Because Wisdom will not enter into a soul that deviseth evil,Nor dwell in a body that is held in pledge by sin;For a holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit ...For Wisdom is a spirit that loveth man,And she will not hold a blasphemer guiltless for his lips ...Because the spirit of the Lord hath filled the world (i. 4-7).
Because Wisdom will not enter into a soul that deviseth evil,Nor dwell in a body that is held in pledge by sin;For a holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit ...For Wisdom is a spirit that loveth man,And she will not hold a blasphemer guiltless for his lips ...Because the spirit of the Lord hath filled the world (i. 4-7).
Because Wisdom will not enter into a soul that deviseth evil,
Nor dwell in a body that is held in pledge by sin;
For a holy spirit of discipline will flee deceit ...
For Wisdom is a spirit that loveth man,
And she will not hold a blasphemer guiltless for his lips ...
Because the spirit of the Lord hath filled the world (i. 4-7).
Still more pointed are the words in ix. 17:
And who ever gained knowledge of Thy counsel, except Thou gavest Wisdom,And sentest Thy Holy Spirit from on high?
And who ever gained knowledge of Thy counsel, except Thou gavest Wisdom,And sentest Thy Holy Spirit from on high?
And who ever gained knowledge of Thy counsel, except Thou gavest Wisdom,
And sentest Thy Holy Spirit from on high?
Further, Wisdom is identified with the Word of the Lord; the “Word” is, however, used in the Old Testament sense, not in that of the Philonian Logos. The Word, like Wisdom, takes part in the Creation:
O God of the fathers, and Lord Who keepest Thy mercy,Who madest all things by Thy Word;And by Thy Wisdom Thou formedst man.... (ix. 1, 2).
O God of the fathers, and Lord Who keepest Thy mercy,Who madest all things by Thy Word;And by Thy Wisdom Thou formedst man.... (ix. 1, 2).
O God of the fathers, and Lord Who keepest Thy mercy,
Who madest all things by Thy Word;
And by Thy Wisdom Thou formedst man.... (ix. 1, 2).
Just as Wisdom sits upon the throne of God:
Give me Wisdom, her that sitteth by Thee on Thy throne (ix. 4),
Give me Wisdom, her that sitteth by Thee on Thy throne (ix. 4),
Give me Wisdom, her that sitteth by Thee on Thy throne (ix. 4),
so, too, the same is said of the Word:
Thine all-powerful Word leaped from heaven out of the royal throne (xviii. 15).
Thine all-powerful Word leaped from heaven out of the royal throne (xviii. 15).
Thine all-powerful Word leaped from heaven out of the royal throne (xviii. 15).
The nature of Wisdom, as portrayed in this book, has been well summed up in the following words: “Wisdom is not an attribute, nor the sum of the attributes, of God: such an explanation would not take account of all the properties postulated of Wisdom, nor would it allow for the completeness of the Divine transcendence. Wisdom, again, is not God in manifestation; she is too distinct from Him to be merely a theoretical aspect of Himself. Lastly, she is not a Being, personal and distinct from God: she emanates from Him, but the emanation has not terminated. No birth-severance has taken place, giving her independent life.”[318]
Finally, it will not be amiss to take a glance, though it be but a very slight one, at the teaching concerning Wisdom which is given in some of the Apocalyptic books of which mention has been made in the preceding chapter. It is true, these books do not belong to the Wisdom Literature, nevertheless some of them contain teaching on the subject of Wisdom which may appropriately find a brief consideration here. We have already seen that in some of the earlier books of the Old Testament materials are to be discerned out of which the Wisdom Literature developed; as there were, therefore, these early seeds out of which the Wisdom Literature grew, so in some of the Apocalyptic books an after-growth may also be discerned. While the full fruit is to be seen in the books with which we have just been concerned, it is well to realize that some fruit is also to be gathered outside of these. It will be sufficient for our purpose if we illustrate what has to be said from three Apocalyptic books, viz. the Book of Enoch, the Similitudes of Enoch and the Secrets of Enoch.
In the oldest portions of the Book of Enoch there is no mention of Wisdom,[319]unless xci. 10 be included among these.[320]This passage runs:
And the righteous shall arise from their sleep,And Wisdom shall arise and be given unto them.
