Reference: Wisdom
Hastings
The great literary landmarks of the 'wisdom' teaching are the Books of Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Sirach, and the Wisdom of Solomon. This literature, in its present form at least, belongs to the latter half of the Persian period and to the Greek period of Jewish history. But behind this latest and finest product of the Hebrew mind there lay a long process of germination. In the pre-exilic history there are traces of the presence of the 'wisdom' element from early times. This primitive 'wisdom' was not regarded as an exclusively Israelitish possession, but was shared with other nations (1Ki 4:30-31; Ge 41:8; Jg 5:29; Jer 10:7; Eze 27:8). In Israel it was confined neither to rank (1Ki 10:28; De 16:19; Job 32:9) nor to sex (2Sa 14:1 ff; 2Sa 20:22); but it was particularly characteristic of 'the elders' (De 1:16; Job 12:12; 32:7), and in course of time seems to have given rise to a special class of teachers known as 'the Wise' (Jer 18:18).
Early 'Wisdom' was varied in character and of as wide a scope as the range of human activities. It thus included the most heterogeneous elements: e.g. mechanical skill (1Ki 7:14), statecraft (1Ki 5:12), financial and commercial ability (Eze 28), political trickery (1Ki 2:6), common sense and tact (2Sa 14; 20:14-22), learning (1Ki 3:16-28), military skill and administrative ability (Isa 10:13), piety (De 4:6), and the creative energy of God (Jer 10:12). In short, any capacity possessed in an exceptional degree was recognized as 'wisdom,' and was regarded as the gift of God. But there was already manifest a marked tendency to magnify the ethical and religious elements of 'wisdom,' which later came to their full recognition.
In pre-exilic Israel, however, 'wisdom' played a relatively small part in religion. The vital, progressive religious spirit exhausted itself in prophecy. Here was laid the foundation of all the later 'wisdom.' Not only laid the prophets hand down the literary forms through which the sages expressed themselves, e.g. riddle (Jg 14:14-18), fable (Jg 9:3-15), parable (2Sa 12:1-3; Isa 5:1-5), proverb (1Sa 10:12; Jer 31:29), essay (Isa 28:23-29), lyric, address, etc., but they also wrought out certain great ideas that were presupposed in all the later 'wisdom.' These were: (a) monotheism, which found free course in Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, and Deutero-Isaiah; (b) individualism, or the responsibility of the individual before God for his own sins and for the sins of no one else
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And it will be in the morning, and his soul will be troubled; and he will send and call all the sacred scribes of Egypt, and all his wise; and Pharaoh will relate to them his dream; and none interpreting them to Pharaoh.
And I shall command your judges in that time, saying, Hear between your brethren, and judge justice between a man and between his brother and between his stranger.
And watch and do: for it is your wisdom and your understanding before the eyes of the peoples who shall hear all these laws, and say, Only this great nation a wise and understanding people.
Thou shalt not turn away Judgment; thou shalt not look upon and thou shalt not take a gift, for the gift will blind the eyes of the wise and will pervert the words of the just.
Her wise chiefs will answer, Surely, will she turn back words to herself,
And his mother's brethren will speak concerning him in the ears of all the lords of Shechem all these words: and their heart will incline after Abimelech; for they said, He is our brother. And they will give him seventy of silver from the house of Baal of the covenant, and Abimelech will hire with them men empty and vain-glorious, and they will go after him. read more. And he will come to his father's house at Ophrah, and will kill his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men upon one stone: and Jotham the young son of Jerubbaal will be left, for he was hid. And all the lords of Shechem will gather together, and all the House of the Rampart, and they will make Abimelech king, by the Oak of the Pillar which is in Shechem. And they will announce to Jotham and he will go and stand upon the head of mount Gerizim, and he will lift up his voice and call, and say to them, Hear to me, ye lords of Shechem, and God will hear to you. The trees going forth went to anoint over them a king; and they will say to the olive, Reign thou over us. And the olive will say to them, Left I my fatness which by me they will honor God and men, and went I to wander about over the trees? And the trees will say to the fig tree, Come thou, reign over us. And the fig tree will say to them, Left I my sweetness, and my good produce, and went I to wander about over the trees? And the trees will say to the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine will say to them, Left I my new wine-making, rejoicing God and men, and went I to wander about over the trees? And all the trees will say to the buckthorn. Come thou, reign over us. And the buckthorn will say to the trees, If in truth ye anoint me for king over you, come, take refuge in my shadow: and if not, fire shall come forth from the buckthorn and shall consume the cedars of Lebanon.
And he will say to them, Out of him eating came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they were not able to announce the enigma in three days. And it will be in the seventh day, and they will say to Samson's wife, Persuade thy man and he shall announce to us the enigma, lest we shall burn thee and thy father's house with fire: did ye not call to us to possess us? read more. And Samson's wife will weep upon him, and will say, Thou only hatedst me and lovedst me not: thou didst propose an enigma to the sons of my people, and to me thou didst not announce it. And he will say to her, Behold, to my father and to my mother I announced it not, and shall I announce to thee? And she will weep upon him seven days which were to them of the drinking: and it will be in the seventh day, and he will announce to her, for she urged him: and she will announce the enigma to the sons of her people. And the men of the city will say to him in the seventh day before the sun will go down, What is sweet above honey? and what is strong above the lion? and he will say to them, Unless ye ploughed with my heifer ye found not out my enigma.
And a man will answer from thence and will say, And who their father? For this it was for a parable, Is Saul also among the prophets?
And Jehovah will send Nathan to David. And he will come in to him and say to him, Two men were in one city.; one rich and one poor. To the rich was sheep and oxen exceeding many: read more. And to the poor, not anything except one little ewe lamb which he found, and he will save it alive: and it will grow with him and with his sons together; it will eat from his morsel and will drink from his cup, and will lie in his bosom, and be to him as a daughter.
And Joab son of Zeruiah, knew that the king's heart was for Absalom.
And the woman will go to all the people in her wisdom: and they will cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri and cast to Joab. And he will strike upon the trumpet, and they will disperse from the city, a man to his tent. And Joab turned back to Jerusalem to the king.
And do according to thy wisdom, and thou wilt not bring down his gray hairs in peace to hades
Then will come two women, harlots, to the king, and they will stand before him. And the one woman will say, With leave, my lord, I and this woman are dwelling in one house; and I shall bring forth with her in the house. read more. And it will be in the third day after I brought forth, and also this woman will bring forth: and we together, and no stranger with us in the house besides we two in the house. And the son of this woman will die in the night when she lay upon him. And she will rise in the middle of the night and take my son from beside me, and thy servant sleeping; and she will lay him in her bosom and her dead son she laid in my bosom. And I shall rise in the morning to suckle my son, and behold, he was dead: and I shall attend to him in the morning, and behold, it was not my son that I brought forth. And the other woman will say, Nay; for my son the living, and thy son the dead. And this said, No; for thy son the dead, and my son the living. And they spake before the king. And the king will say, This says, My son the living, and thy son the dead; and this says, Nay; for thy son the dead, and my son the living. And the king will say, Take to me a sword. And they will bring the sword before the king. And the king will say, Divide the living child in two, and ye shall give the half to the one, and the half to the other. And the woman to whom the living son, will say to the king, for her bowels were warm upon her son, and she will say, With leave, my lord, ye shall give to her the living child, and slaying, ye shall not slay him. And this said, It shall not be even to me, even to thee; divide it And the king will answer and say, Ye shall give to her the living child, and slaying, ye shall not slay it: she is his mother. And all Israel will hear the judgment which the king judged, and they will be afraid of the face of the king, for they saw that the wisdom of Jehovah was in the midst of him to do judgment
And the wisdom of Solomon will be multiplied above the wisdom of all the sons of the east, and above all the wisdom of Egypt And he will be wise above all men; above Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman and Chalcol and Darda, sons of Mahol: and his name will be in all the nations round about
And Jehovah gave wisdom to Solomon, as he spake to him: and peace will be between Hiram and between Solomon; and they two will cut out a covenant
Son of a widow woman from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father a Tyrian man, an artificer of brass; and he will be filled with wisdom and understanding, and knowledge to do all the work in brass. And he will come to king Solomon and do all his works.
And a going forth of horses out of Egypt to Solomon, and a caravan of the king's merchants will take the caravan at a price.
With old men is wisdom, and length of days, understanding
I said, days shall speak, and multitude of years shall make known wisdom.
Not the many will be wise: and old men understand judgment.
Jehovah set me up the beginning of his way, before his works from ancient time. From forever I was knit together, from the beginning, from the first of the earth. read more. In no depths was I begun; in no fountains abundant in waters. Before the mountains were settled; before the hills I had a beginning: Yet he made not the earth and the fields, and the head of the clods of the habitable globe. In his preparing the heavens I was there: in his inscribing a circle upon the face of the deep: In his making firm the clouds from above: in his strengthening the fountains of the deep: In his setting his law to the sea, and the waters shall not pass by his mouth; in his making firm the foundations of the earth: And I shall be near him the builder, and I shall be a delight of day, day, smiling before him in all time Smiling in the habitable globe of his earth; and my delight with the sons of man.
I will sing now to my beloved a song of my love for his vineyard. There was a vineyard to my beloved in the horn of the son of oil: And he will dig it up, and he will free it from stones, and he will plant it with a vine of purple grapes, and build a tower in its midst, and he will also hew out a wine-vat in it: and he will wait for grapes to be made, and it will make wild grapes. read more. And now, ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge ye now, between me and between my vineyard What to do more to my vineyard, and did I not in it? wherefore I waited for grapes to be made, and it will make wild grapes. And now I will make known to you now what I do to my vineyard, taking away its hedge, and it was for consuming, breaking down its wall, and it was for a treading down.
For he said, By strength of my hand I did, and by my wisdom, for I was discreet: and I will remove the bounds of the people, and their things prepared I plundered, and I will bring down as a strong one the inhabitants.
