But the speech of the divinely inspired (θεοπνευστος) wisdom
is best. (Pseudo-Phocylides 1:129)
Considered in isolation
from the verse’s context, both the inspirationist and vivifacationist
renderings are plausible, as it is easy to envision wisdom as something
imparted by divine inspiration, and is equally easy to view it as life-giving
in its effects. Contextual considerations, however, weight in favor of the
latter rendering. Several passages make it clear that wisdom, for
Pseudo-Phocylides, is a matter of rational reflection on the created order. It
is not acquired by means of inspiration—esoteric or otherwise—a notion
that might have been at home in a more mystical writing. The notion what wisdom
is life-giving, moreover, is very much a traditional Jewish thought, recalling
Prov. 3:18’s reference to wisdom as a “tree of life” (cf. Prov. 8:35; 9:6;
13:14; Eccl. 7:12; 4Q185 2.11-13). It can be found throughout Jewish and
Christian wisdom writings and fits particularly well with the understanding of
wisdom promoted by Pseudo-Phoclyides. A close parallel with the imagery of Sentences
129, in fact, can be found in the Latin version of Sir. 4:12 (=Greek Sir.
4:11 numerically), rendered in the Douay-Rheims version as “Wisdom inspireth
life unto her children, and protecteth them that seek after her, and will go
before them in the way of justice” (sapiential filiis suis vitam
inspiravit et suscipit exquirentes se et praeibit in viam iustitiae). It is
not unlikely, in fact, that Pseudo-Phocylides knew this verse in the form of
its presumed Greek Vorlage (GrII). Nor is it unlikely that Sentences 129
is directly dependent on the expression preserved in Lat Sir. 4:12. (John C.
Poirier, The Invention of the Inspired Text: Philological Windows on the
Theopneustia of Scripture [Library of New Testament Studies 640; London:
T&T Clark, 2021], 58-59)
