THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON

This journey follows 14 readings from the wisdom literature that tradition associates with King Solomon. The association is partly traditional: Proverbs 1:1 opens with «the proverbs of Solomon», but chapter 30 is attributed to Agur and 31 to the mother of King Lemuel, and Ecclesiastes speaks in the name of a «Qoheleth, son of David», without giving the name Solomon. The journey shows this mix of voices and does not hide it.

The first day is 1 Kings 3:5-15, in which Solomon, at the start of his reign, asks for a heart that understands and discerns instead of riches, read with James 1:5. Then come Proverbs 1, with the fear of the Lord as the beginning of knowledge, and the days on friendship (Proverbs 17 and 27), money (Agur's prayer in Proverbs 30:7-9, which asks for neither poverty nor riches, with Ecclesiastes 5:10-15), words (Proverbs 15 and 18), work (the ant of Proverbs 6:6-11) and the alphabetic poem of the woman of worth (Proverbs 31:10-31). Ecclesiastes 1 and 3 bring «vanity» and «a time for everything».

Two days leave the Jewish and Protestant canon and enter the Catholic and Orthodox tradition: the Wisdom of Solomon, written in Greek and not by the king, and Ecclesiasticus, by Ben Sira, written in Hebrew around 180 BC and translated into Greek by the author's grandson. The last day reads 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 and Colossians 2:2-3, where Paul calls Christ the wisdom of God. When you finish, you will know who speaks in each book and what each voice argues.