Texts in Conversation
Baruch describes the Torah as wisdom given as a divine gift that, after being given to Israel, appeared on earth and lived among humans. John echoes this tradition when describing Jesus as the Word becoming flesh and living with people.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Baruch 3:37
Deuterocanon
26 Giants were born that were famous of old, great of stature, and expert in war. 27 God didn’t choose these, nor did he give the way of knowledge to them, 28 so they perished, because they had no wisdom. They perished through their own foolishness. 29 Who has gone up into heaven, taken her, and brought her down from the clouds? 30 Who has gone over the sea, found her, and will bring her for choice gold? 31 There is no one who knows her way, nor any who comprehend her path. 32 But he that knows all things knows her, he found her out with his understanding. He who prepared the earth for all time has filled it with four-footed beasts. 33 It is he who sends forth the light, and it goes. He called it, and it obeyed him with fear. 34 The stars shone in their watches, and were glad. When he called them, they said, “Here we are.” They shone with gladness to him who made them. 35 This is our God. No other can be compared to him. 36 He has found out all the way of knowledge, and has given it to Jacob his servant and to Israel who is loved by him. 37 Afterward she appeared upon earth, and lived with men.
Date: 200–50 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
John 1:14
New Testament
12 But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children— 13 children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband’s decision, but by God. 14 Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory—the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father. 15 John testified about him and shouted out, “This one was the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am, because he existed before me.’” 16 For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another.
Date: 90–110 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... While there are numerous books outside the limits of the Old Testament which are related to the Wisdom tradition, the figure of Sophia herself only rarely makes an appearance comparable with that we have already noted in Proverbs. The major texts which concern us in this respect are found in the books of Sirach and Wisdom of Solomon, though there is also an important reference to her in relation to the Torah in the book of Baruch. If these same books are also important because of the influence they have been shown to have had on New Testament writers, so it is to them that we will turn in our search for a clearer definition of the relationship between Sophia and Yahweh ..."
James Martin Clark Scott, “Sophia and the Johannine Jesus” (PhD diss., University of Durham, 1990), 58.
* 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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