Wisdom Literature of Israel

from the CD: Inspirations, 2009 (compiler, P. Rogers.)

Intro: Israel's Wisdom Literature

The Book of Proverbs

The Book of Job

The Book of Ecclesiastes

The Song of Songs

Some Wisdom Psalms

Book of Sirach

The Wisdom of Solomon

 

Israel's Wisdom Literature

Wisdom literature flourished throughout the ancient Near East, and we have numerous Egyptian examples dating as far back as the middle of the 3rd millennium B.C. Hebrew wisdom owed much to that of its neighbours, and was formalised only when it found a patron in king Solomon, with the establishment of a splendid royal court.

The two principal types of wisdom - one practical and utilitarian, the other speculative and frequently pessimistic - found expression both within and outside Israel. Practical wisdom appealed to experience and offered prudential guidelines for a successful and happy life. The wisdom tradition is not much concerned with Israel's special history, until we reach the later books of Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon.

In the Hebrew Bible as a whole, this history is recalled not so much for social or political reasons as to declare Israel's faith that God has acted in its history to redeem his people and make known to them the nature of his rule. The great themes of the promise to the patriarchs, the deliverance from slavery, the making of the Covenant at Mt. Sinai, the wilderness wandering, and the inheritance of Canaan were celebrated in Israel's worship to tell the story of God's revelation of himself and of his choice of Israel.

None of this is alluded to in the book of Proverbs, the earliest of the biblical wisdom writings. It seems that for Proverbs God's revelation of himself is given in the universal laws and patterns characteristic of nature, especially human nature, rather than in a special series of historical events. Revelation is in the order of creation rather than in the order of redemption. Moreover, the content of this revelation is not immediately self-evident but must be discovered by men. This discovery is an educational discipline that trusts human reason and employs research, classifying and interpreting the results and bequeathing them as a legacy to future generations. The wise are those who systematically dedicate themselves to this discovery of the “way” of God.

During the centuries of the monarchy (12th to 6th century) the wise men were at times scorned by the prophets, who disliked their pragmatic realism. But the exile brought a change of style in Hebrew wisdom; it became deeply religious. The wisdom teachers were convinced that religion alone possessed the key to life's highest values. This mood dominated during the final shaping of the Hebrew wisdom literature. The Book of Proverbs offers the best example of practical wisdom, while Job and Ecclesiastes give expression to speculative wisdom. Some of the psalms and a few other brief passages are also representative of this type of literature. Other wisdom books (Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus) are listed among the Apocrypha in Protestant editions, and called Deutero-Canonical in the Catholic tradition.

The Book of Proverbs appears to be the oldest extant document of the Hebrew wisdom movement, honouring King Solomon as the founder and patron. The Wisdom tradition was developed and passed on by a recognised “guild” of sages, or wise men, and scribes in the service of the court. Most typically, it consisted of maxims about the intelligent way to conduct one's life but it often extended to speculations about the very meaning of human life.

The most common form of the “sayings of the wise,” which were the means of instruction in the schools for the young men at the royal court, was the mashal (Hebrew: “comparison” or “parable,” although frequently translated “proverb”). The mashal is a pithy, easily memorized saying based on experience and universal in application. Its simplest and oldest form was a couplet in two parallel lines related to each other either antithetically or synthetically. An examples of antithetical saying is:

He who spurns his father's discipline is a fool,

he who accepts correction is discreet. (Proverbs 15:5)

Other forms of the mashal, such as parables, riddles, allegories, and ultimately full-scale compositions developed later. The word mashal was derived from a root that meant “to rule” - hence classic proverbs were seen as having moral authority.

 

The Book of Job

Unmerited Suffering

Date and Style

Three cycles of speeches

Main Sections

Unmerited Suffering

This text ranks among the masterpieces of world literature and is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the Ketuvim (“Writings”). Its theme is the eternal problem of unmerited suffering, and it is named after its central character, Job, who attempts to understand the sufferings that engulf him.

The Book of Job opens and closes with prose narrative, consisting of a prologue (chapters 1-2) and an epilogue (chapter 42:7-17), but is bulk (chs. 3-41) consists of a series of brilliant poetic disputations about the justice or injustice of God, in allowing seemingly good people to suffer.

Date and Style

The date of the book is impossible to determine, though on literary grounds it tends to be regarded as post-exilic, roughly between the 6th and the 4th century B.C., and other attempt to identify some passages as later additions.

The story has an artful construction which adds to its impact. The author's reflections on God's justice are set in the framework of an ancient legend concerning Job, a prosperous man of outstanding piety. Satan acts as a prosecutor, testing whether Job's piety has any depth, or is merely gratitude for his prosperity. Faced with the appalling loss of his possessions, his children, and finally his own health, Job still refuses to curse God. Three of his friends arrive to comfort him, at which point the poetic dialogues begins.

Three cycles of speeches

The poetic discourses, which probe the reason for Job's sufferings and the spirit in which he should respond to them, divide into three cycles of speeches. First we hear how Job defends his integrity against the accusations of his three friends and then we listen in on his anguished conversations with God.

Repeatedly, Job proclaims his innocence and the injustice of his suffering, while his “comforters” argue the traditional view, that all suffering is punishment for sins. The conversation between Job and God resolves the dramatic tension by highlighting the divine transcendence and our incapacity to understand the mind of God, but without really solving the problem of undeserved suffering. The speeches evoke Job's trust in God's all-wise direction of what happens in the world, even though God's ways with man remain mysterious and inscrutable.

Main Sections

A. Prologue: Job's Situation (1:1–2:13)

B. Dialogue with his Comforters (3:1–31:40)

C. The Elihu Speeches (32:1–37:24)

D. God's Speech and Job's Answer (38:1–42:6)

E. Epilogue (42:7-17)

Outline

A. Prologue: Job's Situation (1:1–2:13)

a. Job's Character and Prosperity (1:1-5)

b. First Scene in Heaven (1:6-12)

c. The Loss of Job's Possesions (1:13-22)

d. Second Scene in Heaven (2:1-7a)

e. Affliction of Job's Person (2:7b-10)

f. The Coming of Job's Friends (2:11-13)

B. Dialogue with his Comforters (3:1–31:40)

a. Job's First Soliloquy (3:1-26)

i. Job Curses his Birthday (3:3-10)

ii. Better an Early Death (3:11-12.16)

iii. Reasons for the Curse (3:13-15.17-19)

iv. Renewed Lament (3:20-26 )

b. Eliphaz's First Speech (4:1–5:27)

i. Doctrine of Retribution (4:1-11)

ii. Eliphaz's Revelation (4:12-27)

iii. Recommendation (5:1-16)

iv. Encouragement (5:17-27)

c. Job's First Response (6:1–7:21)

i. Job's Misery (6:1-13)

ii. Job's Disillusionment with the Friends (6:14-30)

iii. Soliloquy (7:1-10)

iv. Complaint to God (7:11-21)

d. Bildad's First Speech (8:1-22)

i. Introduction (8:1-7)

ii. Doctrine (8:8-19)

iii. Conclusion (8:20-22)

e. Job's Second Response (9:1–10:22)

i. God is Irresistible in Power,Therefore in Judgement (9:1-12)

ii. God is Arbitrary (9:13-24)

iii. Job's Helplessness (9:25–10:1a)

iv. Speculation and Appeal (10:1b-12)

v. The Mournful Contrast (10:13-22)

f. Zophar's First Speech (11:1-20)

i. Job's Foolishness (11:1-12)

