vi. 1 suggests that the same speaker is intended throughout; that

the non-mention of Wisdom after xi. 1 is due to the fact that the author became so immersed in his historical sketch (which he meant as an indictment of his own contemporaries) that he forgot the philosophical thesis with which he set out; that the change of style is a natural consequence of the change of the subject-matter, the moral and philosophical discussions falling more easily into the form of the Book of Proverbs, the dramatic scenes of the earlier history readily suggesting legendary touches and highly-coloured language; and that there are marked resemblances of tone and style in the two parts—e.g. the rush of thoughts of the second part is paralleled in the description of the wicked (v.) and of Wisdom (vii. 22-viii. 1), and the religiously elevated and dignified tone of the first part appears here and there in the second (cp. i. 13-15, ix. 1-6 with xi. 23-26, xii. 19, xvi. 7).” There is a great deal in what is here said; it cannot be denied that it is very difficult to come to a definite conclusion where the arguments on both sides are so strong. At the same time it is worth remembering that some writers who advocate unity of authorship recognize that their position is not impregnable; Eichhorn, for example, was so struck by the differences between the two parts that although he believed both were written by the same author he nevertheless thought that the second was written in his youth, the former in maturer years. Similarly, in one of the most recent commentaries on the book, that of Goodrick, the author says: “it is possible that a writer who had laid aside his work, dictated in the beginning by irritation at apostasy and persecution, gave it a new colour by adapting it to philosophic ideas which he had only lately assimilated, and, its original interest having passed with the times of persecution which suggested it, should endeavour to obtain a vogue for it by the direct ascription of it to Solomon.”[489] Goodrick is convinced of the unity of authorship, but thinks that the “Solomonic chapters” (vii.-ix.) were added after the rest of the book had been completed.

The possibilities of what the original facts of the case may have been are numerous; upon the whole, while fully recognizing the difficulties which surround the question, we do not feel convinced that the advocates of unity of authorship have established their view beyond possibility of doubt. Dual authorship seems to us the easier and more natural solution, though we are not blind to the fact that the easier way is not always the right one.

IV. THE PURPOSES FOR WHICH THE BOOK WAS WRITTEN

Whether our book was written by a single author, or whether each of the two parts were of different authorship (see above, § III), is immaterial so far as the aims and objects of the book are concerned; for there is no doubt that it was of Jewish authorship and that is was written for Jews[490]—Egyptian Jews—who were beset by four special dangers, viz. Scepticism, Materialism, Idolatry and Persecution. That the writer of each part was a Jew we have already seen (§ I); that the book was written for Jews is clear enough from the fact that it contains numerous allusions to the past history of Israel which are no more than allusions; it is taken for granted that the readers understand them without further explanation. Moreover, historical characters are again and again spoken of without mentioning their names; it is assumed that the readers will know who is meant since the references are to persons who took a leading part in the past history of Israel. It is, therefore, for the benefit of his own people in Egypt, that the writer warns or encourages or denounces, according to the particular danger combated.

(_a_) _Scepticism._

The old problem of the godly in adversity and the wicked in prosperity was evidently exercising the minds of many Jews in Alexandria to the detriment of both their faith and morals. Since there was no divine justice, and life was short, they advocated making the most of life while they enjoyed it, without considering others. The writer, in ii. 1-20, describes the attitude of the wicked, putting into their mouths the words which express this attitude:

Short and sorrowful is our life, And there is no remedy when a man cometh to his end, And none was ever known that returned from Hades. Because by mere chance were we born, And hereafter we shall be as though we had never been.... Come, therefore, and let us enjoy the good things that now are; And let us use creation with all earnestness as youth’s possession. Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and perfumes ... Let us oppress the righteous poor, Let us not spare the widow, Nor reverence the hairs of the old man grey for length of years.... We were accounted of him as base metal, And he abstaineth from our ways as from uncleannesses. The latter end of the righteous he calleth happy; And he vaunteth that God is his father. Let us see if his words be true, And let us try what shall befall in the ending of his life. For if the righteous man is God’s son He will uphold him, And He will deliver him out of the hand of his adversaries....

This attitude the writer combats by asserting first that the wicked will not escape punishment:

Therefore no man that uttereth unrighteous things shall be unseen; Neither shall Justice, when it punisheth, pass him by. For the counsels of the ungodly shall be searched out, And the report of his words shall come unto the Lord For the punishment of his lawless deeds ... (i. 6-11).

But the writer declares, further, that not only in this life shall the wicked be punished, but in the next world as well, while the godly will then be recompensed. He says of the wicked that:

They knew not the mysteries of God, Neither hoped they for wages of holiness, Nor did they judge that there is a prize for blameless souls. Because God created man for incorruption ... (ii. 21-24).

Then follows the well-known passage concerning the blessedness of the righteous:

But the souls of the righteous are in the hands of God ... (iii. 1-9),

and in the verses that follow (iii. 10 ff.) the writer describes the torment of the wicked in the world to come. The true way to prepare in this world for the next is by the acquisition of Wisdom:

For her true beginning is desire of instruction; And the care for instruction is love of her; And love of her is observance of her laws; And to give heed to her laws is the assurance of incorruption; And incorruption bringeth near to God; So then the desire of Wisdom promoteth to a kingdom (vi. 17-20).

