Wisdom as Gift
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Abstract
T H E present study is not an examination of the so-called Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament, nor of the professional class of wise men active among the Hebrews in Old Testament times; rather, the subject for discussion here is the concept of wisdom (which appears chiefly in the Wisdom Literature but also in other Old Testament books), and the significance of this concept to the messianic belief set forth in the JudeoChristian Scriptures. A clear understanding of the religious meanings of the wisdom concept is, therefore, fundamental to our investigation. According to Girdlestone's standard work, Synonyms of the Old Testament, "The word wisdom... generally answers in the A. V. to the Hebrew chäkhäm. This is an important word in Scripture, and is used to represent the discernment of good and evil, prudence in secular matters, skill in arts, experience in Divine things, and even dexterity in magic The general rendering of the LXX is σοφία, which is used in the same largeness of sense in the N.T.' The essence of the wisdom idea is well expressed in the following definition: "One is wise who is so discerning in his understanding of persons, conditions, or situations that he knows how to deal with them so as to correct what is wrong in them, how to get the best out of them considering their limitations or difficulties, or how to estimate them fairly and accurately : often also the term implies a wide range of experience or of knowledge or learning." In brief, then, wisdom is distinguished from mere knowledge, or understanding, or even com prehension, in that it represents a greater degree of "discernment—a greater depth of penetration of insight—than is signified by these other expressions.