We begin a new series on the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament. In our first session, we discuss the themes and style of the so-called Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament.
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Wisdom Literature
Session 1, Introduction and the Life of Solomon
The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom (Proverbs 9:10)
I. Course Outline
August 11th - Introduction, and the Life of King Solomon
August 18th - Books of Wisdom Literature, and the Deuterocanon, and Job
August 25th - Proverbs
September 1st - Ecclesiastes and Solomon’s final conversion
September 8th - Song of Songs, and prophetic foreshadowing
September 15th - NO CLASS
September 22nd - Book of Wisdom, and facing persecution
September 29th - Sirach, part 1
October 6th - Sirach, part 2
October 13th - Sirach, part 3 and Conclusions
II. Introduction to Wisdom Literature: The Poetry in Wisdom Literature
These books include: Job, (Psalms), Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, Sirach. (Only some of the Psalms are considered part of Wisdom Literature).
The phrase "Wisdom Literature” for the Old Testament was only first used by Johann Friedrich Bruch in 1851. Still, in the Traditional Latin Mass, these books were simply referred to as “the Book of Wisdom” when read at Mass - with the exception of the book of Job and the Psalms. Therefore, even in the tradition of the Catholic Church, there has long been a recognition that these books go together as a group under the title of Wisdom (Liber Sapientiae).
The traditional division of the Old Testament is: Tanakh - Torah (The Law), Nevi’im (the Prophets), and Ketuvim (the Writings). Wisdom literature is part of the “writings.” In the Catholic Bible, Wisdom literature comes after the historical books and before the prophets – corresponding to the Letters of the New Testament in relation to the rest of the canon of Scripture. In the protestant Bible, Wisdom and Sirach are either removed all together or placed at the end of the Old Testament. In the Hebrew Bible, these books are grouped with others including Ruth, Lamentations, Daniel, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and others (The Writings).
In modern Biblical study, these books are also sometimes called the Poetical Books - since they are written almost entirely in Hebrew poetry. This poetic style does not rhyme, though sometimes it uses alliteration and also acrostic style - it is based on couplets, parallelism and imagery. Unlike English, which is developed from sound-based Roman and Greek poetry using rhyme and meter, Hebrew poetry is founded more on ideas and concepts expressed in couplets.
About ⅓ of the Bible is in poetry, mostly found in these books of Wisdom literature - about ½ of the Old Testament is poetry.
Some examples of Hebrew poetry in Ecclesiastes:
Parallelism. Eccl 1:3, The second line reinforces the first.
What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
Repetitive imagery. Eccl 1:7, Repetition emphasizes the repetitive nature of life.
All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
Repetitive imagery, in the poem of time. Eccl 3:1-8.
A time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build…
Metaphorical riddle, Eccl 12:6.
Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well…
Examples from the book of Sirach - while the only complete copies of Sirach are in Greek, the original was written in Hebrew. In either case, the Hebrew poetic style is still found in the Greek writings and Greek translations of the centuries just before Christ.
Parallelism, Sirach 1:1
All wisdom comes from the Lord,
and is with him forever.
And Sirach 42:18.
He plumbs the depths and penetrates the heart;
their innermost being he understands.
Antithetical Parallelism, Sirach 33:14 (36:14).
Opposite evil stands good,
and opposite death, life;
so over against the godly stands the sinner.
Lyrical Metaphor, Sirach 24:13-14.
Like a cedar in Lebanon I grew tall,
like a cypress on Mount Hermon;
I grew tall like a palm tree in Engedi,
like rosebushes in Jericho;
Like a fair olive tree in the field,
like a plane tree beside water I grew tall.
One very complex form of Hebrew poetry, which is sound based, is the alphabetical acrostic poetry. The beginning word of each section starts with the next letter of the alphabet. Examples (in modern numbering of Psalms): Psalms 24, 34, 125; Half line acrostic in Psalms 111 and 112; and a very long eight verse acrostic in Psalm 119.
This is also famously seen in the book of Lamentations.
Proverbs 31:10-31 (the praise of a good wife) is an acrostic poem. Also, Sirach 51:13-30 was discovered to be an acrostic poem when a Hebrew version was discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls.
