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SOPHIA

(Gk. sophía)

Greek name for “Wisdom” (Heb. ḥoḵmâ), also referred to as “Woman Wisdom.” This female figure appears in Prov. 1–9; Job 28; ; and in the apocryphal books of Sirach, Baruch, and Wisdom of Solomon.

Portrayed as crying out from the city gates to those “simple ones” who might listen, Woman Wisdom in Prov. 1–9 is a teacher who, unlike the smooth-talking “strange woman” (ʾiššâ zārâ), offers truth and justice, wise counsel, prosperity, and long life. In existence since before creation, she is an ʾāmôn (“master craftsworker” or “little child”) at the side of God (Prov. 8:30), playing on earth, perhaps participating in creation, and finding her delight in humanity. In Job 28, , however, Wisdom is inaccessible to humanity, a mystery more precious than the finest of metals; God alone knows the “way” to her, having seen and established her at the time of creation (v. 27). Ben Sira and Baruch identify Woman Wisdom directly with the Torah (Sir. 24:23; Bar. 4:1), while in the Wisdom of Solomon she orders the cosmos as the emanation of God’s glory and a reflection of the divine image (Wis. 7:25-26; 8:1).

Certainly a figure whose description was expanded over time, the “identity” of Woman Wisdom remains complex: she is a gift from God yet one to be sought with discipline, a transcendent figure who fashions the world yet is immanently present with, and concerned for, humanity. Some scholars addressing the origin and development of Woman Wisdom have posited that she emerged as an Israelite parallel to such ancient Near Eastern goddesses as Ishtar, Maat, or Isis, or that she is a hypostasis of God’s wisdom. Others argue that she is the personification of a “concept” such as school wisdom or the mysterious order of creation itself. Attention has also been given to the literary function of Woman Wisdom as a metaphor and the apparent appropriation of Sophia imagery in early Christian attempts to define the nature and role of Christ (1 Cor. 1:24; cf. 2:7; Col. 2:3).

Bibliography. C. V. Camp, Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book of Proverbs (Sheffield, 1985); B. Lang, Wisdom and the Book of Proverbs: A Hebrew Goddess Redefined (New York, 1986).

Christine Roy Yoder

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SOPHIA

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)