The Wisdom Literature
(Copyright (c), 1995,by Wm. G. Most)
The Hebrew division of the Bible has three parts: the
Law, the Prophets, the Writings. Within the writings are seven
books which are commonly called wisdom books: ,Proverbs, Job,
Psalms, Ecclesiastes (Qoholeth), Song of Songs, Wisdom, Sirach
(Ecclesiasticus).
Actually they are quite varied, but it is convenient to
consider them together.
First,the notion of the word wisdom is quite varied. In
Genesis 41.39 Joseph, because of the knowledge he was given by
God to interpret the dreams of the Pharao, was considered as
among the wisest of all men in Egypt. In Exodus 35.30 -37.29
we find various kinds of craftsmen called wise: Bezalel had
divinely given knowledge of every craft in embroidery, in
making objects of gold, silver or bronze, in cutting precious
stones, in carving wood. Oholiab had similar abilities, and
they were also given the ability to teach others. So they made
the Dwelling with its ten sheets and also a tent to go over
the Dwelling, and likewise made the veil. Bezalel made the ark
of the covenant.
The Greek Socrates in Plato's Apology used the word wise
in similar senses, of skilled craftsmen. However Aristotle in
his Metaphysics 1.2 said that wisdom is a special kind of
knowledge which knows all things by way of the first
principles that control and underlie all. So wisdom knows
difficult things, knows them exactly. Wisdom knows the
universal truths which are difficult and exact. It is the
highest kind of knowledge.Then he identifies wisdom with
Metaphysics.
The OT concept of wisdom as we see can includes a wide
range. But the chief feature of it is the knowledge that leads
one to live rightly in relation to God, and in relation to
neighbor. Moses in Deuteronomy 4.6-8 told the people that
their divinely given laws were really wisdom,such that other
nations,on hearing of them,would admire the wisdom of that
people. For God in giving commandments is not seeking anything
for himself-- He cannot gain anything.And "glory" is useless
to Him. Yet He does want us to obey, for two reasons:1)His
Holiness in loving all that is good in itself wants this
obedience, since Holiness says creatures should obey their
Creator. 2)He wants intensely to do good to us.But it is in
vain for Him to give if we are not open to receive what He
wants to give. His commandments are simply rules on how to be
open to His gifts. And at the same time, they steer us away
from the evils that lurk in the very nature of things. So when
Vatican I defined (DS 3025) that God created for His glory,it
meant merely that as a matter of fact, glory does come to Him
from the fact that He give so generously to Him. But He does
not seek glory,for it does Him no good. It merely pleases His
goodness to give (cf.the report of the theological commission
of Vatican I on this point, cited in Wm.Most, New Answers to
Old Questions, #27).
St.Paul in 1 Cor 6.12 pointed out that violations of the
law of God were not good for us. Much later,St.Augustine wrote
in his Confessions (1.12): "You [Lord] have ordered it and it
is so,that every disordered soul is its own punishment." This
is obvious when a man has a hangover after getting drunk. It
also often happens that a marriage is loveless after much
premarital sex - for such sex is not driven by real love,but
only by a chemistry that mimics love. Similarly, the Book of
Wisdom 11.16:" By what things a man sins, by those things is
he punished." The great Roman historian Tacitus, an astute
observer of human nature, wrote in Annals 6.6 about
Tiberius,who indulged his evil whims when holed up in the
island of Capri: "His crimes and wickedness rebounded to
torment him. How correctly did the wisest of men say that the
souls of despots, if we could see them, would show wounds and
mutulations...like lash-marks on a body." [He was referring to
the words of Socrates in Gorgias 479-80.Cf.also
Plato,Theatetus 176-77].
On the opposite side, the early Romans believed in living
in frugality: it would bring happiness .They lived this ideal
until about the end of the third century. Then they gradually
departed from it in practice, though for long after continued
to recognize it as an ideal.
Was Moses thinking of the rules that would give them
eternal life? Not very likely.The oldest promises of God given
to Abraham, and at Sinai, originally referred to the land,and
to added favors in this life. Yet around the end of the Old
Testament period,these things were reinterpreted to stand for
salvation in the next life, as we see in Galatians 3.15ff.
But we will return to the matter of future retribution
later on to ask how much the Jews knew how early. The picture
is complex. For now we are to look at the content of those
books usually called wisdom books.
At the start it is good to notice a development in the
Old Testament thought about wisdom. In Job 28.12-27 and in
Baruch 3.9 - 4.4 Wisdom is a divine attribute by which God
creates and rules all things. Man cannot get it by his own
efforts, but God gave it to man in giving the law (cf.above on
Dt. 4.6-8). Another step of the development appears in
Proverbs 1.20-33; 8.1-21 and 9.1-6 in which Wisdom is
personified - for the Hebrew word for Wisdom hokmah is
grammatically feminine ( So is Greek sophia). Hence wisdom is
often spoken of as a woman, But this is only a
personification, following on the fact that the noun, as we
said is grammatically feminine. Grammatical gender has nothing
whatsoever to do with real sex. That has not prevented
utterly foolish people today from saying there is a separately
divine person, who is female. But as we said,this is a
personification, and it no more stands for a physical person
than does Lady Folly, also found in Proverbs 9.13-18, who
lures men to their death. But Lady Wisdom stands on the
corners and invites people to listen to her words and follow
them.