ii. Counsel and Encouragement (11:13-20)

g. Job's Third Response (12:1–14:22)

i. Job's Wisdom Matches Theirs (12:1-25)

ii. Warning - Do Not Defend God Dishonestly (13:1-11)

iii. Job Complains to God (13:12-27)

iv. Lament over Human Life (14:1-12)

v. There is no Escape! (14:13-22)

h. Eliphaz's Second Speech (15:1-35)

i. Only a Fool Speaks Impiously (15:1-16)

ii. The Punishment for Impiety (15:17-35)

i. Job's Fourth Response (16:1–17:16)

i. Afflicted by Men and by God (16:1-17)

ii. My Witness in Heaven (16:18-22)

iii. My Undeserved Misfortune (17:1-16)

j. Bildad's Second Speech (18:1-21)

i. Rebuke to Job (18:1-4)

ii. False Trust of the Wicked (18:5-21)

k. Job's Fifth Response (19:1-29)

i. Faith tested by God (19:1-12)

ii. Isolation and Loneliness (19:13-22)

iii. I know that my Avenger Lives! (19:23-27 )

iv. Warning to the Friends (19:28-29)

l. Zophar's Second Speech (20:1-29)

i. The Triumph of the Wicked is Brief (20:2-9()

ii. He Must give up ill-gotten Gains (20:10-29)

m. Job's Sixth Response (21:1-34)

i. Introduction (21:1-6)

ii. The Happiness of People with God (21:7-18)

iii. No Link between Virtue and Happiness (21:19-26)

iv. The unfair prosperity of the godless (21:27-34)

n. Eliphaz's Third Speech (22:1-30)

i. Job must be a Sinner! (22:1-11)

ii. Rebuttal of Job's Argument (22:12-20)

iii. Recommendation to be Reconciled with God (22:21-30)

o. Job's Seventh Response (23:1–24:25)

i. Yearning for Encounter with God (23:1-7)

ii. God is Inaccessable and Unpredictable (23:8-17)

iii. Misery of the Oppressed Poor (24:1-12)

iv. Enemies of the Light (24:13-17)

v. Death Brings All Down (24:18-25)

p. Arguments Back and Forth (25:1–27:23)

i. Bildad Praises God's Omnipotence (25:1–26:14)

ii. Job re-states his Innocence (27:1-12)

iii. Zophar, on the Fate of the Wicked (27:13-23)

q. Hymn in Praise of Wisdom (28:1-28)

i. Like Precious Metals, Hard to Find (28:1-11)

ii. Wisdom belongs to God Alone (28:20-28)

r. Job's Final Soliloquy (29:1–31:40)

i. His Former Happiness (29:1-25)

ii. Present Misery (30:1-31)

iii. Public Contempt (30:1-15)

iv. The Hostile Presence of God (30:16-22)

v. Reasons against this Abuse (30:23-26)

vi. Job's Misery (30:27-31)

vii. Job's Oath of Innocence (31:1-40)

C. The Elihu Speeches (32:1–37:24)

a. Why Elihu has Waited Until Now (32:1-5)

b. Introductory Address (32:6-22)

i. Rebuke to the Friends (32:6-14)

ii. Soliloquy, about the Friends (32:15-22)

c. Elihu's First Discourse (33:1-30)

i. Summons to Job (33:1-7)

ii. Quotations (33:8-11)

iii. Correction and First Thesis (33:12-18)

iv. Second Thesis (33:19-24)

v. Upbeat Conclusion (33:25-30)

d. Elihu's Second Discourse (34:1-37)

i. Summons the Friends, and Quotes Job (34:1-6)

ii. Quotes and Corrections (34:7-11)

iii. First Thesis (34:12-15)

iv. Second Thesis (34:16-30)

v. Conclusion (34:31-37)

e. Elihu's Third Discourse (35:1–36:25)

i. Quotes Job, to Disprove (35:1-4)

ii. Correction and First Thesis (35:5-16)

iii. Second Thesis (36:1-15)

iv. Conclusion (36:16-25)

f. Hymn (36:26–37:13)

g. Concluding Address (37:14-24)

D. God's Speech and Job's Answer (38:1–42:6)

a. Yahweh Speaks (38:1)

b. Does Job Understand Yahwehs Counsel? (38:2-38)

i. “Who is this?” (38:2-3)

ii. Was Job Present at Creation? (34:4-15)

iii. Does Job Know his Way About Cosmos? (38:16-24)

iv. Would Job Know How to Operate It? (38:25-33)

v. Has Job Needed Authority and Power? (38:34-38)

c. Can Job Provide for the Animals and Birds? (38:39–39:30)

i. Can Job Free the Little Ones? (38:39-41; 39:26-30)

ii. Are Wild Animals Under his Control (39:1-1)

iii. The Ostrich (39:13-18)

iv. Has Job Made the Fiery Nature of the Horse (39:19-25)

d. Summary and Job's First Response (40:1-5)

i. Challenge (40:1-2)

ii. Job's Response (40:3-5)

e. Yahweh Speaks Again (40:6–41:26)

i. Can Job Administer Divine Justice? (40:6-14)

ii. Look at Behemoth! (40:15-24)

iii. Untamed Leviathan! (41:1-26)

f. Job's Final Response (42:1-6)

E. Epilogue (42:7-17)

a. Expiation for Job's Three Friends (42:7-9)

b. God's Blessing: Job Restored and Increased (42:10-17)

Dictionary Article

Job is a great didactic narrative in a dramatic form. The story was apparently well known in the days of Ezekiel, (Ezek. 14:14). It formed a part of the sacred Scriptures used by the early church and is referred to as a part of the inspired Word (Hb 12:5; 1 Cor. 3:19).

The subject of the book is the trial of Job, his endurance, and its issue. It exhibits Providence, as at once inscrutable, just, and merciful. It shows the blessedness of the truly pious, even amid afflictions, and ministers comfort and hope to believers of every age.

Contents -

(1.) An historical introduction in prose (chs. 1-2).

(2.) The controversy and its solution, in poetry (chs. 3-42).

(3.) Conclusion, in prose (42:7-15).

Job's lament (ch. 3) rouses a controversy which is carried on in three courses of dialogues with his three friends (his "comforters"). These may be subdivided into:

a) commencement of the controversy (ch. 4-14);

b) development of the controversy (15-21); and

c) height of the controversy (22-27).

This is followed by the solution of the controversy in the speeches of Elihu and the address of Yahweh, followed by Job's humble confession (42:1-6) of his own fault and folly.

 

The Book of Proverbs

A Collected Work

Main Sections

Authorship and Date

Notable Passages

A Collected Work

This is a collection of sayings, some of which may well go back to the era of Solomon, the “patron” of the whole wisdom tradition in Israel. The book in its present form was not completed until post-exilic times. The wisdom sayings are preceded by a long, speculative introduction and conclude with a poem praising the ideal wife.

Optimistic in Tone

Unlike Job and Ecclesiastes, Proverbs (with the exception of the “words of Agur”) is optimistic in that it assumes that wisdom is attainable by those who seek and follow it; that is, man can discover enough about God and his law to ensure the fulfillment of his personal life. This character of God is conceived almost entirely in terms of ethical laws, and the rewards for their observance are defined in terms of human values; e.g., health, long life, respect, possessions, security, and self-control.

Because God is understood in static terms, simply as the source of order in things, rather than dynamic as elsewhere in the Bible, the viewpoint of Proverbs is anthropocentric. Man's destiny depends on his responsible action. There is no appeal to divine mercy, intervention, or forgiveness; and the divine judgment is simply the inexorable operation of the rules of life as God has established them. The wise constitute an elite nurtured by inheritance, training, and self-discipline; fools are those who can never catch up, because of the wasted years of neglect. In its social and cultural attitudes, the book is probably the most conservative in the Bible: wealth and status are most important; obedience to the king and all authorities is inculcated; industry and diligence are fostered, for hunger, poverty, and slavery are the fate of the lazy; and age and accepted conventions are accorded great respect.

Wisdom as a Universal Reality

The introduction (chapters 1-9) is a series of discourses where a father exhorts his son to acquire wisdom - which is personified as a divinely sent friend and guide to life. These chapters do not treat wisdom simply as a human achievement or a cultural legacy imparted by teachers and parents; it is a universal and abiding reality, transcending the human scene. Wisdom is the first of God's works and participated with him in the creation of the world.

Main Sections

A. Commendation of Wisdom (1:1–9:18)

B. Larger Collections of Proverbs (10:1–29:27)

C. Smaller Collections of Proverbs (30:1–31:9)

D. Acrostic Poem on the Good Wife (31:10-31)

Outline

A. Commendation of Wisdom (1:1–9:18)

Introduction (1:1-7)

First Lecture, Deadly Alternative to Wisdom (1:8-19)

Wisdom Poem I: The Risk of Spurning Wisdom (1:20-33)

Lecture II, Seek Wisdom and Yahweh will Keep You (2:1-22)

Lecture III, Trust in God Brings Prosperity (3:1-12)

Interlude: Prestige, as Benefit of Wisdom (3:13-20)

Lecture IV, Justice Brings a Blessing (3:21-35)

Lecture V, A Father's Example (4:1-9)

Lecture VI, Two Ways of Living Life (4:10-19)

Lecture VII, With your Whole Being, Hear My Words (4:20-27)

Lecture VIII, The Wrong and the Right Woman (5:1-23)

Interlude, Four Short Warnings (6:1-19)

Lecture IX, Dangers of Adultery (6:20-35)

Lecture X, The Deceptive Woman (7:1-27)

Wisdom Poem II: Become My Disciple (8:1-36)

Wisdom Poem III: Two Invitations to the Banquet (9:1-18)

Invitations to the Banquet of Wisdom (9:1-6)

Interlude, Six Proverbs (9:7-12)

Invitation to the Banquet of Folly (9:13-18)

B. Larger Collections of Proverbs (10:1–29:27)

a. Proverbs of Solomon (10:1–22:16)

b. Sayings of the Wise (22:17–24:34)

c. Solomonic Sayings, collected by Hezekiah (25:1–29:27)

C. Smaller Collections of Proverbs (30:1–31:9)

a. Sayings of Agur (30:1-14)

b. Numerical Proverbs (30:15-33)

c. Sayings of Lemuel (31:1-9)

D. Acrostic Hymn, on the Good Wife (31:10-31)

Dictionary Article

Proverbs, Book of - a collection of moral and philosophical maxims of a wide range of subjects presented in a poetic form. This book sets forth the "philosophy of practical life. It is the sign to us that the Bible does not despise common sense and discretion. It impresses on us in the most forcible manner the value of intelligence and prudence and of a good education. The whole strength of the Hebrew language and of the sacred authority of the book is thrown on these homely truths. It deals, too, in that refined, discriminating, careful view of the finer shades of human character so often overlooked by theologians, but so necessary to any true estimate of human life.

This book is usually divided into three parts:

(1.) Ch. 1-9, praising wisdom as the highest good.

(2.) Ch. 10-24, maxims on many topics.

(3.) Ch. 25-29, Proverbs of Solomon "which the men of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, collected."

These are followed by two supplements, (1) "The words of Agur" (ch. 30); and (2) "The words of king Lemuel" (ch. 31).

Solomon is said to have written three thousand proverbs (1 Kings 4:32), and this gave rise to ascribing the whole of the wisdom literature to his patronage.

In the New Testament there are thirty-five direct quotations from this book or allusions to it.

 

The Book of Ecclesiastes

Title and Theme

Hebrew “Qohelet"

Wide-ranging Skepticism

Title and Theme

Ecclesiastes is a sceptical, world-weary work of the Hebrew wisdom movement, associated by its title and by tradition with King Solomon. Literary analysis, however, suggests that it is comes from centuries after Solomon's time, and that the author simply uses the name of the famous king to give greater authority to his work. The language of the book and its content point to a date in the early Greek period (from the later 4th century B.C. onward). That the book was written prior to the 2nd century B.C. is shown by its influence on Ecclesiasticus, which was written early in that century, and its appearance among the manuscripts discovered at Qumran.

Hebrew Qohelet

The name Ecclesiastes is a transliteration of the Greek word used in the Septuagint to translate the Hebrew Qohelet, a word connected with the noun qahal (“assembly”). Qohelet means the one who gathers or teaches an assembly. The book has been described as a sage's notebook of random observations about life. The author appears to be a wisdom teacher writing late in life expressing skeptical personal reflections in a collection of popular maxims of the day and longer compositions of his own.

Wide-ranging Skepticism

Although the famous phrase “vanity of vanities! all is vanity” sums up its theme, it does not convey the variety of tests that the skeptical Qohelet applies to life. He examines everything - material things, wisdom, toil, wealth - and finds them unable to give meaning to life. He repeatedly returns to life's uncertainties, to the hidden and incomprehensible ways of God, and to the stark and final fact of death. The only conclusion to this human condition is to accept gratefully the small day to day pleasures that God gives to man.

The outlook of Ecclesiastes (Qohelet) stands in sharp contrast to the conventional wisdom of Israel, and especially to the book of Proverbs. He recognizes the relative value of wisdom as against foolishness, but he rejects the optimistic view of wisdom as security for life. He offers a religious skepticism that rejects all facile answers to life's mysteries and God's ways.

Outline

A. Qoheleth's Reflections and Advice about Life (1:1–6:17)

1. Prologue: Time Rolls On (1:2-11)

2. Solomon's Wide Experience (1:12-18)

3. His Experiment with Hedonism (2:1-17)

4. Impossibility of Determining one's Successor (2:18-26)

5. Death makes Everything Provisional (3:1-22)

6. Widespread Waste of Effort (4:1-17)

7. Be Just: but not Easily Impressed (5:1-8)

8. Not being Attached to Money (5:9–6:17)

B. Prognosis About the Individual's Future (7:1–12:14)

1. Who can Determine what is really for the Best? (7:1–8:17)

a. Some Things are Better than their Opposites (7:1-14)

b. Despite My Wisdom: Reality Eludes Me (7:15-24)

c. No Woman Can Resolve this Problem for Me (7:25-29)

d. Neither Can Sage nor Noble nor King (8:1-17)

2. Nobody Knows the Future (9:1–11:6)

a. In an Unpredictable World: Enjoy Life while you Can (9:1-10)

b. Be Calm amid Life's Uncertainties (9:11–10:20)

c. Be Diligent and Generous: Things may be Well (11:1-6)

C. Conclusion (11:7–12:14)

1. The Ageing Process (11:7–12:8)

2. Epilogue: on Wisdom and Writing (12:9-14)

Dictionary Article

Ecclesiastes - the Greek rendering of the Hebrew Qoheleth, which means "Preacher." The older, traditional view attributes it to Solomon, though others date it from the Captivity, and many today would date it much later than that. The writer represents himself implicitly as Solomon (1:12). It has been appropriately styled The Confession of King Solomon, a man who has sinned in giving way to selfishness and sensuality, who has paid the penalty of that sin in satiety and weariness of life.

