The integrity of the book is not only impugned by those who dispute its unity, but by some who admit that it has a regularly developed plan. Thus Grotins will have it that it is imperfect and unfinished, having been mutilated by some accident of time ; while Cal- met, who also maintains that the book is unfinished, hesitates to decide whether the end was lost by acci- dent or through the unfavorable circumstances of the times, (ir whetlicr it was designedly omitted by the au- thor himself. But a conclusion more apposite and more
in harmou)' with the design of the book can hardly be imagined than xix, 22, in which the just retlection and moral lesson are enunciated as deduced from the whole treatise, that the righteous are under God's special care, and that he " assists them in every time and place." Equally untenable is the assertion that the book con- tains interpolations by a Christian hand. This asser- tion was first made by Grotius ("Christiana quiedam commodis locis addidit," Prcef. in Librum Sapienti(e), who in his Comment, specifies iv, 7, where he remarks, " Sed haec, ut dixi, Evangelium magis redolent." (iriitz {Geschichte der Juden [2d ed. Leips. 1863], iii, 443 sq.), who advocates the same opinion, adduces ii, 24; iii, 13; iv, 1 ; xiv, 7. But all these passages, when fairly in- terpreted, are perfectly consistent with Jewish senti- ments : and we are almost sure that if the erudite Gratz had consulted Grimm's masterly commentary on the passages in question when preparing the second edition of the tiiird volume of his History, he would not have reprinted so literally the remarks from the first edition on this subject.
IV. Philosophical and Doctrinal Character. — 1. Though there are Platonic and Stoical sentiments in this book, yet it is not to be supposed that the author propounds therein a philosophical view of Judaism. The book of Wisdom contains no greater admixture of Greek elements than the post-Babylonian canonical writings contain of Persian elements. It is essentially based upon the truths embodied in the Old Test., whose spirit it breathes, and whose doctrines it sets forth as paramount, while the Greek sentiments are very sub- ordinate, and are such as would almost enter spontane- ously into the mind of any educated Jew residing iu such a place as Alexandria.
The doctrines of divine and human wisdom (or ob- jective and subjective wisdom, as it is termed) propound- ed in this book are simply amplifications and bolder personifications of what is to be found in Proverbs and Ecclesiasticus. This may be seen iu the conception of divine wisdom being an emanation from, or the Spirit of God present with, the Deity before and during the crea- tion of the world, and brooding over the elements of the unformed world ( Wisd. vii, 22, 25 ; ix, 9, 17 ; corap. Prov. iii, 19; viii, 22-2G ; Job xxxiii, 4; Ecclus. xxiv, 3) ; in the view that human wisdom proceeds from the primordial divine wisdom which permeates all finite and pure spirits (Wisd. vii, 25; comp. Job xxxii, 8; Prov. ii,ti; Ecclus. i, 1), for which reason the two not unfre- quently merge into one another (Wisd. vii, 12 ; viii, 6; x; comp. Prov. iii, 13-20; viii) ; that she is ^'ihe uni- versitas litterarum," she teaches us all arts and sciences — cosmology, chronology, meteorology, astronomy, zool- ogy, pneumatology, psychology, botany, pharmacy, pol- itics, philosophy of history, parables, and enigmas (Wisd. vii, 17-21 ; viii, 8 ; comp. Exod. xxxi, 3 ; 1 Kings iii, 12; iv, 29-34). and the whole range of morals and spiritual virtues (Wisd. i, 1-18 ; x, 1-15 ; Prov. i, 7 ; iii). See the article preceding.
Not only does the author of this book derive his lead- ing thoughts from the canonical Scriptures of the Old Test., but, as an orthodox Jew, he even espouses the traditions of his fathers. Thus in harmony with these traditions, which tell us that models of both the taber- nacle and the temple were shown by God to Moses and Solomon, he speaks of the temple in Jerusalem as having been made after the model of the temple in heaven (comp. ni^u^na aKt]V)jc ayia^ ijv Trpo/ji-oi'/joirnc cltt' apxfJQ [Wisd. ix, 8] with "1313 niJTiba Tipm P'^S
nb"T2bo lunp-an n-^n naa^ [Menachoth, 2iq; Rashi,
On Exod. XXV, 9, 40 ; I/eb. viii, 5). Ch. x, 19 b, which has occasioned great difficulty to interpreters, and which the Vidgate, Luther, the Zurich Bible, Coverdale's ver- sion, Matthew's Bible, Cromwell's Bible, Cranmer's Bi- ble, the Geneva version, the Bishops' Bible, Grotius, Calraet,etc., take as antithetical to ver. 19 a, referring it to the Israelites whom wisdom brought forth from
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the depth of the sea — thus violating both its connection wiili tlie following verse, as indicated by Cia toito and tiie sense of avalipdZiii', which is not lo bring out, but to fiiil out, to cast out — is based upon a tradition which tells us tiiat the sea spit out the corpses of the Egyp- tians when the Jews despoiled them of their weapons. 'J'iiis tradition is given in the Mechilta, the so-called Chdldee paraphruseg of Jerusalem, and Jonathan ben- Uzziel. On Kxod. xi\ VI, and firke de Rabbi Eiiezer, sect, xlii. and is at the basis of the account in Josephus {Ant. ii. HI. i>). Our author also follows tradition in his re- mark that it was not the turning to the brazen serpent, as stated in Numb, xxi, 9, but to God, which saved the Israelites (Wisd. xvi, 7; comp. Rosh hash-tihanah, 2() ; Jerusalem Targuin; and Kashi, Oh jVi/wi. rra-?, 9); that the manna (Numb, xi, 8) had all manner of pleasant tastes (Wisd. xvi, 20, 21 ; comp. Yoma,~ii); that pray- ers nuist be oflerod to Ciod before the sun rises (Wisd. xvi. 28 ; comp. JNIishna, Berakoth, i, 2) ; that Sodom was destroyed because its inhabitants were inhospitable to strangers (Wisd. xix, 17, 18; comp. Sanhedrin, 109), etc.