Book of Wisdom
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The Book of Wisdom, or the Wisdom of
Structure, genre and content
The 19
- Book of Eschatology
- exhortation to justice
- speech of the impious, contrasts of the wicked and the just
- exhortation to wisdom
- Book of Wisdom
- Solomon's speech concerning wisdom, wealth, power and prayer
- Book of History
The book is addressed to the rulers of the earth (verse 1:1), urging them to love righteousness and seek wisdom; the wicked think that all is chance and that they should enjoy each day, but they are deluded.[7] In the second section Solomon (not explicitly named, but strongly implied) tells of his search for wisdom.
The Wisdom of Solomon can be linked to several forms of ancient literature, both Jewish and non-Jewish, but it clearly belongs with biblical Wisdom books such as
Canonicity
The Book of Wisdom was listed as canonical by the
According to John of Damascus in his Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (c. 730) the Book of Wisdom is not in the ark: "There are also the Panaretus, that is the Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom of Jesus, which was published in Hebrew by the father of Sirach, and afterwards translated into Greek by his grandson, Jesus, the Son of Sirach. These are virtuous and noble, but are not counted nor were they placed in the ark."
Composition
There is a general consensus among scholars (with only a few dissentient voices) that the Wisdom of Solomon was written in Greek, in
Themes
The book opens with the opposed pairs righteousness/unrighteousness and death/immortality: those who do not follow righteousness will fall into "senseless reasoning" and will not be open to wisdom; wisdom is not an inherent human quality nor one that can be taught, but comes from outside, and only to those who are prepared through righteousness.[28] The suffering of the righteous will be rewarded with immortality, while the wicked will end miserably.[29] The unrighteous are doomed because they do not know God's purpose, but the righteous will judge the unrighteous in God's presence.[30] Lady Wisdom, first referred to as "she" in Wisdom 6:12, dominates the middle section of the book (chapters 6-9), in which Solomon speaks.[30] She existed from the Creation, and God is her source and guide.[30] She is to be loved and desired, and kings seek her: Solomon himself preferred wisdom to wealth, health, and all other things.[31] She in turn has always come to the aid of the righteous, from Adam to the Exodus.[3] The final section, chapters 10-19, takes up the theme of the rescue of the righteous, taking the Exodus as its focus: "You (God) have not neglected to help (your people the Jews) at all times and in all places." (Wisdom 19:22).[3]
Influence
19th-century American author Herman Melville marked his copy of the Wisdom of Solomon heavily. Without knowledge of biblical criticism, he managed to note the interplay of Hellenistic Platonism and Jewish philosophy, writing, "this admirable book seems partly Mosaic & partly Platonic in its tone. Who wrote it I know not. Someone to whom both Plato and Moses stood for godfather."[32] The interplay of multiple philosophies is exemplified in many of Melville's works, specifically Moby-Dick and Clarel, wherein religious and philosophical interplay represent the struggle for certainty in the 19th century.
A considerable portion of the Wisdom of Solomon, starting with Chapter II, was read at a memorial service in Concord, Massachusetts, on December 2, 1859, the day of the execution of the abolitionist John Brown.[33]
See also
- Solomonic wisdom
References
- ISBN 978-0-567-08464-4.
usually assigned to the late first century BC
- ^ Bosman, Hendrik. "The theological paraphrasing of history: The Exodus tradition in the Wisdom of Solomon". Scielo. Stellenbosch University. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d Tanzer 1998, p. 294.
- ^ Jerusalem Bible (1966), Introduction to the Wisdom of Solomon, p. 1004
- ^ a b Grabbe 2004, pp. 22–23.
- ^ Horbury 2007, p. 650.
- ^ Grabbe 2004, p. 13.
- ^ Grabbe 2004, p. 25.
- ^ Grabbe 2004, pp. 25–26.
- ISBN 978-0-19-027613-3.
- ^ Eusebius. Church History (Book IV). Newadvent.org. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
- ^ Augustine of Hippo. On Christian Doctrine Book II Chapter 8:2. newadvent. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^ Letter from Innocent I to Exsuperius, bishop of Toulouse.
- ISBN 1597522392.
- ^ Athanasius of Alexandria, Excerpt from Letter 39
- ISBN 9004079262. Archived from the originalon 6 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ Rufinus of Aquileia. Commentary on the Apostles' Creed #38. newadvent. Retrieved 12 October 2016.
- ^ Decretum Galasianum
- ^ "Canon XXIV. (Greek xxvii.)", The Canons of the 217 Blessed Fathers who assembled at Carthage, Christian Classics Ethereal Library
- ^ B. F. Westcott, A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament (5th ed. Edinburgh, 1881), pp. 440, 541-2.
- ^ Council of Carthage (in 419) Canon 24
- ^ "Канон Библии. История канонизации книг Священного Писания". apologetica.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-02-05.
- ^ Session 11—4 February 1442
- ^ Session IV Celebrated on the eighth day of April, 1546 under Pope Paul III
- ^ Hayman 2003, p. 763.
- ^ Wikisource. . Ante-Nicene Fathers – via
- ^ Grabbe 2004, p. 24.
- ^ Hayman 2003, p. 764.
- ^ Horbury 2007, pp. 655–656.
- ^ a b c Tanzer 1998, p. 293.
- ^ Horbury 2007, p. 658.
- ISBN 9780824000578.
- Thayer and Eldridge. pp. 437–454, at pp. 451–454.
Works cited
- Grabbe, Lester L. (2004). Wisdom of Solomon. A&C Black. ISBN 9780567084446.
- Hayman, A. Peter (2003). "The Wisdom of Solomon". In Dunn, James D. G.; Rogerson, John William (eds.). Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802837110.
- ISBN 9780199277186.
- Tanzer, Sarah J. (1998). "The Wisdom of Solomon". In Newsom, Carol Ann; Ringe, Sharon H. (eds.). Women's Bible Commentary. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664257811.
External links
- Text
- Wisdom, THE BOOK OF WISDOM, UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS (USCCB)