To a modern critical assessment, Ecclesiastes seems to be a reflective, sceptical work of the later Hebrew wisdom movement, associated only by a literary fiction with King Solomon. Its spirit and style suggest that the book was composed long after Solomon's time, the author simply using the name of the famous king to give greater interest, and perhaps influence, to his work. The language of the book and its content point to a date in the early Greek period (from the later 4th century BC. onward). That the book was written prior to the 2nd century BC. is shown by its influence on Ecclesiasticus, which was written early in that century, and its appearance among the manuscripts discovered at Qumran.

The name Ecclesiastes is a transliteration of the Septuagint Greek word for the Hebrew Qohelet, a word connected with the noun qahal ("assembly"). Qohelet means the one who gathers or teaches an assembly. The book has been described as a sage's notebook of random observations about life. The author appears to be a wisdom teacher writing late in life expressing skeptical personal reflections in a collection of popular maxims of the day and longer compositions of his own.

Although the famous phrase "vanity of vanities! all is vanity" sums up its theme, it does not convey the variety of tests that the skeptical Qohelet applies to life. He examines everything - material things, wisdom, toil, wealth - and finds them unable to give meaning to life. He repeatedly returns to life's uncertainties, to the hidden and incomprehensible ways of God, and to the stark and final fact of death. The only conclusion to this human condition is to accept gratefully the small everyday pleasures that God gives to man.

The outlook of Ecclesiastes (Qohelet) stands in sharp contrast to the conventional wisdom of Israel, and especially to the book of Proverbs. He recognizes the relative value of wisdom as against foolishness, but he rejects the optimistic view of wisdom as security for life. He offers a religious skepticism that rejects all facile answers to life's mysteries and God's ways.

The Song Of Songs (Canticle Of Canticles)

Title and Theme

Author and Date

Main Sections

Sensuous Imagery

Allegorical Sense

Title and Theme

"The Song Of Songs” (Hebrew idiom meaning “Greatest of Songs”) is a collection of love poems, which are united by the dialogue of the two lovers, alegedly king Solomon and his intended Shullamite bride. The bride calls herself “black but beautiful” (1:5) and she begs “Do not gaze at me because I am dark” (1:6), explaining that her dark complexion is due to having been forced by her brothers to labour in the vineyard (1:6b). Later she suggests that she herself is the true vineyard, giving herself to her lover to be cultivated (8:11-12).

Author and Date

In the Hebrew Bible the Song of Songs is set together with Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther and with them makes up the Megilloth, five scrolls that are read on various religious festivals of the Jewish year. The book in its present form is to be dated after the Babylonian Exile (6th century B.C.), though some of its poetry may date from the 10th century B.C., the period of Solomon's monarchy (to explain why Solomon's name features within it).

Main Sections

These sensuous love-poems are spoken alternately by a man and a woman, with occasional input from a chorus, with the refrain “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem,/ by the gazelles or the wild does:/ do not stir up or awaken love until it is ready!”

Mainly the verses describe the beauty and excellence of the beloved, and the longing for more complete union with him (or her). There is no agreement about the book's detailed structure, although it can be called a drama featuring three speakers, the young woman (“Shulammite”), the man (“Solomon”) and the chorus (“daughters of Jerusalem”). The main speaker is the young woman, who is excited, beautiful, and quivering with love. The man is portrayed as both shepherd (1:7) and king (1:12), which fits well with the ideal portrait of David and his dynasty. It should be noted, however, that Solomon was very uxorious, with no less than seven hundred princesses and three hundred concubines; and “his wives turned away his heart” (1 Kings 11). Since he would be a poor role-model for faithful love, many interpret the shepherd and king references in the Song to be purely conventional images for a lover.

Sensuous Imagery

The style of this book is rich and sensuous, with a profusion of images drawn from the great outdoors: doves and foxes, sheep and goats, gazelles, vineyard and olive-grove, figs, apples and pomegranates. It creates a world of its own, using transformative imagery to idealise the beauty of the beloved and thereby heighten the reader's enjoyment.

Each of the main speakers is highly adept with simile and metaphor. The lover sees his fiancée as a “queenly maiden” whose rounded thighs are like jewels, the work of a master hand. Her belly is “a heap of wheat, encircled with lilies,” her two breasts “like two fawns, twins of a gazelle,” her neck is “an ivory tower” her eyes “pools in Heshbon” (7:1ff). She is “my love, my dove, in the clefts of the rock” (2:14) Her eyes are “doves” her hair “like a flock of goats, moving down the slopes of Gilead;” her teeth “like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing;” her cheeks like “halves of a pomegranate;” her neck “like the tower of David, built in courses"; her breasts are “two fawns, that feed among the lilies” (4:1-5).

She lauds her fiancé's perfections with equal hyperbole: He runs with love's enthusiasm, like a gazelle or a young stag “leaping on the mountains, bounding over the hills” (2:8). When asked by the other girls what she finds special in him, she launches into an airy flight of images: he is “all radiant and ruddy;” his head like the finest gold; ... his eyes like doves beside springs of water; his cheeks like “beds of spices, yielding fragrance;” his lips are “lilies, distilling liquid myrrh.” His body is “ivory work, encrusted with sapphires;” his legs are “alabaster columns, set on bases of gold;” his appearance is “like Lebanon, choice as the cedars” (5:10ff)

Allegorical Interpretation

The Song of Songs is open to various interpretations, the most common being allegorical, about the love between God and his people. Among the Jews, the Targum (interpretation) of the Song - deriving no doubt from the prophetic vision of God as the husband of Israel (Hosea 1-3; Isaiah 62:5) - interprets the book as God's love for the Israelites, with whom he is bound by special covenant. Among Christians, the Song is seen as describing the covenantal love of Christ for his church. In the tradition of mysticism, the Song of Songs is applied mainly to the love between Christ and the individual soul - the most famous of these interpreters being the Spanish Carmelite, St. John of the Cross.

Recent biblical scholarship insists that the author's primary intention be sought in the obvious, literal meaning of the words, which so intensely describe erotic, sexual love between human beings. The Song of Songs certainly began life as a celebration of the joys of heterosexual love, and its role in both rejoicing the couple and assuring the continuance of the race. Still, the author's intention does not exhaust the meaning of a text. Indeed, such a vigorous, earthy celebration of sexuality would scarcely have found its way into the biblical canon, had people from an early stage not perceived it as suggesting a second, more spiritual layer of meaning. In this regard, Roland Murphy rightly commented that “any text has an after-life and acquires meaning as it lives on in the community that treasures it.” (NJBC 29:8). The bible-based community of Jews and Christians recognizes another dimension to human love, namely that it shares somehow in divine love, and finds this admirably expressed in the Song of Songs. This is an instance of where the allegorical or fuller sense of a biblical text has come to be the one more treasured within the community of faith.

