Wisdom of Solomon 10

329 Pages·2009·1.65 MB·English

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA

Wisdom of Solomon 10: A Jewish Hellenistic Reinterpretation of Early Israelite
History through Sapiential Lenses

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to the Faculty of the
School of Theology and Religious Studies
Of The Catholic University of America
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
©
Copyright
All Rights Reserved
By
Andrew T. Glicksman

Washington, D.C.
2010
Wisdom of Solomon 10: A Jewish Hellenistic Reinterpretation of Early Israelite
History through Sapiential Lenses

Andrew T. Glicksman, Ph.D.
Director: Alexander A. Di Lella, O.F.M., S.T.L., S.S.L., Ph.D.

The Wisdom of Solomon 10 is a unique passage in OT Wisdom literature since it
both presents Lady Wisdom as God’s acting agent in early Israelite history and explicitly
categorizes key biblical figures as either righteous or unrighteous. Structurally, Wisdom
10 is a pivotal text that binds the two halves of the book together through its vocabulary
and themes. Although chap. 10 is such a unique passage that is central to the work, no
full-scale study of this chapter has been attempted. Recent scholarship on the Wisdom of
Solomon has focused on the identification of genres in the book’s subsections and the
author’s reinterpretation of Scripture.
Through the use of historical and literary criticism, this study especially focuses
on the genre and hermeneutical method of Wisdom 10 in comparison to other passages in
the book and similar types of literature inside and outside the Bible. Chapter One
establishes the purpose and methodology of the study, Chapter Two sets the literary and
historical contexts for the Wisdom of Solomon, and Chapters Three to Six analyze the
text poetically, form-critically, exegetically, and hermeneutically.
This study concludes that Pseudo-Solomon, the book’s author, composed and
used Wisdom 10 in order to bind the two halves of the book together. Its genre is that of a
Beispielreihe, or example list, and its form is an alternation of positive and negative
examples that are linked by the repetition of a keyword. The passage also reflects
elements of aretalogy, synkrisis, and midrash. Because of the first two of these elements,
chap. 10 may be seen as supplementing the encomiastic genre in chaps. 6–9. Furthermore,
the aretalogical flavor of the text depicts Lady Wisdom in ways similar to the popular
Hellenistic Egyptian goddess Isis in order to show Wisdom’s superiority to the pagan deity.
Lastly, chap. 10 exhibits six primary hermeneutical principles used by the author
throughout the book, albeit with differing degrees of focus.
Since the Wisdom of Solomon is a late composition, this study illuminates one facet
of the Jewish Hellenistic reinterpretation of Scripture and will elucidate similar modes of
exegesis in the early rabbinical and early Christian eras.
This dissertation by Andrew T. Glicksman fulfills the dissertation requirement for the
doctoral degree in biblical studies approved by Alexander A. Di Lella, O.F.M., S.T.L.,
S.S.L., Ph.D., as Director, and by Christopher T. Begg, Ph.D., S.T.D., and Francis T.
Gignac, S.J., S.T.L., D.Phil., as Readers.

_____________________________________________________
Alexander A. Di Lella, O.F.M., S.T.L., S.S.L., Ph.D., Director

_____________________________________________________
Christopher T. Begg, Ph.D., S.T.D., Reader

_____________________________________________________
Francis T. Gignac, S.J., S.T.L., D.Phil., Reader

i i
TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ……………………..………………………………………... iii
SIGLA ………………………………………………..………………………………… vii
FOREWARD AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ………...……………………………… x

CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION ……………………………………… 1
A Brief Overview of Recent Important Studies on the Wisdom of Solomon …………... 2
Reasons for the Present Study ………………………………………………………….... 4
Methodology …………………………………………………………………………….. 6

CHAPTER TWO: LITERARY AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT ………………….….. 8
Authorship and Composition ………………………...………………………………….. 8
Geographical Setting …………………………………………...………………………. 15
Historical Context and Dating …………………………………………………………. 18
Intended Audience and Purpose of Composition ………………………...…………….. 31
Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………... 39

CHAPTER THREE: STRUCTURAL AND POETICAL ANALYSIS ……………….. 41
Discussion of Textual Witnesses ..………………………………………..……………. 42
Greek Text of Wisdom 10:1–11:1 …………………………………..…………………. 44
English Translation of Wisdom 10:1–11:1 …………………………..………………… 49
Theories concerning the Structure of the Wisdom of Solomon ……..………………… 52
ii i
Limits of the Composition in Wisdom 10 ……………………………..……………….. 60
Placement and Role of Wisdom 10:1–11:1 within the Larger Structure ….…………… 65
The Wisdom of Solomon: Poetry or Prose? ………………………………..………….. 73
Wisdom 10:1–11:1 as Greek Rhythmic Prose with Hebrew Poetic Structure …………. 77
Internal Structure of Wisdom 10:1–11:1 …………………….………………………… 78
Investigation of Specific Poetic and Rhythmic Prose Elements in Wisdom 10 ……….. 86
Unifying Elements among/between Strophes …….……………………………. 86
Unifying Elements within a Colon ………………………………………….…. 92
Unifying Elements between Cola of the Same Verse …….……………………. 94
Unifying Elements between Cola of Different Verses …....…………………… 99
Conclusion ………………………………………………………….………………… 102

