Chapter Fourteen

1–7. It is foolish to turn to prayer to idols when the world is ruled by divine providence. 8–11. God’s judgment upon idolatry. 12–20. The origin of idolatry. 21–31. Its corrupting influence on the moral life.

Wisdom 14:1. Moreover, another who is about to sail and traverse fierce waves calls upon wood for help, though that wood is weaker than the ship that carries him; Wisdom 14:2. for the desire for gain devised that, and craftsman made it ingeniously. 1–2. At the end of the preceding chapter the writer spoke of the futility of prayer directed to idols. In the first verses of Chapter 14 he gives yet another example of this. Preparing to sail the sea, “another calls upon wood for help” — that is, he turns with prayer to a wooden idol, which is nothing more than a piece of wood and can offer the sailor less help than the ship upon which he sits: “weaker than the ship that carries him.” The solidity of the ship is guaranteed at least by the fact that, being designed with profit in mind, it was built by a skilled craftsman (verse 2). The expression “craftsman made it ingeniously” from the Greek means “the craftsman made it with wisdom, by means of wisdom” (τεχνίτης σοφία κατεσκ). The thought is that divine Wisdom assists man in the construction of a ship, which does not occur in the making of idols.

Wisdom 14:3. but your Providence, Father, guides the ship, for you have given a path in the sea and a safe course through the waves, Wisdom 14:4. showing that you can save from all things, even if someone sets out to sea without skill. 3–4. In the most important circumstances of life, in which men turned to idols in vain (Wis 13:17-19 verse), only divine providence can help and save. “But your Providence, Father, guides the ship.” Regarding the naming of God as Father see Wis 11:10-11 verse; regarding providence see Wis 6:7 verse. The conjunction “but” indicates the following connection of thought about divine providence with what precedes: though the ship is well conceived and skillfully made (verse 2), the final success of the voyage depends on Providence (verse 3). The second half of verse 3 gives the basis for this thought: “for you have given a path in the sea and a safe course through the waves.” This expression is often understood in a general sense, but the past tense of the verb and the subsequent speech better accord with the interpretation that sees here an indication of the miracle of the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea. God, complete master of the sea, opens a free path through it even for those who “set out to sea without skill.” “Without skill” (άνευ τέχνης) in correspondence with “skillfully made” in verse 2 means here not the skill of managing a ship but the skill of building ships. The expression is a metonymy: without the art of shipbuilding, that is, without ships. God saved the Hebrews even though they set out to sea as on a dry path, without ships.

Wisdom 14:5. You desire that the works of your wisdom should not be empty; therefore people entrust their life to the smallest wood and are saved, passing over the waves in a boat. 5. The salvation of the Hebrews at the crossing of the sea, which showed the unlimited power of God over this element, was an exceptional event; but ordinarily God saves people when they “entrust their life to the smallest wood” — that is, to a ship — “lest the works of his Wisdom be empty.” Under the works of divine wisdom mentioned here the context of the speech allows us to understand only one thing: ships constructed with the aid of divine Wisdom by human reason. Above, in verse 2, the writer said that “the craftsman made the ship with wisdom.” Developing this thought, the writer in this verse says that God, unwilling for the works accomplished by human reason with the aid of his Wisdom to prove empty, saves people when they entrust their life to a ship, one of such works.

Wisdom 14:6. For even at the beginning, when arrogant giants were being destroyed, the hope of the world, guided by your hand, took refuge in a boat and left to the world a seed of a new generation. 6. Verse 6 points to a particular example for the thought expressed in verse 5, in the saving of Noah. The ark of Noah was, more than any other ship, a work of divine wisdom, inasmuch as it was built according to the direct commandments of God. And so, guided by the hand of divine providence, the hope of the world (a metonymy: those upon whom rested the hope of the world’s salvation, of the continuation of the human race, Noah and his family) takes refuge in a boat and is saved. “...left to the world a seed of a new generation,” that is, progeny for the continuation of the human race. That the writer is surely speaking here of the flood is indicated by the expression “when arrogant giants were being destroyed” (cf. Gen 6:4).