Outline

A. Bride's Song of Desire (1:2-6)

B. 1st Dialogue between the Lovers (1:7–2:7)

C. Bride's Passion for her Beloved (2:8–3:5)

D. Solomon's Wedding Procession (3:6-11)

E. 2nd Dialogue between the Lovers (4:1–5:1)

F. Bride Praises her Beloved's Beauty (5:2–6:3)

G. 3nd Dialogue between the Lovers (6:4-12)

H. 4th Dialogue between the Lovers (7:1–8:7)

J. The Joys of Erotic Love (8:8-14)Roland Murphy observes that, since there is no clear structure in this set of love-songs, the course of the dialogue itself can serve as an outline (NJBC 29:11)

Dictionary Article

Song of Songs - called also, after the Vulgate, the "Canticle of Canticles." Its title "song of songs" (1:1), claimes it as the finest and most precious of its kind; the noblest song, "das Hohelied," as Martin Luther calls it. The Solomonic authorship of this book has been called in question in recent scholarship. While there is nothing to clearly indicate its date of composition, many regard it as an early post-exilic work.

Its inclusion among the five "Megilloth" (scrolls) for public reading at Passover testifies to its popularity among the Jews, who see it as an allegory for the love between Yahweh and Israel. In Christian tradition, it is applied to the mutual love of Christ and the Church, under the imagery of bridegroom and bride. (Note Matt. 9:15; John 3:29; Eph. 5:23, 27, 29; Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2, 9; 22:17. Note also Ps. 45; Is. 54:4-6; 62:4, 5; Jer. 2:2; 3:1, 20; Ezek. 16; Hos. 2:16, 19, 20.)

The Book of Sirach

Title and Author

Background and Date

Lack of Clear Structure

Favourite Subjects

Justice and Retribution

A Pragmatic Spirituality

Title and Author

Among the earliest of the Old Testament deutero-canonical books, and one of the longest books of the Bible, “Sirach is one of the rare biblical works that was actually composed by the author to whom it is ascribed. It also contains the most extensive portion of Israelite wisdom literature to come down to us” (A. Di Lella, “Sirach,” in N.J.B.C., 496). Its original Hebrew title was “The wisdom of Jeshua ben Eleazar ben Sira,” but in the Gk mansucripts the name becomes Sirach, and the title Ecclesiasticus was attached to it in the Latin tradition, probably because of its frequent use in the ecclesia or church assembly.

Background and Date

Though not a very clear literary unity, the book has a consistency of spirit and vocabulary that point towards its being the work of one author, whose life and efforts are described by his grandson, in the candid preface he added to his Greek translation of the work. For this reason, we can date the book and its translation with good assurance. Ben Sira lived in Jerusalem during the 3rd and early 2nd centuries B.C., and devoted his energies to the study and teaching of the Scriptures - the Law, the prophets and the writings. He ran a school for young men (51:23-30) and was a respected and clever teacher (34:11), whose travels (34:12-13) had put him in contact with other cultures and wisdom traditions. He wrote his book for all who seek instruction (33:18), intending to show them how every good insight can be harnessed to the flexible Jewish tradition (39:1-11). His work is not a systematic polemic against Hellenism, but a quietly persuasive demonstration of the validity of the Jewish way of life. Whatever the intellectual attractions of Athens or Alexandria, the true Jew will take his directions from the compass pointing to Jerusalem.

Lack of Clear Structure

This voluminous book is very difficult to synthesise since, except for the section entitled “Praise for the Ancestors” (chs. 44-50), Sirach seems to have had no clear plan for arranging the many thoughts on which he discourses. He returns to the same subjects in various parts of the book, e.g. Children (7:23-25; 16:1-4; 22:3-4; 31:1-13; 41:5-10) and Parents (3:1-16; 7:21-28; 23:14; 41:17). Frankly, it appears to be an unsystematic compilation of class notes that Ben Sira accumulated over many years of teaching, with little order in the presentation of topics.

Favourite Subjects

Alongside poems about the gift of Wisdom, which comes from the Lord (1:1-10; 4:11-19; 6:18-37; 16:24–17:23 etc.), Ben Sira comments on such subjects as:

Humility (3:17-24; 7:16-17; 10:26-28)

Charity (3:30–4:6; 7:32-36; 12:1-7; 29:8-13)

Virtues and Vices of Speech (5:6–6:1; 19:4-17; 20:1-8; 20:24-31; 22:27–23:4; 28:12-26)

Pride and Folly (3:26-28; 10:6-18; 16:5-23; 20:3-31; 21:1-28)

Friends and Associates (6:5-17; 11:29-34; 12:8-18; 22:19-26; 37:1-15)

Diligence, Wealth and Miserliness (11:1-19; 11:23-28; 14:3-10; 31:1-11)

Poverty and Respect (10:30–11:6; 13:18-24; 25:1-3)

Women's Attractions, and Sirach's mainly Chauvinist Attitude

Justice and Retribution

Ben Sira teaches the traditional biblical doctrine about justice and retribution within the present; it is within this earthly life that one is rewarded for keeping the Law of God, or punished for its non-observance (11:22-28; 34:14-20), since after this life all go to Hades or Sheol, a dark, dismal place, separated from God (17:28-29). One survives through one's children-which is a compelling reason to bring them up well, under proper discipline (30:1-6) - and in one's good reputation (41:11-13). Prayer, and liturgical worship, are part of living life to the full, here and now. The book is punctuated with occasional prayers (36:1-22 being the longest); and an instruction about respecting the priests, and the offering of sacrifices, is set alongside that of honouring ones parents (7:29-31).

Like the prophets of old, Sirach insists that keeping the prescriptions of the Law with regard to generosity and kindness, is the best kind of worship (35:1-20); conversely, he holds that the sacrifice of one who oppresses the poor will not be acceptable to God (35:14-15). In several texts, he echoes the concern for social justice that is so central to the biblical tradition (3:30-31; 4:1-10; 12:1-5;31:8-11).

Attitude towards Women

Sirach writes at length about woman, as daughter, wife, mother, gossip and adulteress - and much of what he writes smacks of the patriarchy of his culture and of his time. But it is only fair to observe that “in the society for which he wrote, Ben Sira would not have been considered an extremist; rather, he was a typical Jewish male of the period, who lived in a patriarchal society where women had few rights as free and autonomous human beings... It must be remembered that he was writing only for young Jewish men in a male-centered society; it was not his intention to instruct women. It is in this context that his (often deplorable) statements about women are to be evaluated” (A. di Lella, in Companion to the Bible, 699). However, we notice that in repeating the commandment about honouring father and mother, he does place the mother's rights to the respect of her children on a par with the man's (3:4-11)

Among Sirach's texts about women are:

9:2-9 (the danger of being snared by a woman's charms)

19:2 (how wine and women lead intelligent men astray)

23:22-26 (the punishment of a woman who leaves her husband)

25:13-26 (a rant against the sins of women)

26:1-18 (praises of the ideal wife)

36:26-31 (taking care in the choice of a wife)

42:9-14 (anxieties of a father, about his daughters.)

A Pragmatic Spirituality

At the level of mundane common-sense and self-interest, his outlook resembles that of Ecclesiastes, as in the injunction (14:11-16):

11 My child, treat yourself well, according to your means,

and present worthy offerings to the Lord.

12 Remember that death does not tarry,

and the decree of Hades has not been shown to you.

13 Do good to friends before you die,

and reach out and give to them as much as you can.

14 Do not deprive yourself of a day's enjoyment;

do not let your share of desired good pass by you.

15 Will you not leave the fruit of your labors to another,

and what you acquired by toil to be divided by lot?

16 Give, and take, and indulge yourself,

because in Hades one cannot look for luxury.

Outline

This Book's contents are so scattered and disparate that it is difficult to find satisfactory headings under which to group them. The titles of the main sections are merely approximate.

