An Atheist Explores the Apocrypha Part 17: The Very Long Night Of The Unbelievers (Wisdom of Solomon 16-19)
Wisdom of
Solomon 16-19
The Very Long Night Of The Unbelievers.
Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Apocrypha version).
In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Old Testament Apocrypha, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.
For more detail, see the introductory post http://bit.ly/3aEJ6Q5
For the online KJV I use, see here http://bit.ly/2m0zVUP
Wisdom 16
“For the hope of the unthankful shall melt away as the winter's hoar frost, and shall run away as unprofitable water.”
This is an odd chapter. It reads as if it is referring to prior events, such as the plagues of Egypt or the Exodus (with mention of God giving his “own people” “quails to stir up their appetite”). But there’s a lot of other stuff about “the bitings of grasshoppers and flies” that kill the unbelievers, and “with strange rains, hails, and showers, were they persecuted, that they could not avoid, and through fire were they consumed”. The hail doesn’t melt in the rain, and the fire burns on water, so that the unbelievers have no respite from the wrath of God. It’s all very reminiscent of the Qur’an. Again.
Meanwhile, the favoured people of God (whether covenant-keeping Israelites or some other definition is not clear to me) get “angel food” and “heaven’s bread” which is “able to content every man's delight, and agreeing to every taste”, and are protected from the terrible beasts that beset the unbelievers – “thy sons not the very teeth of venomous dragons overcame: for thy mercy was ever by them, and healed them”.
Since this kind of selective apocalypse doesn’t resemble any prior biblical events, I can only surmise that it’s meant entirely as an instructive passage about how faith in God overcomes difficulties and the path of the unbeliever ends up with obstacles in the way. Maybe it’s even meant not that God does actually throw non-melting hail at people, but that with faith problems seem lessened; as it says at the end “that which was not destroyed of the fire [meaning the hailstorm], being warmed with a little sunbeam, soon melted away”, the “little sunbeam” being faith, as the verse “thy children, O Lord, whom thou lovest, might know, that it is not the growing of fruits that nourisheth man: but that it is thy word, which preserveth them that put their trust in thee” would seem to suggest.
Wisdom 17
“For when unrighteous men thought to oppress the holy nation; they being shut up in their houses, the prisoners of darkness, and fettered with the bonds of a long night, lay there exiled from the eternal providence.”
There’s some very cool imagery in this chapter, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what it’s supposed to mean. Well, I can offer some opinions, but it’s not clear.
There is a terrible night, like Prospero’s Isle “full of noises”, of “noises as of waters falling down sounded about them, and sad visions appeared unto them with heavy countenances” as well as “a terrible sound of stones cast down, or a running that could not be seen of skipping beasts, or a roaring voice of most savage wild beasts, or a rebounding echo from the hollow mountains”.
The sad-faced ghostly visions are about the only thing to be seen, apart from “there appeared unto them a fire kindled of itself, very dreadful”, otherwise there’s some great invocation of terrible darkness – “No power of the fire might give them light: neither could the bright flames of the stars endure to lighten that horrible night”.
We later learn that this darkness is local, “Over them only was spread an heavy night, an image of that darkness which should afterward receive them”. But who are “them”? That, is not clear. There’s talk at the beginning of the unrighteous trying to “oppress the holy nation”, and the mention of the word “exiled” in that same verse makes one assume the Babylonians. But the next verse mentions that “while they supposed to lie hid in their secret sins, they were scattered under a dark veil of forgetfulness”, and here it isn’t clear if “they” are the oppressors, or if “they” are the members of the Holy Nation, the Israelites, who have ended up in Exile because of their sins against the Covenant. So… who is being punished here? The unfaithful Israelites, or whichever nation (possibly Babylon, could also be Egypt) is trying to oppress them. That, really, is the key sticking point to this chapter. Is it a warning against the enemies of Judah, or is it a warning to the Israelites to keep the Covenant? Or maybe both mushed together.
