Wisdom of Solomon

The Wisdom of Solomon (also called simply "Wisdom") is a deuterocanonical book composed in Greek, probably in Alexandria between 100 B.C. and A.D. 50, though it is attributed to Solomon in the tradition of wisdom literature. It is accepted as canonical by Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and classified as Apocrypha in Protestant Bibles. Its three main sections address: the contrast between the destiny of the righteous and the wicked (chapters 1–5); a poem in praise of Wisdom personified as a divine feminine figure (6–9); and a historical survey of Israel's sacred history, particularly the Exodus, interpreted through wisdom's lens (10–19).

The Wisdom of Solomon influenced NT thought in several ways: its description of Wisdom as the image of God's goodness and the emanation of his glory (Wis. 7:25–26) contributed to the background of Christological texts like Colossians 1:15 and Hebrews 1:3. Paul's argument in Romans 1–2 parallels the Wisdom of Solomon's critique of Gentile idolatry in chapters 13–14.