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{{Short description|Jewish work written in Greek generally dated to the mid-first century BC}}
{{About|the Greek Jewish text|the Druze texts|Epistles of Wisdom}}
{{Redirect|Wisdom of Solomon|Solomon's gift of wisdom|Solomonic wisdom}}
{{Tanakh OT |deutero}}
[[File:Book of Wisdom Belarusian Skaryna.jpg|thumb|Image from "Book of Wisdom" of Francysk Skaryna 1518 (Belarusian)]]

The '''Book of Wisdom''', also known as the '''Wisdom of [[Solomon]]''', is a book in the Bible. It is one of the seven [[Sapiential Books|sapiential]] or wisdom books in the [[Septuagint]], the others being [[Psalms]], [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs]], [[Ecclesiastes]], [[Song of Songs]] (Song of Solomon), [[Book of Job|Job]], and [[Wisdom of Sirach|Sirach]]. It is one of the [[deuterocanonical books]], i.e. it is included in the canons of the [[Catholic Church]] and the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], but most [[Protestantism|Protestants]] consider it part of the [[Biblical apocrypha|Apocrypha]]. While not included in the [[Hebrew Bible]], it found early reception in the [[Septuagint]] and [[Vetus Latina|Old Latin]] traditions, and was known to some of the [[New Testament]] writers.<ref>Mazzinghi, L. (2019). Wisdom (International Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament). Kohlhammer Verlag, pp.17-8, 40</ref> It was composed in Greek by an [[Alexandria|Alexandrian]] [[Judaism|Jewish]] author. Most scholars date it to the first century BC on the basis of its themes and concerns,<ref>Grabbe, L.L. (2004). Wisdom of Solomon. T&T Clark, pp. 87–88</ref><ref>Dines, J. M. (2004). The Septuagint (Understanding the Bible and Its World). T & T Clark / Continuum (Bloomsbury), p.46</ref> though a minority have proposed dates spanning from the reign of [[Solomon|King Solomon]] to [[Caligula|Emperor Caligula]].<ref>Bosman, H.L. (2012). The theological paraphrasing of history: The Exodus tradition in the Wisdom of Solomon. HTS Theological Studies, 68(1), 1-7 dates it to 37-41 AD</ref><ref>Margoliouth, D.S. (1900). The wisdom of Ben Sira and the Wisdom of Solomon. The Expositor, 1(6th series), 141–160, 186–193 reverses this work's reliance upon Isaiah</ref><ref>Gregg, J.A.F. (1909). The Wisdom of Solomon: In the Revised Version, with Introduction and Notes Cambridge University Press, p.13 suggests a second century BC date</ref> 

The central theme of the work is "[[wisdom]]" itself, appearing under two principal aspects. The first aspect is, in its relation to mankind, wisdom is the perfection of knowledge of the righteous as a gift from God showing itself in action. The second aspect is, in direct relation to God, wisdom is with God from all [[eternity]].{{sfn|Tanzer|1998|p=294}}

==Structure, genre and content==
The 19 [[Chapters and verses of the Bible|chapters]] of the work can be grouped into three sections.<ref>[[Jerusalem Bible]] (1966), ''Introduction to the Wisdom of Solomon'', p. 1004</ref>{{sfn|Grabbe|2004|pp=22–23}}{{sfn|Horbury|2007|p=650}} [[Lester Grabbe]] organises these as follows:
# 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
#* introduction, followed by diptychs of plagues
#* digression on God's power and mercy
#* digression on false worship and further plagues
#* recapitulation and concluding [[doxology]].{{sfn|Grabbe|2004|pp=22–23}}

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.{{sfn|Grabbe|2004|p=13}} 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 [[the Book of Job]], one of only five such books among ancient Jewish literature.{{sfn|Grabbe|2004|p=25}} In terms of classical genre it has been identified as an [[encomium]] and with the Greek genre of the "exhortatory discourse", by which a teacher attempts to persuade others to a certain course of action.{{sfn|Grabbe|2004|pp=25–26}}