Wisdom 18
“Instead whereof thou gavest them a burning pillar of fire, both to be a guide of the unknown journey, and an harmless sun to entertain them honourably.”
I, indeed, am honourably entertained by the harmless sun. Quaint image. And this chapter sort of, in vaguely couched terms, answers my question of last time and strongly implies that this is the Exodus that we are talking about here.
There are several clues – “And when they had determined to slay the babes of the saints, one child being cast forth, and saved, to reprove them, thou tookest away the multitude of their children, and destroyedst them altogether in a mighty water”. The “child cast forth” is probably Moses, coming back to save the people, and the reference to the multitude of “their” children being destroyed by “a mighty water” suggests the Re[e]d Sea. Later on we get more references to the death of the firstborn - “For whereas they would not believe any thing by reason of the enchantments; upon the destruction of the firstborn, they acknowledged this people to be the sons of God”.
God then goes on some kind of killing spree, “And brought thine unfeigned commandment as a sharp sword, and standing up filled all things with death; and it touched the heaven, but it stood upon the earth”, even attacking His own people – “Yea, the tasting of death touched the righteous also, and there was a destruction of the multitude in the wilderness: but the wrath endured not long”. This probably refers to the Golden Calf incident because then “the blameless man made haste, and stood forth to defend them”, most likely another reference to Moses. Interestingly God is referred to here as “the destroyer”, and is talked down from His killing spree by Moses reminding Him of the Covenant – “with a word subdued him that punished, alleging the oaths and covenants made with the fathers”. The text even claims that God (if, indeed, that is who “the destroyer” refers to, although the text says that “Thine Almighty word leaped down from heaven out of thy royal throne, as a fierce man of war into the midst of a land of destruction” which is pretty unequivocable) is afraid of Moses in his “long garment” and “row of four stones”. The Bible shows a lot of variants between the relationship between God and the Israelites, or humanity in general, but… well, I was going to say it’s a new one, but fear on the part of God is also behind the Fall and the Tower of Babel, fear of what humanity can become.
Wisdom 19
“As namely, a cloud shadowing the camp; and where water stood before, dry land appeared; and out of the Red sea a way without impediment; and out of the violent stream a green field"
There’s a return to the crossing of the Re[e]d Sea, and the Plagues of Egypt once again at the beginning of the chapter, where the Israelites go “at large like horses, and leaped like lambs” across the miraculous land that appears, but also “were yet mindful of the things that were done while they sojourned in the strange land, how the ground brought forth flies instead of cattle, and how the river cast up a multitude of frogs instead of fishes”.
The first few verses are a terrible mess of pronouns, but it can be teased out that the Egyptians seal their own fate because they change their mind about letting the Israelites go, and chase after them, leastways that’s how I read the various “they”s and “them”s in “How that having given them leave to depart, and sent them hastily away, they would repent and pursue them.”
There are also references here to the Covenant with God and a kind of re-forging of the Israelites identity – “the whole creature in his proper kind was fashioned again anew, serving the peculiar commandments that were given unto them, that thy children might be kept without hurt”. The “whole creature” is an odd reference, but it, to me, also is meant to make us think of the Israelite nation being forged anew, thanks to the commandments given to them.
The second half of the chapter refers to Sodom and Gomorrah. “For the Sodomites did not receive those, whom they knew not when they came: but these brought friends into bondage, that had well deserved of them” we are told, and the verses here make it pretty plain that the sins of the Sodomites was failing to obey hospitality rules (like the Freys), rather than homosexuality – “because they used strangers not friendly: But these very grievously afflicted them, whom they had received with feastings, and were already made partakers of the same laws with them”. And that’s kind of it. There’s reference to the Sodomites being struck blind outside Lot’s house (here referred to only as “the righteous man”, and some more fire that doesn’t melt ice, and here the book kind of meanders to a close.
What started out as an interesting musing on the personification of wisdom turned into a very Qur’an-like obtuse look at early actions of and covenants with God, but without, to my reading, much evident purpose in doing so. It feels like there ought to be a Chapter 20 that then provides a plenary. I guess we the readers are meant to exercise our own wisdom and make our own conclusions.