Give ear and hear my voice; tend and hear my saying. Shall he ploughing, plough all the day to sow? shall he open and level his earth? read more. Did he not make level its face and disperse the fennel flower, and he will scatter the cummin, and he set the wheat in order, and designated the barley, and the spilt in his bound? He will instruct him, according to judgment his God will teaeh For the fennel flower shall not be beaten with the threshing sledge, and the wheel of a wagon shall not be turned about upon the cummin; for the fennel flower shall be beaten out with the rod and the cummin with the rod. Bread shall be beaten small; for threshing, he will not forever thresh it; and the wheel of his wagon he put in motion and his horsemen shall not beat it small. Also this shall come forth from Jehovah of armies, he being wonderful of counsel and great of understanding.
Who shall not fear thee, thou king of the nations? for to thee he shall come: for among all the wise of the nations, and among all their kings, from none like thee.
He made the earth in his power, setting upright the habitable globe by his wisdom, and by his understanding he stretched out the heavens.
And they will say, Come, and we will purpose purposes against Jeremiah; for law shall not perish from the priest, and counsel from the wise, and the word from the prophet Come, and we will strike him with the tongue, and we will not attend to any of his words.
In those days they shall no more say, The fathers ate sour grapes and the sons' teeth will be blunted.
The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were rowers to thee: thy wise, O Tyre, were in thee, they thy sailors.
Watsons
WISDOM is put for that prudence and discretion which enables a man to perceive that which is fit to be done, according to the circumstances of time, place, persons, manners, and end of doing, Ec 2:13-14. It was this sort of wisdom that Solomon intreated of God with so much earnestness, and which God granted him with such divine liberality, 1Ki 3:9,12,28. It also signifies quickness of invention, and dexterity in the execution of several works, which require not so much strength of body, as industry, and labour of the mind. For example, God told Moses, Ex 31:3, that he had filled Bezaleel and Aholiab with wisdom, and understanding, and knowledge, to invent and perform several sorts of work for completing the tabernacle. It is used for craft, cunning, and stratagem, and that whether good or evil. Thus it is said by Moses, that Pharaoh dealt wisely with the Israelites, when he opposed them in Egypt, Ex 1:10; it is observed of Jonadab; the friend of Ammon, and nephew of David, that he was very wise, that is, very subtle and crafty, 2Sa 13:3; and Job 5:13, says, that God "taketh the wine in their own craftiness." Wisdom means also doctrine, learning, and experience: "With the ancient is wisdom, and in length of days understanding," Job 12:12. It is put for true piety, or the fear of God, which is spiritual wisdom: "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply or hearts unto wisdom," Ps 90:12; "The fear of the Lord that is wisdom," Job 27:23. Wisdom is put for the eternal Wisdom, the Word of God. It was by wisdom that God established the heavens, and founded the earth, Pr 3:19. How magnificently does Solomon describe the primeval birth of the eternal Son of God, under the character of Wisdom personified; to which so many references and allusions are to be found in the Old and New Testament! "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth," Pr 8:22-25. The apocryphal book of Wisdom introduces, by a reference to this passage, the following admirable invocation, Wisdom 9:9, 10:
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Come, we will be wise with them, lest they shall multiply, and it was when war shall happen, and also being added to our armies and fighting against us, and they went up from the land.
And I will fill him with the spirit of God, in wisdom and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all work.
And to Amnon a friend, and his name Jonadab, son of Shimeah, David's brother: and Jonadab a man exceeding wise.
And give to thy servant a heart to hear to judge thy people to discern between good to evil: for who shall be able to judge this thy weighty people?
Behold, I did according to thy word, I gave to thee a wise and understanding heart; that there was not as thou before thee, and after thee there shall not arise like thee.
And all Israel will hear the judgment which the king judged, and they will be afraid of the face of the king, for they saw that the wisdom of Jehovah was in the midst of him to do judgment
He took the wise in their craftiness, and the counsel of the perverse was headlong.
With old men is wisdom, and length of days, understanding
It shall be clapped upon him with their hands, and it shall be hissed upon him from his place.
To number our days so make known, and we shall bring the heart to wisdom.
Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth; he prepared the heavens by understanding.
Jehovah set me up the beginning of his way, before his works from ancient time. From forever I was knit together, from the beginning, from the first of the earth. read more. In no depths was I begun; in no fountains abundant in waters. Before the mountains were settled; before the hills I had a beginning:
And I saw there is profit to wisdom more than to folly, as the excellence of the light above darkness. The wise, his eyes in his head; and the foolish one goes in darkness: and I knew, I also, that one event will meet with them all.
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man a glutton, and wine drinker, a friend of publicans and sinful; and wisdom has been justified from her children.
Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, and the wise, and scribes: and of them shall ye kill and crucify; and of them shall ye chastise in your assemblies, and drive out from city to city,
And wisdom was justified of all her children.
And for this said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and the sent, and of them shall they kill and drive out: