"Isis and Sophia in the Book of Wisdom", John S. Kloppenborg in Harvard Theological Review / Volume 75 / Issue 01 (1982):
If the book of Wisdom (Wisdom of Solomon) was written in Alexandria in the Late Ptolemaic or early Imperial period, as seems most probable, it is a priori likely that its author and intended audience were familiar with the Egyptian goddess Isis, at least in her hellenized form. This is all the more likely since, as many critics have acknowledged, the author of Wisdom was cognizant of other aspects of Hellenism and was able to adopt some of these in his presentation of Jewish theology. Thus, for example, there are reminiscences of Homer and Hesiod, allusions to Egyptian religious practices, and Greek philosophical vocabulary. That the author was aware of Isis and her mythology need not mean, of course, that this influenced his representation of Sophia to any significant degree. But given the popularity of the goddess, this possibility can scarcely be excluded. It will be the purpose of this article to examine the evidence for the influence of Isis upon Sophia and to inquire into the function of the reshaping of Jewish wisdom speculation as it is encountered in the Wisdom of Solomon.
As early as 1901, Reitzenstein suggested that the figure of Sophia in Sirach and Wisdom had come under the influence of Egyptian theology... Two recent studies have treated the problem in some depth. J. M. Reese has made a strong case for the hypothesis that Wisdom's presentation of Sophia, especially with regard to the motif of union with Sophia, "is a conscious effort to offset the appeal of the literature of the revived Isis cult."...
I do not doubt, however, that Reese's list could be revised and even expanded to provide a much more convincing set of parallels, especially if one consulted not only the aretalogies and hymns of Isis, but also the rich epigraphical and papyrological sources available. Nevertheless, the fact that Sophia shares with Isis various scattered epithets and functions proves little concerning direct influence. It is easily imaginable that Pseudo-Solomon simply applied to Sophia terms which were "in the air" without realizing that they had been used of Isis. In addition, epithets and functions such as 'almighty', 'beneficient', and 'pervading all things' are not unique to Isis, but were applied to Zeus, Athena, and other gods. What is required is not a list of parallel terms and titles but a demonstration that complete configurations of specifically Isiac-mythologoumena are mirrored in Wisdom.
Independently of Reese, Burton Mack concluded that mythic language from the cult of Isis had influenced Pseudo-Solomon. Drawing upon both Egyptian and Greek sources, Mack first sketched the relationship of the goddess to Maat, the principle of cosmic and social order. He then attempted to account for the elements in the representation of Sophia in Wisdom that did not come from OT tradition. The comparison or identification of Sophia with light and the notion that she pervades all things closely parallel the solar functions of Isis. Similarly, the remarkable description of Sophia's relation to God and the King — as mother of the King and wife of both—may be accounted for by positing contact with the Isis cult. For Mack the use of mythic language was not, as others had thought, part of polemics or apologetics. On the contrary, the borrowing of the language and mythologoumena of Isis constituted a truly reflective and theological enterprise: to understand Yahwism afresh in the midst of hostility, persecution and death...
It must also be kept in mind that there existed a variety of configurations in which Isis played a part, corresponding to the demographic and social division of Egypt. To the native Egyptian she was the mistress of magic able to heal diseases, save from distress, and give life. This sector of the Isis cult was little interested in evangelism. For this and other reasons yet to be mentioned, this type of Isis religion cannot have had much effect upon Alexandrian Judaism. Isis also figured importantly in the theology of kingship as the mythical mother, protector, wife and vindicator of the monarch. The Ptolemies and later the Romans, in order to assert their claims to the Egyptian throne and to maintain some measure of stability in the native population, were obliged to take up the old royal theology. What resulted was a brand of political propaganda that had its impact on both natives and Greeks, reaching its apex during the reign of Cleopatra VII Thea Philopater who represented herself in public as Isis. Apart from her role in political propaganda, Isis also had a strong appeal for Greeks, who found in her a savior and benefactor. Unlike Greek deities, Isis was not subject to Fate, and she exercised her considerable powers in aid of farmers, seamen, marriages, women in childbirth , and scholars. She provided knowledge, wealth, and immortality to her devotees. This is the Isis of the aretalogies, the poems and hymns, and of the writers such as Plutarch, Diodorus, Mesomedes, Isidorus, Apuleius and Artemidorus of Ephesus. Here we may legitimately speak of an "Isis mission," the effects of which were to be felt both within Egypt (including Alexandria) and throughout the Mediterranean basin and even as far as Roman Gaul...
Instead, the Wisdom of Solomon has the character of preaching to the converted, or perhaps more accurately, of preaching to those in danger of falling away. It is a didactic exhortation, a protreptic, as Reese calls it. The audience — educated Alexandrian Jews — was evidently sympathetic to Hellenistic culture and thought. This may be gathered from the use that Pseudo-Solomon makes of philosophical vocabulary current in the Hellenistic schools...
Pseudo-Solomon declared to his ostensive audience, the kings of the earth, that righteousness is rewarded by immortality (1:1-12; 3:1-9; 4:1-2; 5:15-23), that Wisdom is to be sought above all else (8:2-9:18) and that kingship is achieved only through Wisdom (6:17-21)...