And the righteous shall arise from their sleep,And Wisdom shall arise and be given unto them.
And the righteous shall arise from their sleep,
And Wisdom shall arise and be given unto them.
In the next oldest part, the “Dream Visions,” the thought which has already come before us of Wisdom sitting on the throne of God, finds expression:
Wisdom departs not from the place of Thy throne,Nor turns away from Thy presence (lxxxiv. 3).
Wisdom departs not from the place of Thy throne,Nor turns away from Thy presence (lxxxiv. 3).
Wisdom departs not from the place of Thy throne,
Nor turns away from Thy presence (lxxxiv. 3).
But it is in the “Similitudes” that we find a number of passages dealing with the subject; in fact, all these “Similitudes,” or “Parables,” are declared to be the outcome of the Wisdom which the Lord of Spirits granted to Enoch (see xxxvii. 1-4, and cp. lxxxii. 2, 3). Differing from the teaching of earlier Wisdom books[321]it is here stated that Wisdom could nowhere find a dwelling-place among men, and had therefore to return to heaven (cp. the passage just quoted):
Wisdom found no place where she might dwell;Then a dwelling-place was assigned her in the heavens.Wisdom went forth to make her dwelling among the children of men,But found no dwelling-place;Wisdom returned to her place,And took her seat among the angels (xlii. 1, 2; cp. xciv. 5).
Wisdom found no place where she might dwell;Then a dwelling-place was assigned her in the heavens.Wisdom went forth to make her dwelling among the children of men,But found no dwelling-place;Wisdom returned to her place,And took her seat among the angels (xlii. 1, 2; cp. xciv. 5).
Wisdom found no place where she might dwell;
Then a dwelling-place was assigned her in the heavens.
Wisdom went forth to make her dwelling among the children of men,
But found no dwelling-place;
Wisdom returned to her place,
And took her seat among the angels (xlii. 1, 2; cp. xciv. 5).
It is the Elect One, sitting on the throne of God, Who possesses all the secrets of Wisdom:
And the Elect One shall in those days sit on my Throne,And his mouth shall pour forth all the secrets of wisdom and counsel:For the Lord of Spirits hath given them to him, and hath glorified him (li. 3; cp. xlix. 3).
And the Elect One shall in those days sit on my Throne,And his mouth shall pour forth all the secrets of wisdom and counsel:For the Lord of Spirits hath given them to him, and hath glorified him (li. 3; cp. xlix. 3).
And the Elect One shall in those days sit on my Throne,
And his mouth shall pour forth all the secrets of wisdom and counsel:
For the Lord of Spirits hath given them to him, and hath glorified him (li. 3; cp. xlix. 3).
The blessedness of those who accept Wisdom is described in xcix. 10.
In the Book of the Secrets of Enoch there is at least one passage in which Wisdom is personified; it is a very curious one repeating with strange details the thought that Wisdom,as taught in earlier books, took her part in the Creation; the words are put into the mouth of the Creator:
On the sixth day I ordered my Wisdom to make man of seven substances: his flesh from the earth; his blood from the dew; his eyes from the sun; his bones from the stones; his thoughts from the swiftness of the angels, and the clouds; his veins [or “nails”] and hair from the grass of the earth; his spirit from my spirit, and from the wind (xxx. 8).
On the sixth day I ordered my Wisdom to make man of seven substances: his flesh from the earth; his blood from the dew; his eyes from the sun; his bones from the stones; his thoughts from the swiftness of the angels, and the clouds; his veins [or “nails”] and hair from the grass of the earth; his spirit from my spirit, and from the wind (xxx. 8).
But in other passages, e.g. xxxiii. 3, xliii. 2, Wisdom is conceived of as purely abstract.
The Wisdom Literature is preserved in both canonical and uncanonical books; but the distinction is here unimportant, for those belonging to either category are clearly members of the same family; they all possess one characteristic distinguishing them from the rest of the Old Testament, viz. in them religion has become philosophy. Not philosophy in the Greek sense, nor yet in that of the moderns, but still religious philosophy of a distinct type. The fundamental Jewish monotheistic belief is taken for granted throughout. There are, however, other characteristics not altogether in accord with traditional Judaism. The writers of the Wisdom Literature are not always consistent with one another, or even with themselves, and their speculations are often only tentative. This is not surprising, for they were struggling with new ways of thinking and with new subjects of thought; and they were, moreover, coming into contact with new influences.
