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The Psalms of Solomon develops a theme from Job where he offers sacrifices on behalf of his children in case they have sinned. In the Psalms of Solomon, this becomes a practice of constant self-examination that tries to remove unintentional sin.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Job 1:5
Hebrew Bible
4 Now his sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one in turn, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. 5 When the days of their feasting were finished, Job would send for them and sanctify them; he would get up early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s customary practice. 6 Now the day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord—and Satan also arrived among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” And Satan answered the Lord, “From roving about on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it.”
Date: 500–401 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Psalms of Solomon 3:7
Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry
5 The righteous person stumbles and acknowledges that the Lord is righteous: He falls and watches for what God will do to him; He searches for where his rescue will come from. 6 The firm resolve of the righteous is from God their deliverer; Sin does not pile up in the righteous person’s house. 7 The righteous person continually searches his house, to remove completely (all) wrongdoing (done) by him unintentionally. 8 He makes atonement for (sins of) ignorance by fasting and humbling himself, and the Lord counts every faithful man and his household as free from guilt. 9 The sinner stumbles and curses his life, the day he was born, and his mother's labor pains.
Date: 65–30 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The idea of moral progress also starts to make more of an appearance in other works from the late Second Temple period, for example, in the Wisdom of Solomon ... There is sometimes also an emphasis on ascetic practices that will purify one's character. Thus in Psalms of Solomon 3 we read, 'The Righteous constantly searches his house to remove his unintentional sin' (a possible allusion to seeking out leaven before Passover). Compare Job 1:5 ..."
John Barton, Ethics in Ancient Israel (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), 163.
* 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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