One purpose, therefore, of the book is to bring the godless sceptics among the Jews to a better frame of mind; and this is done mainly by setting forth the doctrine of immortality, and retribution or reward in the world to come.

(_b_) _Materialism._

Closely connected with the preceding was a second danger, that of Materialism, the combating of which was another purpose that the writer had in view in writing his book. In a passage already referred to, which contains the words put by the writer into the mouth of the ungodly, the existence of this danger is seen from the following words:

Let us fill ourselves with costly wine and perfumes; And let no flower of spring pass us by. Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they wither, Let there be no meadow without traces of our proud revelry. Everywhere let us leave tokens of our mirth, Because this is our portion, and our lot is this (ii. 7-9).

For these materialists the writer has the same message as for the sceptics:

The ungodly shall be requited as they reasoned (iii. 10).

They had reasoned that fulness of this life’s enjoyment was their portion and their lot; so it shall be; but they are warned of what is to come hereafter:

They shall come, when their sins are reckoned up, with coward fear; And their lawless deeds shall convict them to their face (iv. 20; and cp. v. 1-14).

It is by means of the doctrine of immortality that the writer seeks to combat these dangers of scepticism and materialism. The recognition of this truth of a life hereafter is wisdom (see vi. 17-20 quoted above).

(_c_) _Idolatry._

That a further object of the book is to utter a warning against idolatry is obvious from what is said in chapters xiii.-xv.; but whether the writer has in view mainly the Gentiles among whom he was living or the renegades of his own race, is differently answered by commentators. Probably both are in the writer’s mind. At any rate, his polemic against idolatry is very thorough; he regards it as the cause of all kinds of evil:

For the devising of idols was the beginning of fornication, And the invention of them the corruption of life ... And all things confusedly are filled with blood and murder, theft and deceit, Corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury. Disquieting of the good, Ingratitude for benefits received, Defiling of souls, confusion of sex. Disorder in marriage, adultery and wantonness. For the worship of those unnameable idols Is the beginning and cause and end of every evil ... (xiv. 12-31).

From the words that follow it would seem that in this passage, at any rate, it is apostate Jews which the writer has in mind:

For their worshippers either make merry unto madness, or prophesy lies, Or live unrighteously, or lightly forswear themselves; For, putting their trust in lifeless idols, They wickedly swear false oaths, and look not to be harmed But for both sins shall the just doom pursue them, Because they had evil thoughts of God by giving heed to idols, And swore unrighteously in deceit, despising holiness ... (xiv. 28-31).

For such a particularist as the writer of the second part of our book the words, “because they had evil thoughts of God” could only refer to apostate Jews, for he would not contemplate the Egyptians with their animal-worship as even thinking of God; the same would apply to the words “despising holiness.”

(_d_) _Persecution._

Lastly, the writer wrote with the purpose of comforting and encouraging his people in face of persecution which they were suffering from the Egyptians; as Gregg rightly points out, the Jews must have been suffering from pressure from without, for “nothing else will account for the intensity of the writer’s hatred of Egypt, which he gratifies as he lingers over the bondage of the Israelites, and labours the contrast between the fortunes of oppressors and oppressed (x. 16 ff., xi. 1 ff., xvi.-xix.). History repeats itself, and he regards the study of history as the best remedy for national depression. If it was in respect of its divinities that Egypt was smitten in the time of Moses, and if idolatry is not only folly but the cause of all social and civic decadence (xiii.-xv.), the suppressed conclusion is that the Egypt which still harries the resident Jews and has not yet repented of its beast-worship, will once again bend before Israel.”[491]

V. THE INFLUENCE OF THE BOOK ON ST. PAUL

There are a large number of passages in the Pauline Epistles in which the influence of our book is to be discerned; to quote all the passages from Wisdom and the corresponding ones in the Epistles would be out of the question here; but a few examples may be given in order to show how necessary the study of this book is for the New Testament student.

In ii. 23, 24 a doctrine of the Fall is touched upon which reflects the Jewish ideas on the subject current at the time:

Because God created man for incorruption, And made him an image of His own proper being; But by the envy of the devil _death entered into the world_, And they that belong to his realm experience it.

With these words should be compared the two following passages: Romans v. 12, “Therefore, as through one man _sin entered into the world, and death through sin_; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned”; cp. 1 Corinthians xv. 21, 22.

In iii. 8 it is said of the righteous departed that:

They shall judge nations, and have dominion over peoples; And the Lord shall reign over them for evermore.

This reminds one forcibly of St. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians vi. 2, 3:

Or know ye not that the saints shall judge the world...? know ye not that we shall judge angels...?

In both these cases it is, of course, possible that the similarity exists solely because in both sets of passages current Jewish ideas find expression; in the following one, however, it is difficult to believe that it did not influence St. Paul when he wrote the well-known words in Ephesians vi. 11-20, beginning: “Put on the whole armour of God”; the passage in Wisdom is v. 17-20:

He shall take His jealousy as complete armour, And shall make the whole creation His weapons for vengeance upon His enemies: He shall put on righteousness as a breastplate, And shall take judgement unfeigned as a helmet; He shall take holiness as an invincible shield, And shall sharpen stern wrath as a sword.

