Translation introduction to Wisdom of Solomon (United Bible Societies)

The name, the language, and the author of the book

In its Latin translation, this book is titled simply “The Book of Wisdom,” and most Catholic sources call it by that name. In Greek, it is entitled “The Wisdom of Solomon,” and this title is usually used in Protestant versions of the Apocrypha. Either title is acceptable.

It is almost universally agreed today that Greek is the original language of this book. There is less agreement about its date. Estimates are made from about 200 B.C. to about A.D. 50. Recent opinion seems to be moving toward a date at the late end of this time span.

King Solomon is never mentioned by name in the book, although it is clear from 9.7-12 that the author is writing as if he were King Solomon, at least in the central section, 6.22–11.1. (It is not clear that the author speaks as Solomon in the rest of the book.) The fact that the book is in Greek is reason enough to suppose Solomon himself is not the author, since Greece never developed a literature until several centuries after Solomon. Moreover, this particular style of Greek (200 B.C.–A.D. 50) is even later. At the time of writing, however, it was a common literary practice for authors to write books in the name of men of the past. This was no attempt at falsehood, but rather a tribute to the memory of those men. Today a writer might dedicate a book to the memory of a revered teacher. In those days a writer would write the book in the teacher’s name. The author of The Wisdom of Solomon wishes to identify the book with the wisdom tradition of Israel, which is represented by Solomon in the same way as the legal tradition is represented by Moses.

The author was certainly a Jewish scholar, very likely a resident of the city of Alexandria, in Egypt. Although he is familiar with Greek philosophy and has been influenced by it, his primary concern is to make other Jews proud of their own faith, and to show its superiority over Gentile religions.

Problems in translating The Wisdom of Solomon

Mystery religions: At a number of places in the book (for example, 14.22-31 and 17.3), the writer refers to the practices of certain religions practiced in the Mediterranean world of his day. These religions are known to scholars as the mystery religions. They might be called cults by some today. Most of these religions had their origins in Egypt or the Near East, although they were practiced over much of the Greek and Roman world. They had secret rites (“mysteries”) that were not to be made known to outsiders. Among these were secret rites of initiation which a person went through in order to become a member. Sometimes there were sacred meals. A few of these religions had ceremonies that struck outsiders, particularly Jews and Christians, as horrible, involving sexual immorality or drunkenness. It was widely believed that babies were sometimes killed and even eaten, but this is probably more imagination than reality. Translators will not need a general term such as “mysteries,” but they will need to be aware of the background against which the author is speaking.

Meaning of the term “wisdom”: The wisdom writers of the Old Testament had a number of terms to use for wisdom. Sometimes these terms have distinctive meanings, but sometimes for practical purposes they have essentially the same meaning. The principal term is “wisdom.” It refers to the quality possessed by a person who is perceptive about people and about situations. He has insight into them, whether from experience or intuition. A person with wisdom will exercise good judgment. Wisdom also includes knowledge of facts. Often in this book a Greek term is used (paideia) which is often translated by such terms as “instruction,” “discipline,” and “education.” In this book it usually has the meaning “instruction,” and seems at times to refer to the content of instruction, that is, knowledge or information (see 6.17). In some languages it will be impossible to use an abstract noun for “wisdom,” but translators will use a verbal phrase; for example, “thinking and acting as God would have you do.”

Figure of Wisdom: Like the books of Proverbs and Sirach, this book often speaks of Wisdom as if it were a person, a woman. This is most obvious in the central section, 6.12–9.18, but there are other places where “wisdom” may be considered a concept or a person. The Good News Translation (GNT) consistently treats Wisdom as a person, capitalizing the noun and referring to it as “she.” The term Wisdom in Hebrew is grammatically feminine, but this will be impossible to show in many languages, especially through pronouns. Also the writer is not thinking of Wisdom as a real person, much less as a goddess. It is a figure of speech. For some translators, especially in cultures where women are never considered wise, handling this will be among the most difficult problems in the book. It will be especially difficult in those languages where a verbal phrase must be used for Wisdom as it is described as being able to call, invite, or warn people. This will require in many instances a clause containing a comparison; for example, “Thinking and acting as God would have us do is like [the comparison] a woman who is radiant and unfading” (6.12). While the Handbook cannot anticipate every problem particular translators may face, it will try to be helpful in offering suggestions for translators who find difficulty in treating Wisdom as a person.

Spirit: The word “spirit” (pneuma in Greek) is used several times in this book in close connection with “wisdom.” There are six occurrences that are likely to bother the careful translator, and we list them here, literally translated, for convenience.

1.5 “A holy spirit of instruction.” The word “instruction” seems to have virtually the same meaning as “wisdom” here. The word “spirit” does not indicate any being or thing separate from instruction or wisdom. It simply calls attention to the importance of what instruction really means.
1.6 “Wisdom is a spirit that is kindly disposed toward people.” Here wisdom is a spirit. But again, it is nothing separate from wisdom; the words call attention to the importance of what wisdom really involves. There is a textual variant on this line which reads “A/The spirit of wisdom is kindly disposed….”
1.7 “A/The spirit of the Lord has filled the world.” This does not say that the spirit of the Lord is Wisdom, but it functions in much the same way.
7.7 “A spirit of wisdom came to me.” Here again, the author is talking of wisdom itself/herself, not of anything separate from wisdom.
7.22-23 “There is in [Wisdom] a spirit that is intelligent, holy … kindly disposed to people….” Here Wisdom is pictured as having a spirit, one that is holy (1.5) and kindly disposed to people (1.6). But as 7.24 makes rather clear, speaking of the spirit of Wisdom is the same as speaking of Wisdom itself/herself. In that verse Wisdom is directly spoken of.
9.17 “Who has learned…. unless you have given Wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?” Here Wisdom and God’s spirit are, for all practical purposes, the same. This, by the way, is the only one of these passages where the definite article is used with the word “spirit” in Greek.

It is helpful to compare these usages with Isa 11.2, where “the spirit of the LORD” is identified with “the spirit of wisdom and understanding …” (New Revised Standard Version). We may draw the conclusion that the author of our book uses these terms with some fluidity and flexibility, and had no intention of being precise and consistent in his use of poetic imagery. It follows that translators also may use some fluidity. Some translators may find a word ready at hand that seems to correspond nicely to “spirit” in these passages. Others may find that they express the meaning of some of these passages best by not representing the word at all. More specific suggestions will be found at the appropriate places in the commentary.

Finally, we should note that where God’s spirit is spoken of, even in 9.17, the author is not referring to the Christian idea of the Holy Spirit as a member of the Trinity. It is closer to the Old Testament usage found in Isa 63.10, or Psa 51.11. Some versions (for instance, Revised Standard Version and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) capitalize these references, but most (including New Revised Standard Version) do not. Capitalization practice will vary from language to language, of course, but in this Handbook we advise translators not to adopt any practice that would unnecessarily suggest an identification with the Holy Spirit of Christian theology.

Immortality: The word “immortality” means “deathlessness.” At 1.15 righteousness is said to be immortal; that is, it never dies. At 12.1 God’s spirit is described as deathless. These places are not big problems; however, the abstract noun “immortality” is used seven times in 3.4; 4.1; 6.18, 19; 8.13, 17; 15.3. The translator may work with this book in the secure knowledge that the writer believes that there is something about a human being that survives death, at least, for a person who knows God.

The ancient Greeks believed that the body was mortal and the soul was immortal; this was to them a statement about the physical world. The sky is blue, rocks are hard, and souls are immortal. Our writer is using the Greek term (it is never used in the books of the Hebrew Old Testament), but is not giving it the usual Greek sense. In Wisdom, immortality is a gift from God, which God gives to the righteous.

We will give suggestions at the relevant places in the commentary concerning how translators might deal with each occurrence of “immortality.” There are ways to express the idea without using an abstract noun.

Proper names: At a number of points in the book the author refers to particular individuals and peoples in biblical history (see especially chapter 10), but never uses their names. Apart from God and Wisdom, there are no proper names in the book. The reader deserves to know who these people are, but the author’s preference for leaving people nameless should be honored by the translator if possible. In this Handbook we will suggest that translators leave any identification of particular people to the section headings (or footnotes, if they so choose) and not work this into the translation itself. Translators will save time by deciding in advance how this problem will be solved, whether by following the suggestions in the Handbook, by using footnotes, or by following GNT in working the names into the translation.

The connector “For”: In this book there are numerous instances of the connector “For” (gar in Greek). In some cases this connector serves no clear grammatical purpose and may be omitted. In other cases it may be rendered as “Because,” “Therefore,” “So,” or even “Yes” to indicate a stress. In each case we will try to help translators understand the linguistic purpose of the connector.

Outline of the book

In the following outline the words and phrases in italics are intended for the translator’s help only and should not be included in the translation. Along with the indentation patterns, these are intended to help visualize the way the book is organized. The phrases not in italics are the actual section headings used in the commentary.

Part One. Wisdom and immortality (1.1–6.21)
1A. Rulers and justice (1.1-15)
1A-1. The search for justice (1.1-5)
1A-2. God is aware of what we say (1.6-11)
1A-3. God’s justice does not die (1.12-15)
1B. Rejecting justice is rejecting life (the ungodly speak) (1.16–2.24)
1C. The destiny of the righteous who suffer (3.1-9)
1D. The destiny of the ungodly (3.10-13a)
1E. The destiny of the righteous who have no children (3.13b–4.6)
1F. The reward of the righteous who die young (4.7-15)
1G. The destiny of the ungodly (4.16-20)
1H. The regrets of the ungodly (the ungodly speak) (5.1-23)
1I. Rulers and Wisdom (6.1-21)
1I-1. The responsibility of rulers (6.1-11)
1I-2. Searching for Wisdom (6.12-21)

Part Two. Solomon praises Wisdom (6.22–11.1)
2A. Introduction to Solomon’s discussion (transitional passage) (6.22-25)
2B. Kings are only human (7.1-6)
2C. Solomon tells of his love for Wisdom (7.7-14)
2D. God is the source of Wisdom (prayer) (7.15-22a)
2E. Solomon describes Wisdom (7.22b–8.1)
2F. Solomon tells of his love for Wisdom (8.2-21)
2G. Solomon prays for Wisdom (9.1-18)
2G-1. God is the source of Wisdom (9.1-12)
2G-2. Wisdom is the only hope for human beings (9.13-18)
2H. Wisdom protected the ancestors of Israel (transitional passage) (10.1–11.1)
2H-1. Wisdom protected Adam (10.1-2)
2H-2. Cain abandoned Wisdom (10.3)
2H-3. Wisdom protected Noah (10.4)
2H-4. Wisdom helped Abraham (10.5)
2H-5. Wisdom rescued Lot (10.6-9)
2H-6. Wisdom protected Jacob (10.10-12)
2H-7. Wisdom rescued Joseph (10.13-14)
2H-8. Wisdom led Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt (10.15–11.1)

Part Three. God revealed his justice as the Israelites left Egypt (11.2–19.22)
3A. First comparison: The Nile River turned to blood; water flowed from the rock (11.2-14)
3B. First digression: God gave warnings to various Gentile nations (11.15–12.27)
3B-1. God’s warnings to the Egyptians (11.15-20)
3B-2. God’s mercy (11.21–12.2)
3B-3. God’s warnings to the Canaanites (12.3-11)
3B-4. God’s mercy (12.12-18)
3B-5. God’s warnings to the Israelites and his mercy (12.19-22)
3B-6. God’s punishment of the Egyptians (12.23-27)
3C. Second digression: Idolatry is foolish (13.1–15.19)
3C-1. Nature worshipers do not know God (13.1-9)
3C-2. The foolishness of woodworkers who make idols (13.10-19)
3C-3. Wooden idols compared with God’s mercy and Noah’s wooden boat (14.1-11)
3C-4. The origins of idol worship (14.12-21)
3C-5. The results of idolatry (14.22-31)
3C-6. Idols compared with God’s mercy (15.1-6)
3C-7. The foolishness of artists who make idols (15.7-13)
3C-8. The Egyptians were even worse than other idol worshipers (15.14-19)
3D. Second comparison: A plague of animals; the gift of quail as food (16.1-4)
3E. Third comparison: A plague of insects; the gift of the bronze snake (16.5-14)
3F. Fourth comparison: Storms from the sky; manna from heaven (16.15-29)
3G. Fifth comparison: Fearsome darkness; the column of fire (17.1–18.4)
3H. Sixth comparison: The death of the Egyptians; protection of the Israelites (18.5–19.5)
3H-1. The death of the Egyptian firstborn (18.5-19)
3H-2. Aaron’s prayer saved the Israelites from death (18.20-25)
3H-3. The death of the Egyptians at the Red Sea (18.25b–19.5)
3I. Conclusion (19.6-22)
3I-1. The Israelites’ miraculous journey (19.6-12)
3I-2. The Egyptians compared to the men of Sodom (19.13-17)
3I-3. A re-created world (19.18-22)

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Wisdom of Solomon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2004. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Wisdom 1:6

For wisdom is a kindly spirit: The connector For is better rendered as “Although” (Contemporary English Version). The word translated kindly is more literally translated by Good News Translation “friendly to people.” See Pro 8.17, which speaks of Wisdom “loving” people. If it is difficult to express the idea of Wisdom as a spirit, nothing essential is omitted by leaving the word untranslated: “Wisdom is friendly to people.”

And will not free a blasphemer from the guilt of his words: Commentators have often noticed that the first line of this verse appears out of context. There is no easy explanation for this, but the best way for translators to deal with the problem is to begin this second line with “but” (Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version) rather than and. A blasphemer is someone “who speaks against God” (Good News Translation), “speak[s] evil of God” (Contemporary English Version), or “who says bad things [or, words] against God.” Will not free … from the guilt is expressed in Good News Translation by “will not forgive” and in Contemporary English Version by “will still hold you guilty.” The meaning of words is included in the verb “speaks” in Good News Translation.

In this line Wisdom acts as a person by not forgiving the blasphemer. For this reason Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version refer back to Wisdom as “she.” This is the first time in the book that this problem arises. Here it may be possible to avoid it, and there is something to be said for doing so, since there is little in the context to prepare the reader for this figure of speech. In 6.12-9.18 it will be impossible to avoid the problem, for there Wisdom is consistently personified in a long passage.

The meaning in the first two lines appears to be that even though Wisdom is kindly disposed toward human beings and works toward the good of humanity, there is no such thing as being wise enough to avoid guilt for blasphemy. The text does not actually say, as Good News Translation does, that Wisdom will not forgive. Alternative models for these lines are:

• Wisdom is helpful [or, beneficial] to humanity, but no one can have enough wisdom to avoid guilt [or, punishment] if he speaks against God.

• Although Wisdom is helpful [or, beneficial] to humanity, she [or, it] will still hold you guilty if you speak against God.

Because God is witness of his inmost feelings, and a true observer of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue: Witness here does not say that God sees feelings, but rather that he can testify about them; that is, God is aware of our feelings. Inmost feelings is literally “kidneys,” which is thought of as the bodily source of emotions. Good News Translation simply has “feelings”; this is sufficient, although a modifier such as inmost is acceptable. Observer is roughly equivalent to witness, although it implies not only watching our actions but inspecting them for flaws; Good News Translation combines both into “knows” (so also Contemporary English Version with “are known”). In Hebrew thought, the heart is usually seen as the bodily source of thought, so Good News Translation translates “thoughts” (also Contemporary English Version). Good News Translation translates hearer by a separate word, “hears,” which is fine, but this too could be combined with witness and observer: “God knows how we really feel about things, what we think, and every word we speak.” Or one could go in the opposite direction and say “God is well aware of how we really feel about things; he judges our thoughts and hears every word we speak.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Wisdom of Solomon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2004. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Wisdom 2:23

For God created man for incorruption: The translation of Good News Translation raises unnecessary problems. The author is certainly not denying the reality of physical death, as Good News Translation could be interpreted to mean. New Jerusalem Bible reads “For God created human beings to be immortal,” which is a good translation. This could produce the following model: “When God created us, he made us immortal [or, able to live forever].” The use of the first person plural is certainly not necessary, but it may be helpful.

And made him in the image of his own eternity: There is a textual problem here. While most manuscripts read eternity (thus making the two lines synonymous), some read “nature,” making a reference to Gen 1.26-27. However, immortality is the aspect of God’s nature that is meant here, and it would not be an evasion of the textual problem to translate “When God created us, he made us immortal; he made our human nature like his own.” No footnote would be required.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Wisdom of Solomon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2004. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Wisdom 4:14

For his soul was pleasing to the Lord, therefore he took him quickly from the midst of wickedness: Once again the connector for may be omitted. This verse largely repeats verse 10, without the idea of love, but adding quickly. Quickly here does not mean “suddenly,” and again, contrary to Good News Translation, Enoch is not involved. We could say, for example, “They please the Lord, so he does not hesitate to remove them from this wicked world.” However, the subject of the last line is ambiguous, so we could also translate this way: “They please the Lord, so they hurry away from all this wickedness.” The Handbook prefers the first of these two.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Wisdom of Solomon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2004. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Wisdom 6:3

For your dominion was given you from the Lord, and your sovereignty from the Most High: These two lines are strictly parallel and have the same meaning. Many translators will want to follow Good News Translation in combining them. If verse 2 is rendered as suggested above, we would begin a new sentence here without the connector For: “Your authority has been given to you by the Lord Most High” or “The Lord Most High gave your authority to you.” Most High refers to God’s awesome majesty [or, power], not to size or height (see also the comment at 5.15).

Who will search out your works and inquire into your plans: Search out your works means that God will study what these rulers have done and judge it; inquire into your plans means that God will do the same with what they are planning to do in the future. Translators may best express this as a separate sentence: “He will investigate what you have done and what you plan to do [or, your actions and your intentions].”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Wisdom of Solomon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2004. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Wisdom 7:10

I loved her more than health and beauty: Beauty does not necessarily apply only to human beauty, but almost certainly that is what it means here. Good News Translation has “good looks” to make it clear that Solomon is talking of his own appearance. “Good looks” is a more appropriate description of a man’s appearance in English than beauty. Contemporary English Version has a good alternative model for this line: “I preferred Wisdom more than a healthy and handsome body.”

And I chose to have her rather than light, because her radiance never ceases: Her radiance never ceases is more literally “her kind of radiance never sleeps.” Good News Translation has an effective translation of these lines by reversing them, beginning with “Hers is a brightness that never grows dim,” and then saying “… any other light.” Translators could perhaps improve on this by saying “Her kind of brightness never grows dim….”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Wisdom of Solomon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2004. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Wisdom 8:13

Because of her I shall have immortality may be rendered “If I have Wisdom, I will be immortal” or even “Because of Wisdom I will live forever.”

And leave an everlasting remembrance to those who come after me: Good News Translation expresses this well. It would be possible to combine these two lines as Contemporary English Version does with “Because of Wisdom, my name will live on forever.” But since for our author there is a personal immortality with God as well as an immortality in human memory, it would be best not to do so. Compare Sir 39.9-11.

A possible model for the whole verse is:

• Because of Wisdom I will live forever, and those who come after me will never forget me.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Wisdom of Solomon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2004. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.

Translation commentary on Wisdom 10:6

Wisdom rescued a righteous man when the ungodly were perishing: The reference is to the escape of Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Gen 19.24-25. For ungodly see 1.16. Ungodly people in some languages is rendered “people who didn’t worship God” or simply “wicked people.”

He escaped the fire that descended on the Five Cities: The Five Cities (literally “Pentapolis” in Greek) are Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar (Gen 14.2). Zoar was spared the destruction that fell on the others (Gen 19.21-22).

Using Good News Translation as a guide, this verse can be translated as follows:

• Wisdom rescued a righteous [or, good] man and let him escape while ungodly [or, wicked] people were dying in the flames that destroyed the Five Cities.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Wisdom of Solomon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2004. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.