A. Basics (1:1–4:10)

a. Origins and Mystery of Wisdom (1:1-10)

b. Fear of the Lord brings Wisdom (1:11-30)

c. Under Trials, Trust in God (2:1-18)

d. Duties toward Parents (3:1-16)

e. The practice of humility (3:17-24)

f. Docility, Almsgiving, Social Conduct (3:25–4:10)

B. Wisdom as Practical Educator (4:11–16:17)

a. The Rewards of Wisdom (4:11-19)

b. Avoiding Cowardice (4:20-31)

c. Presumption, Unruly Passions (5:1–6:4)

d. True and False Friendship (6:5-17)

C. Gaining Wisdom (6:18–14:19)

a. Exhortation to Strive for Wisdom (6:18-37)

b. Conduct toward God and Neighbor (7:1-17)

c. Family Life, Religion, and Charity (7:18-36)

d. Prudence and common sense (8:1-19)

e. Advice Concerning Women (9:1-9)

f. The Right Choice of Friends (9:10-16)

g. Rulers and Pride (9:17–10:18)

h. Persons Deserving Honor (10:19–11:6)

i. Providence and Trust in God (11:7-28)

j. Care in Choosing friends (11:29–12:18)

k. Rich and Poor (13:1–14:2)

l. Responsible Use of Wealth (14:3-19)

D. Manifestations of Wisdom (14:20–23:27)

a. Wisdom and her Blessing (14:20–15:10)

b. Free Will and Responsibility (15:11–16:23)

c. God's Wisdom Seen in Creation (16:24–18:14)

d. Generosity, Foresight, Self-Control (18:15–19:17)

e. Wisdom, Silence and Dignity (19:20–20:32)

f. Various Kinds of Folly (21:1–22:18)

g. Preserving Friendship (22:19-26)

h. Against Destructive Sins (22:27–23:27)

E. Practicalities of Wisdom (24:1–33:18)

a. Praise of Wisdom (24:1-33)

b. Gifts that bring Joy (25:1-12)

c. Wicked vs Virtuous Women (25:13–26:18)

d. The Temptations of Commerce (26:29–27:21)

e. Hypocrisy and Pride, Vengeance, Evil Speech (27:22–28:26)

f. Lending, Alms, Surety (29:1-20)

g. Frugality and Training of Children (29:21–30:13)

h. Health, Cheerfulness, Riches (30:14-31)

i. Food, Wine, Banquets (31:1–32:13)

j. Providence of God (32:14–33:18)

F. Realism of Wisdom (33:19–39:11)

a. Property and Servants (33:19-33)

b. Trust in the Lord and not in Dreams (34:1-20)

c. True Worship and God's Response (34:21–36:22)

d. Choice of Associates (36:23–37:15)

e. Wisdom and Temperance (37:16-31)

f. Sickness and Health (38:1-23)

g. Vocations of Skilled Workers and Scribes (38:24–39:11)

G. Meditative Reflections (39:12–43:33)

a. Praise of God the Creator (39:12-35)

b. Miseries and Joys of Life (40:1–41:13)

c. True and False Shame (41:14–42:8)

d. The Care of Daughters (42:9-14)

e. The Works of God in Nature (42:15–43:33)

H. Praise of Israel's Great Ancestors (44:1–50:24)

a. Remembering Our Ancestors (44:1-15)

b. The Early Patriarchs (44:16-23)

c. Moses, Aaron, Phinehas (44:24–45:26)

d. Joshua, Caleb, the Judges, Samuel (46:1-20)

e. Nathan, David, Solomon, Rehoboam (47:1-25)

f. Elijah and Elisha (48:1-16)

g. Hezekiah and Isaiah (48:17-25)

h. Josiah and Inspirational Prophets (49:1-16)

i. Simeon, Son of Jochanan (50:1-23)

I. Conclusion (50:24–51:30)

a. Exhortation and Epilogue (50:25-29)

b. Ben Sira's Psalm of Praise (51:1-12)

c. Autobiographical Poem on Wisdom (51:13-30)

Dictionary Article (abridged from the ABD.)

The longest of the deuterocanonical/apocryphal books of the OT. The Wisdom of Ben Sirach is the most comprehensive example of wisdom literature preserved in the Bible. The book is called Sirach in the Greek mss, or Ecclesiasticus in the Latin translations, which means "the ecclesiastical [or church] book," since it was used extensively in the liturgy. The book contains moral, cultic, and ethical maxims, folk proverbs, psalms of praise and lament, theological and philosophical reflections, homiletic exhortations, and pointed observations about life and customs of the day. For that reason it has been popular with both Jews and Christians; and it has left its impact on the proverbial literature of the West.

Author and Date. This work appears to be consciously modelled on the book of Proverbs; but while the latter is a compilation of materials by different authors spanning several centuries, Sirach is clearly the work of a single author, Ben Sirach, who wrote in Jerusalem during the early 2d century b.c.

The date of the book is calculated from information provided by the grandson in the preface to his translation. He says that he arrived in Egypt in the 38th year of the reign of King Euergetes, and that he spent many hours of hard work in preparing his Greek translation for publication. The epithet "Euergetes" ("Benefactor") was given to only two of the Egyptian kings, Ptolemy III Euergetes I (246-221 b.c.) and Ptolemy VII Euergetes (170-164 and 146-117). Since the former reigned only 25 years, the latter must be the Euergetes in question, for he began his rule in 170 and he died fifty-three years later, in 117. Calculating from 170, Ptolemy VII's official accession year, the 38th year (when the grandson migrated to Egypt) would be 132 BC.

The Wisdom of Solomon

Blending Jewish and Greek

Main Sections

Message of the Book

Blending Jewish and Greek

This, the latest of the Old Testament deutero-canonical books, was written about the year 50 B.C., by a devout Jew of the diaspora, probably in Alexandria. The fact of his writing in the persona of Solomon (1:1; 6:1-11; 7:5; 8:9-15) is simply a literary artifice, to lend an air of greater antiquity and authority to his reflections. In practice, he writes within the same thought-world as Philo, though somewhat earlier, and addresses himself to fellow-Jews who are so impressed by Hellenistic civilization and learning that their confidence in their Jewish heritage of faith is being undermined. The author combats the materialism, hedonism and idolatry into which some renegade Jews have already fallen. His purpose is to commend the core values of the Old Testament tradition, mediated through an overlay of Greek philosophical language.

Main Sections

a. Wisdom and human destiny: the good and the wicked (chs 1-5)

b. Origin and nature of wisdom; how to acquire it (chs 6-9)

c. God's wisdom, in the history of Israel (chs 10-19)

Message of the Book

This author tackles the greatest puzzle of life: the problems of the sources of sin and evil, which are also the problems faced in Job and Ecclesiastes, and some of the greatest wisdom literature of the ancient Near East. In general, his response is that one can cope with evil only by fidelity to the traditions and faith of Israel, summed up in two words: wisdom and law.

Wisdom, which is God's gift, strengthens belief in Him, and prompts one to follow His Law. It was this wisdom that guided the patriarchs and great leaders of Israel's past, whose deeds are paraded by the author in a wealth of colourful language and midrashic invention.

The corollary conviction, to encourage the Alexandrian and other Jews to hold fast to their identity, even at great personal cost, is belief in personal immortality. The soul is conceived of as pneuma, spirit, in the manner of Greek philosophy; and the body is seen as a tent (9:15), just as in Platonism and Pythagoreanism.

Unlike earlier writings like Proverbs, or even Sirach, this book is “not a collection of maxims, but follows consecutive discourse in the manner of Greek philosophical writings. The extent of Greek influence should not be exaggerated; the author's knowledge of philosophy was superficial and could be gained by conversaiton. But the conception of immortality of the righteous and the annihilation of the wicked, which is basic to his argument, has a form which can be recognized as Greek. In a non-Greek manner, the origin of evil is attributed to the devil (2:24). (McKenzie, Dictionary, 933)

His idea of wisdom may be traditional, but he has given it considerable refinement and subtlety. Wisdom is creative and has shaped all things (7:22); it communicates a multifarious kind of knowledge and ability (7:17-21). Indeed, it is personified as someone who was with God from the beginning, and who can be communicated by God as his best gift to noble souls (7:22 - 8:1). Those who have this gift of wisdom will know intuitively how to behave in life, according to the will of God. It is easy to see how adaptable was this line of thinking to a Christological purpose, especially for the fourth Evangelist.

Wisdom is presented as having been prominent in Israel's history, where God's creative spirit is shown at greater length than in the account of creation. Possibly responding to Greek speculation about the natural elements being powerful on the lives of individuals and nations, this author wants to stress (as did Paul to the Colossians more than a century later), that these are subject to the all-wise, all-powerful Creator and the Mediator emanating from Him.

Outline

A. In Praise of Wisdom (1:1–11:1)

1. Immortality is the Reward of Wisdom (1:1–6:21)

a) Exhortation to Justice (1:1-14)

b) Wickedness Brings Destruction (1:15–2:24)

c) Hidden Counsels of God (3:1–4:19)

(1) The Souls of the Righteous (3:1-9)

(2) The Destiny of the Ungodly (3:10-12)

(3) Childlessness (3:13–4:6)

(4) Early Death (4:7-19)

d) The Final Judgment (4:20–5:23)

e) Exhortation to seek Wisdom (6:1-21)

2. Wisdom's Value, and Solomon's Quest (6:22–11:1)

a) Introducing Wisdom (6:22-25)

b) Solomon's Speech (7:1–8:21)

(1) Solomon's Need for Wisdom (7:1-6)

(2) Solomon's Respect for Wisdom (7:7-14)

(3) Solomon Prays for Divine Guidance (7:15-21)

(4) The Nature of Wisdom (7:22-30)

(5) Wisdom, Source of all that is Desirable (8:1-8)

(6) Wisdom is Indispensable for Rulers (8:9-16)

(7) Wisdom is God's Best Gift (8:17-21)

c) Solomon's Prayer for Wisdom (9:1-18)

B. God's Support of Israel, in History (10:1–19:22)

1. From Adam to Moses, Wisdom Saved her Children (10:1-14)

2. This is Most Clearly Seen in the Exodus (10:15–19:22)

a) Lyrical Poem on the Exodus (10:15–11:4)

b) How Israel was blessed, and Egypt punished: (11:6–19:22)

(1) Water from the Rock, vs Plague of the Nile (11:6-14)

(2) Elements that favour Israel, threaten Egypt (16:15-29)

(3) Pillar of Fire vs Plague of Darkness (17:1–18:4)

(4) 10th plague and Exodus from Egypt (18:5–19:22)

c) Three Theological Reflections (interspersed)

(1) God's Infinite Power Achieves Justice (11:15–12:22)

(2) The Foolishness of Worshipping False Gods (13:1–15:17)

(3) The Serpents in the Desert (16:5-15)

Dictionary Article

This book (also called The Wisdom of Solomon) is an exhortatory discourse, punctuated by an enthusiastic invocation of personified Wisdom.

Its main Religious Ideas are:

Preexistence and Immortality of the Soul

Eschatology

Torah and Sophia

Logos and Sophia

Pursuing Wisdom

The Nature and Efficacy of Wisdom

Universalism and Particularism

Its Contents readily divide into three parts: (I) Wisdom's Gift of Immortality (1:1-6:21); (II) The Nature and Power of Wisdom and Solomon's Quest for Her (6:22-10:21); and (III) Divine Wisdom or Justice in the Exodus (chaps. 11-19), with two excursuses, one on Divine Mercy (11:15-12:22), the other on Idolatry (chaps. 13-15).

Part I begins with an address to the pagan rulers of the earth to pursue justice or wisdom, while admonishing those whose behavior will inevitably result in their destruction (1:1-16). In diatribe style the wicked are then allowed to speak for themselves. Convinced that life is chance, and death final, they inevitably conclude that one ought to derive maximum enjoyment from the pleasures at hand without regard for moral scruple. Blinded by their own malice, they are ignorant of God's mysteries, and thus pass up the prize of immortality. Harking back to his earlier statement concerning those who have covenanted with Death, the author points out that though God had indeed created man as an immortal image of his own proper being, through the devil's envy, Death has nevertheless entered into the cosmic order, to be experienced by his devotees (chap. 2).

Next the author considers various paradoxes about the question of divine reward and retribution. The suffering and death of the just, he considers, are in reality only brief episodes of trial in the immortal destiny of righteous souls which will bring them peace, future glorification, rulership over nations, and a special divine illumination (3:1-12). The barren woman whose life has been pure shall be fruitful at the great assize of souls, and the righteous eunuch will receive a portion in the temple of the Lord. Bastard offspring, on the other hand, will be cut off, so that even childlessness is to be preferred, if accompanied by virtue (3:13-4:6). Moreover, early death is not necessarily an evil, since it may actually signify early removal to safety through divine providence, and true length of life is in any case not to be measured chronologically but by the attainment of wisdom (4:7-20). A portrait is also provided of the ultimate vindication of the just which apparently involves their elevation to heavento be among the angelic host, and of the final remorse of the wicked when they come to the full realization of their former folly.

There follows a vivid description of the divine judgment, in which the cosmic elements join battle to crush the all-encompassing power of wickedness (5:1-23). The author concludes this part of his work with a second exhortation, this time to Wisdom, which from this point on becomes the explicit theme of the book, usurping the place of the various synonyms earlier employed in conjunction with her. The lords of the far corners of the earth (the reference is probably to Roman rule under Augustus or one of his early successors) should note the fact that their sovereignty is God-given, and that their criminal acts will be relentlessly scrutinized and punished. It therefore behooves them to seek Wisdom so that they may keep the divine ordinances (6:1-11). This task, we are assured, offers no insuperable obstacles, for Wisdom actually anticipates her lovers, and graciously seeks out those worthy of her. Employing the sorites, a standard chain syllogism frequently found in Hellenistic philosophical writings, the authr eloquently argues that the desire for Wisdom leads to sovereignty (6:12-21).

In Part II, the core of the book, the author is at his best. He describes his unwavering search for the great passion of his life, and with an unbridled exuberance he exalts the attributes of his beloved Wisdom. Without mentioning Solomon by name, he nevertheless now clearly identifies himself with that illustrious king. In the opening section, the author promises to reveal the nature and origin of Wisdom (6:22-25). He informs us that he loved Wisdom and desired her above all else, though he quickly discovered that all other good things are also eventually acquired along with her (7:7-14). However, God is the sole source of Wisdom, and her scope includes the entire range of knowledge (7:15-21). Wisdom's twenty-one attributes, borrowed largely from Greek philosophy, are enumerated, followed by an elaborate fivefold metaphor describing her essence and unique efficacy. She is pictured as entering generation by generation into holy souls, rendering them friends of God and prophets. She surpasses even the celestia lights, and nothing can prevail over her (7:22-30). She is God's companion, and Solomon sought to make her his bride, knowing that through her he would have immortality (8:1-16).

There is a very moving prayer in which the king, acknowledging his feebleness and ephemeral nature, beseeches his Lord to send forth from the holy heavens his throne companion, Wisdom, who was present at the world's creation, to be his guide and guardian (9:1-12). Mortal reason is at best precarious, weighed down as it is by a perishable tent of clay. It is only God's holy spirit of Wisdom descending from on high which has taught men what is pleasing to Him, and has brought them salvation (9:13-18). Part II concludes with a detailed recitation of Wisdom's saving power in history from Adam through Moses and the Exodus (10:1-21).

Part III is constituted by an elaborate synkrisis, or comparison, where the author proceeds with a series of antitheses in order to illustrate the theme that Egypt was punished measure for measure, whereas Israel was benefited by those very things whereby Egypt was punished. This section contains two excursuses. The shorter one (11:15-12:22) concerns the nature of God's mercy as illustrated by his treatment of the Canaanites, whose loathsome practices included sorcery, licentious mystery rites, infanticide, and cannibalism. Though their seed was evil and their viciousness innate, they, too, were nevertheless judged gradually to afford them a chance to repentance (12:3-18). God's mercy thus serves as a model lesson for Israel, to teach them humanity, and at the same time to instill in them confidence in their own relationship with the Deity (12:19-22).

In his second and rather long excursus on the nature of idolatry (chaps. 13-15), those who worship nature are chided for not pressing their search beyond visible reality, which, for all its beauty and dynamic character, only points to its supreme Author. Though not entirely culpable, since they are at least searching for the Deity, neither are they to be excused, for if they were resourceful enough to infer the "Universe," they should certainly have discovered its Master (13:1-9). More blameworthy, however, are the wretches who worship images, addressing their prayers to lifeless objects that are entirely impotent (13:10-19). The author now seeks to explain the origin of idolatry, which he claims did not exist from the beginning but came into the world through the empty illusions of men. A father consumed with untimely grief made an image of the child so suddenly taken from him, honoring him as a god, and handed down to his descendants mysteries and initiation rites. Again, absent rulers were honored by meansof images which the artists had overly beautified in order to please their sovereigns, which resulted in the masses mistaking them for objects of worship. This turned out to be the one great trap of human life, for idolatry is the source of every moral corruption (14:12-31).

There follow six further antitheses between the Egyptians and the Israelites (16:1-19:8). The first antithesis (11:1-14) had contrasted the change of the Nile water into blood with the abundant water provided to the Israelites from the desert rock. The second antithesis (16:1-4) now describes the hungering of the Egyptians as a result of the hideousness of the creatures sent to plague them, whereas Israel, after only briefly suffering want, came to enjoy the exotic delicacy of quail food. In the third antithesis (16:5-14), the Egyptians are slain by locusts and flies, but Israel survives a serpent attack through the bronze serpent, symbol of salvation. In the fourth antithesis (16:15-29), the Egyptians are plagued by thunderstorms, while Israel is fed by a rain of manna. The fifth antithesis (17:1-18:4) provides a rhetorically elaborate description of the psychological terror occasioned by the plague of darkness. Deftly and almost imperceptibly the author moves from the physical contrast between darkness and ight to the spiritual one which sees in the Egyptian moral villains obsessed with a bad conscience, and in Israel ethical heroes destined to illumine the world with the light of the Torah. In the sixth antithesis (18:5-25), the Egyptian firstborn are destroyed, but Israel is protected and glorified. In the seventh and final antithesis (19:1-9), the Egyptians are drowned in the sea, but Israel passes safely through. The book concludes with the conventional doxology: "For in every way, O Lord, you exalted and glorified your people, and did not neglect to assist them in every time and place" (19:22).

Language and Style: The strongest argument for the unity of Wisdom may be drawn from its language and style. In spite of some Hebrew coloring, such as parallelismus membrorum, Hebraisms, and the simple connection of clauses by conjunctions such as kai, de, dia touto, dio, gar, and hoti, Grimm has correctly pointed out that the author's Greek was on the whole rich and spontaneous, and that St. Jerome's judgment that his style was "redolent of Greek eloquence" was completely justified. .

These characteristics, in addition to the author's many favorite "theme" words and expressions which recur throughout the work, argue for unity of authorship, and make the hypothesis that Wisdom is a translation of a Hebrew original virtually untenable. Significant, too, is Wisdom's quotation in 2:12 of the LXX of Isa 3:10, which is radically different from the Hebrew, and of Isa 44:20 and Job 9:12, 19 (in 15:10 and 12:12), a fact which suggests that the Greek translators of Isaiah had utilized the Greek text of Wisdom. Although it is possible to maintain that the author may have used an earlier Hebrew document or documents deriving from Palestine in the composition of chaps. 1-10, we should nevertheless have to admit that they were not simply translated by him but rather served as the raw material for a new literary production.

Date: No consensus has thus far emerged regarding the date of Wisdom, and various scholars have placed it anywhere between 220 B.C.E. and 50 C.E. There is virtual agreement that the author made use of the LXX version of Isaiah which would carry us at least to the end of the 3d century B.C.E. Zeller (1963:295, n. 1), however, had already suggested that the address to the rulers of the four corners of the earth (6:1) referred to the period of Roman rule, and that the reference to the remoteness of the rulers' dwelling in 14:17 indicated more specifically the age of Augustus.

The linguistic evidence also points to a period not earlier than that of Augustus. Some 35 words or usages are first attested in Wisdom and do not appear in secular Greek literature before the 1st century C.E. Further considerations, however, seem to point to the reign of Gaius "Caligula" (37-41 C.E.) as the likeliest setting for Wisdom. The apocalyptic vision where the author describes the annihilation of the wicked with such ferocious passion (5:16-23) could only be called forth by a desperate historical situation where the security of the Jewish community of Alexandria was dangerously threatened by a power against which it was hopeless to put up any serious resistance. The riots which broke out in Alexandria in 38 C.E. involved the demolition of many synagogues, and above all a proclamation by the Roman prefect A. Avillius Flaccus declaring the Jews "aliens and foreigners" in Alexandria. This measure degraded them from their legal status of resident aliens, on which the existence of the politeuma depended,to that of aliens without the right of domicile. Legally they could now all be expelled. Although Flaccus was soon executed, the situation remained unstable and the Jews lacked security for a further two years and a half, until their rights were officially and explicitly re-established by Claudius in 41 C.E..

Purpose: The author is primarily addressing his fellow Jews in an effort to encourage them to take pride in their traditional faith. He seeks to convince them that their way of life, rooted in the worship of the one true God, is of an incomparably higher order than that of their pagan neighbors, whose idolatrous polytheism had sunk them into the mire of immorality. Moreover, he attempts to justify their present suffering through the promise of immortality as a reward for their steadfast perseverance in the pursuit of righteousness. His accusing finger is especially pointed, however, at the pagan kings, i.e., the Roman rulers, who have abandoned the principles of divine justice and who will therefore suffer the consequences of their lawlessness. Following the philosophy of Greco-Roman kingship tracts, he insists that the king, above all, must pursue wisdom (6:21, 24). At the same time, the author naturally tones down the divine nature to which the pagan writers sought to assimilate the king. He emphasizes instad the king's lowly and mortal origins (7:1-5; 9:5).