It is probable that the writer of this had in mind Isaiah lix. 17: “And He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke”; but while this passage was no doubt the original inspiration of both Wisdom v. 17-20 and Ephesians vi. 11-20, one cannot read these two latter without feeling convinced that St. Paul knew and utilized the Book of Wisdom. On the other hand, regarding the somewhat intricate subject of “the elements of the world,” which is referred to more than once both in Wisdom and by St. Paul, while one would hesitate to assert definitely that the latter was influenced by the former it offers a good illustration of the need of studying St. Paul’s writings in the light of this book. To show what we mean it will suffice to put the respective passages in parallel columns, and the reader will at once see the connection:

Wisdom vii. 17: “For He hath Colossians ii. 8: “Take heed lest given me unerring knowledge there shall be any one that of the things that are, to maketh spoil of you through know the constitution of the his philosophy and vain deceit, world, and the working of the after the tradition of elements.” men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ.” Wisdom xix. 18-21: “For the elements changed their order Colossians ii. 20: “If ye died with one with another....” Christ from the elements of the world, seek the things that are Wisdom xiii. 2, 3: “But whether above, where Christ is....” fire, or wind, or swift air, or circling stars, or raging water, Galatians iv. 3: “So we also, or luminaries of heaven, they when we were children, were thought (all) were gods that held in bondage under the rule the world. And if elements of the world.” through delight in their beauty they took them to be gods, Galatians iv. 8, 9: “Howbeit at let them know how much that time, not knowing God, better than these is their ye were in bondage to them Sovereign Lord....” which by nature are no gods; but now that ye have come to know God, or rather to be known of God, how turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire to be in bondage over again?” (cp. Heb. v. 12; 2 Pet. iii. 10, 12).

Whatever may be meant here by “the elements of the world,” it is clear that St. Paul is combating a false doctrine regarding belief in elemental spirits; and for the study of this subject recourse to the Book of Wisdom is imperative. An interesting parallel is that between Wisdom ix. 15:

For a corruptible body weigheth down the soul, And the earthly frame lieth heavy on the mind that is full of cares,

and 2 Corinthians v. 1: “For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from ...,” and verse 4: “For indeed we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened....”

And once more, in Wisdom xi. 23 it is said:

But Thou hast mercy on all men, because Thou hast power to do all things, And Thou overlookest the sins of men to the end that they may repent.

We are at once reminded of St. Paul’s words in Romans ii. 4: “Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” (cp. Rom. xi. 32).

Still more striking is the following:

Wisdom xv. 7: “For a potter, Romans ix. 21-23: “Or hath kneading soft earth, laboriously not the potter a right over the mouldeth each vessel for clay, from the same lump to our service: nay, out of the make one part a vessel unto same clay doth he fashion both honour, and another unto the vessels that minister to dishonour? What if God, clean uses, and those of a willing to show His wrath, contrary sort, all in like manner; and to make His power known, but what shall be the endured with much longsuffering use of either sort, the craftsman vessels of wrath himself is the judge.” fitted unto destruction; and that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy...?”

Space forbids us to do more than merely refer to other striking resemblances and parallel passages which further illustrate the influence of this book upon St. Paul, the three following subjects would, however, repay careful study: the qualities of Wisdom—with Wisdom vii. 22-viii. 1, ix. 6-17 compare 1 Corinthians ii. 6-16; the doctrine of Predestination—with Wisdom xii., xv. 7 compare Romans ix. 19-23; the question of heathen idolatry—with Wisdom xiii., xiv. compare Romans i. 18-32.

The number of parallels, in the words of Thackeray, “between St. Paul and Wisdom put it beyond doubt that the Apostle had at one time made a close study of the apocryphal book. It was a book which no doubt had a wide circulation at an early time, being the noblest product of the pre-Christian Judaism of Alexandria, and combining in the choicest language the broader views of Hellenism with the narrower national spirit of Judaism: a combination which would make it of special interest to the Apostle who sought to make himself all things to all men that he might by all means gain some. ‘A practical man with the sharp outlook for practical needs, Paul took what was good wherever it offered itself.’ The influence is rather formal than substantial. But in three, not unimportant points, the Apostle’s views on idolatry, on predestination and on eschatology, he has been to some extent affected by the matter, and not only the manner, of the Alexandrian work.”[492]

For the further study of this subject the excellent book of Thackeray’s, just quoted, is invaluable, as is also Grafe’s _Das Verhältniss der Paulinischen Schriften zur Sapientia Salomonis_ (1892); see also Sanday and Headlam’s _Romans_, passim, and Hausrath, _Der Apostel Paulus_, p. 23 (1872).

It is probable that the influence of _Wisdom_ is to be discerned in other books of the New Testament; Gregg, _Op. cit._, pp. liv.-lvi., gives a long list of parallels between the book and St. John’s Gospel; and for parallels with the epistle of St. James, see the same author, pp. lix., lx. and Mayor’s _St. James_, p. lxxv.