King James Version · Under the Greeks
Wisdom of Solomon 7
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1I myself also am a mortal man, like to all, and the of him that was first made of the earth, 2And in my mother’s was fashioned to be in the time of ten months, being compacted in , of the of man, and the pleasure that came with sleep. 3And when I was born, I drew in the common air, and fell upon the earth, which is of like nature, and the first voice which I uttered was crying, as all others do. 4I was nursed in swaddling clothes, and that with cares. 5For there is no king that had any other beginning of birth. 6For all men have one entrance into life, and the like going out. 7Wherefore I , and understanding was given me: I called upon , and of came to me. 8I preferred her before sceptres and , and esteemed riches nothing in comparison of her. 9Neither compared I unto her any precious stone, because all gold in respect of her is as a little sand, and silver shall be counted as before her. 10I loved her above health and beauty, and chose to have her instead of : for that cometh from her never goeth out. 11All good things together came to me with her, and innumerable riches in her hands. 12And I rejoiced in them all, because goeth before them: and I knew not that she was the mother of them. 13I learned diligently, and do communicate her liberally: I do not hide her riches. 14For she is a unto men that never faileth: which they that use become the friends of , being commended for the gifts that come from learning. 15 hath granted me to speak as I would, and to conceive as is meet for the things that are given me: because it is he that leadeth unto , and directeth . 16For in his hand are both we and our words; all also, and knowledge of workmanship. 17For he hath given me certain knowledge of the things that are, namely, to know how the world was made, and the operation of the elements: 18The beginning, ending, and midst of the times: the alterations of the turning of the sun, and the change of seasons: 19The circuits of years, and the positions of stars: 20The natures of living creatures, and the furies of wild : the of winds, and the reasonings of men: the diversities of plants and the virtues of roots: 21And all such things as are either secret or manifest, them I know. 22For , which is the worker of all things, taught me: for in her is an understanding , one only, manifold, subtil, lively, clear, undefiled, plain, not subject to hurt, loving the thing that is good quick, which cannot be letted, ready to do good, 23Kind to man, steadfast, sure, free from care, having all , overseeing all things, and going through all understanding, pure, and most subtil, spirits. 24For is more moving than any motion: she passeth and goeth through all things by reason of her pureness. 25For she is the breath of the of , and a pure influence flowing from the of : therefore can no defiled thing fall into her. 26For she is the brightness of the , the unspotted mirror of the of , and the of his goodness. 27And being but one, she can do all things: and remaining in herself, she maketh all things new: and in all ages entering into , she maketh them friends of , and . 28For loveth none but him that dwelleth with . 29For she is more beautiful than the sun, and above all the order of stars: being compared with , she is found before it. 30For after this cometh night: but vice shall not prevail against .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under the Greeks, 332 BC to 63 BC ›
Alexander's conquest and the kingdoms of his successors. Greek language and custom press in everywhere, and the crisis under Antiochus IV provokes the Maccabean revolt.
- The successors
- Alexander dies at thirty-two and his generals carve up the empire. Judea sits on the border between the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria, and is fought over by both for a century and a half, which is the ordinary condition of the corridor.
- Hellenism
- Not just conquest but a culture: the gymnasium, the theatre, Greek names, Greek dress, Greek as the language of anyone with ambitions. Some Jews embraced it, some resisted it, and the argument between them is the real subject of the Maccabean books. In Alexandria the Hebrew scriptures are translated into Greek, producing the Septuagint, which is the Bible most New Testament writers quote.
- The crisis
- Antiochus IV bans the practice of Judaism, plunders the temple, and sets up a pagan altar in it in 167 BC. The revolt under the Maccabees wins, the temple is rededicated in 164 BC, which is the origin of Hanukkah, and Judea has about eighty years of independence under the Hasmoneans before Rome arrives.
- Further afield
- Rome fights Carthage three times and ends up master of the Mediterranean. Euclid writes the Elements and Archimedes does his work at Syracuse. In China the Qin unify the country in 221 BC and the Han follow, opening what becomes the Silk Road.