Texts in Conversation
1 Kings describes Solomon as a wise man who studied plants and animals. The Wisdom of Solomon presents itself as a continuation of this tradition, describing similar claims of knowledge about plants and animals as if it were written by him.
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1 Kings 4:33
Hebrew Bible
31 He was wiser than any man, including Ethan the Ezrahite or Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. He was famous in all the neighboring nations. 32 He composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. 33 He produced manuals on botany, describing every kind of plant, from the cedars of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on walls. He also produced manuals on biology, describing animals, birds, insects, and fish. 34 People from all nations came to hear Solomon’s display of wisdom; they came from all the kings of the earth who heard about his wisdom.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Wisdom of Solomon 7:17
Deuterocanon
16 For both we and our words are in his hand, as are all understanding and skill in crafts. 17 For it is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements; 18 the beginning and end and middle of times, the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons, 19 the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars, 20 the natures of animals and the tempers of wild animals, the powers of spirits and the thoughts of human beings, the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots;
Date: 100-50 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... There is ample evidence that Solomon's ambition was to create an intellectual climate imitative of, and no doubt in touch with competitive with, the sapiential activity of other state regimes, especially Egypt. Thus it is not accidental that 1 Kings 4:30-41 mentions wisdom practices outside Israel ... Christa Bauer-Kayatz has argued Proverbs 1-9 is very early and is closely paralleled in style, substance, and assumption with Egyptian materials ... the notice of 1 Kings 4:33 is evidence of a kind of cataloguing activity about 'natural matters'. It is not at all necessary to suggest that such wisdom is secular (as opposed to sacral) in order to understand why the royal enterprise would want the cataloguing of data. It is now readily agreed that wisdom is 'creation theology', which means not only that it is a study of creation ('nature') but that wisdom in this context is a disciplined marveling at the order of the world by God ..."
Brueggemann, Walter A.
"The Social Significance of Solomon as a Patron of Wisdom" in Gammie, John G., and Leo G. Perdue (eds.) The Sage in Israel and the Ancient Near East
(pp. 117-132) Eisenbrauns, 1990
* 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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