Wisdom 14:7. Blessed is the wood through which righteousness comes! 7. The blessing of verse 7 refers to the ark of Noah, this small wood (Wis 10:4), through which the righteousness of that pious family triumphed. A contrary attitude is merited by another wood, the idol, of which the following verses speak.

Wisdom 14:8. But the idol made with hands is accursed, and so is the one who made it — for he who made it; and the perishable thing is called a god. Wisdom 14:9. For the ungodly and his ungodliness are equally hateful to God; Wisdom 14:10. and the thing made will be punished together with the one who made it. 8–10. Curse falls not only upon the idol (“the idol made with hands is accursed”) but also upon the one who made it, precisely because he made it, because of the very intention to make of wood an object of worship.

Wisdom 14:11. Therefore there will also be judgment upon the pagan idols, for they became an abomination among God’s creation, a snare to the souls of men, and a trap for the feet of the foolish. 11. “Therefore there will also be judgment upon the pagan idols...” These words gave some grounds for supposing that the writer considered the pagan gods to be demons, rational beings, and hence announced punishment for them by divine judgment. But in other places of his book the writer repeatedly calls idols soulless and dead (Wis 13:10). Therefore it is more correct in this place to see only a poetic expression for the thought that idolatry will be condemned and destroyed (cf. verse 14). The idols here are only symbols and representatives of paganism. The reason for the destruction of paganism is indicated further by the writer in the baneful influence of paganism on the moral life of people.

Wisdom 14:12. For the invention of idols is the beginning of sexual immorality, and the devising of them is the corruption of life. 12. In three verses, from 12–14, the writer makes a transition from the preceding section to what follows and speaks generally of the origin of idolatry and its trivial foundation. In verse 12, in particular, he points out the negative significance of idolatry for moral life. “...the invention of idols is the beginning of sexual immorality...” Sexual immorality, πορνεία, is understood by some interpreters here in the sense of violation of faithfulness to God, betrayal of him, apostasy, in which sense this word is often used in Holy Scripture when it speaks of the violation by the Hebrews of their covenant with Jehovah, represented in the image of a marriage covenant. But in the present case we are dealing with pagans who did not stand in such a close covenant with God; secondly, in the preceding verse 11 and in the second half of verse 12 it is clearly spoken of the evil moral influence of idolatry (“snare to the souls,” “corruption of life”); therefore this expression is more correctly understood in the sense of reference to licentiousness and depravity in certain pagan cults.

Wisdom 14:13. They did not exist at the beginning, and they will not exist forever. 13. “They did not exist in the beginning...” The writer clearly expresses the thought that polytheism is not primordial but a later phenomenon in the religious life of mankind. The writer arrived at the thought that original religion was monotheistic not through abstract reflection on the nature of religious need in man, as modern theologians are convinced of it, but through the narrative of Holy Scripture concerning the first people, who knew and revered the one true God. “...and they will not exist forever.” On what foundation the writer bases this hope he reveals in the following verse.

Wisdom 14:14. They entered the world through human emptiness, and therefore a near end is appointed to them. 14. Idolatry cannot be an eternal phenomenon in the religious life because it arose from an empty and trivial motive. Idols “entered the world through human emptiness...” Κενοδοξία hardly means vainglory or ambition in the proper sense, for, unfolding his thought further, the writer speaks of something else, a more noble motive for the arising of idolatry, grief over a beloved deceased. Therefore it is better to translate this word as “empty fancy” or “chimera.”

Wisdom 14:15. A father, tormented by bitter grief for his quickly dead son, made an image of him who had now passed away, and now began to revere him as a god, and handed over to his household the mysterious rites and the sacrifices. 15–20. In these verses the writer points out the twofold origin of the deification of images of people. First, grief over a beloved deceased prompted the making of his image to preserve the memory of him; later it was forgotten that the revered image represented a dead man; divine honors were rendered to it (verses 15–16). Secondly, the subjects made images of their princes, wishing to honor them even in their absence; continuing even after the death of the princes, such veneration passed over into deification (verses 17–20). Thus, in the thought of the writer of the book of Wisdom, idolatry first appeared in the form of deification of people, and the pagan gods were dead men. Such a view of the origin of idolatry is found nowhere else in the books of the Old Testament Scripture. But among ancient Greek writers such a view was expressed repeatedly, especially developed by Euhemerus and for that reason is usually called euhemerism. From this source the writer of our book, presumably, drew his explanation of the origin of idolatry. Christian writers — Justin the Philosopher, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Lactantius, Augustine — widely used this view as a powerful argument against the faith of pagans in their gods. 15. “A father began to revere him (his dead son) as a god, and handed over to his household the mysterious rites and the sacrifices.” The veneration of dead ancestors is one of the most ancient forms of polytheism: it was a characteristic of the patriarchal age. The “father” of whom the writer speaks was actually rather a patriarch; he guided the religious life of his family and its members were “subject” to him. Ancestor veneration was preserved in later times as well: the Roman Lares were the dead ancestors.

Wisdom 14:16. Then, established by time, this impious custom was observed as a law, and by command of rulers the carved image was revered as a divine being. 16. Verse 16 indicates how veneration of dead ancestors was preserved in later times. Civil authority took it under its protection: what was formerly done through personal zeal was now observed “as a law by command of rulers.”

Wisdom 14:17. Whom people could not honor in person because of distance of dwelling, his distant likeness they made a visible image of the revered king, so that by this eagerness they might flatter the one absent as if he were present. Wisdom 14:18. And to increase the veneration, even those who did not know urged on the artisan, Wisdom 14:19. for he, wishing perhaps to please the ruler, strove with his art to make the likeness more beautiful; Wisdom 14:20. and the people, captivated by the beauty of the workmanship, now recognized as a divine being the one who a little before was honored as a man. 17–20. The indication of a second case when the veneration of images of people led to their deification. – Images were made of kings to do them honor. The beauty of the finished statues, giving them the appearance of a certain ideal reality, captivated the senses and imagination of people. People, not knowing (“even those who did not know” verse 18) whom the statue represented, easily passed from sensuous-aesthetic admiration to religious worship. So “the people, captivated by the beauty of the workmanship, now recognized as a divine being the one who a little before was honored as a man” (verse 20). Remarkable is the thought of the writer of the book of Wisdom that the artistic beauty of statues of gods greatly aided in promoting idolatry. Probably the writer, living in Alexandria, himself observed what a bewitching impression the beautiful forms of ancient art, relating to the realm of poetic mythology, made on the receptive nature of the Greeks.

Wisdom 14:21. And this became a snare to people, because those enslaved to either misfortune or tyranny applied the incommunicable Name to stones and wood. 21–31. This section contains a description of the most pernicious influence of idolatry on the moral life of people. (A similar passage see Rom 1:24 verse and following.). The writer of the book of Wisdom in general recognized a close and indissoluble connection between religious knowledge and morality. As, in his opinion, moral purity makes a man capable of knowledge of God, so conversely, religious error leads to moral corruption. The religious error of the pagans the writer briefly formulates thus: “they applied the incommunicable Name to stones and wood.” Cf. Isa 42:8 “...enslaved to either misfortune (see verse 15) or tyranny” (see verse 16).

Wisdom 14:22. Then it was not enough for them to go astray in the knowledge of God, but living in a great struggle of ignorance, they call such great evil peace. 22. Straying in their knowledge of God, the pagans, “living in a great struggle of ignorance, call such great evil peace.” Many interpreters understand “great struggle of ignorance” as the fierce disputes which arose among pagans because of the various and contradictory teachings about the gods, their origin, essence, and power. But these disputes occurred among the educated pagans of that time, already liberated from crude idolatry, whereas the writer speaks here of the masses of the common people, specifically of ignorant idolatry. “Great struggle” further in this same verse is contrasted with peace and is called “great evil,” which is described in detail in the following verses. From this it is evident that this struggle takes place actually in the moral life and consists in that restlessness of spirit and confusion of soul, produced by a polytheistic view, which arises from the fact that man finds nowhere the inner unity of life. The pagans themselves do not notice the cause of their inner discord and therefore “call such great evil peace.”