CHAPTER FOUR: GENRE AND FORM …………………………………...………. 104
Definition and Discussion of “Genre” and “Form” …………………………...……… 104
Genre of the Wisdom of Solomon and Its Subsections ………………………………. 106
Genre of Wisdom 10:1–11:1 and Its Surrounding Context ………….……………….. 117
Wisdom 6–10 and Other Depictions of Lady Wisdom in the OT ……………. 118
Wisdom 10 and OT Hymns Praising God’s Deeds in Israelite History ……… 122
Encomium as a Literary Genre …………………………………………...…... 127
Wisdom 6–10 as an Encomium ……………………………………….……… 130
Role of Wisdom 10 in the Encomium in Wisdom 6–10 …………………….... 139
Aretalogy as a Literary Genre ………………………………….……... 140
Wisdom 6–10 as an Aretalogy ………………………………………... 144
iv
Wisdom 10 as an Aretalogy …………………………………………... 147
Exempla or Beispielreihe as a Literary Genre ………………….…….. 149
Examples of Positive Beispielreihen …………………………………. 151
Example of a Negative Beispielreihe …………………………………. 155
Examples of Mixed Beispielreihen …………………………….……... 157
Wisdom 10 as a Beispielreihe ………………………………….……... 170
Wisdom 10 Compared to Other Beispielreihen ………………………. 173
Wisdom 10:1–11:1 and Its Relationship to the Form and Genre of Wisdom 11–19 …. 176
Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………. 177

CHAPTER FIVE: EXEGESIS ……………………………………………………….. 179
Relevant Judeo-Christian Hellenistic Literature ……………………………….……... 180
Relevant Greco-Roman Isis Texts ……………………………………………………. 181
Preliminary Remarks concerning Isis and Lady Wisdom in Wisdom 10 …….………. 183
Strophe I: Wisdom 10:1-5 …………………………………………………….………. 184
Strophe II: Wisdom 10:6-9 …………………………………………………………… 201
Strophe III: Wisdom 10:10-12 ………………………………………………………... 209
Strophe IV: Wisdom 10:13-14 ………………………………………………………... 220
Strophe V: Wisdom 10:15–11:1 ……………………………………………………… 226
Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………. 243

CHAPTER SIX: HERMENEUTICAL METHOD …………………………………... 246
Principles for Evaluating Hermeneutical Method ………………………………….…. 247
v
Evaluation of the Hermeneutical Method in Wisdom 10 …………………………….. 250
Vocabulary and Imagery in Wisdom 10 ………………………….…………… 251
Selection of Details in Wisdom 10 ……………………………….…………… 254
Arrangement of Material in Wisdom 10 ………………………….…….……... 258
Application of the Biblical Text in Wisdom 10 ………………….……………. 259
Comparison of the Hermeneutical Method in Wisdom 10 to Other Parts of the Book 260
Scriptural Interpretation in Wisdom 1:1–6:21 ……………………………….... 261
Comparison of Scriptural Interpretation in Wisdom 1:1–6:21 and Wisdom 10... 264
Scriptural Interpretation in Wisdom 6:22–9:18 …………………………….….. 266
Comparison of Scriptural Interpretation in Wisdom 6:22–9:18 and Wisdom 10 269
Scriptural Interpretation in Wisdom 11:2–19:22 …………………………..…... 271
Comparison of Scriptural Interpretation in Wisdom 10 and Wisdom 11–19 ….. 275
Comparison of the Exodus Story in Wisdom 10 and Wisdom 11–19 ………………... 279
Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………. 288

CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION ………………………………………………... 291

BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………. 299
Primary Sources ……………………………………………………………… 299
Secondary Sources …………………………………………………………… 302

v i
SIGLA
AB Anchor Bible
ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary. Ed. David Noel Freedman. 6 vols. New York:
Doubleday, 1992.
AnBib Analecta biblica
ASP American Studies in Papyrology
ATD Das Alte Testament Deutsche
BBB Bonner biblische Beiträge
BEATAJ Beiträge zur Erforschung des Alten Testaments und des antiken
Judentums
BETL Bibliotheca Ephemeridum theologicarum Lovaniensium
Bib Biblica
BZ Biblische Zeitschrift
BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
CBET Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology
CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly
CBQMS CBQ, Monograph Series
CBSC Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
CRAIBL Comptes rendus de l’Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres
CRINT Compendia rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum
DBSup Dictionnaire de la Bible, Supplément
EHAT Exegetisches Handbuch zum Alten Testament
EPROER Études préliminaires aux religions orientales dans l’Empire romain
vi i
FBBS Facet Books, Biblical Series
FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments
GCS Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller
HAT Handbuch zum Alten Testament
HBD Harper’s Bible Dictionary. Ed. Paul J. Achtemeier. San Francisco: Harper
& Row, 1985.
HSM Harvard Semitic Monographs
HTR Harvard Theological Review
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
JQR Jewish Quarterly Review
JSHRZ Jüdische Schriften aus hellenistisch-römischer Zeit
JSJSup Supplements to Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian,
Hellenistic, and Roman Periods
JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplement Series
JSPSup Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, Supplement Series
JTS Journal for Theological Studies
LCL Loeb Classical Library
LD Lectio divina
LEC Library of Early Christianity
MGWJ Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums
vi ii