Concept and Image of Divine Wisdom in the Old Testament (2)

By Alexey Knyazev

4

The next stage in the development of the doctrine of Wisdom is the book of Jesus son of Sirach. It was written around 180 BC.[29] Its Greek translation was carried out in the 38th year of the reign of King Euergetes – probably Ptolemy VII Euergetes (170-116 BC). This book, unlike Ecclesiastes, Job and even chapters 3-4 of the book of Baruch, does not pose any sharp questions. Its author – a Jerusalem bourgeois (according to the precise characterization given by the Benedictine Duesberg[30]) – set himself the goal of giving an account of the entire theological heritage of the hakamim that had accumulated before him. Since, however, the balance is also an inevitable interpretation, and since the son of Sirach not only studied the works of his predecessors, but was also a scribe in general and therefore knew the Holy Scriptures well, the book of Jesus the son of Sirach is in fact an elucidation of the experience of the hakamim in the light of the entire sacred heritage of Israel. This explains why this book occupies such an important place among the works of the Israeli hakamim.

The Son of Sirach pays attention to the classical theme of retribution. Like the book of Proverbs, it knows nothing about immortality. However, its author is well aware of those contradictions that Job and Ecclesiastes pondered. He believes that they partly find their explanation in the solidary nature of responsibility for sin (3:11; 41:8; 23:34-35). Furthermore, proceeding from his belief in God’s justice and in God’s mercy, the Son of Sirach claims that it is impossible to judge a person’s happiness before his death (11:26). And that is why one should not rush to express judgments about God’s works, because what at first glance seems to be the work of evil chance may subsequently turn out to be the work of good Providence. But even with these explanations, the son of Sirach admits that the secret remains a secret and – like Job – calls on the believing reader to humbly bow before it.

However, Sirach’s theological interest is not limited to the question of retribution. He also reflects on history in general. More than once he refers to facts from the past and even to contemporary events, and does so in order to understand certain laws of the divine government of both individual human individuals and entire nations.[31] In this way, he brings history even more decisively than his predecessors into the orbit of attention of the doctrine of Wisdom – in constructing his philosophy of life and the world, he proceeds directly from historical considerations. What is even more remarkable is that he is the first among the hakamim to raise the question of the metaphysical nature of evil. Here, starting from chapters 1-3 of the book Genesis, shows that evil is not from God, but that it appeared when man himself turned away from God, and therefore categorically connects the fact of the existence of death with sin (25:27; 40:8-10; 41:3-4, etc.).[32]

However, what do we find in our author regarding Wisdom itself? Like his predecessors, he insists on its inaccessibility and the impossibility of its being found by human means alone (Chapter 1). Here, however, he notes that God Himself has poured it out upon all His works and upon all flesh according to His gift, and has especially bestowed it upon those who love Him (1:9-10). Here, remaining in the line of the book of Proverbs, the author presents Wisdom as a charismatic gift, providentially communicated by God to men. Further, by identifying, together with Chapter 1 of the book Proverbs and Chapter 28 of the Book of Job, the religious-practical aspect of Wisdom with the fear of Yahweh, and together with chapters 3-4 of the book of Baruch – with the Torah, the son of Sirach affirms that it has found its concrete expression in the fulfillment of the traditional Mosaic commandments (24:25 ff.). He also follows Deut. 4:6-8, where Israel is promised a special glory before other nations because of its wisdom, conditioned by the fulfillment of the law. In this way, the entire ancient sacred heritage of Israel openly enters into the son of Sirach – in his overview of the idea of ​​Wisdom. He speaks lovingly of the temple sacrifices (44:20; 38:11), of the temple taxes and the purifications (34:25), admires the temple worship (50:5-22), and is inspired by the decrees of the law in his advice on social relationships. With all this, Sirach, even more than chapters 3-4 of the book of Baruch, testifies that Wisdom is a special privilege of Israel as a chosen people.

Sirach also speaks a lot about the fruits that Wisdom gives to those who walk in her ways. She gives happiness (1:11), health (1:18), long life (1:12, 20), peaceful death (1:13), strength (4:12), God’s blessing (4:14), etc. It is especially interesting to note that among the fruits of Wisdom, the son of Sirach names knowledge. Thus, referring in 17:9-11 to Deut. 5:22 and glorifying the gift of Wisdom with the gift of the Sinaitic legislation, he constantly uses the word knowledge instead of the word wisdom. Of course, in biblical writing this word has a predominantly religious connotation, but the latter, especially in the later era, does not exclude other connotations. Therefore, the fact that among the fruits of Wisdom, the son of Sirach mentions knowledge can also be seen as an important step forward, made through the teaching of Wisdom. It may indicate that the task of “ecclesiasticizing” this purely secular culture, the bearer of which in Israel, as well as in other peoples of the East, were the first sages, was set before the hakamim.

However, what is the image of the Divine Wisdom itself, which is contained in the book of Jesus son of Sirach? Chapters 1 and especially 24, containing the so-called “Praise of Wisdom”, Αἴνεσις Σογιας, are dedicated to it. Sirach – more specifically than the book of Proverbs – presents Wisdom as a creation of God. It did indeed come out of the mouth of God (24:3), but it was created before any thing (1:4), and this very verb, denoting precisely creation, is repeated in 1:9, in 24:8, in 24:10, etc. At the same time, however, Wisdom abides in Yahweh and with Him forever. However, as was noted in connection with Chapter 8 of the book of Proverbs, the language of the son of Sirach regarding the origin of Wisdom and its relation to God hardly has in mind a pure ontology. Taking into account especially the poetic character of the entire Chapter 24, we can assume that everything said there about the origin of Wisdom is largely figurative, poetic speech, intended to give even greater liveliness to the already traditional image of Divine Wisdom. What is more interesting is that Sirach speaks of her properties and her discovery in the world. He notes her incommensurability with all created things (1:2-3), her unknowability (1:7). Regarding her purpose and her actions in the world, Sirach says that Wisdom, created before all creatures, contemplated all the wonders of the universe. Perhaps he also has in mind some participation of Wisdom in the creation of the world, but this is difficult to assert due to the lack of direct indications. Being higher than the world, she surrounded all nations in a pillar of cloud (24:4-6). She had dominion everywhere, but nowhere did she find a place of repose for herself. Being poured out upon all the work of God and upon all flesh (1:9-10), but especially upon the humble (3:19) and upon those who love God from the womb (1:10, 14), she receives Israel as her special dwelling place. God Himself chose her abode and commanded her to dwell in Israel and, as it were, to set up her tabernacle there (24:6-9).[33] And Wisdom found for herself a place of rest in Jerusalem, on the hill of Zion (vv. 11-13). There she blossomed, like a plant planted in favorable conditions, where, describing in her speech her flowering, Wisdom constantly likens herself to all sorts of incenses used in the temple service (vv. 14-20). Thus, in the son of Sirach, Divine Wisdom not only bestows her various gifts primarily on the elect of God, on Israel possessing the Sinaitic law, but, by God’s command, she also connects her very existence with it, settling in it personally. Of course, in all this we are dealing with poetic speech and poetic images. But what is this reality that is implied behind them?

Like Proverbs, Sirach hypostasizes Wisdom. It has already been noted that in comparison with Proverbs, in Sirach Wisdom assumes even more definite hypostatic features – sometimes it seems as if some very specific person is spoken of directly (14:20-15:10; 24:1-37). And this circumstance, however, still does not allow us to perceive in this image any divine person different from Yahweh. As with Proverbs, this image finds its natural explanation in the traditional custom of personifying theophanies, which was even more widespread in the late post-exilic period, so that it provided a convenient way to allegorically depict one or another aspect of the actions in the world of the transcendent God. The divine Wisdom of Proverbs The Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach, however, is no longer the only providential action of God that makes man wise from above and instructs him – it is a personification of the entire action of God in history – mainly in relation to God’s chosen Israel.

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The teaching of Wisdom found its final expression in the Old Testament Bible in the book of Wisdom of Solomon. The majority of modern interpreters date the composition of this book to the 1st century BC.[34] Although non-canonical, this book is an object of special love among Christians, as evidenced by its frequent use in divine service. It already contains a direct teaching on immortality. True, it still tells us nothing about the resurrection in the body, and the immortality it promises is only a conditional immortality, representing the property of only the righteous who have died – it will be a reward for their righteousness (4:2; 3:8; 5:16; 4:10-17, etc.). Still, this is a huge step forward. The premature death of the righteous is no longer the inexplicable misfortune that it represented until then, but a way to which Divine Providence resorts to deliver the righteous from the temptations of evil (3:2; 4:7-17; 5:4). And the righteous who has died will live with God (6:19), in His love, without leaving His temple (3:4, 9). Although here we are still far from the New Testament teaching of the universal resurrection in the flesh, the limited immortality allowed by the book of The Wisdom of Solomon, however, allows us to find a solution to the problem of retribution, over which the consciousness of the hakamim has suffered for so long. All the difficulties that experience constantly points out to us are instantly resolved thanks to the testimony that our earthly life is only a preliminary test and that only the future life will see the revelation of the fullness of divine justice and divine mercy.

Also, the book of Wisdom deepens the approach to the theme of Providence and God’s actions in history. Like the son of Sirach (Chapter 44 ff.), it paints us a grandiose picture of what was accomplished by Wisdom in the history of Israel, and although it does not encompass its entire history in its entirety, but is limited to the patriarchal period and the era of the Exodus (chapters 10-12), it is not satisfied, like the book of Sirach, with expressing its amazement and admiration for the virtues and other qualities of the Israelite heroes, but tries to achieve through the events considered the ways of Divine Providence and thereby to show before the eyes of the reader all divine justice, mercy and wisdom. Along with the glorification of Israel’s sacred past, however, this book is also inherent in an amazing universalism for us. It is manifested, first of all, in the benevolent attitude towards the pagans, who are also not deprived of the gifts of Wisdom (6:1-21). Secondly, this universalism finds expression in the encyclopedic character that Wisdom in its practical aspect receives in the book of Wisdom under the influence of Hellenism. Like the other hakamim, the author of the book of Wisdom is convinced that Wisdom should shed all the necessary light on those paths by which man can please God. He does not neglect the traditional sources and, first of all, Holy Scripture, to which his predecessors resorted. In this respect, he remains faithful to Wis. Sir. 39:1-3. However, along with this, a universal curiosity is also inherent in him. Job experienced a sacred awe before the mystery of the universe. The son of Sirach, speaking of knowledge, nevertheless considered it daring to acquire extensive knowledge (3:20-24). And the author of the book Wisdom embraces all the scientific disciplines of the Greeks: cosmology, physics, astronomy, zoology, botany, and medicine, etc. All of this appears to him as fruits of Wisdom (7:17-21). At the same time, he is able to distinguish Revelation from what is known by purely human means (9:16-17). And he shows that science could completely be available to people who do not know the true God (13:9), drawing the conclusion: if science is a fruit of Wisdom, it is not the result of communicating to the human mind already prepared knowledge – something like dictation. Wisdom only encourages the activity of the mind, guides the cognitive process (9:17) and leads the mind to knowledge untainted by lies, allowing it not to identify the Creator with the creation and to prevent man from rebelling against God (13:1-9).

However, how does the book of Wisdom teach about Wisdom itself? First of all, it is the source of all good things, namely: knowledge (8:8), skills and success in all undertakings (8:5), various virtues (8:7), riches (7:11), good fame (8:10), etc. It also grants immortality to people (6:17-20), who have turned out to be mortal thanks to what in the language of Christian theology is called original sin (7:1; 9:14; 15:17). It is, then, also a gift given by God in response to prayer and which does not depend on the natural abilities of man (8:19-21). It finally finds its manifestation in all of God’s relations with the world. The Book of Wisdom of Solomon is the first of the books on Wisdom to definitely state that Wisdom took part in the work of the creation of the world (9:2). However, God not only created the world – He also constantly cares for His creation (17:2; cf. 6:7; 14:3). It is Wisdom that is the instrument of Divine Providence – she saves people (9:18), she guides the ancient patriarchs and Moses (10:1-21). By pouring herself into souls, she, as was the case with the prophets, makes them friends of God (7:14; 7:27).

Along with this teaching about the universal role of Wisdom, the book of Wisdom also contains a description of Wisdom. This is the famous passage 7:22 – 8:1. There Wisdom is defined as a spirit that is intelligent, holy, single-begotten, multi-part, subtle, easily movable, bright, pure, clear, harmless, marsh-loving, swift, irrepressible, beneficent, loving to mankind, firm, unwavering, calm, secure, all-seeing, and penetrating all intelligent, pure, most subtle spirits (7:22-23). ​​Thus, Wisdom is here even more clearly specified in its features and properties than in all the previous writings of the hakamim. Having listed its properties, before defining Wisdom as the artist of all things (8:6; cf. 7:21), the author proceeds to describe her relationship with God. She is a breath of God’s power and a pure outpouring of the glory of the Almighty, a reflection of the eternal light and a pure mirror of God’s actions and an image of His goodness (7:25-26). Moreover, she is a mystery of God’s mind and a chooser of His works (8:4). She shares God’s throne (9:4), has communion with God (8:3), she was inherent in Him when He created the world (9:9). In all this we encounter the features that have already been noted in Proverbs 8:22-31 and in Ecclesiastes 24:2-6, although the image of Wisdom has acquired even more distinctness than in the son of Sirach – her dignity is now directly presented as almost co-divine, while her role assumes a decidedly all-encompassing character. Does all this, however, give us the right to assert that the author of the book Does Wisdom teach about Wisdom, if not as a Person – co-deity with Yahweh – then at least as a being or an intelligent essence, infinitely elevated above creation?

We must answer this question in the negative – even with regard to such an almost New Testament book in spirit as Wisdom of Solomon. Regardless of the fact that it is close to the New Testament and at the time of its writing, it is still a product of that Jewish environment which, under the pretext of strict monotheism, refused to accept the truth about the conciliar principle in God, when thanks to the coming into the world of the Son of God this truth became obvious. In order to be able to claim that the Old Testament author knew this secret, we must have direct indications of this in this book. However, we do not have such indications. Therefore, here Wisdom continues to be the same personification of Revelation. That this is precisely so is evident from the fact that book. The Wisdom of Solomon constantly uses as synonyms for Wisdom those images with which the Old Testament traditionally personified the various manifestations of divine action in the world – thus, it identifies Wisdom and the Spirit (1:5-7; 5:23; 7:7; 9:17; 11:21; 12:1, etc.), Wisdom and the Word (9:1; 16:2; 18:15),[35] Wisdom and Providence (14:3; 17:2), etc. All these identifications complicate the image of Divine Wisdom, but at the same time they show that, as in the book of Proverbs and the book of Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach, we still reside in the area of ​​all these traditional personifications of the various manifestations of divine attributes in the world. It should only be added that in the book of the Wisdom of Solomon, the image of the Wisdom of God refers not only to the communication from above of the gift of religious-practical wisdom, and not so much to the entire divine ascension in the sacred history of God’s chosen Israel, but also to the entire divine plan for the world and to the divine action that implements this plan in the course of all history.

Now it remains to show how and why it was precisely the image of Wisdom that received such an exceptional fate in the Old Testament. Why, of all the Old Testament prosopopoeia[36], was it precisely Wisdom that was so consistently brought to completion and began to denote the entire Divine Revelation in the world? As our study of the doctrine of Divine Wisdom in the biblical books has shown, this doctrine, as well as the image of Wisdom itself, are closely connected with the theme of God’s Providence. This connection is rooted in those circumstances in which the idea of ​​Wisdom finally lost its former, purely secular character and became an exclusively theological speculation. We have already noted that after the defeat of the southern kingdom in 586 and after the collapse of the entire Israelite statehood, the sages, who had previously pondered the laws of state government, began to ponder the mysterious laws of the divine government of the world. Undoubtedly, this also led to the emergence of the very theme of Divine Wisdom and its hypostatic image. Further on, we will see that in accordance with the expansion of the angle from which the theme of Providence is considered, the very content of the concept of and the image of Divine Wisdom also expands. The author of the book of Proverbs, who is interested in the theme of Providence only in connection with the question of retribution and expects a reward for the righteous in this, earthly life, understood Wisdom as that action of God that enlightens and makes man wise, so as to lead him to the path leading to earthly well-being and longevity. The author of the Book of Job rebels against the classical, too simplified understanding of retribution and reveals the entire mystery of human destinies on earth – that is why he separates Wisdom into the transcendent, and for him it becomes an unfathomable, but good divine plan of God for the creation of the world and an equally unfathomable and at the same time good law to which God was pleased to subject human destinies. Pseudo-Baruch and the son of Sirach, combining Wisdom with the prophetic urge to achieve God’s Revelation, given through the events of history, preserves for Wisdom all its transcendence and at the same time immanentizes it, identifying it with God’s action in history. We see the same in the book. Wisdom of Solomon, but its author is not satisfied with the theme of Providence alone, but also definitely touches on the theme of creation and, moreover, is the first to begin to teach about retribution in the afterlife; therefore, Wisdom becomes for him the entire divine plan for the world, and also a divine action in history and even beyond its limits, which leads to the realization of this plan.

