Texts in Conversation
The Wisdom of Solomon 8:8 presents wisdom as the ability to interpret hidden meanings, symbols, and riddles. This echoes the language of Proverbs 1:6 which describes wisdom as the skill to understand proverbs, parables, and sayings of the wise.
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Proverbs 1:6
Hebrew Bible
4 To impart shrewdness to the morally naive, a discerning plan to the young person. 5 (Let the wise also hear and gain instruction, and let the discerning acquire guidance!) 6 To discern the meaning of a proverb and a parable, the sayings of the wise and their riddles. 7 Fearing the Lord is the beginning of discernment, but fools have despised wisdom and moral instruction. 8 Listen, my child, to the instruction from your father, and do not forsake the teaching from your mother.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Wisdom of Solomon 8:8
Deuterocanon
6 And if understanding is effective, who more than she is fashioner of what exists? 7 And if anyone loves righteousness, her labors are virtues; for she teaches self-control and prudence, justice and courage; nothing in life is more profitable for mortals than these. 8 And if anyone longs for wide experience, she knows the things of old, and infers the things to come; she understands turns of speech and the solutions of riddles; she has foreknowledge of signs and wonders and of the outcome of seasons and times. 9 Therefore I determined to take her to live with me, knowing that she would give me good counsel and encouragement in cares and grief. 10 Because of her I shall have glory among the multitudes and honor in the presence of the elders, though I am young.
Date: 100-50 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Given the ambiguity of parables, recent scholarship has stressed their mysterious and elusive qualities. We should note that Ezekiel 17:2 labels the short story in the following verses not only as a comparison (mashal) but also as a riddle (hidah). This is not a unique situation since the Hebrew Bible labels several other proverbs, prophecies, or songs both as comparisons (meshalim) and riddles (hidot [the plural form of hidah]) (e.g., Habakkuk 2:6; Psalm 49:5; 78:2; Proverbs 1:6; compare Wisdom of Solomon 8:8; Sirach 39:3; 47:17). As with meshalim, hidot come in a variety of forms. Although the words mashal and hidah have two distinct meanings that we should not confuse, they can both describe the multiple functions of a single proverb, song, or parable ..."
* 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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