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The Book of Wisdom or Wisdom of Solomon, sometimes referred to simply as Wisdom or the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, is one of the books of the Bible. It is considered scripture, classified as deuterocanonical (meaning "second canon", "secondary canon", or "of secondary authority") by the Roman Catholic Church and similarly, anagignoskomenon (Gr. ἀναγιγνωσκόμενον, meaning "that which is to be read") by the Orthodox Catholic Church. Protestant churches generally consider it to be non-canonical (apocryphal), and thus not Biblical "scripture", though still of spiritual value. It is one of the seven Sapiential or wisdom books included with the Septuagint, along with Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Song of Solomon), and Sirach. Eusebius wrote in his ''Church History'' that Bishop Melito of Sardis in the 2nd century AD considered Wisdom of Solomon as part of the Old Testament (without necessarily using the term "canonical"), and that it was considered canonical by Jews and Christians. On the other hand the contrary claim has been made: "In the catalogue of Melito, presented by Eusebius, after Proverbs, the word Wisdom occurs, which nearly all commentators have been of opinion is only another name for the same book, and not the name of the book now called 'The Wisdom of Solomon'." An Aramaic translation of the ''Wisdom of Solomon'' is mentioned by Naḥmanides in the preface to his commentary on the Pentateuch. The Book of Wisdom should not be confused with the Wisdom of Sirach, a work from the 2nd century BC, originally written in Hebrew. ==Date and authorship== The book is believed to have been written in Greek language, but in a style patterned on that of Hebrew verse. Although the author's name is nowhere given in the text, the writer was traditionally believed to be King Solomon because of references such as that found in IX:7-8, "Thou hast chosen me to be a king of thy people, and a judge of thy sons and daughters: Thou hast commanded me to build a temple upon thy holy mount..." The formulation here is similar to that of Ecclesiastes I:12, "I, Koheleth, was king in Jerusalem over Israel," which also fails to denote Solomon by name, but leaves no doubt as to whom the reader should identify as the author. The early Christian community showed some awareness that the book was not actually authored by Solomon, as the Muratorian fragment notes that the book was "written by the friends of Solomon in his honour." The traditional attribution of ''The Book of Wisdom'' to Solomon has been soundly rejected in modern times. Says the Catholic Encyclopedia: "at the present day, it is freely admitted that Solomon is not the writer of the Book of Wisdom, which has been ascribed to him because its author, through a literary fiction, speaks as if he were the Son of David." Although the book of Wisdom is also called the Wisdom of Solomon, it was most likely composed centuries after the death of King Solomon. Scholars believe that the book represents the most literary post-classical Greek language found in the Septuagint, having been written during the Jewish Hellenistic period (the 2nd or 1st century BC). The author of the text appears well versed in the popular philosophical, religious, and ethical writings adopted by Hellenistic Alexandria. Evangelical biblical scholar Peter Enns proposed in his essay "Wisdom of Solomon and Biblical Interpretation in the Second Temple Period" that the author of Wisdom of Solomon was an Alexandrian Jew during the silent persecution initiated in Egypt under Caesar Augustus.〔"(Wisdom of Solomon and Biblical Interpretation in the Second Temple Period )"〕 During this period the Jews lost their citizenship and the surrounding culture started to worship the Emperor as a god which, according to Enns, is clearly hinted at by the unique choice of the word "sebasma" for "idol" - a word that is a clear reference to Sebastes, the Greek form for Latin name "Augustus". As such, the Book of Wisdom is an encouragement to refuse any compromise with idolatry and an exhortation for the rulers of the world, where the author identifies himself with Solomon to judge the contemporary world. Enns maintains that an identification of Pseudo-Solomon with Philo of Alexandria (as proposed by St. Jerome and others) is simply wrong, both because of some theological and stylistic grounds and because of the different character of the persecution against the Jews, as Caligula was a violent persecutor while Pseudo-Solomon addresses a non-violent persecution or discrimination. Peter Enns's theory identifies the author of Wisdom of Solomon as an Alexandrian Jew writing c. 26 BC. Some commentaries (such as the Jerusalem Bible ) mention Wisdom 14:22 ("Afterward it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God, but they live in great strife due to ignorance, and they call such great evils peace.") as a clear reference and condemnation of the so-called "pax romana" (starting in 29 BC under Caesar Augustus). The exclusive use of references to events prior to the Solomonic kingdom is just a fictional choice by the author to make the work more likely to be a genuine piece of Solomonic literature. The fact that Wisdom of Solomon is listed as one of the "five books of Solomon" at the Council of Carthage doesn't mean that the Council Fathers meant it to be a genuine work of the powerful king of Israel, because this list comprises Ecclesiasticus, whose author is mentioned by name as Jesus son of Sirach: the words "of Solomon" probably meant all wisdom literature in general, Solomon being the clearest representative for this virtue. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Book of Wisdom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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