The purpose of the biblical wisdom literature is to instruct the audience on how to become wiser. Being written by different authors, from different contexts and, for various audiences, wisdom literature presents different facets of wisdom. Additional factors of painting wisdom in different perspectives must have been the authors’ human experiences, their personal image of God and some occurring events of in the society where they lived. Naturally, human experience is the most influential because it can change one’s view of life, society and God. The experience of suffering, for example, changed Job’s view of God’s justice; Qoheleth’s personal experience pushed him to see vanity in everything and Sirach to speak of women quite negatively. Since the sacred authors wrote extensively, we will use only some key elements from their writings in order to present a glimpse of how wisdom is portrayed in each of the wisdom books.
1. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10)
How does the book of Proverbs depict wisdom? First of all, we have to say that this book is filled with statements, instructions, proverbs in various literary forms meant to teach or guide people towards wisdom. In general, wisdom is understood as the capacity to acquire experience, knowledge which can be observed through some virtues and attitudes like: prudence, justice, mercy... and ultimately fear of the Lord. Among the many sayings and proverbs, one seems to lead the rest: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). The frequent reference to the fear of the Lord in the entire book[1] makes us consider this principle as the basis for wisdom for the book of Proverbs. In fact, the fear of the Lord is very important in the pursuit of wisdom because every knowledge, understanding or wisdom without God can really be foolishness. It is also important to note this warning connected to the fear of God “Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil” (Prov. 3:7). The fear of the Lord is the foundation which can help us live wisely in the world not only in matter of religion but also in matters which are purely secular.
2. May the name of the Lord be praised (Job 1:21)
The book of Job can be a tool to seek wisdom even in times of trials. Job lived in an environment where retribution theology was in vogue that is why everybody searched for the reasons for his suffering. In the face of Job’s innocent suffering, wisdom seems to be painted with a new facet or rather a lesson of learning to be patient and to wait for the time of the Lord. Despite the length of the book, the reasons for Job’s suffering are not elucidated but instead, the book displays the ignorance of Job and his companions regarding God’s justice and mode of action. All the conversations about Job’s suffering and God’s answers show clearly that, despite being considered as wise, these people have a limited understanding of the Universe to be able to describe how God would do justice or act on the World. Wisdom now is not anymore limited to fearing God like in Proverbs, but also to let him be God i.e., to be able to say “May the name of the Lord be praised” (1:21) even amid trials, chaos and misfortunes.
3. Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity (Ecclesiastes 1:2b)
From his view of life, Qoheleth’s experience seems to be laminated with challenges of nihilism, lack of meaning in life accompanied with a taint of epicureanism. Some people see striking the contract between “…vanity of vanities! All things are vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2) and “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good” (2:24). Even though everything is vanity in the eyes of Qoheleth, wisdom still excels folly (1:12-17). The only deplorable thing is to seek extreme wisdom which is also passing and ephemeral. Part of being wise in the chaotic and ephemeral world of Ecclesiastes is to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor but also to recognize that earthly goods are a gift from God. Everything is vanity but also, everything comes from God, including life (3:13), and knowing that can possibly give meaning to life. When one gives due thanks to the Creator of the Universe, his “earthly wisdom will rise to the higher level of true spiritual wisdom”[2]
4. The Wisdom of Solomon
The fact that this book gives words to the wisest man of Israel (King Solomon) [3] will be very important in portraying what is wisdom. In depicting wisdom, this book delves deeply into ethical matters distinguishing what is good from what is evil and the consequences for those who choose either of the two. The first and most appearing attribute of wisdom in this book is Justice. Justice is the key to life (1:1-15); it precedes all other virtues and has its reward. Justice, together with all other virtues, are to be sought by all and, in a special way, by the ruler who is to practice equity, be humble, prudent, moderate and ultimately wise. Wisdom is not extensively praised in any other book than in this book (7: 22-30), where Solomon prays first before he could even speak about it (7: 30). The main reason for Solomon to love and seek wisdom is because she is the source of blessings and every good thing that man can desire (8:2-16). However, seeking and desiring wisdom must be guided by the knowledge that it is a gift from God for no one can “possess her except God gave it” (8:17-21).
5. The Relational wisdom in the Book of Sirach
Using numerous maxims, the book of Sirach treats variety of subjects related to the individual, the family, and the community in their relations with one another and with God[4]. This “relational wisdom” transpires in this book of Sirach when dealing with specific topics like “friendship, education, poverty and wealth, the law, religious worship and many other matters which reflect the religious and social customs of the time”[5]. Just to mention some of the relationships here we see, for example, that in the conduct of social relations wisdom is to know how to choose a friend, how to use wealth, how to use the tongue. Moreover, wisdom forbids evil and injustice (7:1ff), pride, public disorder, presumption, ridicule and deceit towards one’s neighbor. For a man, wisdom is also to avoid adulterous or evil women (chapters 9, 25, 36, 42). In relation with God, wisdom forbids impatience with the Lord or neglect of giving alms (7:10), long and wordy prayers; but reverence is to be observed towards God. Finally, kindness towards the poor, the afflicted, the living and the dead (32-36) are part man’s fear of God i.e., wisdom.
Conclusion
Aside from having in common, an extensive use of Hebrew poetry, these books, as we have seen, put a strong emphasis on understanding, seeking and cherishing wisdom over everything. From some selected passages we discover that being wise in general means to be able to adapt to the fast-changing reality of this world; and holding a unique point of view of the reality could be misleading and purely not wise. That is why wisdom has many facets in the Wisdom Books. No matter what facet takes wisdom, she is always portrayed against the background of the fear of the Lord as her beginning and her end. This is clearly put in Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” and in Sirach 19:20 “Fear the Lord and keep his Law; that is what Wisdom is all about”.
[1] According to a comment in the NAB, the teaching of the entire book of proverbs is placed on this firm religious principle which is “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” or wisdom. Holy Bible (PBS 2008) p.657. All the Biblical verses and references in this paper are taken from the NAB Version. Most of the content is part of my takeaways from the class materials of Wisdom Literature.
[2] Cf. Commentary in the in the New American Bible (PBS 2008) p.694.
[3] King Solomon is known all over Israel for his legendary wisdom. More details about King Solomon’s wisdom here: Israhttps://www.britannica.com/biography/Solomon/Legendary-wisdom (Dec. 27, 2020).
[4] Cf. Commentary in the in the New American Bible (PBS 2008) op. cit., p.727.
[5] Ibidem.
