Book of Wisdom

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Template:Books of the Old Testament Wisdom or the Wisdom of Solomon is one of the deuterocanonical books of the Bible. There are no surviving copies of the text in Hebrew. Although the author claims to be Solomon, many scholars believe that its language and ideas are of Greek origin and therefore the author is an Alexandrian Jew. Thus it is the most classical Greek in the Septuagint. It is usually dated to the 1st or 2nd century BC. The author of the text, often referred to as "Ps-Solomon" by some, is noted by scholars as well versed in the popular philosophical, religious, and ethical writings of Hellenistic Alexandria.

Philosophical influences may possibly include those of Middle-Platonism (and much of its foundational classical Platonic thinking). Some religious and ethical influences that are found in the Book may stem from Greco-Roman Stoicism, which blossomed in popular culture.

It is considered to be a possible source for the Gospel of Matthew. Parallels between Wisdom and Matthew include the theme of testing and mocking of a servant of God’s claim to be protected by God. According to Matthew Jesus is the suffering servant of God. The best example is that Matthew 27:43, which is connected to Jesus, and which is uniquely Matthian material with no parallels in other gospels, is very similar in language and theme to Wisdom 2:12-20, which in turn seems to be alluding to the suffering servant of Psalm 22:8.

Matthew 27:43 "He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'"

Wisdom 2:13 "He professeth to have the knowledge of God: and he calleth himself the child of the Lord..." 17 "Let us see if his words be true..." 18 "For if the just man be the son of God, he will help him, and deliver him."

Psalm 22:8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."

Note that Matthew's phrase "the Son of God" appears in Wisdom but not in the Psalm.

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