성서에 나타난 노인 토포스

Abstract

The old man who appears in the Old Testament has various functions and features. The signature silver hair and wisdom (the merit of old age) have colorful and positive manifestations in the Proverbs and Ecclesiasticus. The tone of the descriptions change in the later works. The Book of Job raises questions as to whether old men are truly sagacious, and such critical thinking leads to a completely new evaluation of the old man by the Book of Wisdom. The starting point of the case made in the Book of Wisdom is the untimely death of a good man. It becomes clear what role the destroyed 'Tun-Ergehen-Zusammenhang'(correlation between action and leading a decent life) - a theme penetrating the Old Testament - has in assessing life. The correlation that is argued in the Proverbs fades in the midst of the distress of Job and the good man's early death in the Book of Wisdom; age, silver hair, and wisdom do not necessarily have association anymore. The Book of Wisdom which was documented approximately a century before the birth of Christ reflects the views of the Greeks and the Romans of the time. One case in point is the 'Consolation Literature' that was all the rage. In this sense, the Book of Wisdom is a fresh assessment of life in tandem with the times. Those who meet young deaths may reach the noble age and hold the dignify of the silver haired. The classical topos of the old man now has a new significance. In the New Testament, the old man and the old age appear in a completely different paradigm. Christ himself did not walk the Earth over thirty years. The key subject in Gospel is Resurrection. Having reached old age in this world no longer matters. The issue of age has been given a religious tone (from being a mundane matter), shifting how it is thought about - if it is mentioned at all.