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Wisdom of Solomon

About this book

The Suffering and Hope of the Righteous

Chapter 3

1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,⁠ and no torment will touch them.⁠ 2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died. Their departure was considered a disaster,⁠ 3 and their travel away from us ruin, but they are in peace.⁠ 4 For even if in the sight of men they are punished, their hope is full of immortality.⁠ 5 Having borne a little chastening, they will receive great good; because God tested them, and found them worthy of himself.⁠ 6 He tested them like gold in the furnace,⁠ and he accepted them as a whole burnt offering. 7 In the time of their visitation they will shine. They will run back and forth like sparks among stubble.⁠ 8 They will judge nations and have dominion over peoples. The Lord will reign over them forever.⁠ 9 Those who trust him will understand truth. The faithful will live with him in love, because grace and mercy are with his chosen ones. 10 But the ungodly will be punished even as their reasoning deserves, those who neglected righteousness and revolted from the Lord; 11 for he who despises wisdom and discipline is miserable.⁠ Their hope is void and their toils unprofitable. Their works are useless. 12 Their wives are foolish and their children are wicked.

Virtue, Childlessness, and Lasting Fruitfulness

13 Their descendants are cursed. For the barren woman who is undefiled is happy, she who has not conceived in transgression. She will have fruit when God examines souls.⁠ 14 So is the eunuch who has done no lawless deed with his hands, nor imagined wicked things against the Lord; for a precious gift will be given to him for his faithfulness, and a delightful inheritance in the Lord’s sanctuary. 15 For good labors have fruit of great renown. The root of understanding can’t fail. 16 But children of adulterers will not come to maturity. The seed of an unlawful union will vanish away. 17 For if they live long, they will not be esteemed, and in the end, their old age will be without honor. 18 If they die young, they will have no hope, nor consolation in the day of judgment. 19 For the end of an unrighteous generation is grievous.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 108:9 and Wisdom of Solomon 3:5

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Deuterocanon

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Summary

1 Enoch 108 and the Wisdom of Solomon describe a Jewish tradition where the righteous are tested directly by God as a form of discipline, and through their suffering remain faithful.

Passages

1 Enoch 108:9

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
8 They loved God and loved neither gold nor silver nor any of the good things in the world, but gave over their bodies to torture. 9 Since they came into being, they did not long after earthly food, but regarded everything as a passing breath, and lived accordingly, and the Lord tested them greatly, and their spirits were found pure, so that they should bless His name. 10 All the blessings destined for them I have recounted in the books. And He has assigned them their reward, because they were found to be such as loved heaven more than their life in the world, and though they were trampled underfoot by wicked men, and experienced abuse and reviling from them and were put to shame, yet they blessed Me.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Wisdom of Solomon 3:5

Deuterocanon
2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died. Their departure was considered a disaster, 3 and their travel away from us ruin, but they are in peace. 4 For even if in the sight of men they are punished, their hope is full of immortality. 5 Having borne a little chastening, they will receive great good; because God tested them, and found them worthy of himself. 6 He tested them like gold in the furnace, and he accepted them as a whole burnt offering.
50 BCE – 50 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Wisdom of Solomon

References

"... This final appendix to 1 Enoch is only extant in the Ethiopic tradition with no known attestation in Aramaic or Greek manuscripts. In addition, it is not found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. This document introduces new ideas into the Enochic tradition and most likely represents the ideas and concerns of a community that viewed itself as a later expression of the Enochic communities reflected in the earlier texts. The different concerns of this writer and community have been incorporated into the Enochic tradition probably due to its sustained discussion regarding the suffering of the righteous and issues concerning wealth and poverty. However, we will see in this tradition that suffering and a lifestyle of poverty are a decided position rather than the result of oppression. It is most likely among the latest additions to the Enochic tradition and has been dated sometime in the first century CE. In contrast to the prophetic tone of the Epistle, which addresses the rich sinners in the second person and focuses on their sinful activity, here the writer focuses more on the description of the faithful in relation to wealth. Not only this, but the crimes of the opponents do not overtly include economic references. They are categorized as ‘sinners’ and ‘those who do evil’, yet there is no mention of their economic power so frequently portrayed in the Epistle. Instead, they are guilty of wrongly interpreting the prophets. Although the earlier Enochic traditions take a prophetic stance, this document refers to the prophets in the biblical tradition as a distinct body of revelation. Moreover, the writer also emphasizes obedience to Torah as a distinguishing mark of the community (1 Enoch 108:1). These features indicate that the concerns being addressed here are quite distinct from the earlier communities ..."
Mark D. Mathews, Riches, Poverty, and the Faithful: Perspectives on Wealth in the Second Temple Period and the Apocalypse of John, SNTSMS 154 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 129–130.

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

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1 Enoch 108:9 and Wisdom of Solomon 3:5

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