Wisdom’s Echoes
Wisdom in other parts of the Bible
Psalms
- Some scholars considered the following Psalms as wisdom psalms:
- 1, 32, 34, 37, 49, 112, 119, 128.
Deuteronomy
- A theme common to wisdom and Deuteronomy is life.
- Life is the great promise of wisdom which includes:
- Good quality of life, longevity, a large family, prestige, joy, and land.
- Similar thing is found in Deuteronomy - See Deut 30:15–19.
- But, there is a difference.
- In the Book of Deuteronomy, life comes as a faithfulness to the covenant with God (see Amos 5:6, 14).
Deuteronomy
Another shared ideal between wisdom and Deuteronomy is:
Fear of the Lord.
See Deut 10:12 and compare with Sir 2:15–17; Eccl 12:13.
In Deut - covenantal love and fear are joined together, but this is not present in Wisdom books.
Another difference - Deut speaks to the whole Israel - community aspect, whereas Wisdom books have more of an individualistic emphasis.
Deuteronomy
Deut 6:12; 8:11,14,19 exhorts the Israelites not to forget the Lord.
The causes of such forgetfulness are the pride and arrogance which comes with material wealth and satiety (Deut 6:10–11; 8:12–13; 17:16–20).
We can find similar idea in Psalm 49 (see Ps 49:6–7, 13).
Deuteronomy
There are also similarities in certain legal stipulations.
- The prohibition to remove the neighbour’s landmark (Deut 9:14; Prov 22:28; 23:10).
- Honest weights (Deut 25:16; Prov 11:1; 20:10,23).
- Vows (Deut 23:22–24; Eccl 5:1–5; Prov 20:25; Sir 18:22–23).
- Impartiality in judgment (Deut 1:17; 16:19; Prov 24:23; 28:21).
- Pursuit of justice (Deut 16:20; Prov 21:21).
- Finally, there are certain words that appear in both Deuteronomy and the wisdom literature (compare Deut 6:7–9; 11:18–20; with Prov 6:20–22; 7:3; 8:34).
The Son of Songs
- It is not a wisdom book, but a collection of love poems.
- And yet, many scholars advocate that on another level these poems have a wisdom character.
- Moreover, both ancient Jewish and Christian traditions attribute the work to Solomon (Song 1:1).
- Thus, in our Bibles, the Song of Songs is placed together with Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
The Son of Songs
The book upholds the value of fidelity and mutuality in love between man and woman, which are a concern in the training of youth (see Prov 5:15–20).
We have also seen how wisdom is sought after the way a man is pursuing a woman (Sir 6:27; 14:23; 51:13ff; Wisdom 6:14; 7:10; 8:2; Song 2:9; 3:4).
Compare Prov 3:13; 8:17,35 with Prov 18:22; 31:10.
Wisdom and wife are named “favour from the Lord” (Prov 8:35; 18:22).
The Son of Songs
The sage is advises the youth to “get Wisdom”, to love and embrace her (Prov 4:6–8).
The youth is to say, “Wisdom, you are my sister” (Prov 7:4), just as the beloved in the Song of Songs is called “sister” (Song 4:9–5:1).
Wisdom is compared to a young bride who will nourish the youth with her food (Sir 15:2–3; Prov 9:5) just as the woman in Song 7:14–8:2 offers food to her lover.
The Son of Songs
Song 8:6 reads like a didactic statement about human love.
From the moment we are born, Death and Sheol pursue every human being.
Biblical person saw themselves often in the grip of Sheol (Pss 30:4; 49:16; 89:49).
In Song 8:6 Love is compared to these two powerful forces.
Moreover the verse ends with a statement: “the very flame of the LORD”.
The Son of Songs
The power of (human) love has some mysterious relationship to the Lord.
On spiritual level, the Song of Songs is interpreted as describing love between God and his people.
Conclusion
- The wisdom tradition is found in many places in the Bible.
- “Wisdom” is the term used to describe the intellectual and educational tradition of the ancient Near East.
- It was a domain of teachers, elders, wise fathers and mothers.
Conclusion
It is international and humanistic phenomenon.
The wise of all nations communicated with each other.
For example, scholars point to the fact that parts of the Book of Proverb are basically a translation of an Egyptian work of wisdom - probably dating from the 13th or 12th century (Prov 22:17–23:11).
Conclusion
The themes of traditional wisdom were the training of the young, expressed in maxims for correct living that would produce prosperity, and esteem - so called “practical wisdom”.
But there was also “speculative wisdom” which dealt with philosophical and religious issues, above all the problem of suffering and theodicy, the justifying of the ways of God.
There were and are many Jobs in the world - not just the biblical one.
Wisdom was also a tradition interested in creation and working of nature (1 Kings 5:13).
Conclusion
It is said that many ancient cultures believed that the world was created by wisdom, and reflects an underlying unity of natural and moral orders.
Egyptians called it “truth”;
In Mesopotamia, it was called “right”;
In Israel it was called “stability, truth”, and also “righteousness, order”.
But in Israel, the world was created by God with the help of wisdom or through wisdom (Job 28; Prov 8).
Therefore His plan is manifested in the order of the cosmos.
Conclusion
When “international wisdom” encountered “Israel faith”, it had impact on the thinking of the sages.
Deterministic theology of retribution was developed.
The righteous are always rewarded, the wicked always punished.
A doctrine of cause and effect seen in physical world was transferred to moral level.
Since only the wicked suffer - so Job must have committed some crime because he is suffering.
The book of Job and Ecclesiastes challenge these ideas.
Conclusion
Interestingly, in his answer, God does not explain why He is making Job suffer.
We will have to wait till the Gospels to find the answer (see John 9:1–3.
But, the book challenges the doctrine of cause and effect.
As if the author wants to tell that physical and moral realm are different.
The law of the cause and effect in physics may not necessary work in morality.
Conclusion
The theme of wisdom was taken over to the New Testament.
But, now wisdom is clearly personified (Col 2:3).
Jesus is the wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:24, 30).
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