Texts in Conversation
The Wisdom of Solomon and Romans explore the same ideas about God’s justice, and who has the right to question him. In Wisdom, this supports God’s authority to judge the nations, in Romans it shows his power to guide history and subvert expectations.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Wisdom of Solomon 12:12
Deuterocanon
10 but judging them little by little you gave them a chance to repent, not being ignorant that their nature by birth was evil, their wickedness inborn, and that their manner of thought would never be changed. 11 For they were a cursed seed from the beginning. It wasn’t through fear of any that you left them unpunished for their sins. 12 For who will say, “What have you done?” Or “Who will withstand your judgment?” Who will accuse you for the perishing of nations which you made? Or who will come and stand before you as an avenger for unrighteous men? 13 For there isn’t any God beside you that cares for all, that you might show that you didn’t judge unrighteously. 14 No king or prince will be able to confront you about those whom you have punished.
Date: 50 BCE – 50 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Romans 9:19
New Testament
17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh: “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may demonstrate my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then, God has mercy on whom he chooses to have mercy, and he hardens whom he chooses to harden. 19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who has ever resisted his will?” 20 But who indeed are you—a mere human being—to talk back to God? Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use? 22 But what if God, willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience the objects of wrath prepared for destruction?
Date: 55–58 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... According to Grafe, the most conspicuous points of contact between Wisdom and Romans are the polemics against false worship in Wisdom 13:1–9 and Romans 1:18–32 and the pattern of predestination in Wisdom 12–15 and Romans 9:19–23. In his opinion, these parallels, together with several other notable correspondences, force the conclusion that it is ‘mindestens höchst wahrscheinlich’ that Paul knew and used Wisdom. a few years later, in acknowledged agreement with Grafe, Sanday and Headlam considered the ‘resemblances’ between Romans 1:18–32 and Wisdom 13, as well as the topical overlap and similar ‘drift of the argument’ in Romans 9–11 and Wisdom 10–19, and argued that ‘while there can be no question of direct quotation’, it appears that ‘St. Paul must have bestowed upon the Book of Wisdom a considerable amount of study’ and that between Romans and Wisdom there is ‘some definite literary obligation’ ..."
Jonathan A. Linebaugh, God, Grace, and Righteousness in Wisdom of Solomon and Paul’s Letter to the Romans: Texts in Conversation (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 13–18.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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