Shoah in the World of the Sages

In the drama of sapiential persuasion shoah played a brief but powerful role. As sages determined to direct youths toward a life of skill and success, it was the prospect of shoah that threatened as alternative, the fools' final end. This article applies poetic analysis to three occurrences in biblical wisdom literature. When first introduced in Proverbs, shoah raises the sapiential warning to a fierce crescendo (Prov 1:27). In the second occurrence, shoat-resha'im turns from threat to rich reassurance as it measures the safety enjoyed by the wise—they will escape unscathed from the wicked's demise (Prov 3:25). Widening the semantic range, Job used shoah to describe the dilemma of suffering undeserved (Job 30:14). Through this study it becomes evident that shoah occupied a position of superlative yet not simplistic disaster.