Texts in conversation

Compare Wisdom of Solomon 2:24 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 3:4

Deuterocanon · Early Christian

Summary

The early Christian text 1 Clement echoes the Wisdom of Solomon’s claim that death entered the world through the envy of the devil, but reinterprets this figure as a symbol of jealousy and violence, likely connected to Cain.

Passages

Wisdom of Solomon 2:24

Deuterocanon

21 Thus they reasoned, and they were led astray; for their wickedness blinded them, 22 and they didn’t know the mysteries of God, neither did they hope for wages of holiness, nor did they discern that there is a prize for blameless souls. 23 Because God created man for incorruption, and made him an image of his own everlastingness; 24 but death entered into the world by the envy of the devil, and those who belong to him experience it.

50 BCE – 50 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Wisdom of Solomon

Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 3:4

Early Christian · First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

1 All glory and abundance were given to you, and what was written was fulfilled: ‘My beloved ate and drank, grew strong, and became proud and rebellious.’ 2 From this came jealousy and envy, strife and rebellion, persecution and chaos, war and captivity. 3 So people were stirred up—the lowly against the honorable, the disrespected against the esteemed, the foolish against the wise, the young against the elder. 4 Because of this, righteousness and peace have withdrawn, while each person has forgotten the fear of the Lord and become blind in faith, no longer walking in the ordinances of His commandments or living in a way that honors Christ. Instead, each follows the desires of their corrupt heart, having embraced an unrighteous and ungodly jealousy—through which death entered the world.

90–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Clement of Rome, 1 Clement

References

“... Jason Zurawski makes a compelling case for rereading Wis 2:24. He argues that the author of Wisdom is not describing a superhuman evil nor “an original sin which fundamentally altered the structure of the cosmos and humanity's place in it.” Key to Zurawski’s argument is the semantic range of the term διαβόλος, which he suggests refers to a more general adversary, a meaning more consistent with the use of the term at the time Wisdom of Solomon was composed. Zurawski is not the first to suggest that the “devil” here is not a Satan figure. Not only is there no reference to “envy [φθόνος]” in Gen 3, but numerous scholars have suggested in light of Wis 10:1–4 that the adversary is a reference to Cain. The Cain-as-adversary reading fits Wis 10:1–4 and it appears that Wis 2:24 was read as a reference to Cain by the author of 1 Clement. Furthermore, Cain is a key figure in Philo’s view of the origin of evil. The two dominant views of the adversary in Wis 2:24 are either a Satan figure or Cain, but neither option is entirely satisfying. [...] 1 Clem 3:4–4:7. See Jan Dochhorn, “Mit Kain kam der Tod in die Welt: Zur Auslegung von SapSal 2,24 in 1 Clem 3,4; 4,1-7, mit einem Seitenblick auf Polykarp, Phil. 7,1 und Theophilus, Ad Autol. II, 29,3-4,” ZNW 98 (2007): 150–59. ...”

Tyler Allen Stewart, “‘The Present Evil Age’: The Origin and Persistence of Evil in Galatians” (diss., Marquette University, 2019), 103–104.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Jealousy Brings Rebellion to Corinth

1 Clement65 chapters

Compare Wisdom of Solomon 2:24 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 3:4

Summary

Passages

Wisdom of Solomon 2:24

Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 3:4

References

Your feedback

Leave a comment

Glossary

Search the Library