In Proverbs 8.22-31 Wisdom is spoken of as if separate
from God - this is just a further development of the
personification. She came forth from the mouth of the Most
High (24.1), when God created her in the beginning and before
all ages (24. She went about heaven and earth and the nether
world looking for a resting place (24.4-7), but finally took
up her abode in Jerusalem (24.8-12), where she flourished and
produced much fruit(14.13-17), which she invites men to
partake of (24.18-21). Really this divine wisdom seems the
same as the Mosaic Law,which, as we saw above,is true wisdom.
Finally the Book of Wisdom (7.22 - 8.1) pictures divine
wisdom as "an aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of
the glory of the Almighty (7.25), as an intelligent
spirit(7.22) who advised God at creation (8.4).Wisdom can do
all things ( 7.27) and knows all things (9.11-- we think of
Aristotle's ideal of wisdom), penetrates all things (7.24) and
governs all things (8.1).Wisdom is God's beloved companion
(8.3) an attendant at His throne (9.4).
It is interesting to compare the concept of number in
St.Augustine who says that since wisdom extends from end to
end (Wisdom 8.1) but yet cannot come to irrational and
lifeless things, yet even these share in wisdom by way of
number In this he depends on Wisdom 11.20 which says God has
"arranged all things in measure and number". He notes that
God,Infinite Beauty is supremely One. But material creatures
have parts. However if the parts are arranged harmoniously so
as to resemble unity, then they are beautiful. This is,of
course, a sort of participation in number. (Cf.Wm.Most in CBQ,
July 1951).
Again, St.Paul in 1 Cor 1.24 speaks of Christ as the
wisdom of God. He says that the wisdom of God is so lofty--he
means the doctrine of the incarnation and the cross -- that
compared to it, earthly wisdom is nothing at all,is folly (1
Cor 1.18-25).
Actually the wisdom contained in the wisdom books is a
blend of human astuteness and divine wisdom. It is likely that
they got some of the ideas from their stay in Egypt.One of the
oldest works there is. The Instructions of Ptahotep,a vizier
of Egypt c 2400, who gives practical advice to his son on how
to succeed in the court of the Pharaoh. A major thrust is to
put human beings in harmonious agreement with ma'at, a cluster
of virtues (order,truth,justice). Later but very influential
are the Instructions of Amenemope, dating probably from around
1200 B.C. This latter work has remarkably close similarities
to some things in Proverbs. Especially we could compare 22.17
- 24.22 to Amenemope iii.9-12; xi.13f;and xxvii.16f.
Ptahotep for example gives the good advice that when one
meets a speaker who is better at argument, one should cut down
on bad talk by not opposing him. On meeting an equal,one
should shows his superiority by silence,to impress the
attending official. An inferior opponent should be treated
with indulgent disregard, so as to "smite him with the
punishment of the [really] great." When at table with a
superior, one should keep a sedate face, take only what is
offered, laugh only when the host laughs. An official should
listen patiently to the pleas of clients, since, "a petitioner
wants attention to what he says even more than obtaining that
for which he came."
There are also wisdom writings in Mesopotamia:Very early
is The Instructions of Suruppak, dating from around 2500 BC.
Suruppak gives instruction to his son, Ziusudra, the hero of
the Sumerian flood story. The Akkadian poem , I Will Praise
the Lord of Wisdom ( Ludlul bel nemeqi) which deals with the
problem of the righteous sufferer,and in this resembles the
Book of Job. It considers the relation of the gods to human
suffering. - The Dialogue about Human Misery,dating from
around 1000 BC. is also in a way is like Job.It is a
conversation between one who suffers and a friend. There is
last toe book of Akiqar, a narrative collection of
fables,riddles and proverbs. It was translated into about a
dozen languages.It may be as early as the 7th century BC. It
tells the story of how Ahiqar,an upright official under
Sennacherib of Assyria was betrayed by Nadin, a relative, but
was eventually restored.
As a result of the fact that this pattern of writing,or
genre, containing both human astuteness and divine
requirements, we need to check each saying to see of which
kind it is. Failure to do that has led to some unfortunate
mistakes. For example, Clement of Alexandria in The Divine
Educator 2.7.58 used Sirach 32.4 without seeing the
difference. Sirach there says it is good to put a limit on
speech at a banquet. Young men should answer only when asked
the second time. Clement thought these were religious rules.
They are not. We will see this more fully in our treatment of
Sirach.