From now on Sophia appears as a mythical person, not only to be sought (as the Lord in 1:1-2) but actively seeking (6:12-16). The author evidently wishes to portray the pursuit of Sophia as the means of achieving the virtues and rewards of chaps. 1-5. Forming a kind of epistemological bridge between the divine and human spheres, Sophia reveals not only a variety of types of scientific knowledge (7:15-22) but more importantly, God's counsel (9:13-17), which is otherwise inaccessible to humans. Reinforcing the assurances of divine protection given in chaps. 1-5, PseudoSolomon concludes his exposition of Sophia's powers by the statement:
"And thus the paths of those on earth were set straight and men were taught what pleases you and by Sophia they were saved" (9:18)
and then provides a list of focal events in the history of Israel, from the creation to the Exodus, in which Sophia acted as savior and teacher. What had been described in chaps. 1-5 as the characteristics and rewards of righteousness are now revealed to be the gifts and benefactions of a mythic person.
It is appropriate to ask why the author felt the need to place such an emphasis upon Sophia with the particular configuration of personal, mythical and philosophical characteristics which are present in chaps. 6-10. It is certainly not because he wished to isolate God from direct contact with the world as was the case, for example, in Gnosticism. In Wisdom both God and Sophia are represented as creating the world (1:14; 7:22; 11:17), as being sought by men (1:1-2; 6:12-16), as granting knowledge (7:15-22) and immortality (5:15-16; 8:13), and as guiding and protecting Israel (10; 11-19). It is not the case that Sophia's interposition is required so that God's holiness or transcendence be maintained.
Winston has recently suggested that Sophia "was the perfect bridge between the exclusive nationalistic tradition of Israel and the universalist philosophical tradition which appealed so strongly to the Jewish youth of Roman Alexandria." This is undoubtedly the case and accounts well for the traces of Greek philosophical terminology in the representation of Sophia. It does not, however, account so well for the strongly personal and mythical dimensions of Sophia (consort of the king and sage) or for personified Wisdom's activity as savior of the righteous.
Appeal to the constraints of tradition may be in order here and may explain some of the aspects of Sophia's role. That is, certain characteristics of Wisdom — activity at creation, her close relation to God, teacher of humankind — were already fixed topoi in the Hebrew wisdom tradition and might reasonably be expected in any sapiential work. But the Wisdom of Solomon goes far beyond the traditional topoi of Wisdom in Proverbs, Job, and Sirach... Without wishing to detract from the substantial debt which the Wisdom of Solomon owes to biblical wisdom tradition and Greek philosophy, I contend that the peculiar configuration of Sophia's characteristics is a result of and a response to the immediate and powerful challenge to Judaism presented by another feminine figure, savior and revealer, a goddess linked to the pursuit of wisdom and one associated with the throne: Isis.
It perhaps comes as a surprise that the saving activity as manifest in the early history of Israel is ascribed to Sophia, rather than to the Lord directly, as in the great "historical credos" and lists of paradigms in faith such as Deut 26:5-9; Josh 24:2-13; Psalms 78; 105; 106; 136; Sirach 44-50; and 3 Mace 2.1-20. In fact, salvation is an activity regularly reserved to God, even in wisdom literature. Wisdom grants long life (Prov 3:16; 9:11), counsel, insight, strength (8:14) and divine favor (8:35-36), but "saving from danger" is not her usual function. Nevertheless, she rather than God is the unmistakable savior of Wis 9:18-10:21: not only is Sophia explicitly named in 9:18; 10:4, 8, 9, 21, but the use of anaphora places the focus clearly upon her.
The theme of Pseudo-Solomon's encomium is announced in 9:18 and summarized by 10:9:
"But Sophia rescued from troubles those who serve her"
The similarity with Isis is here inescapable... and numerous dedications recall her saving deeds. A first-century B.C.E. inscription from Medinet Madi states:
"As many as are in prison, in the power of death, and as many as are in pain because of long, troubled sleepless nights, All who wander in foreign lands, and as many as sail on the Great Sea in winter when men are destroyed, their ships broken and sent below, all these are saved when they pray that you be present." (Medinet Madi, 1. 29-34)
"As many as come to doom with fatal diseases having called upon you, they quickly obtain your life." (Medinet Madi, 2. 7-8)...
Isis's ability to act as savior derives from the facts that she, unlike Greek gods, was mistress of fate (Heimarmene) and that she was intimately associated with the powers of the cosmos. The former aspect, clearly the legacy of her Egyptian background, meant that in a time in which fatalism was widespread, there was a goddess who was not only loving and faithful to those who served her, but above all, powerful enough to influence the forces which dominated human existence. It meant that success, long life, and wealth could be had as a reward for worship of Isis. Moreover, the goddess was assigned major roles in creating, sustaining, and regulating the cosmos, as well as functions such as controlling the stars, crops, and the weather. Perhaps because of the last competence, Isis was regarded as the inventor and patron of the maritime trades, and the protector and guide of sailors.
