18. The likeness of this v.
to St Matt. 27:43 has led some to suspect a Christian interpolation here, but
that v. is couched in O.T. language (Ps. 22:8 LXX.). For this v. cp. Is. 42:1
“Jacob, my servant, I will help him,” LXX.; 3 Macc. 6:11. This line of argument
on the part of the oppressors (if …, he will uphold him) points to an
interpretation of latter end v. 16 in terms of earthly life. (J. A. F.
Gregg, The Wisdom of Solomon in the Revised Version with Introduction and
Notes [The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges; Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1922], 19)
Diachronic Analysis
In 2:18b, the verb ῥύομαι refers to the text of Ps 21[22 MT]:9 (ῥυσάσθω αὐτόν). The text of 18b can be suitably read
as an ironic comment by the ungodly on this passage. Cf. also Sir 2:6 (πίστευσον αὐτῷ καὶ ἀντιλήμψεταί σου). Matt 27:43 is probably using this passage
in connection with Jesus (ῥυσάσθω
νῦν εἰ θέλει αὐτόν· εἶπεν γὰρ
ὅτι θεοῦ εἰμι υἱός). In both cases, there is a reprise of
Ps 21[22 MT]:9.
In the OT, the divine
sonship of Israel is a fundamental aspect in the description of the relation
between God and God’s people, often viewed in connection with the event of the
Exodus (Exod 4:22; Deut 14:1; Jer 38[31 MT]:9). They are a people called by God
out of Egypt (Hos 11:1) whom God considers God’s favourite (Jer 38[31 MT]:20).
For Israel, the state of “son” underlines their distance from God (Mal 1:6),
but at the same time also God’s fatherly love (Ps 102[103 MT]:13). The “son” par excellence is the king-messiah (2
Sam 7:14; cf. Ps 2:7 which our sage could have had in mind).
In the texts of the
Hellenistic period, the theme of the divine sonship of Israel appears to be
increasingly widespread. Being “sons” of God also acquires an eschatological
nuance and is related to faithfulness to the law (cf. T. Levi 18:8, etc.; and
below in connection with Wis 18:4). In texts like 3 Macc 6:28; Est E:16
(8:12q), “sons” appear also in relation to the oppression exercised by the
ungodly, just as happens in Wis 17:2 and 18:4.
†As
the background to v. 20, one can think of the famous text of Plato which
describes the death of the just man in the strongest terms (cf. Resp. 361e–362a) or else another reprise
of the Fourth Servant Song (cf. Isa 53:2–3, 8, and 12).
It is more difficult to know
whether v. 20 is referring to real events. The sources available to us do not
permit us to claim that in Ptolemaic Egypt there were times of anti-Jewish
persecution in which the Jews were condemned to death, still less by fellow-Jews.
One could also think that there lingered in Alexandria echoes of the scandalous
killings which took place in Judaea under the Hasmonean dynasty from the time
of Alexander Jannaeus up to that of Herod the Great. The possibility remains
that our sage is taking up here an ideal motif.
Not infrequently, in the Psalter, the ungodly seek to cause the death of the
just (cf. Ps 93:21 LXX [94:21 MT]). (Luca Mazzinghi, Wisdom [trans. Michael
Tait, International Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament; Stuttgart: W.
Kohlhammer, 2019], 88)
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