BOOK OF WISDOM

'Wisdom' or the 'Wisdom of Solomon' is one of the deuterocanonical books of the Bible. It is one of the seven 'Sapiential books' of the Old Testament, which includes Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon (Song of Songs), and Ecclesiasticus (Sirach).
According to St. Melito in the first century AD, it was considered canonical by Jews and Christians.[1]

Contents

Date and authorship

Philosophical influences

Influence on the Gospel of Matthew

External links

Date and authorship

The book is believed to have been written in Greek, but in a style patterned on that of Hebrew verse. [2] The author was traditionally believed to be Solomon, but this conclusion has been rejected in modern times. Says the Catholic Encyclopedia: "at the present day, it is freely admitted that Solomon is not the writer of the Book of Wisdom, "which has been ascribed to him because its author, through a literary fiction, speaks as if he were the Son of David" [3]
Scholars believe that the book is the most classical Greek in the Septuagint, having been written during the Jewish Hellenistic period (the 1st or 2nd century BC). The author of the text, sometimes called Solomon, appears well versed in the popular philosophical, religious and ethical writings adopted by Hellenistic Alexandria.
Although purported to have the same author as Ecclesiastes (Solomon) the beliefs on afterlife are significantly different. Chapter 2 in particular seems to be in direct response to the futilism of Ecclesiastes: “For they said within themselves, reasoning not aright, Short and sorrowful is our life; And there is no remedy when a man cometh to his end” (Wis. 2:1).

Philosophical influences

Philosophical influences may include those of classical and Middle-Platonism. Some religious and ethical influences may stem from Stoicism, also found in the writings of the Alexandrian Jew, Philo. (This is evident in the use of the four Stoic ideals which are borrowed from Plato.) A sorites appears in Chapter 6 (v. 17-20). This logical form is also called chain-inference, "of which the Stoics were very fond." (Zeller, 'Stoics', p. 216 note)
One passage (Wis. 8:2-18) has notable similarity to Virtue's speech to Heracles in Xenophon's 'Memorabilia', Book 2, 1:37.

Influence on the Gospel of Matthew

The Gospel of Matthew contains apparent allusions to the Wisdom of Solomon. Parallels between Wisdom and Matthew include the theme of testing, and the mocking of a servant of God's claim to be protected by God. Matthew's gospel teaches that Jesus is the suffering servant of God. This allusion can be seen in other passages throughout the Bible:

★ "He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" (Matt. 27:43)

★ "He professeth to have the knowledge of God: and he calleth himself the child of the Lord... Let us see if his words be true... For if the just man be the son of God, he will help him, and deliver him." (Wis. 2:13, 17-18)

★ "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." (Ps. 22:8)
The Matthew passage is similar in language and theme to the Wisdom passage, which in turn alludes to the suffering servant of Psalms 22. The Matthew passage more closely reflects the language of Wisdom than of the Psalm, especially in the use of the phrase "the Son of God" which does not appear in the Psalm.

External links

★ Wisdom of Solomon - King James version from University of Virginia

★ The Book of Wisdom - Full text (Douay-Rheims version) from http://St-Takla.org (also available in Arabic)

★ The Book of Wisdom - Latin Vulgate with Douay-Rheims version side-by-side

★ The Book of Wisdom - Latin Vulgate

★ The Book of Wisdom - Septuagint Greek text

★ Catholic Encyclopedia: Book of Wisdom

★ Jewish Encyclopedia: WISDOM OF SOLOMON, BOOK OF THE

★ NT Allusions to Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha