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About this book

Wisdom of Solomon

About this book

Prayer for Wisdom in Human Life

Chapter 9

1 “O God of my ancestors and Lord of mercy, who made all things by your word;⁠ 2 and by your wisdom you formed man, that he should have dominion over the creatures that were made by you, 3 and rule the world in holiness and righteousness, and execute judgment in uprightness of soul, 4 give me wisdom, her who sits by you on your thrones.⁠ Don’t reject me from among your servants,⁠ 5 because I am your servant and the son of your handmaid, a weak and short-lived man, with little power to understand judgment and laws. 6 For even if a man is perfect among the sons of men, if the wisdom that comes from you is not with him, he will count for nothing.⁠

A King’s Prayer for Wisdom

7 You chose me to be king of your people, and a judge for your sons and daughters. 8 You gave a command to build a sanctuary on your holy mountain, and an altar in the city where you live, a copy of the holy tent which you prepared from the beginning.⁠ 9 Wisdom is with you and knows your works, and was present when you were making the world,⁠ and understands what is pleasing in your eyes, and what is right according to your commandments.⁠ 10 Send her from the holy heavens, and ask her to come from the throne of your glory, that being present with me she may work, and I may learn what pleases you well. 11 For she knows all things and understands, and she will guide me prudently in my actions. She will guard me in her glory. 12 So my works will be acceptable. I will judge your people righteously, and I will be worthy of my father’s throne.

Human Limits and the Gift of Wisdom

13 For what man will know the counsel of God? Or who will conceive what the Lord wills?⁠ 14 For the thoughts of mortals are unstable, and our plans are prone to fail.⁠ 15 For a corruptible body weighs down the soul.⁠ The earthy tent burdens a mind that is full of cares.⁠ 16 We can hardly guess the things that are on earth, and we find the things that are close at hand with labor; but who has traced out the things that are in the heavens?⁠ 17 Who gained knowledge of your counsel, unless you gave wisdom, and sent your holy spirit from on high? 18 It was thus that the ways of those who are on earth were corrected, and men were taught the things that are pleasing to you. They were saved through wisdom.”

Texts in conversation

Compare Proverbs 8:30 and Wisdom of Solomon 9:4

Hebrew Bible · Deuterocanon

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Summary

Proverbs 8 depicts Wisdom as a cosmic figure standing beside God in creation, described as a master craftsman. Wisdom of Solomon develops this, portraying wisdom as the source of knowledge and depicting it as uncreated, having always existed with God.

Passages

Proverbs 8:30

Hebrew Bible
28 when he established the clouds above, when he secured the fountains of the deep, 29 when he gave the sea his decree that the waters should not pass over his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was beside him as a master craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, rejoicing before him at all times, 31 rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, and delighting in its people. 32 “So now, children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Proverbs

Wisdom of Solomon 9:4

Deuterocanon
2 and by your wisdom you formed man, that he should have dominion over the creatures that were made by you, 3 and rule the world in holiness and righteousness, and execute judgment in uprightness of soul, 4 give me wisdom, her who sits by you on your thrones. Don’t reject me from among your servants, 5 because I am your servant and the son of your handmaid, a weak and short-lived man, with little power to understand judgment and laws. 6 For even if a man is perfect among the sons of men, if the wisdom that comes from you is not with him, he will count for nothing.
50 BCE – 50 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Wisdom of Solomon

References

"... Wisdom in the Wisdom of Solomon is a concept which includes under its umbrella all types of knowledge, not purely religious knowledge. In fact, our author makes no distinction between religious and other types of knowledge; they all seem to come by a process of revelation (verse 17). 7:7, 15–16 and the prayer in chapter 9 all suggest that Collins is wrong to deduce that in our text Solomon’s “knowledge follows from the use of his natural reasoning.” Rather, knowledge is a gift of God which comes only to those who possess the correct religious and ethical qualifications. In the Wisdom of Solomon we find the root idea upon which the Judeo-Christian culture of the West before the Enlightenment was based: religion, philosophy, and science are different routes to the same indivisible truth. Yet its synthesis is not entirely novel, for it is restating here in contemporary language the older Israelite view as seen, for example, in Proverbs 8:22–31, that Wisdom is not only a human quality but also has a very significant cosmic dimension. In fact, Wisdom of Solomon 7:22 probably alludes to the LXX reading of Proverbs 8:30, which sees Wisdom as the “master workman / craftsman” by whose agency God creates the world. Wisdom knows the secrets of creation because she helped to make it (Proverbs 3:19). Note that, unlike Proverbs 8:22–23 and Sirach 24:9, the Wisdom of Solomon does not say that God “created / acquired / begot” Wisdom. She seems to be primordial, as in Baruch 3:32-36 ..."
A. Peter Hayman, Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible: Wisdom of Solomon (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2019), 49.

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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Proverbs 8:30 and Wisdom of Solomon 9:4

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