Read this if you…
- like wisdom literature dressed in Greek philosophical vocabulary (Athens meeting Jerusalem)
- want the Bible's most developed doctrine of personal immortality
- care about the deuterocanonical books Catholics keep and Protestants drop
Skip this if you…
- don't want to read explicitly religious/Christian texts
The lineage through Wisdom of Solomon
- Confessions by Augustine of Hippo. Wisdom of Solomon shaped it. - A line from the *Wisdom of Solomon* runs straight into Augustine's most personal book - Augustine quotes its insight that wisdom is God's to give — not something a man seizes by his own effort — and folds it into the *Confessions* (10.29) as the hinge of his own surrender - Its formula for a measured, numbered, weighted creation surfaces again in his accounts of the ordered world
Depicted in Art
Solomon on his throne raises his hand as a soldier holds the living infant by one leg, sword poised; the true mother lunges forward in protest while the false mother stands rigid with the dead child.
Nicolas Poussin, 1649
The enthroned Solomon, robed and crowned, raises his hand in judgment as the two disputing mothers and the executioner with the child stand before his dais.
James Tissot, 1896
An aged Solomon, robed and crowned, sits in his palace contemplating idols and incense at his feet — the wise king at the end of his life turning to false worship.
Gustave Doré, 1866
Recommended Editions
King James Version
Oxford University Press · 1611
The most influential and commonly quoted translation in English. The prose rhythm everyone else is responding to, even modern translations.
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Notable Quotes
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.
- Martin Luther, German Reformer & theologian, 1483–1546: "The author here extols the Word of God so highly, and ascribes to the Word all the wonders God has performed."
- Augustine of Hippo, Church Father, Bishop of Hippo, 354–430: "In the one of which, called the Wisdom of Solomon, the passion of Christ is most openly prophesied."
- Smith's Bible Dictionary, 19th-century English biblical reference work, 1863: "The magnificent description of wisdom must rank among the noblest passages of human eloquence."
- Athanasius of Alexandria, Church Father, Bishop of Alexandria, c. 296–373: "Appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who newly join us, and who wish for instruction in the word of godliness."
More by Solomon
- Song of Solomon~300 BCSolomon—·Quick·17 pagesInfluence—Popularity—BibleLyricHebrew
- Proverbs~450 BCSolomon—·Quick·94 pagesInfluence—Popularity—BibleWisdomHebrew
- Ecclesiastes~250 BCSolomon—·Quick·35 pagesInfluence—Popularity—BibleWisdomHebrew
- Wisdom of Solomon~50 BCSolomon—·Quick·66 pagesInfluence—Popularity—BibleWisdomAncient Greek