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point of view. Religious experience was not a routine, a ritual, or faith experience. It was
viewed as a mastery of the art of living in accordance with God’s expectations. In their
definition, the words “mastery” and “art” signify that wisdom was a process of attainment
and not an accomplishment. The secular usage bears out the importance of these
observations.
)
appears 132 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. It occurs most frequently
in Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes, for which reason these books are known as “wisdom
literature”. The first occurrence of
is in Gen. 41:8: “And it came to pass in the
morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of
Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none
that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.”
The
in secular usage signified a man who was a “skillful” craftsman. The
manufacturers of the objects belonging to the tabernacle were known to be wise, or
experienced in their crafts (Exod. 36:4). Even the man who was skillful in making idols
was recognized as a craftsman (Isa. 40:20; cf. Jer. 10:9). The reason for this is to be
found in the man’s skill, craftsmanship, and not in the object which was being
manufactured. Those who were experienced in life were known as “wise,” but their
wisdom is not to be confused with the religious usage. Cleverness and shrewdness
characterized this type of wisdom. Amnon consulted Jonadab, who was known as a
shrewd man (2 Sam. 13:3), and followed his plan of seducing his sister Tamar. Joab hired
a “wise” woman to make David change his mind about Absalom (2 Sam. 14:2).
Based on the characterization of wisdom as a skill, a class of counselors known as
“wise men” arose. They were to be found in Egypt (Gen. 41:8), in Babylon (Jer. 50:35),
in Tyre (Ezek. 27:9), in Edom (Obad. 8), and in Israel. In pagan cultures the “wise” man
practiced magic and divination: “Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the
sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their
enchantments” (Exod. 7:11); and “… that frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh
diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish” (Isa.
44:25).
The religious sense of
excludes delusion, craftiness, shrewdness, and magic.
God is the source of wisdom, as He is “wise”: “Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil,
and will not call back his words: but will arise against the house of the evildoers, and
against the help of them that work iniquity” (Isa. 31:2). The man or woman who, fearing
God, lives in accordance with what God expects and what is expected of him in a God-
fearing society is viewed as an integrated person. He is “wise” in that his manner of life
projects the fear of God and the blessing of God rests upon him. Even as the craftsman is
said to be skillful in his trade, the Old Testament
was learning and applying
wisdom to every situation in life, and the degree in which he succeeded was a barometer
of his progress on the road of wisdom.
The opposite of the
is the “fool” or wicked person, who stubbornly refuses
counsel and depends on his own understanding: “For the turning away of the simple shall
slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them” (Prov. 1:32; cf. Deut. 32:5-6;
Prov. 3:35).
B. Noun.