Regulation is both cosmic and social. In Egypt Isis absorbed solar deities and thereby came to regulate the cosmos. "Isis ... shines from her house like Re who repeats (his course). She treads the earth and drives away the darkness like the Horizon-dweller". She even assumed a regulating activity with respect to the Ennead itself: "[Isis] who gives instructions to the Ennead and according to whose command it is regulated"... and phrases such as "I made what is right strong" signal a fusion of Isis with Maat, the principle of cosmic and social order. See Memphis 16, 28, 38; Cultes egyptiens 117, 122, 181; SIRIS 6; Plutarch De Iside 352B. For an Egyptian text making the identification, Chassinat, Dendera, 2. 221: "Isis the Great ... (who is) Maat in Dendera." See the discussion of the notion of Maat by Muller, Aretalogien, 43; idem, "I am Isis," OLZ 67 (1972) 122; and H. Bonnet, RARG 430-34. Some Greek texts use Stoic language to describe Isis's regulatory actions: Diodorus Siculus 1.11.5; Plutarch De Iside 367C
Wisdom, too, has the ability to save the righteous in virtue of her intimate connection with cosmic forces. She is able to give instruction concerning ontology, cosmology, physics, astronomy, biology, and pharmacology because she is responsible for the creation of all these (7:17-22). It is also evident that, like Isis, Sophia is responsible for the regulation and oversight of the cosmos. It is frequently and correctly pointed out that many Stoic terms occur in the description of Sophia's cosmic regulatory activities. Yet it would be a mistake to suppose that Sophia has become the Stoic pronoia or logos, which was devoid of personal aspects and scarcely amenable to the supplications of the righteous. Isis, too, underwent a degree of stoicizing interpretation, but she preserved, like Sophia, personal aspects and maintained the ability to save individuals from disaster and to grant favor to supplicants. This, in fact, was the essence of her appeal.
To return to the list of Sophia's accomplishments in 9:18- 10:21, one observes that in the selection of events that the author has chosen incidents which are precisely of the sort over which Isis also had control. Sophia's guiding of the boat (i.e., Noah's ark; 10:4)... corresponds closely to one of Isis' s major competences, the protection and guiding of sailors. That it is specifically mentioned that Sophia made the righteous man wealthy (10:11) is significant in view of the very frequently encountered notion that Isis confers wealth upon the pious... Similarly, Sophia's presence with the righteous man in prison (10:14) is closely paralleled by Isis's promise to save prisoners when they pray for her presence... Yet in Hellenistic Egypt where Isis made rival claims for these abilities, PseudoSolomon not only described Sophia's role as that of savior, but described specific acts which stood in close parallel to the competences of Isis.
A few more examples from chap. 10 will further illustrate this. Burton Mack pointed out that Sophia's conferral of the power to master all things (10:2) recalls Isis's conferral of similar power upon Horus/the king. But the contacts with the Isis-Horus cycle, known in both Egyptian and Greek circles, do not end here. Especially prominent in chap. 10 is Sophia's role of guarding and protecting the righteous man, particularly in the face of opposition (vss 1, 5, 11, 12)...
Again it is not a matter of details of the Egyptian legends being borrowed, at least not in any conventional sense. On the contrary, it is largely biblical and intertestamental traditions which appear in 9:18-10:21. Nor are the biblical figures Egyptianized to any recognizable degree. What is distinctive in the Wisdom of Solomon is (1) the saving role of Sophia, corresponding to Isis's major function; (2) the selection of events which the author used as examples of this role; and (3) the allusive retelling of these events in such a way that they resonate with the mythic pattern characteristic of the Isis-Horus cycle. The biblical account is thereby allowed to participate in the mythic power of the symbol of a savior deity, but without acquiring the explicit aspects of the Egyptian myth... A powerful symbol from the environment is co-opted in order to revitalize the old biblical tradition and make it attractive to Jews who undoubtedly felt the pressures of Hellenism...
A possible explanation has been offered by Mack, who contended that Pseudo-Solomon was influenced by kingship ideology. Mack thought that new ideas of the death, victory and immortality of the righteous man were generated through a creative reflection on Egyptian theology:
"It is therefore no longer surprising if Solomon, through wisdom, expected immortality. After Horus is drowned, found by Isis and raised to life and immortality (diode. sic 1:30). We see here how the myth cycles of Horus and Osiris of the Hellenistic period overlap. For the bestowal of immortality in the context of justification is actually a feature of the Osiris myth..."
While the exaltation of the sage is a fixed notion in wisdom speculation (Prov 4:8-9; Sir 1:13, 19; 4:11-15; 15:5-6; etc.) , the idea of exaltation to cosmic sovereignty is the product of sapiential reflection on kingship ideology. Whether or not Mack's thesis accounts for all of the elements in Pseudo-Solomon's view on the afterlife, his instincts are undoubtedly correct in looking to royal theology as a background to Pseudo-Solomon's discussion of the role of the king.
Sophia is presented as the divine agent by which the king first attains kingship (6:20-21), by which he rules (8:10-16; 9:10-12), attains wisdom (8:2-21), influence and power (8:12-15), eternal kingship (6:21) and immortality (8:13, 17). It can scarcely be a coincidence that Isis performs precisely the same functions... It is indeed true that Sophia (like Isis) grants immortality to the king...
One of the most frequent epithets of Isis in the late period is "bestower of Life". This and related titles (Lady of Life, Mistress of Life) are probably to be seen in the context of Isis's functions in both the Osiris and Horus myths where she is the active agent reviving and sustaining life...