The Very Long Night Of The Unbelievers.
Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Apocrypha version).
In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Old Testament Apocrypha, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology.
For more detail, see the introductory post http://bit.ly/3aEJ6Q5
For the online KJV I use, see here http://bit.ly/2m0zVUP
Wisdom 16
“For the hope of the unthankful shall melt away as the winter's hoar frost, and shall run away as unprofitable water.”
This is an odd chapter. It reads as if it is referring to prior events, such as the plagues of Egypt or the Exodus (with mention of God giving his “own people” “quails to stir up their appetite”). But there’s a lot of other stuff about “the bitings of grasshoppers and flies” that kill the unbelievers, and “with strange rains, hails, and showers, were they persecuted, that they could not avoid, and through fire were they consumed”. The hail doesn’t melt in the rain, and the fire burns on water, so that the unbelievers have no respite from the wrath of God. It’s all very reminiscent of the Qur’an. Again.
Meanwhile, the favoured people of God (whether covenant-keeping Israelites or some other definition is not clear to me) get “angel food” and “heaven’s bread” which is “able to content every man's delight, and agreeing to every taste”, and are protected from the terrible beasts that beset the unbelievers – “thy sons not the very teeth of venomous dragons overcame: for thy mercy was ever by them, and healed them”.
Since this kind of selective apocalypse doesn’t resemble any prior biblical events, I can only surmise that it’s meant entirely as an instructive passage about how faith in God overcomes difficulties and the path of the unbeliever ends up with obstacles in the way. Maybe it’s even meant not that God does actually throw non-melting hail at people, but that with faith problems seem lessened; as it says at the end “that which was not destroyed of the fire [meaning the hailstorm], being warmed with a little sunbeam, soon melted away”, the “little sunbeam” being faith, as the verse “thy children, O Lord, whom thou lovest, might know, that it is not the growing of fruits that nourisheth man: but that it is thy word, which preserveth them that put their trust in thee” would seem to suggest.
Wisdom 17
“For when unrighteous men thought to oppress the holy nation; they being shut up in their houses, the prisoners of darkness, and fettered with the bonds of a long night, lay there exiled from the eternal providence.”
There’s some very cool imagery in this chapter, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what it’s supposed to mean. Well, I can offer some opinions, but it’s not clear.
There is a terrible night, like Prospero’s Isle “full of noises”, of “noises as of waters falling down sounded about them, and sad visions appeared unto them with heavy countenances” as well as “a terrible sound of stones cast down, or a running that could not be seen of skipping beasts, or a roaring voice of most savage wild beasts, or a rebounding echo from the hollow mountains”.
The sad-faced ghostly visions are about the only thing to be seen, apart from “there appeared unto them a fire kindled of itself, very dreadful”, otherwise there’s some great invocation of terrible darkness – “No power of the fire might give them light: neither could the bright flames of the stars endure to lighten that horrible night”.
We later learn that this darkness is local, “Over them only was spread an heavy night, an image of that darkness which should afterward receive them”. But who are “them”? That, is not clear. There’s talk at the beginning of the unrighteous trying to “oppress the holy nation”, and the mention of the word “exiled” in that same verse makes one assume the Babylonians. But the next verse mentions that “while they supposed to lie hid in their secret sins, they were scattered under a dark veil of forgetfulness”, and here it isn’t clear if “they” are the oppressors, or if “they” are the members of the Holy Nation, the Israelites, who have ended up in Exile because of their sins against the Covenant. So… who is being punished here? The unfaithful Israelites, or whichever nation (possibly Babylon, could also be Egypt) is trying to oppress them. That, really, is the key sticking point to this chapter. Is it a warning against the enemies of Judah, or is it a warning to the Israelites to keep the Covenant? Or maybe both mushed together.
Wisdom 18
“Instead whereof thou gavest them a burning pillar of fire, both to be a guide of the unknown journey, and an harmless sun to entertain them honourably.”