==Canonicity==
[[Origen]] in the 2nd century AD refers to uncertainty about the Book of Wisdom.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Coogan |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NHhUDwAAQBAJ&dq=Origen+doubts+book+of+wisdom&pg=PA73 |title=The New Oxford Annotated Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version |last2=Brettler |first2=Marc |last3=Newsom |first3=Carol |last4=Perkins |first4=Pheme |date=2018-03-01 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-027613-3 |language=en}}</ref> [[Melito of Sardis]]<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250104.htm |author=Eusebius|title=Church History (Book IV) |publisher=Newadvent.org |access-date=2010-07-10}}</ref> (possibly) in the 2nd century AD, [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]]<ref>{{cite book|author = Augustine of Hippo|title=On Christian Doctrine Book II Chapter 8:2|publisher=newadvent|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/12022.htm|access-date=12 October 2016}}</ref> ({{circa|397}}) and [[Pope Innocent I]] (405)<ref>{{cite book |title=Letter from Innocent I to Exsuperius, bishop of Toulouse. |url=http://www.bible-researcher.com/innocent.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Westcott|first1=Brooke Foss|title=A general survey of the history of the canon of the New Testament Page 570|date=2005|publisher=Wipf & Stock|location=Eugene, OR|isbn=1597522392|edition=6th}}</ref> considered Wisdom of Solomon as part of the Old Testament. [[Athanasius of Alexandria|Athanasius]] writes that the Book of Wisdom along with three other deuterocanonical books, while not being part of the Canon, "were appointed by the Fathers to be read".<ref>[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xxv.iii.iii.xxv.html Athanasius of Alexandria, Excerpt from Letter 39]</ref> [[Epiphanius of Salamis]] ({{circa|385|lk=no}}) mentions that the Wisdom of Solomon was of disputed canonicity.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.masseiana.org/panarion_bk1.htm|title=The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis 8:6:1-4|last1=Williams|first1=translated by Frank|date=1987|publisher=E.J. Brill|isbn=9004079262|edition=2. impression.|location=Leiden|access-date=11 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906041916/http://www.masseiana.org/panarion_bk1.htm|archive-date=6 September 2015|url-status=usurped}}</ref> According to the monk [[Rufinus of Aquileia]] ({{circa|400{{nbsp}}AD}}) the Book of Wisdom was categorized as "ecclesiastical" rather than "canonical".<ref>{{cite book|author=Rufinus of Aquileia|title=Commentary on the Apostles' Creed #38|publisher=newadvent|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2711.htm|access-date=12 October 2016}}</ref>

The Book of Wisdom was listed as canonical by the [[Council of Rome (382)]],<ref>[http://www.tertullian.org/decretum_eng.htm Decretum Galasianum]</ref> the [[Synod of Hippo]] (393),<ref>{{citation |chapter-url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.xv.iv.iv.xxv.html |chapter=Canon XXIV. (Greek xxvii.) |publisher=Christian Classics Ethereal Library |title=The Canons of the 217 Blessed Fathers who assembled at Carthage}}</ref> the [[Council of Carthage (397)]] and the [[Council of Carthage (419)]],<ref>B. F. Westcott, ''A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament'' (5th ed. Edinburgh, 1881), pp. 440, 541-2.</ref><ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3816.htm Council of Carthage (in 419) Canon 24]</ref> the [[Quinisext Council|Quinisext Council (692)]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Канон Библии. История канонизации книг Священного Писания |url=https://apologetica.ru/otvet/kanon-biblii-istoriia-kanonizatcii-knig-sviashchennogo-pisaniia.html |access-date=2023-02-05 |language=ru|website=apologetica.ru}}</ref> the [[Council of Florence]] (in 1442)<ref>Council of Florence, [https://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/FLORENAD.HTM Session 11—4 February 1442]</ref> and the [[Council of Trent]] (in 1546).<ref>Council of Trent, [https://web.archive.org/web/20000309111842/http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/TRENT4.HTM Session IV Celebrated on the eighth day of April, 1546 under Pope Paul III]</ref>

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."<ref>John of Damascus, [https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/33044.htm An Exposition of the Orthodox Faith (Book IV)], translated by E.W. Watson and L. Pullan, from ''Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers'', Second Series, Vol. 9, edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1899.) revised and edited for ''New Advent'' by Kevin Knight, accessed on 22 September 2024</ref>

==Composition==
There is a general consensus among scholars{{which|date=March 2025}} (with only a few dissenting voices) that the Wisdom of Solomon was written in Greek in [[Alexandria]] around the turn of the era: late first century BC to early first century AD. Alexandria is where the Greek Bible was translated and assembled. What is known of the Jewish community there accords with what can be deduced from the text about the audience for which it was written. It shares an outlook similar to that of other texts such as [[4 Maccabees]], [[Letter of Aristeas]], and the [[works of Philo]], which all came from this community. One specific indication of Egyptian origin is the author's use of Egyptian imagery of the goddess [[Isis]] to describe personified Wisdom as a divine female figure. Another is the very clear interest in Egypt revealed in the book's third section (chapters 10–19). Chapter 10 begins a review of Israel's history but never gets beyond [[the Exodus]] story, where the text indulges in a sharp polemic against idolatry in its particular Egyptian manifestation—that is, the animal cult (see 12:24; 15:18–19). There are no clear allusions to contemporary historical events in the book, so one can suggest only an approximate date for it. Since the author quotes from most parts of the [[LXX]] version of the Hebrew Bible, he cannot have been writing much before the middle of the second century BC.

Winston 1979: 20-25{{cn|date=March 2025}} argues that the earliest date for the book can be more precisely fixed as sometime after the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC on the grounds that 14:16–20 alludes to the emperor cult begun under [[Augustus]]. He confirms this conclusion by analyzing the thirty-five Greek words in the Wisdom of Solomon that were not attested in other Greek literature before the first century AD. Larcher 1983: 1:141-61{{cn|date=March 2025}} argues that the book was composed between 31 and 10 BC. The latest possible date for the work is more difficult to fix than the earliest. Most scholars feel that Wisdom predates [[Philo]] and was also used by some New Testament authors, particularly Paul and the author of the [[Epistle to the Hebrews]]. This would make it no later than the early first century AD. Winston dates it precisely to the reign of [[Caligula]] (AD 37–41) when the Alexandrian Jewish community underwent a particularly severe crisis, which he feels is reflected in the harsh anti-Gentile tone of the book. Larcher is not convinced of this later dating. It is safest to say that the Wisdom of Solomon was probably written about thirty years on either side of the turn of the era.{{cn|date=March 2025}}

It is uncertain whether the book has a single author or comes from a school of writers: it is said to be "written by the friends of Solomon in his honour" in the [[Muratorian fragment]],<ref>{{cite wikisource|first=|last=|year=|plaintitle=Ante-Nicene Fathers|wslink=Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume V/Caius/Fragments of Caius|wspage=|chapter=Canon Muratorianus|page=|publisher=|scan=}}</ref> but more recent scholarship has favoured regarding it as a unified work.{{sfn|Grabbe|2004|p=24}} In either case, its blend of Greek and Jewish features suggests a learned Hellenistic background. The authors' primary literary source was the [[Septuagint]], in particular the [[Wisdom literature]] and the [[Book of Isaiah]], and he or they were familiar with late Jewish works such as the [[Book of Enoch]], and with Greek philosophical literature.{{sfn|Hayman|2003|p=763}}   Despite the address to the "rulers of the world", the actual audience was probably members of the authors' own community who were tempted to give up their Jewishness in the face of the temptations of Greek culture and the hostile conditions facing Jews in the Greek world.{{sfn|Tanzer|1998|p=294}}

==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.{{sfn|Hayman|2003|p=764}} The suffering of the righteous will be rewarded with immortality, while the wicked will end miserably.{{sfn|Horbury|2007|pp=655–656}} The unrighteous are doomed because they do not know God's purpose, but the righteous will judge the unrighteous in God's presence.{{sfn|Tanzer|1998|p=293}} 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.{{sfn|Tanzer|1998|p=293}} She existed from the [[Genesis creation narrative|Creation]], and God is her source and guide.{{sfn|Tanzer|1998|p=293}} She is to be loved and desired, and kings seek her: Solomon himself preferred wisdom to wealth, health, and all other things.{{sfn|Horbury|2007|p=658}} She in turn has always come to the aid of the righteous, from Adam to [[the Exodus]].{{sfn|Tanzer|1998|p=294}} 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).{{sfn|Tanzer|1998|p=294}}

==Influences==
===Influences shaping the Book of Wisdom===
The [[New American Bible Revised Edition]] notes that Wisdom 9:15, ''"for the corruptible body burdens the soul and the earthly tent weighs down the mind with its many concerns"'',<ref>{{bibleverse|Wisdom|9:15|NABRE}}: NABRE</ref> "draws on the language of [[Plato]] concerning the [[human condition]], [but] the conclusion is very biblical: God remains a mystery".<ref>[[Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc.]], [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=wisdom%209&version=NABRE#fen-NABRE-19979c Note c at Wisdom 9:15 in the New American Bible Revised Edition], accessed on 7 September 2025</ref>

Nineteenth-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."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Melville |first1=Herman |title=Melville's Marginalia |date=1987 |publisher=Garland |location=New York |isbn=9780824000578 |page=315}}</ref> 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.

=== Influence on the New Testament ===
Although the Book of Wisdom is not quoted directly, there are some apparent references to it in the [[New Testament]].:
* In [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 27:43, the chief priests, with the scribes and ancients say: "He trusted in God; let him now deliver him if he will have him; for he said: I am the Son of God." whereas Wisdom has: "For if he be the true son of God, he will defend him, and will deliver him from the hands of his enemies." (Wisdom {{Bibleverse-nb|Wisdom|2:18|DRA}})
* [[Hebrews 1|Hebrews]] 1:3 reads "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the majesty on high", whereas Wisdom 7 states "For she is the brightness of eternal light, and the unspotted mirror of God's majesty, and the image of his goodness." (Wisdom {{Bibleverse-nb|Wisdom|7:26|DRA}})

===Influences on Christian life and practice===
According to [[Easton's Bible Dictionary]], the term ''[[fall of man]]'', which does not appear in the Hebrew Bible, probably originates from the Book of Wisdom.{{how|date=June 2025}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Easton |first=Matthew George |url=https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/fall-of-man/ |title=Illustrated Bible Dictionary |publisher=Thomas Nelson |year=1897 |edition=3rd |chapter=Fall of man}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=McClintock |first1=John |url=https://www.biblicalcyclopedia.com/F/fall-of-man.html |title=Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature |last2=Strong |first2=James |publisher=Harper and Brothers |year=1880 |isbn= |location=New York |chapter=Fall of Man}}</ref>

A considerable portion of the Wisdom of Solomon, starting with Chapter 2, was read at [[Virginia v. John Brown#Meetings|a memorial service]] in [[Concord, Massachusetts]], on December 2, 1859, the day of the execution of the [[abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]].<ref>{{cite book
|title=Echoes of Harper's Ferry
|pages=437–454, at pp. 451–454
|first=James
|last=Redpath
|authorlink=James Redpath
|year=1860
|location=Boston
|publisher=[[Thayer and Eldridge]]
|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/ASPC0005147600/page/451/mode/2up
|chapter=Services at Concord}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Works cited==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book
|last      = Grabbe
|first     = Lester L.
|title     = Wisdom of Solomon
|year      = 2004
|publisher = A&C Black
|url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=RQ_UAwAAQBAJ&q=%22question+of+the+unity+of+the+wisdom+of+solomon%22&pg=PA24
|isbn     = 9780567084446
}}
* {{Cite book
|last      = Hayman
|first     = A. Peter
|chapter   = The Wisdom of Solomon
|editor1-last                   = Dunn 
|editor1-first                  = James D. G. 
|editor2-last                   = Rogerson
|editor2-first                  = John William 
|title     = Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible
|year      = 2003
|publisher = Eerdmans
|chapter-url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=2Vo-11umIZQC&q=%22The+wisdom+of+solomon+was+written+in+Greek%22&pg=PA763
|isbn     = 9780802837110
}}
* {{Cite book
|last      = Horbury
|first     = William
|author-link=William Horbury
|chapter   = 43. The Wisdom of Solomon
|editor1-last                   = Barton
|editor1-first                  = John 
|editor2-last                   = Muddiman
|editor2-first                  = John 
|title     = The Oxford Bible Commentary
|year      = 2007
|publisher = Oxford University Press
|chapter-url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=DWUTDAAAQBAJ&q=%22preserved+in+Greek+and+in+versions+made+from+the+Greek%22&pg=PA650
|isbn     = 9780199277186
}}
* {{Cite book
|last      = Tanzer
|first     = Sarah J.
|chapter   = The Wisdom of Solomon
|editor1-last                   = Newsom 
|editor1-first                  = Carol Ann 
|editor2-last                   = Ringe
|editor2-first                  = Sharon H.
|title     = Women's Bible Commentary
|year      = 1998
|publisher = Westminster John Knox Press
|chapter-url       = https://books.google.com/books?id=ymp4S2qZJ4cC&q=%22wisdom+of+solomon+is+an+exhortatory+discourse%22&pg=PA293
|isbn     = 9780664257811
}}

{{refend}}

==External links==
'''Text'''
* [https://bible.usccb.org/bible/wisdom/0 Wisdom] – USCCB
* [https://worldcat.ir/product/book/religion-spirituality/book-wisdom-vulgate-authorised-english/ کتاب حکمت] 

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Song of Solomon]]|rows= 3}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] Old Testament}}
{{s-aft|after  = [[Sirach]]|rows = 3}}
{{s-ttl|title  = [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] Old Testament<br><small>see [[Deuterocanonical books|Deuterocanon]]</small>}}
{{s-end}}
{{Jewish Apocrypha}}
{{Books of the Bible}}
{{Solomon}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wisdom}}

[[Category:1st-century BC books]]
[[Category:Deuterocanonical books]]
[[Category:Jewish texts]]
[[Category:Solomon]]
[[Category:Texts in Koine Greek]]
[[Category:Wisdom literature]]
[[Category:Jewish apocrypha]]
[[Category:Culture in Alexandria]]
[[Category:Poetic Books]]