Wisdom 14:23. They practice infanticide in sacrifice, or perform hidden mysteries, or keep frenzied feasts drawn from foreign customs, Wisdom 14:24. they do not preserve either life or the purity of marriages, but one murders the other by treachery, or troubles him by adultery. 23–24. It speaks of those immoral acts which were directly connected with pagan idolatry and sanctified by it. “Infanticide in sacrifice” (regarding it see note to verses 5–6 of Chapter XII) the writer could hardly have blamed on the pagans of his own time, to whom he was addressing himself. In such cultured lands as Egypt, human sacrifice no longer existed at that time. Therefore by these words the writer wished only to indicate the extreme to which paganism in general could lead... “Hidden mysteries...” As is evident from verse 24, the writer meant here the depravity connected with the mysteries and in general with pagan religious institutions. At the foundation of pagan religions lay the deification of nature. A particular form of this deification — the veneration of the productive force of nature — was expressed in seductive symbols and openly immoral acts. The religious sanctification of depravity led to the most lamentable consequences, about which verse 24 speaks.

Wisdom 14:25. Blood and murder, theft and deceit, corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury, robbery, Wisdom 14:26. forgetfulness of kindness, corruption of souls, perversion of gender, lawlessness of marriage, adultery and depravity. 25–26. These verses contain a description of the immoral life of pagans in general. The writer gives a long list of vices without defining more precisely in what form these vices manifested themselves. There is no reason to suspect the author of intentionally exaggerating in this description, in view of its agreement with other historical evidence. To point out some order in this enumeration is difficult (as in Rom 1:29 verse and following.).

Wisdom 14:27. The worship of abominable idols is the beginning, cause, and end of every evil, 27. “The worship of abominable idols...” A name usually indicates the essential properties of an object or its dignity. Idols are unworthy of a name because they have no real marks of existence, they are nothing; or because they have no glory and significance, in contrast to the greatness and dominion of God. In worship of such gods lies the source of all evil: “the beginning, cause, and end.”

Wisdom 14:28. for they either rage in their rejoicing, or utter false prophecies, or live unrighteously, or lightly break their oaths. 28. Unfolding the thought of the preceding verse, the writer speaks of what particular evil arises from idolatry. It darkens the very purest sources of human life: joy leads to madness, prophetic inspiration becomes clouded with falsehood, religious trustfulness — with the breaking of oaths. The words “utter false prophecies” refer to pagan oracles, and later to various kinds of soothsayers and astrologers.

Wisdom 14:29. Hoping in soulless idols, they do not expect to be punished for having sworn falsely. 29. In verse 29 it is explained why the breaking of oaths often occurred in paganism. The reason is indicated in disbelief. People did not believe in the soulless idols; they did not fear being punished by them, therefore the breaking of oaths did not frighten them. Such examples, when people only outwardly belonged to the official religion, mostly from material benefit (Wis 15:12), but by their inner disposition were decided atheists, paganism in the period of its decline knew very many.

Wisdom 14:30. But judgment will come upon them both for thinking impiously toward God by turning to idols, and for swearing falsely, with contempt for what is sacred, in deceit. 30. The aforementioned oath-breakers will be subjected to judgment, first, for thinking impiously toward God, “by turning to idols,” that is, for distorting the conception of God. They distorted the conception of God not only those pagans who sincerely considered the idols to be gods and feared the oath, but also those who did not believe in these gods, outwardly turned to them, and extracted profit from this (verse 29 cf. Wis 15:12 verse). Secondly, they will be condemned “for swearing falsely, with contempt for what is sacred, in deceit.” “In deceit,” έν δόλφ, with premeditation, namely against one’s neighbor. – “For what is sacred,” that is, what was considered sacred from the perspective of paganism itself.

Wisdom 14:31. For it is not the power of those by whom they swear, but judgment upon sinners that always follows the transgression of the wicked. 31. The last verse answers a possible misunderstanding. The unbelievers among the pagans expected no punishment for their oath-breaking because they swore by dead gods (verse 29), whereas the writer proclaimed that they would be condemned for this (verse 30); does this not speak of the power of those by whom they swore? The writer denies this and says that they will be punished because “judgment... always follows the transgression”: such is the nature of sin, that punishment inevitably follows after it.