The Hebrew word for wisdom, chokma, which we encounter in the Old Testament, can still be heard in the Yiddish word choochem, meaning a clever and shrewd person. That also connotes a wisdom that entails practical insight, in contrast to the Western, more theoretical conception of ‘wisdom’. Wisdom relates to all areas of life and was highly regarded in the Ancient East. The wise were held in esteem within and beyond Israel.

With regard to the building of the tabernacle (Ex. 25-40) and the temple (2 Chron. 2), wisdom had to do mostly with trade skills. Certain cities in Israel were particularly known for their wise people. It was said, for example, of the small city of Abel Beth Maakah: ‘Get your answer at Abel, and that settled it’ (2 Sam. 20:18). This expression is quoted by a woman of that city to Joab when he besieged Abel. When we take note of the manner in which this woman then proceeds to negotiate with Joab, she could certainly be seen as a striking example of the wisdom for which this city was known.

In the days of the Kings, we encounter wise men in court circles, as advisors of the king. Opinions still differ greatly on whether there was a more or less official school system where future court officials were educated. Nevertheless, it is clear that the development of the governmental office called for an elite group of writers. In this way, in keeping with the surrounding countries, a new class of wise men came into being in Israel, namely the scribes connected to the court and the temple. Thus the foundation was laid for the origination of wisdom literature. We generally consider the books of Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes to belong to the wisdom literature. Yet the deuterocanonical books Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach also belong to this genre. Research has yet to reveal to what extent the wisdom tradition has worked its way into other Old Testament books. Psalms 37 and 49, for example, are considered to be typical wisdom psalms.

Framework⤒🔗

In this wisdom literature we can find the framework upon which to paint a picture of the wisdom in ancient Israel. Wisdom can be gained based on tradition, self-experience and revelation. Tradition focuses on experiences from the past. These are passed on by the teachers from one generation to the next. Apart from this, self-experience also plays a large role, as we see in Proverbs 24:30-32 (New King James Version):

³⁰ I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;
³¹ And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down.
³² When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it (=looked into it, transl.) and received instruction:

Firstly, attention is drawn to a certain matter, which is then carefully scrutinized. Consequently, the importance of the matter is acknowledged. The matter is taken to heart. That leads to insight, which is to say that connections are made. In the aforementioned case this leads to the insight that there appears to be a connection between the owner of the vineyard and the sad state of the vineyard. Finally, a conclusion is made and a lesson deduced, which is applicable in other situations also. Apart from tradition and self-experience, knowledge that is gained by revelation also plays a role in the process of gaining wisdom. In this case we should think of a special intuition, not directly visible to the eye, towards understanding life’s depths of meaning. It concerns opening up to the secrets of life, which are being revealed in a special way through dreams and visions, and also by means of actual experiences such as illness (cf. Job 4:12,13; 33:14-22).

Wisdom is not a matter of course, but deep down is a gift from the Lord. The ‘not to be taken for granted’ character of wisdom is characteristic of the wise person’s understanding of reality. On first impression, the Book of Proverbs appears to take its starting point in an optimistic and harmonious view of the world: the righteous will live in prosperity and the godless will be hit by disasters (cf. Prov. 12:21; 14:11, 14, et al). Indeed the Book of Proverbs does embrace such a harmonious view of reality, and this is to be comprehended, considering the educational character of the book; but at the same time this book shows us that life is more complicated than some proverbs allow us to believe. In the end, no one knows what tomorrow will bring (Prov. 27:1), and it is possible to believe we are on the right track, while it turns out to be a deadly road (Prov. 16:25). Also for Proverbs, it is true that the wise person must continually overcome the chaos and degeneration of society. It is Wisdom who acts as a guide for the pupils and points the way to life (cf. Prov. 8).

Riddles of Life←⤒🔗

What is true of the Book of Proverbs is even more applicable to the books of Ecclesiastes and Job, where there is a struggle with the riddles of life. The Preacher discovers that wherever he looks, all is ‘meaningless’ (Eccl. 1:2). Yet he does not dwell in despondency. He is always well aware that in all the meaninglessness, wisdom is still better than folly, just as light is more useful than darkness (Eccl. 2:13). Furthermore, he never uses the word ‘emptiness’ or ‘meaninglessness’ with respect to God! It is also important to see how the theme of joy is emphasized in some eight texts throughout the whole book (Eccl. 2:1-11; 2:24-26; 3:12, 13; 3:22; 5:17-19; 8:15; 9:7-9 and 11:7-12:1). The first text can be distinguished from the other seven. Eccl. 2:1-11 is about the joy that man himself can make of reality; in the other seven it is about joy as a gift from God. These texts form a central motif, while the emphasis increasingly lies on joy as a gift from God, ending in a personal appeal to the pupil to remember his Maker (Eccl. 12:1).

The Book of Job struggles with the question as to what extent it is possible for people to serve God ‘without reason’ (Job 1:9), that is to say, for no other reason than love itself. Satan denies this possibility, and consequently a drama unfolds in which the longsuffering Job is the central figure. Eventually, Job’s cry for justice is answered by God (Job 38-40:2; 40:6-41:26). These answers are beautifully composed and particularly demonstrate how God does not let righteousness become a ‘system’ in which the freedom to love for no other reason than love itself is sacrificed to the principle of justice. In this last case, everyone would get what he or she deserves, but the basic fact of being human, which consists of loving without reason, is totally lost. It is the suffering Job who gains the insight that, to God, justice and freedom belong together, and the one may not be sacrificed for the benefit of the other. It is from this understanding that Job, in his suffering, becomes a mediator for his friends (Job 42:8-10).

In the deuterocanonical books Wisdom and Sirach, a direct connection is made between wisdom and the history of Israel, between wisdom and the Law of Moses. Similar connections cannot be found in the books mentioned above. In these later books we see the different strands of Old Testament tradition coming together.

Filled with Wisdom←⤒🔗

In the New Testament, Luke the evangelist emphasizes that Jesus Christ became filled with wisdom (Luke 2:40, 52), while we see Paul, especially in 1 Corinthians, struggling against a wisdom comprised of words, but with no knowledge whatsoever of the cross (1 Cor. 1:17). In this focus on the cross, Paul seems to join the prophetic criticism of wisdom as it was worded in Isaiah 5:21, Jeremiah 8: 9 and elsewhere. This prophetic criticism and Pauline concentration can lead to an undervaluation of wisdom. James, starting from the New Testament, can then help us rediscover the road to the broad wisdom tradition of the Old Testament:

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.James 3:13

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references and quotations are taken from the New International Version of the Bible (NIV), 1984