Review of A Prolegomenon to Wisdom in the Empires

in
The Sword and the Stylus: An Introduction to Wisdom in the Age of Empires
by Leo Perdue

Introduction to the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament

2022/2023 Radoslav Mitro

 In its first chapter, the author of the book The Sword and the Stylus discusses the
phenomenon of wisdom and sapiental literature in the context of the Ancient Near East. He
examines some cultures that relied on written documents and describes the character of wisdom,
its understanding, its use and introduces some themes of sapiential literature in Israel as well as
in the broader context of ANE and Ancient Greece. Indeed, wisdom traditions of the ancient
empires surrounding Israel influenced wisdom of Israel and its writings to some extent.
Consequently, the author draws reader’s attention to the social status and social role of both the
ancient scribes and sages. In the first chapter final section, he also discusses the social
institutions in which sages performed and developed their activities and concludes with the
literary features of the wisdom literature.
Wisdom is a unique phenomenon that can be found in the entire ancient world. Although
ANE’s sapiential texts show similar characteristics, the understanding of the term “wisdom”
varied from culture to culture. In Israel, the center of sapiential imagination is the Lord and the
personified wisdom stays in close relationship to him.1 It is noteworthy that wisdom in Hebrew
tradition is primarily a gift given by God to those who ask for it. Egyptian wisdom literature
reflects social history of Egypt established on order (ma’at).2 Beside the practical and ethical
dimension, Akkadian wisdom connotes also to magic and cultic knowledge. In Ancient Greece,
wisdom (sophia) included theoretical and practical knowledge and philosophers regarded it as
a valuable virtue. In general, we can say that wisdom comes from the sages of the Ancient
World whose writings reflected their surrounding world- nature, human beings, social and
cultural events, religious life, science, beauty etc. Thus, the ancient sages’ thinking was not
detached from reality but was based on it.
It required the sage’s imagination to see a certain order, beauty and harmony behind the
reality of living and inanimate things. It is interesting that all ancient cultures were able to
recognize the concept expressing a certain order beyond reality. According to Hebrew tradition,
this righteous order (ṣĕdāqâ) was created by God and pervaded all creation. In Egyptian
tradition, this order (ma’at) was a concept pervading every aspect of life and included the ethical
concepts of truth, justice, order and cosmic balance. Egyptian kings and people had to know
and conduct ma’at to keep the world order going.3 In Ancient Greece, the Stoics taught that the
purpose of life is to live in harmony with the Logos, which in Greek thought was the universal

1
L. G. PERDUE, The Sword and the Stylus. An Introduction to Wisdom in the Age of Empires
(Michigan 2008) 6.
2
PERDUE, The Sword, 25-26.
3
S. HERRMANN, “Die Naturlehre des Schӧpfungsberichtes”, TLZ 86 (1961) 413-423.
operative principle. Another noteworthy point while observing all these concepts of universal
order is their shared concept that well-being, harmony and balance in human life and society
depends on the right attitude towards these orders. When humans act against them, it results in
chaos, misfortune and even death. The life in accordance with this order was the objective of
the wisdom.
Wisdom (ḥoḵma) in Hebrew tradition, like other designations of intellectual ability, was
not merely based on knowledge acquisition from empirical experience but was eminently
practical. Practical character of the wisdom is inherent in the sapiential writings of others ANE
cultures as well. The wisdom in these texts, originating from the reflection on reality,
illuminates the destiny of individuals basing itself on the practical human experience. Wisdom’s
practical nature also includes the introducing of wise behaving and acting into a person’s life.
Through the widely spread genre “Instruction” (popular particularly in Egypt; however less
frequent in Sumero-Akkadian tradition), the sapiential literature highlights the importance of
moral behavior and education of young men for their future tasks as scribes and sages in royal
and temple administration or as royal counsellors. Some of these instructions are addressed to
the kings or their sons with the reasonable and just ruling being their focal point. Similar feature
is found in Greek tradition. In Gymnasia and schools of rhetoric, school curriculum focused on
specific knowledge acquisition required by students’ social status.
Beside this, sapiential literature often teaches its addressees, to be loyal to the ruler and
gives advice (very often of educational and moral character) on how to live a life that leads to
true happiness and success. Due to fact that people cannot always reach a satisfied life despite
all their efforts, wisdom literature of ANE deals also with the personal pessimism. The theme
of the innocent sufferer emerged in the sapiential texts as well. For example, the Aram writing
“The sayings of Ahikar” deals with the theme of the innocent sufferer. Other frequent genres
of ANE wisdom literature include sayings, proverbs, panegyrics, disputations, dialogues,
laments etc.
The authors of ANE sapiential texts were mostly scribes and sages holding an important
position in royal and temple administration of the country and managed the kingdom under the
direction of a ruler. This included many responsibilities and often required specialized
knowledge: from military affairs to diplomacy or to building the country's infrastructure, etc.
They often acted as advisers to the kings and rulers, helping them with making the right
decisions related to political and social matters that could strengthen ruler’s position and lead
to the well-being of entire society. They wrote and codified civil laws, served as judges and
lawyers and their tasks could often go beyond the borders of their own country. Scribes
belonged to the social elite and mostly came from the upper social classes as those had access
to good education and upbringing. In the scribal class, a certain hierarchy existed ranging from
important posts in royal bureaucracy to copyists and recorders.
The royal court was an important place where scribes and sages performed their role.
Many texts from this environment developed the concept of kingship believed to proceed on
earth directly from gods in some Mesopotamian cultures. Thus, the sapiential texts sided with
the king and the monarchy. Their aim was to consolidate the position of the ruler and monarchy
as a guarantee of stable justice and social order. Some rulers considered themselves the “ideal
sage” to whom wisdom was given directly from divinity. Other social locations of wisdom in
ANE were schools. These were associated with royal administration or temple and a wide range
of education was cultivated and taught in them. In many cultures of ANE, the relationship
between teacher and student was unique. Wisdom texts often describe this fact using the
specific vocabulary coming from family environment like father/son. Later, together with
advancing Hellenization, Greek schools with prevailing Greco-Roman thought were
established in ANE.
Texts belonging to wisdom literature do not contain merely ordinary information based
on observing the world, life and creation, but exhibit a certain beauty and aesthetic quality
expressed in their artistic style. Through their rhetoric and figurative expressions, these texts
impressively formulate the author’s ideas designated for the reader. The relationship between
appropriately chosen words and the reality to which they refer draws the reader's mind to a
deeper knowledge and evaluation of himself and the created world. The beauty incorporated in
the literary style of wisdom texts affects the senses of the readers and enriches their inner life.
It can be said that many truths expressed in wisdom texts of Ancient World are the
common property of humankind and the fruit of human experience, wisdom and knowledge.
Thus these texts are still relevant because they teach the meaning and purpose of human life
and especially how to ensure a fortunate and peaceful life in this world.
 Bibliography
HERRMANN, S., “Die Naturlehre des Schӧpfungsberichtes”, TLZ 86 (1961) 413-423.
PERDUE, L. G., The Sword and the Stylus. An Introduction to Wisdom in the Age of Empires
(Michigan 2008).