The Book of Wisdom

The Jewish Faith Is Confronted by Greek Culture

Toward the middle of the first century B.C., the great city of Alexandria in Egypt included an important Jewish community, faithful to the religious traditions of its ancestors. Throughout the land, Hellenism was flourishing in the form of a curious mixture of philosophical systems and arcane religions, in which the worship of the stars was united with that of animals. Remaining faithful in such a pagan environment was most difficult.

The Book of Wisdom sought to come to grips with this situation, but it also harbored the desire to avoid antagonizing the pagans who might be led to read it.

The author writes in Greek, which is unique in the case of the Old Testament. A Jew of Alexandria, he appears to have been formed in Greek culture and, at the same time, no less nourished on the Sacred Scriptures. He is a sage but prefers to let Solomon speak, because the tradition of Israel considered that king to be wise beyond compare.

The Book intends to teach true Wisdom, that which is necessary to lead an upright life. This does not mean the science that can be acquired by living and thinking but a Wisdom that comes from God. Indeed, this divine Wisdom has revealed that true happiness belongs to the friends of God. In other words, human beings cannot discover the meaning of life unless it is revealed to them by the Lord.

Among other things, the author of Wisdom provides the first clear and detailed affirmation of individual immortality. In doing so, he develops a theme found in Ps 73:23-28—union with the Lord continues on into the hereafter.

He also personifies Wisdom in the style of two previous Sapiential Books (Prov 8; Sir 24). The Prologue in John’s Gospel makes use of the description of Wisdom (ch. 7) in setting forth its teaching on the word of God.

The literary genre used by the author of Wisdom is usually described as exhortatory discourse, i.e., an exhortation to persuade people to follow some course of speech or action by showing that what one urges is just, lawful, fitting, honorable, gratifying, and practicable.

The Book of Wisdom may be divided as follows:

I: Invitation To Seek Wisdom (1:1-15)

II: Wisdom or the Meaning of Our Destiny as Human Beings (1:16—5:23)

III: At the Source of Wisdom (6:1—9:18)

IV: The Destiny of Israel or Wisdom at Work in History (10:1—19:22)