Just as immortality is the effect
of associating with wisdom, so death is the consequence of abandoning wisdom
(Wis 1:16). Pseudo-Solomon asserts that death did not originate with God, as it
was not envisaged when created humans (1:13; 2:23; cf. Gen. 1:26). He states
that death gained access to humans through “the envy of an adversary [διαβολος, diabolos]” (Wis 2:24).
Traditionally, commentators have viewed the phrase as referring to “the devil,”
which would be the first instance of identifying this sinister figure with the
Edenic serpent in the biblical tradition (Gen 3; cf. 1 Chr 21:1 LXX; Zech 3:1-2
LXX). However, Pseudo-Solomon never mentions demons; furthermore, he describes wisdom
as releasing Adam from his transgression (Wis 10:1). Hence, the diabolos
is more likely Cain, who brought death into the world when he acted out of envy
to kill his brother Abel (Wis 2:24; cf. 10:3; Gen 4:1-8). (Michael W. Duggan, “Creation
in the Apocrypha,” in Apocrypha and the Septuagint, ed. Bruce W. Longenecker,
Marieke Dhont, and James K. Aitken [Ancient Literature for New Testament Studies
1; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Academic, 2026], 367-68)