At the same time, however, according to the measure of how Wisdom becomes the personification of the entire action of the transcendent God in history, the author of the book Wisdom more and more dwells on those privileges that were revealed by God to Israel as a chosen people, throughout its entire sacred history. After Job identified Wisdom in its religious-practical aspect with the fear of God and with the reverence for the divine secret of the destinies of creation, Pseudo-Baruch and the son of Sirach connect it with the observance of the law of Israel. Moreover, the son of Sirach testifies that Divine Wisdom herself, by a direct command of God, chose for herself a dwelling in Israel, in Jerusalem (Wis. Sirach 24:12-16). This testimony of Sirach is, in our opinion, the main key to understanding the entire Old Testament teaching on the hypostatic Wisdom. If Wisdom is an action of God in history, if she has her dwelling preferentially among Israel, in Zion, then she can be identified with what is the main expression of the Israelite theocracy – with the direct guidance of God, manifested to Israel in the course of its history, and with the related indwelling of God in the tabernacle or temple – among His people.[37] That the son of Sirach made this approximation is evident from his entire use of language regarding Wisdom in Chapter 24. Thus, Wisdom had a throne in a pillar of cloud (v. 4), served before God in the holy tabernacle (v. 11), and in the tabernacle she was like the fragrance of incense (v. 18).[38] Which also makes it perfectly understandable why, of all the Old Testament personifications of Revelation, the image of Wisdom received the most definite hypostatic features – the doctrine of Divine Wisdom came close to and became identified with what later, among the rabbis, was molded into the doctrine of the Shechinah,[39] i.e., of the transcendent personal God who descended in a pillar of cloud to dwell among Israel. The teaching and image of Wisdom thus appear, in essence, as a testimony to the personal character of the Revelation of God, taught through the Old Testament institutions and events, and in general through all of history.

This allows us to return to modern statements about Divine Wisdom and to check how far they correspond to the authentic teaching about it of those Old Testament texts in which they want to find their justification. Can it be believed that in Wisdom the Old Testament authors implied some ontological principle in God? The entire analysis of the texts and the fact of the convergence of the teaching about Wisdom with that about the Shekhinah shows us that the entire emphasis in the former lies generally in the personal character of the revelation and the dwelling of God among the chosen people. Moreover, the theme of Wisdom only in the book of Wisdom receives a certain connection with that of the creation of the world, but even in this book Wisdom refers primarily to God’s action in the already created world, and the entire teaching about Wisdom as a whole is adorned far from with cosmological, but with soteriological tones. Therefore, according to the New Testament writers, all this reality, which was implied by the image of Wisdom in the Old Testament, received the fullness of its revelation in the Person and in the work of the incarnate Son of God, who came into the world for our salvation (1 Cor. 1:18-25). Therefore, also, speaking of the incarnation of the Word, the Evangelist John the Theologian uses the same words that the son of Sirach once used in relation to Wisdom revealed in the history of Israel: The Word became flesh and pitched His tabernacle or tent among us (John 1:14; cf. Eccl. Sir. 24:9).

