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