III. Key themes in Wisdom Literature
While the historical books and the prophetic books generally speak to the nation of Israel and the children of Abraham as well as the precepts of the Law, Wisdom literature is more universal in scope. Wisdom literature often invokes nature and all creation, the human experiences of joy and suffering, divine order in the world, moral living, and the pursuit of wisdom. In this way, Wisdom literature seems to appeal more broadly than many of the other portions of the Old Testament. Furthermore, the personification of Wisdom (Lady Wisdom) is often seen as a foreshadowing of the revelation of the mystery of the Trinity, with the Word of God being Wisdom.
While Wisdom personified seems to be a prophetic reference to the Second Person of the Trinity, the Word (Jesus Christ); there is also much prophetic reflection on the working of the Holy Spirit in the soul and in the world. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are present in Wisdom literature – especially the importance of Fear of the Lord which is the beginning of Wisdom.
Other major themes are: redemptive suffering, the goodness of creation, divine providence, the vanity of human wisdom, the importance of faith.
Notice that, for the most part, the books of Wisdom literature are not rooted in history in the same way as other parts of the Old Testament - they are often more philosophical reflections that seem not to be tied to a specific time or place. Finally, these books often provide interpretations of other portions of the Old Testament, which is very helpful!
IV. The Life of King Solomon
Because King Solomon is presented as most wise, and the beacon of wisdom for all the world during the height of his reign, he is seen as the source or fount of wisdom literature. This does not mean that he wrote all the books of wisdom literature – for example, Job is traditionally ascribed to Moses, and Sirach was written by Jesus (or Joshua) ben Sira.
Some of the books explicitly claim Solomon to be the author: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Wisdom.
The wisdom of Solomon is granted in 1 Kings 3:1-15.
His wisdom is praised in 1 Kings 4:29-34, 1 Kings 10:6-8, and by our Lord in Matthew 12:42.
Brief overview of Solomon’s life:
Solomon’s journey to the throne was born out of a turbulent family history and a fierce royal succession crisis. He was conceived in Jerusalem by King David and Bathsheba, born as a child of restoration after the tragic death of their first infant, who was conceived through David’s infamous sin against Uriah (2 Samuel 11:2–5; 2 Samuel 12:15–24). Years later, as King David grew frail, his eldest surviving son, Adonijah, attempted to usurp the crown by declaring himself king without his father’s knowledge (1 Kings 1:5–10). In response, Prophet Nathan and Bathsheba intervened to remind David of his previous oath to make Solomon his successor (1 Kings 1:11–31). David acted immediately, ordering the priest Zadok to anoint Solomon at Gihon Spring, an act that successfully secured his place on the throne before David's death (1 Kings 1:32–40; 1 Kings 2:1–12).
King Solomon’s reign began with a divine encounter and an unprecedented request for discernment. Upon succeeding his father, King David, Solomon was granted a vision in his sleep where God offered to give him anything he desired. Rather than asking for wealth or long life, Solomon requested an understanding heart to rightly govern the people of Israel (1 Kings 3:5–9). Pleased with this request, God granted him unmatched wisdom alongside immense wealth and honor (1 Kings 3:10–13). This supernatural discernment was immediately demonstrated in his famous ruling over two mothers claiming the same baby (1 Kings 3:16–28) and later attracted international leaders, such as the Queen of Sheba, who traveled to Jerusalem to test his knowledge (1 Kings 10:1–9).
The defining achievement of Solomon’s lifetime was the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem, fulfilling a promise God made to King David. Using resources amassed by his father and drafting alliances with King Hiram of Tyre, Solomon mobilized thousands of laborers to construct a magnificent house for the Lord (1 Kings 5:1–12; 2 Chronicles 2). The temple took seven years to complete, after which Solomon brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Most Holy Place (1 Kings 6:38; 1 Kings 8:1–6). During the grand dedication ceremony, Solomon offered a lengthy prayer of intercession for Israel, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple, signaling God’s presence among His people (1 Kings 8:22–53; 2 Chronicles 7:1).
Despite his wisdom and architectural legacy, Solomon’s later years were marked by spiritual compromise and decline. In violation of divine commands against marrying foreign women who worshiped other gods, Solomon accumulated 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:1–3; Deuteronomy 17:17). As he grew old, his wives turned his heart away from God, leading him to build pagan shrines and participate in the worship of foreign deities like Ashtoreth and Molech (1 Kings 11:4–8). Consequently, God declared that the kingdom would be torn away from his line, leaving only a fraction for his son Rehoboam, a prophecy fulfilled after Solomon’s forty-year reign ended with his death (1 Kings 11:11–13; 1 Kings 11:42–43).