In a remarkable passage Pseudo-Solomon describes Sophia as no spouse and beloved of God (8:3), but also as spouse of Solomon (8:9). This almost certainly reflects the mythic pattern of Egyptian kingship. Isis is, of course, the wife of Osiris, and in Greek sources she is the associate of Sarapis or the Sun. But she also functions as "lady of the house of the king" and "royal spouse." For this reason, several Ptolemaic queens identified themselves with Isis, a custom which was taken to extremes by Cleopatra VII who dressed as Isis... The double relationship of Sophia to God and to the King is due to the influence of the pattern of Egyptian kingship.
Royal inscriptions credit Isis with having driven away darkness on earth and with regulating the Ennead, and she is given the title "Shining in heaven with Re, powerful on earth with Geb." She is, in other words, all-powerful in both divine and human spheres... The mention of the four cardinal virtues in 8:7 without doubt points to Greek influence. However, Isis offers parallels here too. Not only was the Egyptian goddess extremely virtuous, but she was also responsible for the establishment and preservation of moral and social order. Because of her previous identification with Maat, Isis establishes "what is right", distinguishes good from evil and through the agency of the ruler, maintains order and law on earth. In the Wisdom of Solomon also, the establishing and maintenance of moral and social order is accomplished by the monarch, but only through the aid of his divine companion...
In short, Wis 8:2-9 contains a dense configuration of attributes of Sophia which bear a significant correlation to attributes — indeed principal attributes — of Isis. According to the logic of royal ideology, the Isis who saved Horus from danger and brought about his accession to the throne, the same Isis who is the associate of Re in creating and regulating the cosmos, is also the spouse of the earthly king, conferring upon him the power to regulate human affairs. It is this logic that Pseudo-Solomon borrows for Sophia.
Again it must not be denied that earlier sapiential books attribute to Wisdom some of these features (e.g., Prov 8:14-21). Moreover, it must be emphasized that Pseudo-Solomon, while shaping his material to correspond with patterns from Isis-propaganda, has also introduced serious modifications into these patterns. Sophia may be the "mother of all good things" (7:12), but she is not mother of the king as Isis was the mother of Horus. In addition, despite her extraordinary powers, Sophia remains the gift of God, and as such she is clearly subordinate to him. These two adjustments may be regarded as subtle rejections of the objectionable features of royal propaganda. Nevertheless, there is a significant correspondence between the triad of Re/Osiris— Isis —the King in Egyptian thought and the triad of God — Sophia — Solomon in the Wisdom of Solomon. The mythic power which informed Egyptian royal ideology is captured and transformed for Judaism, enabling Jews to maintain themselves in an atmosphere of intense religious and political propaganda...
Over two decades ago, M. J. Suggs showed that Wis 2:10-5:23 was based on the fourth Servant Song of Isaiah, which not only depicts the suffering of the righteous man, but in the LXX is concerned with the righteous wise man. In effect, Pseudo-Solomon reactualized a powerful symbol from Jewish tradition — that of the wise man who suffered but was vindicated by God — in order to give meaning and intelligibility to the present suffering of the dikaioi in Alexandria. He also used the figure of Solomon in a skillful manner. It was the influential king of Israel's past, respected by pagans as a sophos, who exhorted Alexandrian Jews to perseverance in the pursuit of Wisdom and in the practice of their religion. At the same time, the author re-actualized other traditions of Israel, but in such a way as to resonate with the mythic patterns characteristic of Isis, who was undoubtedly the most popular and powerful savior-symbol in Hellenistic Alexandria. This act of "re-mythologizing" Sophia allowed Judaism to maintain itself as a saving religion in the face of influential cults which made similar promises. Moreover, it provided an answer for the Alexandrian Jew...
It is difficult to speak of mythic inversion in respect to Isis and Sophia both because Isis participates in several mythic systems, occupying several different roles, and because Sophia does not have a myth of her own. Nevertheless, the symmetry as well as the disparity between Isis and Sophia are fairly evident. Sophia is the agent through which the king rules, but as gift of God she is not the ultimate authority over the king. She is the associate of God in creation and oversight of the cosmos, but she is not fully comparable to Isis, who was called "female Re". These (and other) correspondences and disparities may have had the function that LeVi-Strauss suggests: to promote, if somewhat one-sidedly, cultural communication with the dominant group but at the same time to preserve boundary.
As early as 1901, Reitzenstein suggested that the figure of Sophia in Sirach and Wisdom had come under the influence of Egyptian theology... Two recent studies have treated the problem in some depth. J. M. Reese has made a strong case for the hypothesis that Wisdom's presentation of Sophia, especially with regard to the motif of union with Sophia, "is a conscious effort to offset the appeal of the literature of the revived Isis cult."...
