Is Wisdom 2:12-20 A Messianic Prophecy?

• Discussion:

           -Roman Catholic apologists, in their zeal to defend the veracity of the apocrypha, sometimes make the following claim in regards to the Book of Wisdom:

           "Wisdom 2:12-20 is one of the clearest passages that point to a person who would call himself Son of God, who would be put to death by jealous people."

           Then, the author of the quoted excerpt goes on to parallel that text from the Book of Wisdom with various passages from the four gospels. This was done in an effort to prove that the seven additional books that the Roman Catholic Church has included in its version of the Old Testament canon are of divine origin. What has been claimed about Wisdom 2:12-20 by some sounds reasonable on a superficial level, but the text falls short of being a messianic prophecy when carefully analyzed. A key part of this context is cited as follows:

           "For if the upright man is a son of God, he will help him, and save him from the hands of his adversaries." (Wisdom 2:18, The Apocrypha: An American Translation, by Edgar J. Goodspeed)

           The context was originally about the wicked, the persecution of the righteous, and the vindication of God’s people. This pious literature is similar to the Book of Proverbs. Christ in an ultimate sense fulfills the themes of Wisdom 2:12-20. He is the ultimate righteous man who suffers and is vindicated. He did that on our behalf on the cross, and rose bodily from the grave.

          However, Wisdom 2:12-20 was not written originally as a prophecy. The same themes can apply to anyone else who faithfully serves God. This is distinguished from a passage such as Isaiah 53 in that it points out a Servant who suffers on behalf of His people. Wisdom 2 is talking about a righteous man, not Christ Himself. To take similarities and claim prophecy in this case is pure eisegesis.

          Even granting the premise that Wisdom 2:12-20 speaks of the coming Jewish Messiah, that does not require us to accept it as inspired or canonical. The statements could easily have been gleaned from the canonical books of the Old Testament. Further, the Roman Catholic New American Bible Revised Edition has this footnote on this passage:

          "[2:12–5:23] From 2:12 to 5:23 the author draws heavily on Is 52–62, setting forth his teaching in a series of characters or types taken from Isaiah and embellished with additional details from other texts."

           There were many pieces of Jewish literature at this point in history that spoke of the coming Messiah in light of the Old Testament. Roman Catholics would reject many of those as canonical. Consider, for example, the book of 1 Enoch. This work was even cited as Scripture by some of the early church fathers, yet Roman Catholics do not accord to it the same canonical status. 

            The author of Wisdom was obviously well-acquainted with the Old Testament, but that factor does not in and of itself prove the book to be inspired. Jews, including those at Qumran, had traditions that brought together Old Testament prophecies. These traditions hinted at a Messiah, and Jesus fulfilled those expectations in surprising ways. The Wisdom of Solomon reflects these themes, indicating that early Christian interpretations of the Old Testament have roots in pre-Christian Jewish literature. Individuals like Mary and Zechariah sang hymns that were part of this established pious tradition. Bruce M. Metzger writes,

            "Whether the author here has in mind some contemporary Jewish martyrdom known to him, or whether he drew upon the stories in the Books of Maccabees for a generalized description of suffering for the Jewish faith, cannot be determined. He may also have been influenced by Glaucon's description in Plato's Republic of the binding, scourging, and crucifixion of the perfectly just man who is esteemed to be unjust. In both cases the parallel to Christ is more apparent than real."  (Introduction to the Apocrypha, p. 76)

            The Wisdom of Solomon is traditionally attributed to King Solomon, but is widely believed to have been written by an anonymous author in the 1st century BC. The text claims Solomonic authorship with passages like Wisdom of Solomon 9:7-9. However, scholarly consensus dates the text to much later, reflecting Hellenistic influences and literary styles from that period. This temporal gap and the use of Solomon’s name as a literary device undermine its historical accuracy. Therefore, Wisdom 2:12-20 should not be seen as a prophetic declaration, but rather as a product of its true historical and literary context.