Texts in Conversation
In the Wisdom of Solomon, wisdom is said to understand past and future events and interpret signs and seasons. Luke echoes this when Jesus urges people to recognize the meaning of their present time, following a practice of observing signs in the sky.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Wisdom of Solomon 8:8
Deuterocanon
5 But if riches are a desired possession in life, what is richer than wisdom, which makes all things? 6 And if understanding is effective, who more than wisdom is an architect of the things that exist? 7 If a man loves righteousness, the fruits of wisdom’s labor are virtues, for she teaches soberness, understanding, righteousness, and courage. There is nothing in life more profitable for people than these. 8 And if anyone longs for wide experience, she knows the things of old, and infers the things to come. She understands subtleties of speeches and interpretations of dark sayings. She foresees signs and wonders, and the issues of seasons and times.
Date: 50 BCE – 50 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Luke 12:56
New Testament
54 Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A rainstorm is coming,’ and it does. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and there is. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how to interpret the present time? 57 “And why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, so that he will not drag you before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the very last cent!”
Date: 75–85 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... in a way in which its appearance can be detected sensibly. The noun 'parateresis' occurs only here in the whole Greek Bible (save for Aquila's later rendering of Exodus 12:42). It is used by Hellenistic writers (such as Polybius, Hist. 16.22,8; Diodorus Siculus, Bibl. hist. 1.9, 6; 1.28, 1; 5.31, 3) either of the watching of stars or the detection of symptoms of disease. The related verb 'paraterein', 'watch, observe,' is found in the New Testament. See Luke 6:7; 14:1; 20:20; Acts 9:24. In Galatians 4:10 it denotes the 'observance' of Jewish feasts. In this Lucan context it refers neither to the (Pharisaic) 'observance' of the Law nor to observance of cultic rites; it is to be understood instead in the Hellenistic sense, of watching for premonitory signs (e.g. from heaven) or of an apocalyptic allusion to 'times and seasons' (e.g. Wisdom of Solomon 8:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:1; compare Mark 13:32; Matt 24:36), i.e. a sort of eschatological timetable. Recall that Luke depicts the risen Jesus rejecting concern for such in Acts 1:7 ..."
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke: Introduction, Translation, and Notes (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981), 1160.
* 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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