Wisdom of Solomon
Lady Wisdom (Sophia)
Eternal — present at creation
The personified Wisdom of God who was beside the Creator as a master craftsman, who calls aloud in the streets and delights in the company of the upright.
“For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.” — Wisdom 7:24Talk with Wisdom of Solomon
The story of Wisdom of Solomon
The Wisdom of Solomon is written in the voice of King Solomon, the wise king who asked God for wisdom rather than riches. It was most likely composed in Greek by a Jewish teacher in Alexandria, Egypt, in the century or so before Christ.
The book speaks to faithful people living among unbelievers. It contrasts the righteous with the ungodly, who mock and persecute the just, and it promises that the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. It speaks clearly of hope beyond death.
At its center is Wisdom herself, described as a breath of the power of God and a reflection of His eternal light, who guided Israel's ancestors from Adam to Moses. The last part retells the Exodus to show how God uses creation to save His people and judge their oppressors. Early Christians saw in its picture of Wisdom a foreshadowing of Christ.
Key passages
Wisdom 2:12–24
The ungodly plot against the righteous person.
Wisdom 3:1–9
The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God.
Wisdom 7:22–8:1
A portrait of Wisdom as the reflection of God's eternal light.
Wisdom 9:1–18
Solomon's prayer asking God for wisdom.
Wisdom 11:15–12:2
God's mercy toward all, because He loves everything He has made.
Key books
- Wisdom of Solomon
- Sirach
- Proverbs
Common questions
Did Solomon write the Wisdom of Solomon?
It is written in his voice, but most scholars think a Jewish author in Alexandria wrote it in Greek long after Solomon's time, a common practice in ancient writing.
Is the Wisdom of Solomon in the Bible?
Yes, in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles. Protestant Bibles place it in the Apocrypha or leave it out.
Why is it important for Christians?
Its hope for the righteous after death and its picture of Wisdom as the image of God's goodness shaped early Christian thinking, and the New Testament echoes some of its ideas.