Ken Jr

Blogging the Deuterocanon: Wisdom of Solomon, Part 1 

I’m either going to have to read and type much faster, or I’m going to have to put this series on pause for awhile. Next week I will be involved in the Romans Retreat at Hope Community Church. The “retreat” is a 5-day intensive study of Romans 1-8 (don’t worry, I get to go home and sleep in my own bed at night). It is going to be an awesome kickoff to my Spring semester of LDI Trek 1. But, for now, please read and enjoy my thoughts on the first half of the Wisdom of Solomon.

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Wisdom of Solomon is a book that doesn’t shy away from weighty topics and impassioned language. The author writes as though he were King Solomon addressing his pagan peers. The lofty manner in which the argument is delivered makes it feel very much like a noble speech given in a Greek forum or the Roman Senate. In that regard it definitely makes its own mark in the arena of wisdom literature. The book of Proverbs is very personal (tutor to pupil). Job is dark and contentious. Some Psalms are liturgical exhortations to wisdom. Ecclesiastes is cynical. What I have read so far of Wisdom of Solomon (thru chapter 11) shows it to be a very optimistic book, yet also very strongly condemning. Optimism is reserved for those who are humble enough to seek after wisdom. Conversely, the judgment of those who disdain wisdom is a key theme. In contrast to Biblical wisdom literature the author spends a lot of time explicitly dealing with the concept of judgment after death.

Reversing Wisdom Themes

One way that the author demonstrates the value of following wisdom is by taking common cultural conceptions of blessing and reversing them. In a lot of wisdom literature (Bible included) producing many offspring is seen as a sign of blessing. The author puts on ironic spin on this concept by proclaiming “blessed is the barren woman who is undefiled…she will have fruit when God examines souls” (Wisdom of Solomon 3:13 NRSV).He continues in a long description along these lines and then proceeds to overturn the idea that old age can also be taken as a sure sign of godliness. Like the book of Proverbs, riches are seen as evil when they are relied upon (“boasted wealth” in 5:8 NRSV).

Another interesting feature of this book is the author’s creative reinterpretation of Biblical history. In chapters 10 and 11 the history of the Israelites is retold but without referring to any proper names. Instead the moral events of the story and the involvement of Wisdom as a divine agent are given prominence.

This way of looking at Wisdom is very interesting because rather than simply being an accessory to God, the person of Wisdom is pictured as the “holy spirit” of God (9:17)…the very means by which he provides guidance and works miracles. Wisdom is painted in a very positive light in the book of Proverbs, where she appears as an allegorical counter to Folly and adulterous women. Here, Wisdom stands on her own as a woman that the author really wants to have “companionship” (8:16) with. He also paints a picture of pursuing Wisdom as a bridegroom would seek out a bride (8:2). Zooming out even further leaves me somewhat confused because in chapter 9 the author clearly prays for God to send Wisdom to him (which would imply that they are separate). Such a creative way of thinking about the divine (as being both sender and the one who is sent) make it seem more possible that at least some of those who encountered Christ (possibly just decades after this book was written) were able to comprehend his nature as man and God without being completely dumbfounded. Of course the ways in which Christ carefully revealed his divinity isn’t the point of this blog post (maybe something to talk about in the future).

Last thoughts for now…

Scholars have strong reasons for believing that the author of this work lived in Egypt. In any case, he was a Jew, one of God’s chosen people, living in a world dominated politically and intellectually by pagans. In the midst of such an environment it is inspiring to see that he was still willing to cling to what for him was crucial to his religion: despite the temporary success of the wicked, God would vindicate the righteous. Unlike Judith, this author doesn’t see that vindication as necessarily occurring in the present. For him thoughts about judgment after death are far more important. In his mind the unrighteous are nihilists who embrace death because they believe that “hereafter we shall be as though we had never been” (Wisdom of Solomon 2:2 NRSV). The righteous, by contrast, are those who will “live forever, and their reward is with the Lord” (Wisdom of Solomon 5:15 NRSV).