Wisdom's Role in Jewish Tradition

The Wisdom of Solomon is an apocryphal/deuterocanonical writing found in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles but not Protestant or Jewish Bibles. It was written in Greek around the 1st century CE in Egypt by an anonymous Jewish author posing as King Solomon. The book encourages Jews facing persecution to remain faithful through contrasting the ultimate fates of the wicked and righteous. It discusses wisdom, suffering, death, idolatry, and Jewish history. It was influential on early Christian theology and is still quoted in some Christian prayers due to its exploration of Jewish traditions in a Greco-Roman context.

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Wisdom's Role in Jewish Tradition

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[Published as: “Wisdom of Solomon.” Page 602 in Dictionary of the Bible and Western Culture.

Edited by Mary Ann Beavis and Michael J. Gilmore. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2012.]

Wisdom of Solomon. Wisdom of Solomon (or simply Wisdom) is one of the

Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical writings. It is found among the wisdom writings in Roman
Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles, but is not considered scripture by either Protestant
Christians or modern Jews. An anonymous Jew living in Egypt wrote the book in Greek as late
as the 1st century CE. While the true author is unknown to us, s/he wrote under the guise of wise
King Solomon, who lived nearly a millennium before the writing of Wisdom. The first verse
tells us that the book is addressed to the “Rulers of the Earth”, but it seems to be primarily
written for the benefit of Jews living in Egypt. Because the author talks about the persecution of
the righteous by the wicked, some scholars have suggested s/he wrote Wisdom to encourage
Jews to remain faithful during a time of suffering and persecution. The book deals with many
different themes and issues, including: the nature of wisdom, the problem of suffering, death and
immortality, idolatry, creation, divine mercy and justice, and the history of the Jews.
Wisdom consists of three major sections. Chs. 1-6 contrast the ultimate fates of the
wicked/foolish and the righteous/wise. While the wicked may prosper in this life and the
righteous may suffer, the righteous will be vindicated and enjoy immortality in the end. Chs. 7-9
autobiographically recount Solomon’s quest for wisdom, and proclaim the value of seeking it.
Like the book of Proverbs, Wisdom of Solomon personifies wisdom as a woman and speaks of
her in very exalted, almost divine terms. Chs. 10-19 begin with a retelling of Israel’s history and
the role that wisdom played in all of its major events. This retelling is followed by detailed
discussions of God’s mercy and justice during the Exodus from Egypt and the Conquest of the
Promised Land, as well as a digression on idolatry.
Wisdom is one of our most valuable examples of how Jews living in the Greco-Roman
world made sense of their sacred traditions in a new cultural context. It is deeply influenced by
the Jewish scriptures, but has also been shaped by the language, philosophy, and literary
techniques of the Greek-speaking culture in which it was written.
Throughout Christian history Wisdom has been one of the most popular of the
Deuteroncanonical books. Potential allusions to it are found as early as the NT (compare Rom
1.17-32 with Wis 13.1-9 and Wis 7.25-26 with Heb 1.3), and early Christian theologians like
Augustine often quoted from it. Its language is still found in Christian prayers and liturgies.
Some Ash Wednesday services open with the following prayer. “Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent,” an allusion to
Wisdom 11.24: “For you love all things that exist, and detest none of the things that you have
made.”

Wisdom's Role in Jewish Tradition

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Wisdom's Role in Jewish Tradition

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[Published as: “Wisdom of Solomon.” Page 602 in Dictionary of the Bible and Western Culture.

Wisdom of Solomon. Wisdom of Solomon (or simply Wisdom) is one of the

See also: Apocrypha/Deuterocanonicals/Intertestamentals, Solomon, Wisdom Literature

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