Faithfulness to God: Reflections on the Wisdom of Solomon 13-15

Faithfulness to God: Reflections on the Wisdom of Solomon 13-15

Richard L.S.PHUA

Faithfulness to God, a “given” within Judaism, requires little explication. However, it is mentioned in almost every Old Testament text and throughout most Second Temple Jewish texts. Oftentimes it is rhetorically and polemically argued, sometimes straightforwardly, sometimes. The latter may be seen in the ancient book of the Wisdom of Solomon, particularly chapters 13-15.

What is “faithfulness to God”? This question seems easy enough to answer. However, within Wisdom of Solomon “faithfulness to God” is viewed differently and, in chapters 13-15, it is explicated in terms of “wisdom”. But what is “wisdom”? More specifically, what is “wisdom” in the Second Temple period? Is it mere knowledge about God and Jewish theology, or is it merely about being “street-smart”?

This paper proposes a different appropriation, and therefore a different concept of “wisdom” in the Second Temple period, represented notably in the Wisdom of Solomon chapters 13-15.

The central tenet of Israelite religion according to the Old Testament is the belief in the one God, Yahweh. However, this was neglected by the people during most of Israel's history before the exile. It was during the exile that the Jewish people reviewed their history , reflected upon their national tragedy and fate, and realized that their ancestors had failed to keep the Law of God and were unfaithful to Yahweh. This theme, however, is not new. They discovered that their prophets had long ago prophesied against their unfaithfulness and that in their wisdom literature the fear and therefore worship of the One True God of Israel was essential to the attainment of true wisdom. All this means “faithfulness to God”.

The theme of wisdom therefore continues and, to some extent, culminates in the writing of the Wisdom of Solomon, in which the author strongly rejects and condemns idolatry and other religious traditions, not least the Egyptian animal worship, and in chapters 13-15, the author singles out idolatry for discussion. This paper seeks to demonstrate the theme of faithfulness through a careful analysis of these three pertinent chapters and concludes that “true wisdom”, to the author of Wisdom of Solomon, is to be found in one's faithfulness to God.