I do not doubt, however, that Reese's list could be revised and even expanded to provide a much more convincing set of parallels, especially if one consulted not only the aretalogies and hymns of Isis, but also the rich epigraphical and papyrological sources available. Nevertheless, the fact that Sophia shares with Isis various scattered epithets and functions proves little concerning direct influence. It is easily imaginable that Pseudo-Solomon simply applied to Sophia terms which were "in the air" without realizing that they had been used of Isis. In addition, epithets and functions such as 'almighty', 'beneficient', and 'pervading all things' are not unique to Isis, but were applied to Zeus, Athena, and other gods. What is required is not a list of parallel terms and titles but a demonstration that complete configurations of specifically Isiac-mythologoumena are mirrored in Wisdom.
Independently of Reese, Burton Mack concluded that mythic language from the cult of Isis had influenced Pseudo-Solomon. Drawing upon both Egyptian and Greek sources, Mack first sketched the relationship of the goddess to Maat, the principle of cosmic and social order. He then attempted to account for the elements in the representation of Sophia in Wisdom that did not come from OT tradition. The comparison or identification of Sophia with light and the notion that she pervades all things closely parallel the solar functions of Isis. Similarly, the remarkable description of Sophia's relation to God and the King — as mother of the King and wife of both—may be accounted for by positing contact with the Isis cult. For Mack the use of mythic language was not, as others had thought, part of polemics or apologetics. On the contrary, the borrowing of the language and mythologoumena of Isis constituted a truly reflective and theological enterprise: to understand Yahwism afresh in the midst of hostility, persecution and death...
It must also be kept in mind that there existed a variety of configurations in which Isis played a part, corresponding to the demographic and social division of Egypt. To the native Egyptian she was the mistress of magic able to heal diseases, save from distress, and give life. This sector of the Isis cult was little interested in evangelism. For this and other reasons yet to be mentioned, this type of Isis religion cannot have had much effect upon Alexandrian Judaism. Isis also figured importantly in the theology of kingship as the mythical mother, protector, wife and vindicator of the monarch. The Ptolemies and later the Romans, in order to assert their claims to the Egyptian throne and to maintain some measure of stability in the native population, were obliged to take up the old royal theology. What resulted was a brand of political propaganda that had its impact on both natives and Greeks, reaching its apex during the reign of Cleopatra VII Thea Philopater who represented herself in public as Isis. Apart from her role in political propaganda, Isis also had a strong appeal for Greeks, who found in her a savior and benefactor. Unlike Greek deities, Isis was not subject to Fate, and she exercised her considerable powers in aid of farmers, seamen, marriages, women in childbirth , and scholars. She provided knowledge, wealth, and immortality to her devotees. This is the Isis of the aretalogies, the poems and hymns, and of the writers such as Plutarch, Diodorus, Mesomedes, Isidorus, Apuleius and Artemidorus of Ephesus. Here we may legitimately speak of an "Isis mission," the effects of which were to be felt both within Egypt (including Alexandria) and throughout the Mediterranean basin and even as far as Roman Gaul...
Instead, the Wisdom of Solomon has the character of preaching to the converted, or perhaps more accurately, of preaching to those in danger of falling away. It is a didactic exhortation, a protreptic, as Reese calls it. The audience — educated Alexandrian Jews — was evidently sympathetic to Hellenistic culture and thought. This may be gathered from the use that Pseudo-Solomon makes of philosophical vocabulary current in the Hellenistic schools...
Pseudo-Solomon declared to his ostensive audience, the kings of the earth, that righteousness is rewarded by immortality (1:1-12; 3:1-9; 4:1-2; 5:15-23), that Wisdom is to be sought above all else (8:2-9:18) and that kingship is achieved only through Wisdom (6:17-21)...
From now on Sophia appears as a mythical person, not only to be sought (as the Lord in 1:1-2) but actively seeking (6:12-16). The author evidently wishes to portray the pursuit of Sophia as the means of achieving the virtues and rewards of chaps. 1-5. Forming a kind of epistemological bridge between the divine and human spheres, Sophia reveals not only a variety of types of scientific knowledge (7:15-22) but more importantly, God's counsel (9:13-17), which is otherwise inaccessible to humans. Reinforcing the assurances of divine protection given in chaps. 1-5, PseudoSolomon concludes his exposition of Sophia's powers by the statement:
"And thus the paths of those on earth were set straight and men were taught what pleases you and by Sophia they were saved" (9:18)
and then provides a list of focal events in the history of Israel, from the creation to the Exodus, in which Sophia acted as savior and teacher. What had been described in chaps. 1-5 as the characteristics and rewards of righteousness are now revealed to be the gifts and benefactions of a mythic person.
It is appropriate to ask why the author felt the need to place such an emphasis upon Sophia with the particular configuration of personal, mythical and philosophical characteristics which are present in chaps. 6-10. It is certainly not because he wished to isolate God from direct contact with the world as was the case, for example, in Gnosticism. In Wisdom both God and Sophia are represented as creating the world (1:14; 7:22; 11:17), as being sought by men (1:1-2; 6:12-16), as granting knowledge (7:15-22) and immortality (5:15-16; 8:13), and as guiding and protecting Israel (10; 11-19). It is not the case that Sophia's interposition is required so that God's holiness or transcendence be maintained.
Winston has recently suggested that Sophia "was the perfect bridge between the exclusive nationalistic tradition of Israel and the universalist philosophical tradition which appealed so strongly to the Jewish youth of Roman Alexandria." This is undoubtedly the case and accounts well for the traces of Greek philosophical terminology in the representation of Sophia. It does not, however, account so well for the strongly personal and mythical dimensions of Sophia (consort of the king and sage) or for personified Wisdom's activity as savior of the righteous.