I, indeed, am honourably entertained by the harmless sun. Quaint image. And this chapter sort of, in vaguely couched terms, answers my question of last time and strongly implies that this is the Exodus that we are talking about here.
There are several clues – “And when they had determined to slay the babes of the saints, one child being cast forth, and saved, to reprove them, thou tookest away the multitude of their children, and destroyedst them altogether in a mighty water”. The “child cast forth” is probably Moses, coming back to save the people, and the reference to the multitude of “their” children being destroyed by “a mighty water” suggests the Re[e]d Sea. Later on we get more references to the death of the firstborn - “For whereas they would not believe any thing by reason of the enchantments; upon the destruction of the firstborn, they acknowledged this people to be the sons of God”.
God then goes on some kind of killing spree, “And brought thine unfeigned commandment as a sharp sword, and standing up filled all things with death; and it touched the heaven, but it stood upon the earth”, even attacking His own people – “Yea, the tasting of death touched the righteous also, and there was a destruction of the multitude in the wilderness: but the wrath endured not long”. This probably refers to the Golden Calf incident because then “the blameless man made haste, and stood forth to defend them”, most likely another reference to Moses. Interestingly God is referred to here as “the destroyer”, and is talked down from His killing spree by Moses reminding Him of the Covenant – “with a word subdued him that punished, alleging the oaths and covenants made with the fathers”. The text even claims that God (if, indeed, that is who “the destroyer” refers to, although the text says that “Thine Almighty word leaped down from heaven out of thy royal throne, as a fierce man of war into the midst of a land of destruction” which is pretty unequivocable) is afraid of Moses in his “long garment” and “row of four stones”. The Bible shows a lot of variants between the relationship between God and the Israelites, or humanity in general, but… well, I was going to say it’s a new one, but fear on the part of God is also behind the Fall and the Tower of Babel, fear of what humanity can become.
Wisdom 19
“As namely, a cloud shadowing the camp; and where water stood before, dry land appeared; and out of the Red sea a way without impediment; and out of the violent stream a green field"
There’s a return to the crossing of the Re[e]d Sea, and the Plagues of Egypt once again at the beginning of the chapter, where the Israelites go “at large like horses, and leaped like lambs” across the miraculous land that appears, but also “were yet mindful of the things that were done while they sojourned in the strange land, how the ground brought forth flies instead of cattle, and how the river cast up a multitude of frogs instead of fishes”.
The first few verses are a terrible mess of pronouns, but it can be teased out that the Egyptians seal their own fate because they change their mind about letting the Israelites go, and chase after them, leastways that’s how I read the various “they”s and “them”s in “How that having given them leave to depart, and sent them hastily away, they would repent and pursue them.”
There are also references here to the Covenant with God and a kind of re-forging of the Israelites identity – “the whole creature in his proper kind was fashioned again anew, serving the peculiar commandments that were given unto them, that thy children might be kept without hurt”. The “whole creature” is an odd reference, but it, to me, also is meant to make us think of the Israelite nation being forged anew, thanks to the commandments given to them.
The second half of the chapter refers to Sodom and Gomorrah. “For the Sodomites did not receive those, whom they knew not when they came: but these brought friends into bondage, that had well deserved of them” we are told, and the verses here make it pretty plain that the sins of the Sodomites was failing to obey hospitality rules (like the Freys), rather than homosexuality – “because they used strangers not friendly: But these very grievously afflicted them, whom they had received with feastings, and were already made partakers of the same laws with them”. And that’s kind of it. There’s reference to the Sodomites being struck blind outside Lot’s house (here referred to only as “the righteous man”, and some more fire that doesn’t melt ice, and here the book kind of meanders to a close.
What started out as an interesting musing on the personification of wisdom turned into a very Qur’an-like obtuse look at early actions of and covenants with God, but without, to my reading, much evident purpose in doing so. It feels like there ought to be a Chapter 20 that then provides a plenary. I guess we the readers are meant to exercise our own wisdom and make our own conclusions.
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