However, if Wisdom is not an ontological principle in God, can the teaching about it be correlated, even if retrospectively, by the New Testament, with the mystery of the trinity of the divine Persons? Is the Old Testament Wisdom not one of the Old Testament premonitions of the dogma of the Most Holy Trinity? Based on all of the above, we will note that the Old Testament Divine Wisdom in no way lends itself to complete identification with any of the specific Divine Hypostases. For the Fathers of the Church, Wisdom is the Logos, because in Him the entire economy (household) of our salvation was realized. However, the Old Testament teaching about Wisdom is much broader and more vague than the New Testament revelation about the Most Holy Trinity. Therefore, there can be no sign of complete equality between the Divine Logos and the Divine Wisdom. This teaching intersects with the other about the providential and even creative activity of both the Third and the First Hypostases. Thus, if the Fathers, following Chapter 1 of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, identify Wisdom primarily with the Hypostasis of the Son, because the revelation implied by this image is a type in the first place of the “dwelling” among us of the incarnate Word, we are nevertheless obliged to come to the conclusion that the doctrine of Wisdom is a type not only of the one Second Hypostasis, but also of something very different.

The Old Testament is strictly monotheistic. Moreover, in all its insights it continues to reside only in shadow and in divination, and never becomes the very image of things. Despite all its pre-educative significance, the Old Testament doctrine of Wisdom contains no hint of a catholic principle in God. And yet, it continues to be a preparation for the reception of the New Testament revelation of the Most Holy Trinity. It represents an insight into the mystery of God’s love for His creation. It testifies to the infinitely transcendent God and at the same time to the infinitely closeness of man and the world created by Him.

The Son of Sirach has shown us Wisdom dwelling in the tabernacle in the midst of God’s chosen Israel – the book of Wisdom of Solomon depicts her pouring out into holy souls, making them God’s friends and prophets (7:27), and also permeating everything, thanks to her ethereal nature, for the Creator does not consider any of His creations to be unclean (11:25). All this speaks of God’s desire to give Himself to His creation in order to reveal His righteousness in it and to graciously incorporate it into His divine life. The world understood that God is triune in Persons when it saw itself eternally united with Him through the incarnation and the feat of the Son and through the descent of the Holy Spirit – for God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son… (John 3:16). The revelation of the Most Holy Trinity was the ultimate expression of this divine love for creation, which the divinely inspired sages of Israel also tried to theologize in the images of Wisdom – Hochma – Sophia.

Ermont (S. O.) France, October-November 1953

Notes:

[29] See: Dubarle, A. M. Op. cit., p. 147.

[30] Dom Hilaire Duesberg Les Scribes inspires, Vol. 2, Paris 1939.

[31] See: Dubarle, A. M. Op. cit., p. 177-183.

[32] Ibid., p. 173-176.

[33] In the Greek text this passage is presented as follows: “The Creator has set up my tabernacle (tent) for me and said to me: Set your tent in Jacob and receive the inheritance of Israel”.

[34] See: Dubarle, A. M. Op. cit., p. 187-190. However, opinions have also been expressed that this book was written in the New Testament era. Such is the opinion of Anton V. Kartashov in his lecture course on the teacher’s books, read at the Theological Institute in Paris in 1942-1943.

[35] The Book of Wisdom of Solomon identifies Wisdom with the Logos. Modern researchers insist that it has nothing to do with the Hellenic Logos and that it should be related to the biblical dabar, i.e., to the living and active word of God’s revelation. The St. John’s Logos should also be related to it (see: Bouyer, L. Op. cit., p. 194, and also the article on the Logos by Kittel in the Theologisches Worterbuch).

[36] In biblical studies, the term prosopopoeia is a general name for the hypostatic Revelation (note: Russian ed.).

[37] For the liberation and the presence of God in the Old Testament, see: Bouyer, L. Op. cit., p. 134-135.

[38] The word shekhina comes from the root “shakan” – “to dwell in a tabernacle”.

[39] This is also one of the serious reasons that do not allow for the identification or at least comparison of the Old Testament Hochma-Sophia with the Philoean Logos. For Philo, the role of the Logos is that of a mediator between God and the world due to the impossibility of the transcendent God having any contact with cosmic being. The Biblical Wisdom, on the contrary, is an expression of the truth about the personal indwelling of God – regardless of His transcendence – among His creation, which has received its ultimate expression in the mystery of the perception of God by creation in the person of the God-man.

Source in Russian: Knyazev, A. “The Concept and Image of Divine Wisdom in the Old Testament” – In: Orthodox Thought, 10, Paris, 1955, pp. 92-112.