Wisdom tradition in the letter to the Hebrews

[Michael BG]

Bernard Muller has recently posted this:

From Philo:
a) "Now the image of God is the Word, by which all the world was made" (The special Laws I, ch. XVI)

b) "And even if there be not as yet one who is worthy to be called a son of God, nevertheless let him labor earnestly to be adorned according to his first-born word, the eldest of his angel, as the great archangel of many names; for he is called the authority and the name of God and the Word, and man according to God's image ..." (On the confusion of tongues, ch. XXVIII)

c) "... the second deity, who is the Word of the supreme Being" (Questions and answers on Genesis II)

d) "For the Father of the universe has caused him to spring up as the eldest Son, whom, in another passage, he calls the firstborn. And he who is thus born, imitating the ways of his father ..." (On the confusion of tongues, ch. XIV)

e) "the most ancient Word of the living God ... he will never take the mitre off from his head, he will never lay aside the kingly diadem, the symbol of an authority which is not absolute, but only that of a viceroy, but which is nevertheless an object of admiration." (On flight and finding, ch. XX)

f) "the man [the high priest] who was consecrated to the Father of the world, should have as a paraclete [intercessor], his Son, the being most perfect in all virtue, to procure forgiveness of sins, and a supply of unlimited blessings..." (On the life of Moses II, ch. XXVI).

Word = Maker of the universe = Image of God = Second Deity = Firstborn = the eldest Son = his Son = "viceroy" = High priest

to Hebrews:
1:2-3 "... he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe ["the worlds"]. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word ..."

1:6 And again, when he brings the first-born into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."

1:8 "But of the Son he says, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever, the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom."

There are more contact points between and 'Hebrews' (who I see as being Apollos of Alexandria), such as the Son being "high priest" and a temple in heaven such as:
- "For there are, as it seems, two temples belonging to God; one being this world [heaven], in which the high priest is the divine word, his own firstborn son."(On Dreams I, ch. XXXVII)
- "For we say the high priest is not a man, but is the word of God ..." (On flight and finding, ch. XX)
Another item: both Philo & Hebrews made a point about Genesis not mentioning any parents for Melchisedech.

Word = Maker of the universe = Image of God = Firstborn = Son = God = "viceroy" = High priest
…
Cordially, Bernard

David T Runia in Philo in Early Christian Literature: A survey concludes,

Examination of the evidence has shown, to my mind, that the author of the Hebrews and Phi1o come from the same milieu in a closer sense than was discovered in the case of Paul. I would not be at all surprised if he had had some form of direct contact with Judaism as it had developed in Philo’s Alexandria 82. Linguistic, hermeneutical and thematic correspondences are impressive. But the thought worlds are markedly different. The antitheses ontological versus eschatological dualism and allegory versus typology sum up much of the difference. But the crucial point of divergence, as Weiss points out, lies in the area of Christology. … Christ(’s) … self-sacrifice which furnishes the dynamics that inform his eschatology, typology and soteriology, impelling them in a direction away from the Philonic heritage (in the broad sense) with which he must have been familiar.

Note 82 Attridge concludes in his extensive commentary, (1989) 29: ‘... there are undeniable parallels that suggest that Philo and our author are indebted to similar traditions of Greek speaking and thinking Judaism.’ …

(sic) p 78.

Most of what Bernard see as being from the works of Philo can be seen either in the Old Testament and/or the Wisdom tradition.

Heb 1:2c

through whom also he created the world.

Ps 104:24b-c

Together with Wisdom you made them all
The earth is filled with creation

Wisdom of Solomon 7:22a

for wisdom, the fashioner of all things,

Heb 1:3

He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature,

Wisdom of Solomon 7:25-26

[25] For she is a breath of the power of God,
and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.
[26] For she is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.

Heb 1:6a

And again, when he brings the first-born into the world

Wisdom of Solomon 6:22a-c

I will tell you what wisdom is and how she came to be,
and I will hide no secrets from you,
but I will trace her course from the beginning of creation,

Proverbs 8:22-30

[22] The LORD created me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of old.
[23] Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
[24] When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
[25] Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth;
[26] before he had made the earth with its fields,
or the first of the dust of the world.
[27] When he established the heavens, I was there,
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
[28] when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
[29] when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
[30] then I was beside him, like a master workman;
…

Heb 1:6b

he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."

Deut 32:43a Septuagint (I think applying to Joshu/Jesus)

Rejoice, ye heavens, with him, and let all the angels of God worship him

Heb 1:8-9

[8]But of the Son he says,
"Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever,
the righteous scepter is the scepter of thy kingdom.
[9] Thou hast loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee
with the oil of gladness beyond thy comrades."

Ps 45:6-7

[6] Your divine throne endures for ever and ever.
Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;
[7] you love righteousness and hate wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness above your fellows;

Septuagint Ps 44:6-7

7 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever:
the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness.
8 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity:
therefore God, thy God, has anointed thee
with the oil of gladness beyond thy fellows.

Within Judaism there was an expectation of a Priestly Messianic figure which had links to Melchizedek, an example is 11QMeich, where at the end of day, Melchizedek judges.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11Q13

Heb 5:6

as he says also in another place,
"Thou art a priest for ever,
after the order of Melchiz'edek."

Ps 110:4

The LORD has sworn
and will not change his mind,
"You are a priest for ever
after the order of Melchiz'edek."

I think the Qumran community looked forward to a heavenly Jerusalem and Temple as does 2 Baruch I think. There is a heavenly Jerusalem in 2 Esdras / 4 Ezra and in Ezekiel 40-48 including a heavenly Temple.

[Bernard Muller]

to Michael BG,

Most of what Bernard see as being from the works of Philo can be seen either in the Old Testament and/or the Wisdom tradition.

I contend that can be seen much better from the works of Philo than from the Wisdom tradition. I do not see why you brought up the OT, that Philo & author of Hebrews used copiously.
Sure, the author of Hebrews could use (and did use) the OT to complement or justify that Philo said in his writings, as well than the author of Hebrews could use (and did use) the OT allegedly to complement or justify Wisdom literature.

A) About creator of the world,
You quoted Ps 104:24
This is a LXX translation of it:
Ps 104:24 "How great are thy works, O Lord! in wisdom hast thou wrought them all: the earth is filled with thy creation."
Does not look here that the author intended to divinize wisdom. "in" is not the same than "by" or "through". And God certainly can have his own wisdom inside him, just like a regular human.
However, I think that verse may have started the divination of wisdom in Proverbs and Wisdom of Solomon.

Wisdom of Solomon 7:22a: "fashioner" does not have to mean "creator". Actually, verse 24 explains why wisdom is a fashioner: "... she pervades and penetrates all things".
Also verse 27 "... while remaining in herself, she renews all things;"

Conclusion: Philo is a lot more direct on that topic. Your examples do not really specify Wisdom was a creator of the universe. Actually, Wis 9:1 says the word of God did it: "O God of my fathers and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things by thy word,"
I am sure I'll hear more from you on that verse. Anyway, it seems that verse might be the origin of Philo's Logos.

B) About Heb:1-3,

He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature,

Certainly, Wis 7:25-26 illustrates what you quoted from Heb 1:3.
But Philo covered that also: "his Son, the being most perfect in all virtue" "imitating the ways of his father" "the image of God" "the authority and the name of God"

C) About Heb 1:6a:

And again, when he brings the first-born into the world

Nothing in what you quote has "first-born" written about Wisdom.

Conclusion: big advantage Philo.

D) About Heb 1:6b
The author of Hebrews copied Deut 32:43a. So what? Deuteronomy is not Wisdom literature and I never said that author did not use the OT to make his points. And Heb 1:6b has nothing to do with Wisdom.

E) About Heb 1:8-9
Again, I never said that author did not use the OT to make his points. Actually, he did that a lot, justifying his points by out of context quotes from the OT. That would not prevent him to be also inspired by Philo's writings.
May I also say, that author never quoted Proverbs or the Wisdom of Solomon.

F) About Heb 5:6
Same comment as above

G) About heavenly temple:
No need for our author to go into sectarian writings. And again, Jesus, has the heavenly high priest, has his sanctuary in heaven, in Hebrews and Philo's writings:
[/co"For there are, as it seems, two temples belonging to God; one being this world [heaven], in which the high priest is the divine word, his own firstborn son." (On Dreams I, ch. XXXVII)

Cordially, Bernard

[Ben C. Smith]

A) About creator of the world,
You quoted Ps 104:24
This is a LXX translation of it:
Ps 104:24 "How great are thy works, O Lord! in wisdom hast thou wrought them all: the earth is filled with thy creation."
Does not look here that the author intended to divinize wisdom. "in" is not the same than "by" or "through".

Not so. What makes no sense in English may make a good deal of sense in Greek or Hebrew. In this case, the Hebrew for "in" is the prefixed preposition בְּ, which can be translated as "in" certainly, but also as an instrumental ("with" or "by" or "by means of"). An example of this is Deuteronomy 22.10:

10 You shall not plow with [בְּ] an ox and a donkey together.

The sense of the preposition is obviously "with" or "by means of" or some such, not a simple locative "in". But look how that comes out in the LXX:

οὐκ ἀροτριάσεις ἐν μόσχῳ καὶ ὄνῳ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό.

In fact, this instrumental use of ἐν is quite common in the Old Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. As A. T. Robertson says, this usage finds itself in "the plenitude of its power" in the LXX.

Such usage can be found in the papyri, as well, and of course in the New Testament. Take Revelation 6.8, for instance:

8 I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with [ἐν] sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Again, "by means of" is the obvious meaning.

In short, "in" may well be exactly the same as "by" or "through" in Psalm 104.24 (103.24 LXX), the Hebrew of which uses the prefixed preposition בְּ and the Greek of which uses the preposition ἐν.

(I learned Classical Greek before learning Koine or NT Greek, and this is one of the adjustments I had to make as I started to read the LXX and NT texts.)

Ben.

[Bernard Muller]

to Ben,

In short, "in" may well be exactly the same as "by" or "through" in Psalm 104.24 (103.24 LXX), the Hebrew of which uses the prefixed preposition בְּ and the Greek of which uses the preposition ἐν.

OK, but did the Psalm writers divinize Wisdom as a separate entity? I do not think so. So "in" is more likely than "by means of" as thought by the Psalm author.
Even "by" and "through" are ambiguous and might not indicate "Wisdom" as outside from God rather than inside. It depends of the context.

Cordially, Bernard

[Ben C. Smith]

to Ben,

In short, "in" may well be exactly the same as "by" or "through" in Psalm 104.24 (103.24 LXX), the Hebrew of which uses the prefixed preposition בְּ and the Greek of which uses the preposition ἐν.

OK, but did the Psalm writers divinized Wisdom as a separate entity? I do not think so. So "in" is more likely than "by means of" as thought by the Psalm author.
Even "by" and "through" are ambiguous and might not indicate "Wisdom" as outside from God rather than inside. It depends of the context.

I do not think that the Psalmist(s) made Wisdom into a deity, no. But I think the usage of this preposition is almost certainly instrumental. What does it mean to do something "in" wisdom? Are you soaking in a tub of it at the time? No, the idea is that, just as I can conquer someone by means of my strength, and just as I can shame someone by means of my quick wit, so also God can create something intricate by means of his wisdom.

[Bernard Muller]

to Ben,
Ps 104:24 "How great are thy works, O Lord! in wisdom hast thou wrought them all: the earth is filled with thy creation."
So we would have:
Ps 104:24 "How great are thy works, O Lord! by means of wisdom hast thou wrought them all: the earth is filled with thy creation."
Genesis says God created everything by means of his word. I do not see how a Psalm writer would also fit "wisdom" as the means of God for implementing his creation.
More so, in the first 23 verses of the same Psalm, God is said to have done everything, including interdependence of the elements of his creation (so his wisdom).

Cordially, Bernard

[Ben C. Smith]

Genesis says God created everything by means of his word. I do not see how a Psalm writer would also fit "wisdom" as the means of God for implementing his creation.

You cannot see how someone can do something using both his/her words and his/her wisdom? (I do it all the time; if I can do it, I doubt God would experience any difficulty doing it.)

[Bernard Muller]

to Ben,
So now you are saying God did the creation by means of wisdom.
But in the preceding verses God is said doing and organizing the Creation by himself, without use of his word.
And suddenly, at verse 24, it would be implied that God did all that by means of wisdom!
"by means of wisdom hast thou wrought them all: the earth is filled with thy creation."
That wisdom is just an inspiration/motivation/criterion for/about his Creation. Just like: in honesty, I wrote that letter. Honesty did not write the letter, I did.

Cordially, Bernard

[Ben C. Smith]

to Ben,
So now you are saying God did the creation by means of wisdom.

No, not "now". I have been suggesting that as a distinct possibility, if not probability, all along.

But in the preceding verses God is said doing and organizing the Creation by himself, without use of his word.
And suddenly, at verse 24, it would be implied that God did all that by means of wisdom!

I honestly have no idea what you are talking about here.

"by means of wisdom hast thou wrought them all: the earth is filled with thy creation."
That wisdom is just an inspiration/motivation/criterion for/about his Creation. Just like: in honesty, I wrote that letter. Honesty did not write the letter, I did.

I think you are misusing "in honesty", which is an expression with an adverbial meaning: "honestly". And it does not even modify the verb, "write"; it is a phrase modifier; in other words, "I am telling you the truth: I wrote the letter." The corresponding meaning with "wisdom" would be, "I am telling you wisely: God created the earth." Not only does that make little sense but it also is not what is going on in the Hebrew or the Greek.

[Bernard Muller]

to Ben,

I think you are misusing "in honesty", which is an expression with an adverbial meaning: "honestly". And it does not even modify the verb, "write"; it is a phrase modifier; in other words, "I am telling you the truth: I wrote the letter." The corresponding meaning with "wisdom" would be, "I am telling you wisely: God created the earth." Not only does that make little sense but it also is not what is going on in the Hebrew or the Greek.

Would the examples below be more relevant (the underlined "in" are 'ἐν'. I checked them all):

a) Wis 1:1 "...think of the Lord with a good (heart,) and in simplicity of heart seek him."

b) Wis 11:9 "For when they were tried albeit but in mercy chastised, they knew how the ungodly were judged in wrath and tormented, ..."

c) Wis 15:1 "But thou, O God, art gracious and true, longsuffering, and in mercy ordering all things,"

d) 1 Corinthians 2:3 "And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling;"

e) 1 Corinthians 4:21 "...shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love ..."

f) 1 Corinthians 15:43 "It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power."

Cordially, Bernard