Appeal to the constraints of tradition may be in order here and may explain some of the aspects of Sophia's role. That is, certain characteristics of Wisdom — activity at creation, her close relation to God, teacher of humankind — were already fixed topoi in the Hebrew wisdom tradition and might reasonably be expected in any sapiential work. But the Wisdom of Solomon goes far beyond the traditional topoi of Wisdom in Proverbs, Job, and Sirach... Without wishing to detract from the substantial debt which the Wisdom of Solomon owes to biblical wisdom tradition and Greek philosophy, I contend that the peculiar configuration of Sophia's characteristics is a result of and a response to the immediate and powerful challenge to Judaism presented by another feminine figure, savior and revealer, a goddess linked to the pursuit of wisdom and one associated with the throne: Isis.
It perhaps comes as a surprise that the saving activity as manifest in the early history of Israel is ascribed to Sophia, rather than to the Lord directly, as in the great "historical credos" and lists of paradigms in faith such as Deut 26:5-9; Josh 24:2-13; Psalms 78; 105; 106; 136; Sirach 44-50; and 3 Mace 2.1-20. In fact, salvation is an activity regularly reserved to God, even in wisdom literature. Wisdom grants long life (Prov 3:16; 9:11), counsel, insight, strength (8:14) and divine favor (8:35-36), but "saving from danger" is not her usual function. Nevertheless, she rather than God is the unmistakable savior of Wis 9:18-10:21: not only is Sophia explicitly named in 9:18; 10:4, 8, 9, 21, but the use of anaphora places the focus clearly upon her.
The theme of Pseudo-Solomon's encomium is announced in 9:18 and summarized by 10:9:
"But Sophia rescued from troubles those who serve her"
The similarity with Isis is here inescapable... and numerous dedications recall her saving deeds. A first-century B.C.E. inscription from Medinet Madi states:
"As many as are in prison, in the power of death, and as many as are in pain because of long, troubled sleepless nights, All who wander in foreign lands, and as many as sail on the Great Sea in winter when men are destroyed, their ships broken and sent below, all these are saved when they pray that you be present." (Medinet Madi, 1. 29-34)
"As many as come to doom with fatal diseases having called upon you, they quickly obtain your life." (Medinet Madi, 2. 7-8)...
Isis's ability to act as savior derives from the facts that she, unlike Greek gods, was mistress of fate (Heimarmene) and that she was intimately associated with the powers of the cosmos. The former aspect, clearly the legacy of her Egyptian background, meant that in a time in which fatalism was widespread, there was a goddess who was not only loving and faithful to those who served her, but above all, powerful enough to influence the forces which dominated human existence. It meant that success, long life, and wealth could be had as a reward for worship of Isis. Moreover, the goddess was assigned major roles in creating, sustaining, and regulating the cosmos, as well as functions such as controlling the stars, crops, and the weather. Perhaps because of the last competence, Isis was regarded as the inventor and patron of the maritime trades, and the protector and guide of sailors.
Regulation is both cosmic and social. In Egypt Isis absorbed solar deities and thereby came to regulate the cosmos. "Isis ... shines from her house like Re who repeats (his course). She treads the earth and drives away the darkness like the Horizon-dweller". She even assumed a regulating activity with respect to the Ennead itself: "[Isis] who gives instructions to the Ennead and according to whose command it is regulated"... and phrases such as "I made what is right strong" signal a fusion of Isis with Maat, the principle of cosmic and social order. See Memphis 16, 28, 38; Cultes egyptiens 117, 122, 181; SIRIS 6; Plutarch De Iside 352B. For an Egyptian text making the identification, Chassinat, Dendera, 2. 221: "Isis the Great ... (who is) Maat in Dendera." See the discussion of the notion of Maat by Muller, Aretalogien, 43; idem, "I am Isis," OLZ 67 (1972) 122; and H. Bonnet, RARG 430-34. Some Greek texts use Stoic language to describe Isis's regulatory actions: Diodorus Siculus 1.11.5; Plutarch De Iside 367C
Wisdom, too, has the ability to save the righteous in virtue of her intimate connection with cosmic forces. She is able to give instruction concerning ontology, cosmology, physics, astronomy, biology, and pharmacology because she is responsible for the creation of all these (7:17-22). It is also evident that, like Isis, Sophia is responsible for the regulation and oversight of the cosmos. It is frequently and correctly pointed out that many Stoic terms occur in the description of Sophia's cosmic regulatory activities. Yet it would be a mistake to suppose that Sophia has become the Stoic pronoia or logos, which was devoid of personal aspects and scarcely amenable to the supplications of the righteous. Isis, too, underwent a degree of stoicizing interpretation, but she preserved, like Sophia, personal aspects and maintained the ability to save individuals from disaster and to grant favor to supplicants. This, in fact, was the essence of her appeal.