In the Wisdom Literature certain positions taken up show some variance with tradition; thus, the wise men present a very interesting combination of universalism and conservatism; little stress is laid on national institutions and laws such as the sacrificial system; in like manner the Messianic expectation receives very scant recognition. The attitude towards the Gentiles is generally friendly; theirhigher culture is recognized, and there is willingness to learn from them. Not infrequently the God of the Jews is declared to be the God of all men. Most striking is the conception, which is quite un-Jewish, of the divineSophiawhich is conceived of as a creative power existing before the Creation.
There is a great difference between the conceptions of Wisdom in pre-exilic writings, and those of the Wisdom Literature proper; but without doubt the former contain the seeds whose growth is seen in the latter. Yet while it is true that the religious-intellectual spirit to which the Wisdom Literature owed its existence was an indigenous plant, yet the elements which contributed to its development were not exclusively Jewish. Babylonian influence was at work before, as well as during, the Captivity, and Greek influence is to be discerned later.
It is not possible to say when ideas about Wisdom began to manifest themselves in Israel. The earliest form of Wisdom is presented by what the Hebrews called amāshāl, usually translated “proverb,” but having a wider signification, being used of a prophetic figurative discourse such as was uttered by Balaam, or a parable or allegory of the kind found in the Book of Ezekiel. In its earlier use, however,māshāldid mean a “proverb,” i.e. a sentence expressing some truth, not necessarily religious or ethical, which had been reached by experience or observation.
The Hebrew words for “Wisdom” (Chokmah) and for “wise men” (Chakāmîm) are found fairly frequently in the Pentateuch as well as in the prophetic and historical books; but the usual meaning in these differs from that found in the Wisdom Literature.
Of the several conceptions of Wisdom in the Wisdom Literature the most important is that expressed in the well-known words: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom”; this occurs again and again in varying form, its real meaning being that the fear of the Lord is theendof Wisdom, its highest and most perfect form. In this Literature there is always a religious content in Wisdom; it is never used of pure knowledge. In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes there is much about worldly wisdom, but the faculty of distinguishing between good and evil always comes from God.
The personification of Wisdom found in this Literature is of far-reaching importance. We must neither read into the passages which treat of this a meaning they were not intended to bear, nor must we explain away the meaning that was really intended. When among the Jewish sages of old Wisdom was personified, they thought of a personality existing alongside of God, an intermediate being between God and the world. This is more or less parallel to the personification or quasi-personification of attributes proper to God which is found in early post-Christian Jewish writings. The special importance of this conception of Wisdom lies not only in the fact that it forms the link between the Palestinian and Hellenic development of Judaism, but also that it represents the contribution made by the Wisdom Literature to the Christology of the New Testament, and has, moreover, greatly influenced Christian theology.
In the earlier portions of Proverbs, Wisdom is always presented as something abstract, except perhaps in xvii. 24. A real personification is found in the later parts. In Job it is the wisdom of experience that normally finds expression; but there is a definite personification in xxxviii. 12-28. In Ecclesiastes Wisdom is always something abstract, and, a unique element, the estimate of Wisdom is affected by the Preacher’s pessimism. In Ecclesiasticus all that is taught in the other books about Wisdom finds expression, with the exception of the pessimism of Ecclesiastes; the identification of the Law with Wisdom is a striking characteristic. The Jewish-Hellenistic writer of the Book of Wisdom identifies Wisdom with the holy spirit of the Lord, as wellas with the Word (in the Jewish sense), and teaches its divine origin and its existence before the creation of the world (this is common to the Wisdom Literature generally).
A brief glance at the teaching concerning Wisdom in the Apocalyptic Literature shows that there is very little in the earliest parts of the Book of Enoch, but there are a number of passages which touch the subject in the “Similitudes,” some of which have peculiar features. In the Secrets of Enoch Wisdom is represented as taking part in the Creation.