Wisdom literature and the Septuagint Wisdom is a central topic in the
Sapiential Books or "Books of Wisdom", a term used in
biblical studies to refer to the books of
Job,
Psalms,
Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, the
Book of Wisdom (Wisdom of Solomon), the
Song of Songs (Song of Solomon), and
Sirach. Wisdom is personified in several of these texts, including Proverbs, the Wisdom of Solomon, and Song of Songs. The Greek
Septuagint and the Hebrew
Qumran and
Masada versions of
Ben Sira conclude with a first-person character speaking in Wisdom's voice as in the Book of Proverbs, though it is not certain that this was not appended to Ben Sira from another work. A less clear personification of wisdom is also found in the
Cave 11 Psalm Scroll. These texts are in the broad tradition of
wisdom literature that was found widely in the
Ancient Near East, and includes writings from many religions other than Judaism.
Wisdom literature is a
genre of
literature common in the
ancient Near East. This genre is characterized by sayings of
wisdom intended to teach about divinity and about
virtue. The key principle of wisdom literature is that while techniques of traditional story-telling are used, books also presume to offer insight and wisdom about nature and reality.
Philo and the Logos Philo, a
Hellenised Jew writing in Alexandria, attempted to harmonise
Platonic philosophy and Jewish scripture. Also influenced by
Stoic philosophical concepts, he used the Greek masculine term , , for the role and function of wisdom, personfied as an envoy of God. == Jesus ==