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WISDOM OF SOLOMON

One of the most important deuterocanonical wisdom writings. The Greek (LXX) tradition attributed this work to Solomon: “the Wisdom of Solomon.” Although Solomon is not mentioned by name in this book, it is obvious that the author is speaking in the persona of that famous king. The prayer in ch. 9 is an expansion of the devout portrayal of Solomon in 1 Kgs. 3:6-9. The work is also known by the title it received in the Latin tradition, “The Book of Wisdom.” Thus, it is a pseudepigraph, and its canonicity was questioned in antiquity. Again, Jerome and Augustine were divided on the point; it was a favorite book of Augustine, and eventually was considered as part of the Bible in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.

The date of the book cannot be fixed exactly. The evidence depends on judgments concerning the influences that can be detected in it (Philo?). The range of dating goes from late in the 1st century b.c.e. to the first half of the 1st century c.e. From the internal evidence of the book itself we know that the author was a Jew who was well acquainted with the traditions of his people. He worked with the LXX translation of the OT, in many cases carrying over its terminology. The passion with which the Jewish tradition is presented (e.g., chs. 10–19) is another indication of Jewish origins. This suggests that the author should probably be sought among the large and prosperous Jewish community of Alexandria in Egypt. It is therefore a work from the Jewish Diaspora. At the same time, the author displays a remarkable knowledge of the Greek language and culture. Despite the efforts of some scholars in the past to claim a plurality of authors (or even that it is a translation from an Aramaic original!), there is general agreement that it is the work of one person.

As will be evident, wisdom (Gk. sophía) is a key notion in the work; it occurs more than 50 times. But it shows striking differences from the accepted “wisdom” books (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Sirach). It has no collections of proverbial sayings or wisdom poems. There is nothing of the impassioned speeches of Job or the lectures of his three friends. The acerbity of Qoheleth’s thought is absent (although some have erroneously thought to see Qoheleth’s reflection in the presentation of the views of the wicked in ch. 2). A very distant similarity to Sirach might be found in the fact that both include the history of Israel within their ambit. And yet no one would deny that this is a “wisdom” book, even if of an unusual sort.

Literary Genre

Recent scholarship has intensified efforts to discover the literary form, particularly by similarities to Hellenistic literature. Some scholars have described it as an exhortation, or protreptic. This designation is somewhat loose in that it allows for the employment of other forms such as the diatribe, the problem (aporia), and syncrisis or comparison. Others have looked to the epideictic genre described by Aristotle, which includes the encomium or praise. These studies describe the book in its relation to Hellenistic culture. But these theoretical determinations do not contribute much to the actual understanding of the text of Wisdom. More important is the recognition of the inclusio (the repetition of a word or group of words to mark off a unit within the work). More helpful, too, is the fairly obvious partition of the book in three sections, based upon content. However, this rough division passes over details; e.g., 6:22 is clearly the introduction to chs. 7–9. The divisions can be summed up as Wisdom’s gift of immortality (chs. 1–6); Solomon’s description of Wisdom (chs. 7–9); the work of Wisdom in history, especially the Lord’s dealing with the people during the Egyptian plagues (chs. 10–19). Ch. 10, describing Wisdom’s saving activity through the ages, serves as an introduction to the specific events of the Exodus.

Contents

The first part (chs. 1–6) opens with an address to kings, “rulers of the earth,” who also will appear again in 6:1. Such an address is not easy to understand (Solomon addressing earthly kings?). The entire thrust of the book is Jewish and rests upon Jewish traditions, so it must be aimed at a Jewish audience since only they could absorb it. Some insist that a gentile audience is also targeted, at least in the sense that the work is a sort of propaganda (but the treatment of Gentiles hardly favors that view). Rather, it seems to be a simple literary fiction, prompted by the royal dignity of the putative Solomon. Such a move has a precedent in the role of Qoheleth (cf. Eccl. 1:1, 12), and perhaps in Egypt it provided some status for the Jewish minority.

From the outset it is clear that we are dealing with Jewish wisdom and the ethical ideals associated with it. One is to live the virtuous life that is associated with wisdom, that “kindly spirit” (1:6; lit., “philanthropic”), a spirit that fills the world (a Stoic idea) and thus has knowledge of human conduct. Parallelismus membrorum, a familiar feature of Hebrew poetry which aligns two similar or contrasting ideas, marks the opening lines and continues throughout the work. Almost immediately the author confronts the issue of death and offers his own view of it. It is not of God’s making, but is the “friend” of the wicked who covenant with it. This is clearly spiritual or eschatological death (1:13-16). The same idea is found in 2:23, where it is said that God made humans for aphtharsía, or incorruptibility, in his image, but death entered the world through the devil, and those who belong to his “company” (merís) experience it (2:24; 1:16). The author is aware of physical death, which afflicts everyone, but his interest is in the death that “destroys the soul” (1:11). “Righteousness is undying” (1:15). Here is the essence of immortality: a right relationship to God. It can be destroyed, and the wicked, so vividly described in ch. 2, are the living proof of that. But of itself, this relationship to God is undying. Thus the author seems clearly to explain immortality from what may be called a biblical point of view — not from the (Greek) point of view of the human constitution or composite (body/soul). He could have easily been inspired by the typically Greek idea of the natural immortality of the soul, of which he was surely aware, but he never reasons from the intrinsic nature of the soul to its immortality. For him immortality was far more than prolongation in time; it was a gift to the righteous. He is almost disinterested in the fate of the wicked. They are destined for suffering (4:19), but their real fate is revealed in their cry, “fools that we were!” (5:4), when they see the just man whom they persecuted accepted among the sons of God, the divine family (v. 5).

Woman Wisdom is the subject of the second part of the work (chs. 7–9), but the author does not lose sight of his supposed royal audience (1:1). It is precisely to kings that “he will tell what wisdom is and how she came to be” (6:22; cf. v. 9). In a typical Greek sorites he shows how wisdom leads to a kingdom (6:17-20). Wisdom must be prayed for (7:7), but she is more priceless than any human possession. With her come lessons in all the mysteries of the physical works, for she is the “fashioner of all things” (7:22; cf. Prov. 8:30). She also teaches the four Greek cardinal virtues: temperance, justice, prudence, and fortitude (8:7). She is to be wooed, loved, taken as one’s bride. Hence Solomon prayed to the Lord for the gift of wisdom — the only way of acquiring her: “Who has learned your counsel, unless you have given Wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?” (9:17).

The story of the plagues (chs. 10–19) is prefaced by an unusual presentation of Wisdom as savior in history, from Adam to Moses (ch. 10). Then begins a series of comparisons (Gk. sýnkrisis) between the experience of Israel and the plagues that afflicted the Egyptians. Certain principles guide the presentation: Israel benefits “through the very things by which their enemies were punished” (11:5, 16). This point is then illustrated by several antithetical diptychs; e.g., Israel receives water from the rock, in contrast to the Egyptians who suffer from the Nile being changed into blood. There are also some deliberate digressions, such as the worship of nature and idolatry (13:1–15:17). The final comparison deals with the fate of the Egyptian firstborn and the freeing of Israel (18:5–19:22). The ending is somewhat abrupt, but the author followed his plan.

Bibliography. J. M. Reese, Hellenistic Influence on the Book of Wisdom and Its Consequences. AnBib 41 (Rome, 1970); D. Winston, The Wisdom of Solomon. AB 43 (Garden City, 1979); A. G. Wright, “Wisdom,” NJBC, 512-22.

Roland E. Murphy, O.Carm.

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

WISDOM OF SOLOMON

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)