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 happened in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men of it. And Pharaoh told them his dream, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
And I commanded your judges at that time saying, Hear the causes between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the stranger with him.
And you shall keep and do them, for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
You shall not pervert judgment; you shall not respect persons, nor take a gift. For a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.
Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,
And his mother's brothers spoke of him in the ears of all the men of Shechem with all these words. And their hearts were bent toward Abimelech, for they said, He is our brother. And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless persons who followed him. read more. And he went to his father's house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy persons, upon one stone. But Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, was still left; for he hid himself. And all the leaders of Shechem gathered together, and all the house of Millo. And they came and made Abimelech king beside the plain of the pillar in Shechem. And when they told Jotham, he went and stood in the top of mount Gerizim. And he lifted up his voice and cried, and said to them, Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. The trees went forth to anoint a king over them. And they said to the olive tree, Reign over us. But the olive tree said to them, Should I leave my fatness with which they honor God and man by me, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, You come and reign over us. But the fig tree said to them, Should I forsake my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then the trees said to the vine, You come and reign over us. And the vine said to them, Should I leave my wine, which cheers God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then all the trees said to the bramble-bush, You come and reign over us. And the bramble-bush said to the trees, If you truly anoint me king over you, come put your trust in my shadow. And if not, let fire come out of the bramble and burn up the cedars of Lebanon.
And he said to them, Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And in three days they were not able to declare the riddle. And it happened on the seventh day they said to Samson's wife, Lure your husband so that he may tell the riddle to us, lest we burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you called us to take what we have? Is it not so? read more. And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, You only hate me, and do not love me. You have put forth a riddle to the sons of my people, and have not told it to me. And he said to her, Behold, I have not told my father nor to my mother, and shall I tell you? And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted. And on the seventh day, he told her, because she pressed hard upon him. And she told the riddle to the sons of her people. And the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey, and what stronger than a lion? And he said to them, If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle.
And a man from there answered and said, And who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?
And Jehovah sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said to him, There were two men in one city, one rich and one poor. The rich one had exceeding many flocks and herds, read more. but the poor one had nothing except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished up. And it grew up together with him and with his sons. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him like a daughter.
And Joab the son of Zeruiah saw that the king's heart was toward Absalom.
Then the woman went to all the people in her wisdom. And they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bichri, and threw it out to Joab. And he blew the ram's horn, and they scattered from the city, each man to his tent. And Joab returned to Jerusalem to the king.
And you shall do according to your wisdom and shall not let his gray head go down to the grave in peace.
Then there came two women, harlots, to the king, and stood before him. And the one woman said, O my lord, this woman and I live in one house. And I bore a child with her in the house. read more. And it happened the third day after I gave birth, this woman bore a child also. And we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, except the two of us in the house. And this woman's child died in the night, because she laid on it. And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me, while your servant was sleeping, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. When I arose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead. And when I had looked at it in the morning, behold, it was not my son whom I bore. And the other woman said, No, but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. And this one said, No, but the dead is your son, and the living is my son. So they spoke before the king. And the king said, The one says, This is my son who lives, and your son is the dead. And the other says, No, but your son is the dead, and my son is the living. And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other. And the woman whose son was the living child said to the king, for her womb yearned over her son. And she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no way kill it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor yours; divide it! And the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no way kill it. She is the mother of it. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged. And they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment.
And Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the sons of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame was in all nations all around.
And Jehovah gave Solomon wisdom, as He promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon. And the two of them made a treaty together.
He was the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze. And he was filled with wisdom and understanding, and cunning to work all works in bronze. And he came to King Solomon and did all his work.
And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and out of Kue. The king's merchants received them from Kue at a price.
With the aged is wisdom, and understanding in length of days.
I said, Days should speak, and the multitude of years should teach wisdom.
It is not the great that are wise, nor the aged who understand judgment.
Jehovah possessed me from the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was anointed from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth ever was. read more. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no springs heavy with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth. before He had made the earth, or the fields or the highest part of the dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there; when He set a circle upon the face of the deep; when He set the clouds above; when He made the strong fountains of the deep; when He gave to the sea its limit that the waters should not pass His command; when He appointed the foundations of the earth; even I was a workman at His side; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him; rejoicing in the world, His earth; and my delight was with the sons of men.
Now I will sing to my Beloved a song of my Beloved concerning His vineyard. My Beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. And He fenced it, and gathered out the stones of it, and planted it with choice vines, and built a tower in its midst, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and He looked for it to produce grapes. And it produced wild grapes. read more. And now, O people of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, please judge between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Who knows? I looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded rotten grapes. And now I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard; I will take away its hedge, and it shall be eaten up; and break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down;
For he says, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am wise. And I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the people like a strong man.
Give ear and hear my voice; listen, and hear my speech. Does the plowman plow all day to sow? Does he open and break the clods of his ground? read more. When he has made the face of it level, does he not cast out the dill and scatter the cummin, and throw in the choice wheat and the chosen barley and the spelt in its border? For his God instructs him to do right; his God teaches him. For the dill is not threshed with a threshing instrument, nor is a cart wheel turned on cummin; but the dill is beaten out with a staff and the cummin with a rod. Bread grain is crushed, but not always does one thresh it with threshing. And he drives the wheel of his cart; and his horses do not beat it small. This also comes out from Jehovah of Hosts, who is wonderful in wisdom, making sound wisdom great.
Who would not fear You, O King of nations? For fear belongs to You, because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.
He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by His judgment.
Then they said, Come and let us plot schemes against Jeremiah. For the Law shall not perish from the priest, nor wisdom from the wise, nor the Word from the prophet. Come and let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.
In those days they shall not say any more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the sons are dull.
The residents of Sidon and Arvad were your seamen. Your wise ones, O Tyre, were in you, they were your 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, let us deal slyly with them, lest they multiply, and it will be when there comes a war, they join also to our enemies, and fight against us, and get out of the land.
And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all workmanship,
And Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of David's brother Shimeah. And Jonadab was a very crafty man.
And give to Your servant an understanding heart, to judge Your people, to discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge this, Your great people?
behold, I have done according to your words. Lo, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like you before you, and after you none shall arise like you.
And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged. And they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do judgment.
He takes the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the wily is carried headlong.
With the aged is wisdom, and understanding in length of days.
He shall clap His hands at him, and shall hiss him out of his place.
So teach us to number our days, so that we may bring a heart of wisdom.
Jehovah has founded the earth by wisdom; by understanding He has founded the heavens.
Jehovah possessed me from the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was anointed from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth ever was. read more. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no springs heavy with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth.
Then I saw that wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness. The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walks in darkness; and I also knew that one event happens to all of them.
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man who is a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners. But wisdom was justified by her children.
Therefore, behold, I send prophets and wise men and scribes to you. And you will kill and crucify some of them. And some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city;
But wisdom has been justified by all her children.
Therefore the wisdom of God also said, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute,