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 9:16

We can hardly guess at what is on earth: Good News Translation expresses this well with “All we can do is make guesses about things on earth.”

And what is at hand we find with labor: Good News Translation again is good. Another approach is “It is difficult to understand things we see every day.”

But who has traced out what is in the heavens?: This is a rhetorical question, and the answer is of course, “No one.” Traced out means “explored.” The question for interpretation is whether the expression what is in the heavens refers to astronomy or to spiritual matters. In this context we believe that spiritual matters is the better choice; compare Good News Translation “heavenly things.” Translators could express the question as “How can we possibly understand matters that have to do with heaven [or, God]?” Or it may be expressed as a statement: “No one has ever come close to understanding matters that have to do with heaven [or, God].”

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 11:12

For a twofold grief possessed them, and a groaning at the memory of what had occurred: The connector for may be omitted. What is meant by the twofold grief is not clear, but apparently the author refers to the Egyptians’ memory of their own suffering and their hearing of the Israelites’ success (verse 13). The biblical account of the Exodus contains nothing about the Egyptians receiving news of the Israelites’ good fortune, such as water from the rock, but our author assumes it. Some understand twofold grief to mean that not only did the Egyptians suffer, but the sufferings became worse when they realized that Israel’s God was the cause of it (verse 13). It is possible to understand what had occurred as “the ones who had departed” (New American Bible).

The verse may prove easier to deal with if the lines are reversed, and perhaps combined with the next verse. We will offer a model at the end of the discussion on the next verse.

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 12:20

Verses 20-21 are one long sentence. Many translators will wish to divide this long sentence into two or more shorter ones (see Good News Translation).

For if thou didst punish with such great care and indulgence the enemies of thy servants and those deserving of death: The connector For may be omitted. The big problem in these two lines is the meaning of the noun translated indulgence. It is not a common word, and although most translations have “indulgence” or something like it, this is little more than a guess that is based on one meaning of the word, which is “release, discharge, divorce.” This word is also a technical term in music, referring to the smallest detectable interval between two tones. This leads us to think that the meaning, “careful investigation,” is the proper one here (given in the appendix of Liddell and Scott’s Greek lexicon). It fits in with great care (that is, “attention”) in these lines, and with “strictness” (that is, “strict examination”) in verse 21a. The idea is not that God punished people indulgently (that is, mercifully), but that he carefully measured out his punishment on them (compare 11.20). So translators may render the first line as “You were very careful to punish them just enough, but not too much.” As in verse 7, thy servants may be translated “your children” or “your people.”

Granting them time and opportunity to give up their wickedness: Compare verses 2 and 10.

A possible approach to this verse is:

• The enemies of your children [or, servants] deserved to die, yet you were very careful to punish them just enough, but not too much. You gave them every opportunity [or, lots of time] to repent of their sins.

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 14:6

For even in the beginning, when arrogant giants were perishing: The phrase For even in the beginning may be translated “Yes, even in ancient days” or even “When this world was still young” (Contemporary English Version). The giants appear in Gen 6.4; compare Sir 16.7; Bar 3.26. In some languages giants will be expressed as “huge and powerful men” or “very tall and powerful men.” Good News Translation “a proud race of giants” is better than arrogant giants the Genesis reference does not speak of them in negative terms. Were perishing is better than “was dying away” (Good News Translation), which hints that the perishing was slow. Probably their death in the flood is meant, so for the last part of this line we could say “while a proud race of giants was drowning.”

The hope of the world took refuge on a raft: The hope of the world refers to Noah, and the raft is the ark, or boat, that he made in which to ride out the flood. The hope of the world may be rendered “the man who was humanity’s only hope for survival [or, the only man who could save humanity].” If at all possible, translators should resist the temptation to name Noah here, since the author has gone out of his way never to speak of anyone by name. Perhaps it can be avoided by inserting a reference to the flood; see the model at the end of this paragraph. Noah’s ark was hardly a raft, yet that is what our author calls it. He probably means to highlight the utter smallness even of that vessel on a worldwide ocean. For the first two lines translators may say “Yes, even in ancient days, while a proud race of giants was drowning [in the flood], the only man who could save humanity found safety on a puny [or, tiny] wooden thing [or, raft].”

And guided by thy hand left to the world the seed of a new generation: This refers to the human race being given a new start by Noah’s descendants. Guided by thy hand definitely belongs with this line, and not the previous one, where Good News Translation has placed it. Hand is a figure of speech representing guidance and protection. Seed of a new generation refers to Noah’s family, from whom all people of the world were to be descended. The new generation itself would be Noah’s grandchildren. For this phrase Good News Translation has “a new generation to carry on the human race.” We would suggest a new sentence for the last line: “Under your protection, he left to [or, gave] the world a new generation to carry on the human race.”

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 15:7

For when a potter kneads the soft earth and laboriously molds each vessel for our service: There is no when in Greek; and the connector For may be omitted as in New Revised Standard Version since this verse begins a new section. Kneads refers to working the clay by hand until it is soft enough to put on the wheel. The verb molds may be misleading; it does not refer to casting clay in a mold, but to shaping it by hand. For our service refers to fashioning an object for practical use. Good News Translation is a good model for these two lines: “A potter works the soft clay and carefully shapes each object for our use.”

He fashions out of the same clay both the vessels that serve clean uses and those for contrary uses, making all in like manner: It is not clear what the author means by clean uses and contrary uses. The Good News Translation rendering “good use” for clean uses is surely wrong; whether an object is put to good use or not depends on the owner, not the maker, and the emphasis here is on the maker’s decision. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “proper use” is closer, and New Jerusalem Bible “intended for a noble use” may be closer. We suggest saying “special use” and “ordinary use” for clean uses and contrary uses following this interpretation, Contemporary English Version has “ordinary dishes and special dishes.” Translators could restructure the material as follows for these three lines: “He makes some things for special use and some for ordinary use, but he makes them all from the same clay, and shapes them in the same manner.” Compare Rom 9.21.

But which shall be the use of each of these the worker in clay decides: Good News Translation translates clearly; so does Contemporary English Version with “and only the potters decide which ones will be ordinary or special.”

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 16:20

At this point the writer shifts to speaking about the blessings God gave Israel. A paragraph break would be helpful here, as in Good News Translation.

Instead of these things thou didst give thy people the food of angels: In the phrase food of angels, the reference is to manna; see Exo 16.14-21. Angels in some languages will be rendered “heavenly messengers,” “heavenly helpers,” or even “God’s heavenly helpers” (see the model below). The introductory sentence in Good News Translation (“But this disaster did not strike your people”) is not in Greek, but is intended only as a help to the reader. Since we do not suggest a section heading here, a lengthy introduction like this is not really necessary. We could say something like “But as for your [own] people, you gave them the food that angels [or, your heavenly helpers] eat.” Compare Psa 78.25.

And without their toil thou didst supply them from heaven with bread ready to eat: Without their toil refers to the work going into making bread. Good News Translation represents this with “and they did not have to prepare it.” In languages that have the same word for “heaven” and “sky,” translators may express from heaven as “from where you live.” In cultures where bread is not eaten, a general term for “food” may be used.

Providing every pleasure and suited to every taste: Num 11.8 describes the taste of manna as like that of bread baked with oil. Later Jewish tradition, which our author is referring to, said that when a person ate the manna it tasted like whatever tasted best to that person. This will be made clear in the next verse. For suited to every taste, Nueva Biblia Española has “of a thousand tastes.” Good News Translation is a reasonable model for this line: “The food you gave delighted everyone, no matter what his taste.”

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 18:4

For their enemies deserved to be deprived of light and imprisoned in darkness may be rendered “But those others [or, their enemies] deserved to have light taken from them, to be imprisoned in darkness.” Or translators may say “But when those others [or, their enemies] were shut up in darkness, deprived of any light, they deserved it” or even “But when you shut their enemies up in darkness, not allowing them to see any light, they deserved it.” Note that the connector For is better rendered as “But” in this context.

Those who had kept thy sons imprisoned: This second line of the verse is closely linked with both the first line and the third line, yet it is difficult to express this verse as one sentence and keep it easily understood. The solution of Good News Translation is to use two sentences. It makes this line part of the first one with “… because they had made prisoners of your people.” Then it repeats “your people” in the last line. This makes “your people” the obvious point of connection.

Through whom the imperishable light of the law was to be given to the world: Good News Translation has a good translation of this line, and furnishes a fairly simple model; but we may also use the active voice: “And it was through your people that you would give the eternal light of your Law to the world.” Here God’s law is compared to light because it makes clear to people how they should live. If the metaphor is difficult, another possible rendering is “And it was through your people that you would give the Law, which would always show people how they should live.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• But when you shut their enemies up in darkness, not allowing them to see any light, they deserved it. This was because they had imprisoned [or, made prisoners of] your people. And it was through your people that you would give the eternal light of your Law to the world.

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.