The Personification of Wisdom Society for Old Testament Study Series

This book examines the personification of Wisdom as a female figure - a central motif in Proverbs, Job, Sirach, Wisdom and Baruch. Alice M. Sinnott identifies how and why the complex character of Wisdom was introduced into the Israelite tradition, and created and developed by Israelite/Jewish wisdom teachers and writers. Arguing that by personifying Wisdom the authors of Proverbs responded to Israel's defeat by Babylon and the loss of Davidic monarchy, and by retrieving and transforming the Wisdom figure the authors of Sirach, Baruch and Wisdom responded to the spread of Hellenism and the potential loss of identity for Jews. Sinnott concludes that personified Wisdom functioned to reinterpret and transform the Israelite/Jewish tradition.

Contents: Introduction; Origins of personified wisdom; Wisdom responds to a crisis; Wisdom, where shall she be found?; Wisdom: an enduring heritage; Personified wisdom as saviour; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Alice M. Sinnott is from the School of Theology, University of Auckland, New Zealand.