The Book of Wisdom, which does not appear in the Hebrew Bible, has the title “The Wisdom of Solomon” in the Greek manuscripts. Experts put the date of composition towards the middle of the first century B.C., thus making it the last to be written of the books of the Old Testament.

  As we have seen in previous books of Jewish wisdom literature, the author writes as if he is Solomon – the greatest sage of Israel, who lived many centuries earlier. This is a device very common in Old Testament literature.

  The whole book was written originally in Greek and by one man. There is a closely knit composition to it which is much more in evidence in the Greek than in our translations. The author has marked the limit of each paragraph by repeating a word or a phrase used at its beginning. Also, he has counted his poetic verses for a quantitative  symmetry based on the golden mean or divine proportion characteristic of Greek architecture, art, mathematics, and literature. As with a Grecian urn, we do not have to know the precise proportions to appreciate its beauty, and as with the urn appreciation will grow with extensive study.

  Although we do not know the real name of the author, there is no doubt that he was a Jew living in the Greek world, most probably in Alexandria – the great intellectual and scientific center of the Mediterranean world, which had one of the largest Jewish populations outside of Israel.

 Cultural life in Alexandria was very attractive. Hence it was extremely difficult for Jews living there to remain faithful to Yahweh in the face of imposing philosophical systems, impressive advances in the physical sciences, fascinating mystery religions, and seductive popular cults such as astrology. To strengthen the faith of his fellow Jews was the purpose of the author of the Book of Wisdom. At the same time, he hoped to lead pagans to a love of the true God. He would achieve his double purpose by writing not as a philosopher or as a theologian but as a typical sage of Israel.

  He writes of wisdom that is born of God, obtained in prayer, the fountainhead of all virtues and source of every good. To this traditional development of wisdom, the author makes his own unique contribution and in doing so he outstrips his predecessors. For the first time, the problem of retribution, punishment of the wicked and reward of the good, finds its solution in this book.

  The author states clearly for the first time in the Old Testament that man is immortal. “Yet God did make man imperishable, he made him in the image of his own nature”(2:23). And on this basis he concludes that this life is only a preparation for another life in which the virtuous live with God and the wicked are punished: “Those who trust in him will understand the truth, those who are faithful will live with him in love; for grace and mercy await those he has chosen. But the godless will be duly punished for their reasoning, for neglecting the virtuous man and deserting the Lord” (3:9-10).

  The traditional view of life after death was a weak and pale existence n Sheol separated from God with everyone the same. Reward and punishment had to come in this life with a long life, a large family, riches and prestige for the just man and misfortune for the wicked man. Experience continually tested this theory and found it wanting. Various solutions were proposed that tended towards the solution of the Book of Wisdom but were never stated with the assurance and conviction found in this book.

  Besides this unique contribution on retribution, the author introduces into the biblical vocabulary the Greek terms of providence, conscience, and the cardinal virtues to describe ideas already familiar in Judaism. Also, he provides us with the only Old Testament reference to the phrase, “the kingdom of God” (10:10), which the New Testament uses so often. The author explains miracles in terms of Greek philosophy, he views the Exodus as a new creation, he discusses the possibility of knowing God through creation.

We can divide the Book of Wisdom into two main sections: The Praises of Wisdom (1:1-11:1) and God’s Fidelity to His People in the Exodus (11:2-19:22). In the first section, the author attempts to show the Jews that they have no reason to envy the wisdom of the pagans because they possess true wisdom. The author does not reject Greek culture but uses it in explaining the true nature of wisdom. Wisdom was active in the whole work of creation and wisdom, as an attribute of God, carries history to its goal. The author follows the other wisdom writers who do not give wisdom an existence of its own, but the whole passage on the nature of wisdom (7:22-8:8) is a step forward in the expression and the deeper understanding of the traditional ideas. The New Testament draws upon this passage for its theology of the Word, especially in the first chapter of St. John’s Gospel.

  In the second part of the book, the author recalls God’s earlier dealings with the just and with the wicked in Egypt at the time of the Exodus. In doing so, he presents a fresh interpretation of the facts while outlining a religious philosophy of history.

  The Book of Wisdom can strengthen modern Christians as it did the Jews who were so attracted to a culture which weakened their faith. We conclude as did the author of the Book of Wisdom: “Yes, Lord, in every way you have made your people great and glorious; you have never disdained them, but stood by them always and everywhere” (19:22).