Wittgenstein and the Old Testament

Abstract

I start this paper by giving a general account of Wittgenstein’s relationship to the Bible, especially to the Old Testament. I will then examine those passages in his work where he explicitly refers to the Old Testament. It will turn out that all these mentions relate to books of the so-called wisdom literature or to texts that are close to it. I will argue that Wittgenstein’s selection is not arbitrary but reflects his interest in wisdom—an interest that is, however, motivated by critique and reservation.

Keywords

• Wittgenstein
• Drury
• religion
• Old Testament
• Hebrew Bible
• Wisdom Literature