Perspectives on Wisdom in the New Testament

The contributors examine how wisdom traditions – from Amenemope and the Septuagint through Second Temple literature – shape New Testament theology, ethics, and communal identity. Seventeen essays trace wisdom motifs across the Gospels, Acts, the Pauline and Johannine literature, James, and Hebrews.

This volume is the outcome of a symposium on wisdom in the New Testament. It aims to deepen research on the topic in light of current developments in the field.
The first section, Perspectives from Ancient Wisdom Literature, offers complementary readings of ancient wisdom motifs in the New Testament, each showing how those motifs shaped early Christian thought. Dafni traces the trajectory of a succinct gnomic saying through Amenemope and Theognis, the Masoretic and Septuagint versions of Proverbs 27:1, and its echoes in the New Testament. Docherty shows that wisdom literature substantially shaped early Christian eschatological and ethical imagination.
The second section, Perspectives on Wisdom in the Synoptic Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, illuminates how ancient wisdom traditions shape the Gospel portrayals of Jesus and early Christian identity. Viljoen traces wisdom motifs from Second Temple literature in Matthew’s portrait of Jesus. Wagner examines the Two Ways teaching in Matthew as a persistent wisdom motif that originates in Old Testament wisdom literature and resurfaces in Matthew 7:13-14 and the Didache. Neumann reads the saying about the lamp of the body in the light of ancient theories of vision and shows how Matthew and Luke adapt the motif for different rhetorical purposes. Davis offers a synchronic reading of σοφία in Luke’s Gospel and argues that wisdom functions less as discrete propositional knowledge than as a social marker distinguishing insiders from outsiders. Stenschke traces the role of wisdom in questions of leadership, conflict, and identity in Acts.
In the third section, Perspectives on Wisdom in the Johannine Literature, Anderson argues that John’s revelatory portrait of Jesus does not derive from Gnostic sources, while Claussen contends that reading John’s water imagery alongside the wisdom traditions clarifies the Gospel’s Christology.
The fourth section, Perspectives on Wisdom in the Pauline Literature, probes how wisdom motifs shape Paul’s teaching. Schluep reads 1 Corinthians 1-4 as a focused reflection on the word of the cross and God’s wisdom in contrast to the wisdom of the world. Potgieter argues that Paul takes up and critically reworks expressions of a carpe diem ethos to show how such attitudes blur the boundary between wisdom and folly. White assesses the claim that Paul’s designation of Christ as the “image of God” alludes to Wisdom 7:26; Kok shows how Jesus is presented as a prototype, drawing on Jewish wisdom motifs.
The fifth section, Perspectives on Wisdom in the Epistle of James and the “Letter” to the Hebrews, explores how wisdom language and motifs function within these books, with contributions from Bertolet on James 3:13-18, Coetsee on εὐλάβεια/εὐλαβέομαι in Hebrews, Nagel on the language of knowing the Lord, and Steyn on the παιδεία motif.
Together, these essays offer a multifaceted account of how wisdom traditions shape New Testament theology, ethics, and communal identity. By situating the texts within their Jewish and Hellenistic contexts, the contributions invite continued scholarly reflection on the formative role of wisdom across early Christian writings.

Preface - Perspectives from Ancient Wisdom Literature - 1. Evangelia G. Dafni: Spuren der Weisheit: „Kein Mensch weiß, was die Zukunft bringt". Weisheit und Gnomische Dichtung am Beispiel von Amenemope XIX 11-13, Theognis 1.159-160 und Proverbien 27,1 - 2. Susan Docherty: The Influence of Israel's Wisdom Literature on the New Testament: The Case of LXX Proverbs - Perspectives on Wisdom in the Synoptic Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles - 3. Francois P. Viljoen: Jesus as Wisdom: Intertextual echoes in the Gospel of Matthew - 4. Jochen Wagner: Die Zwei-Wege-Lehre bei Matthäus und in der Didache - 5. Nils Neumann: Jesus' 'Wisdom Saying' about the Lamp of the Body: Visual Two-Way-Traffic in Matt 6:22-23 and Luke 11:34-36 - 6. Phillip A. Davis, Jr.: The Function of Appeals to σοφία in Luke's Gospel - 7. Christoph W. Stenschke: Divine and Human Wisdom in Acts 6-7 - Perspectives on Wisdom in the Johannine Literature - 8. Paul N. Anderson: The Wisdom of Jesus and Solomon in Johannine Perspective - 9. Carsten Claußen: Living Water and Wisdom in the Gospel of John: A Sapiential Reading of John 4:10-11 and 7:38 - Perspectives on Wisdom in the Pauline Literature - 10. Christoph Schluep: From Wisdom to Love: Paul's Wisdom-Theology and the Shift of Concepts in 1 Corinthians - 11. Annette Potgieter: Carpe Diem: 1 Corinthians 15:32 and the Wisdom of Solomon - 12. Joel White: The 'Image' (εἰκών) of Paul and the Limits of Wisdom Christology - 13. Jacobus Kok: Jesus Christ and Jewish Wisdom Speculation: Perspectives on Complexity of Identity in Colossians and Ephesians - Perspectives on Wisdom in the Epistle of James and the 'Letter' to the Hebrews - 14. Timothy J. Bertolet: The Origin and Ethics of Wisdom in James 3:13-18 - 15. Albert J. Coetsee: The εὐλάβεια/εὐλαβέομαι Word Group in Hebrews as a Wisdom Motif - 16. Peter Nagel: Does 'Knowing the Kyrios' signal Covenantal Wisdom in Hebrews 8:8-12? - 17. Gert J. Steyn: The παιδεία-Motif in Hebrews 12:5-11 as Wisdom Tradition?

• Edited by Gert J. Steyn
• Edited by Francois Viljoen