To return to the list of Sophia's accomplishments in 9:18- 10:21, one observes that in the selection of events that the author has chosen incidents which are precisely of the sort over which Isis also had control. Sophia's guiding of the boat (i.e., Noah's ark; 10:4)... corresponds closely to one of Isis' s major competences, the protection and guiding of sailors. That it is specifically mentioned that Sophia made the righteous man wealthy (10:11) is significant in view of the very frequently encountered notion that Isis confers wealth upon the pious... Similarly, Sophia's presence with the righteous man in prison (10:14) is closely paralleled by Isis's promise to save prisoners when they pray for her presence... Yet in Hellenistic Egypt where Isis made rival claims for these abilities, PseudoSolomon not only described Sophia's role as that of savior, but described specific acts which stood in close parallel to the competences of Isis.
A few more examples from chap. 10 will further illustrate this. Burton Mack pointed out that Sophia's conferral of the power to master all things (10:2) recalls Isis's conferral of similar power upon Horus/the king. But the contacts with the Isis-Horus cycle, known in both Egyptian and Greek circles, do not end here. Especially prominent in chap. 10 is Sophia's role of guarding and protecting the righteous man, particularly in the face of opposition (vss 1, 5, 11, 12)...
Again it is not a matter of details of the Egyptian legends being borrowed, at least not in any conventional sense. On the contrary, it is largely biblical and intertestamental traditions which appear in 9:18-10:21. Nor are the biblical figures Egyptianized to any recognizable degree. What is distinctive in the Wisdom of Solomon is (1) the saving role of Sophia, corresponding to Isis's major function; (2) the selection of events which the author used as examples of this role; and (3) the allusive retelling of these events in such a way that they resonate with the mythic pattern characteristic of the Isis-Horus cycle. The biblical account is thereby allowed to participate in the mythic power of the symbol of a savior deity, but without acquiring the explicit aspects of the Egyptian myth... A powerful symbol from the environment is co-opted in order to revitalize the old biblical tradition and make it attractive to Jews who undoubtedly felt the pressures of Hellenism...
A possible explanation has been offered by Mack, who contended that Pseudo-Solomon was influenced by kingship ideology. Mack thought that new ideas of the death, victory and immortality of the righteous man were generated through a creative reflection on Egyptian theology:
"It is therefore no longer surprising if Solomon, through wisdom, expected immortality. After Horus is drowned, found by Isis and raised to life and immortality (diode. sic 1:30). We see here how the myth cycles of Horus and Osiris of the Hellenistic period overlap. For the bestowal of immortality in the context of justification is actually a feature of the Osiris myth..."
While the exaltation of the sage is a fixed notion in wisdom speculation (Prov 4:8-9; Sir 1:13, 19; 4:11-15; 15:5-6; etc.) , the idea of exaltation to cosmic sovereignty is the product of sapiential reflection on kingship ideology. Whether or not Mack's thesis accounts for all of the elements in Pseudo-Solomon's view on the afterlife, his instincts are undoubtedly correct in looking to royal theology as a background to Pseudo-Solomon's discussion of the role of the king.
Sophia is presented as the divine agent by which the king first attains kingship (6:20-21), by which he rules (8:10-16; 9:10-12), attains wisdom (8:2-21), influence and power (8:12-15), eternal kingship (6:21) and immortality (8:13, 17). It can scarcely be a coincidence that Isis performs precisely the same functions... It is indeed true that Sophia (like Isis) grants immortality to the king...
One of the most frequent epithets of Isis in the late period is "bestower of Life". This and related titles (Lady of Life, Mistress of Life) are probably to be seen in the context of Isis's functions in both the Osiris and Horus myths where she is the active agent reviving and sustaining life...
In a remarkable passage Pseudo-Solomon describes Sophia as no spouse and beloved of God (8:3), but also as spouse of Solomon (8:9). This almost certainly reflects the mythic pattern of Egyptian kingship. Isis is, of course, the wife of Osiris, and in Greek sources she is the associate of Sarapis or the Sun. But she also functions as "lady of the house of the king" and "royal spouse." For this reason, several Ptolemaic queens identified themselves with Isis, a custom which was taken to extremes by Cleopatra VII who dressed as Isis... The double relationship of Sophia to God and to the King is due to the influence of the pattern of Egyptian kingship.
Royal inscriptions credit Isis with having driven away darkness on earth and with regulating the Ennead, and she is given the title "Shining in heaven with Re, powerful on earth with Geb." She is, in other words, all-powerful in both divine and human spheres... The mention of the four cardinal virtues in 8:7 without doubt points to Greek influence. However, Isis offers parallels here too. Not only was the Egyptian goddess extremely virtuous, but she was also responsible for the establishment and preservation of moral and social order. Because of her previous identification with Maat, Isis establishes "what is right", distinguishes good from evil and through the agency of the ruler, maintains order and law on earth. In the Wisdom of Solomon also, the establishing and maintenance of moral and social order is accomplished by the monarch, but only through the aid of his divine companion...
In short, Wis 8:2-9 contains a dense configuration of attributes of Sophia which bear a significant correlation to attributes — indeed principal attributes — of Isis. According to the logic of royal ideology, the Isis who saved Horus from danger and brought about his accession to the throne, the same Isis who is the associate of Re in creating and regulating the cosmos, is also the spouse of the earthly king, conferring upon him the power to regulate human affairs. It is this logic that Pseudo-Solomon borrows for Sophia.
Again it must not be denied that earlier sapiential books attribute to Wisdom some of these features (e.g., Prov 8:14-21). Moreover, it must be emphasized that Pseudo-Solomon, while shaping his material to correspond with patterns from Isis-propaganda, has also introduced serious modifications into these patterns. Sophia may be the "mother of all good things" (7:12), but she is not mother of the king as Isis was the mother of Horus. In addition, despite her extraordinary powers, Sophia remains the gift of God, and as such she is clearly subordinate to him. These two adjustments may be regarded as subtle rejections of the objectionable features of royal propaganda. Nevertheless, there is a significant correspondence between the triad of Re/Osiris— Isis —the King in Egyptian thought and the triad of God — Sophia — Solomon in the Wisdom of Solomon. The mythic power which informed Egyptian royal ideology is captured and transformed for Judaism, enabling Jews to maintain themselves in an atmosphere of intense religious and political propaganda...
Over two decades ago, M. J. Suggs showed that Wis 2:10-5:23 was based on the fourth Servant Song of Isaiah, which not only depicts the suffering of the righteous man, but in the LXX is concerned with the righteous wise man. In effect, Pseudo-Solomon reactualized a powerful symbol from Jewish tradition — that of the wise man who suffered but was vindicated by God — in order to give meaning and intelligibility to the present suffering of the dikaioi in Alexandria. He also used the figure of Solomon in a skillful manner. It was the influential king of Israel's past, respected by pagans as a sophos, who exhorted Alexandrian Jews to perseverance in the pursuit of Wisdom and in the practice of their religion. At the same time, the author re-actualized other traditions of Israel, but in such a way as to resonate with the mythic patterns characteristic of Isis, who was undoubtedly the most popular and powerful savior-symbol in Hellenistic Alexandria. This act of "re-mythologizing" Sophia allowed Judaism to maintain itself as a saving religion in the face of influential cults which made similar promises. Moreover, it provided an answer for the Alexandrian Jew...
It is difficult to speak of mythic inversion in respect to Isis and Sophia both because Isis participates in several mythic systems, occupying several different roles, and because Sophia does not have a myth of her own. Nevertheless, the symmetry as well as the disparity between Isis and Sophia are fairly evident. Sophia is the agent through which the king rules, but as gift of God she is not the ultimate authority over the king. She is the associate of God in creation and oversight of the cosmos, but she is not fully comparable to Isis, who was called "female Re". These (and other) correspondences and disparities may have had the function that LeVi-Strauss suggests: to promote, if somewhat one-sidedly, cultural communication with the dominant group but at the same time to preserve boundary.
So as shown in the quote above, Isis and Wisdom/Sophia already had attributes that were later applied to Jesus. Especially in the Pauline epistles and the Gospel of John.
"A figure with many facets: The literary and theological functions of personified Wisdom in Proverbs 1-9" Gerlinde Baumann in A Feminist Companion to Wisdom and Psalms (A&C Black, 1998), edited by Athalya Brenner, Carole Fontaine:
In the field of religious history scholars involved with research into the Wisdom Figure of Proverbs 1-9 have sometimes regarded the Old Egyptian Ma'at as a prototype or parallel figure... Ma'at in Egypt is both a goddess and an intellectual concept represented by the goddess. 'Ma'at stands in the middle between morality and religion.' The moral aspect originates, according to Assmann, in the 'group moral of tribal associations integrated by family ties', whereas the religious aspect is rooted in the divine world order which is represented in a corresponding 'rule over creation'. A similar connection between religion and ethics can also be observed in the Wisdom Figure of Proverbs 1-9... In conclusion we can say that there are not only parallels between the Wisdom Figure in Proverbs 1-9 and the Egyptian Ma'at-concept, but also between Wisdom and the concept of Personal Piety... The loss of the kingship led to a transfer of the king's theological functions onto other figureheads, as can be seen in the idea of the Messiah. The Wisdom figure is one of these new figureheads. The recommended loving relationship with her resembles the Egyptian theology of Personal Piety. People do not only refer (Prov. 3) in terms of religious admiration or love to YHWH, but also to the Wisdom Figure...
The main theological problem in postexilic Israel, the question of how YHWH's world order can still be valid in times of justice, is solved by the testimony of a trustworthy witness: the Wisdom Figure was present when YHWH created the world in its order. Thus she can bear witness that there was a primeval order in the world which was so good that she, Wisdom, and humankind rejoiced about it (Prov. 8.31). In the course of history, however, man's actions disturbed the world order. Nevertheless, the destiny of men and women can take a turn for the better if they live according to the teachings of the Wisdom Figure which correspond to world order.
The main theological problem in postexilic Israel, the question of how YHWH's world order can still be valid in times of justice, is solved by the testimony of a trustworthy witness: the Wisdom Figure was present when YHWH created the world in its order. Thus she can bear witness that there was a primeval order in the world which was so good that she, Wisdom, and humankind rejoiced about it (Prov. 8.31). In the course of history, however, man's actions disturbed the world order. Nevertheless, the destiny of men and women can take a turn for the better if they live according to the teachings of the Wisdom Figure which correspond to world order.