery
The female perspective of the Song
06
Job
The “righteous sufferer” in ANE literature
(Mis-reading) Job as a guide to personal suffering
The wisdom of Job
07
Wisdom, Suffering and Evil
Retribution theology
The problem of suffering
Wise responses to suffering
08
Exegeting Wisdom Literature
Doing exegesis excellently
Exegesis vs application
Exegetical considerations for Wisdom books
09
The ‘Wisdom’ of Solomon
How wise was King Solomon?
How Solomon’s story impacts Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song
10
Ecclesiastes in its ANE context
The 'contradictory' nature of Ecclesiastes
The wisdom of Ecclesiaste
11
The Song of Songs
Questions that don’t have answers
Context as the key to the Song
The wisdom of the Song
12
The Gospel and Wisdom Literature
Getting to Jesus from the OT
Connecting wisdom to the gospel
Applying the wisdom books in your ministry context
The above is indicative: lecture content may vary year to year
What to expect in class
We're a friendly bunch: students have mixed ministry and life experiences
This unit will be delivered as a 3 day intensive with 7 hours of lectures per day plus an additional 15 hours of online learning across the semester. Each lecture day runs from 9am to 5pm and is divided into 7 x 50 minute lectures with a 10 minute break between each session plus a lunch break.
You can attend in person at ADM offices at Town Hall, Sydney or on Zoom
Assessments include an essay, an exegetical paper and writing a Bible study on a passage from a Wisdom book.
Meet your lecturer
Dr Kamina Wüst
Kamina Wüst is an author, speaker and lecturer. Kamina has a PhD in Biblical Studies (Old Testament) on the Song of Songs and is passionate about Old Testament wisdom, sex, love, passion and related topics. She has lectured at Queensland Theological College, Ridley College, Trinity College Queensland and Mary Andrews college, teaching Old Testament topics and Biblical Hebrew. Before she studied the Bible, she studied theatre and music.
What our students say…
“Suffering the loss of someone I loved... was a catalyst for me to grow deeper in my understanding of the Bible and our great God. I wanted to understand more deeply the wonderful God who had remained faithful to me in the hardest periods in my life and I wanted to understand more about what the Bible says about suffering.”
“I loved studying so much so I’m doing a Diploma of Ministry ... to further deepen my knowledge of pastoral care and ministry to the aged.”
Fees
As part of our wider ACT courses
With FEE-HELP* $0
Diploma Level $2940
Graduate Level $3288
*FEE-HELP available for eligible students enrolled in a whole Diploma or Graduate course
36 class hours - 12 weekly classes - 12 credit points - online only
Currently this unit is not offered at the MAC Certificate level
March - June 2026
Audited
$750
36 class hours - 12 weekly classes
No assignments
March - June 2025
How does this unit fit with our course offerings?
This course can be studied at 2 levels:
Diploma and Advanced Diploma level. For those without an undergraduate degree wanting a course with a large breadth of units. These are courses of the Australian University of Theology: 0.5-1 yr full time, max 8 yrs part-time, 36 class hours per unit, 11-16 units per course.
Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma level. Higher level assignments than diploma level. Requires a previous bachelors degree. These are courses of the Australian University of Theology: 0.5-1 yr full time, max 2-4 yrs part-time, 36 class hours per unit, 4-8 unit per course.
