Abstract
In spite of the traditional mention of Solomon in the title of the document this is an ancient document datable to the middle of the first century BCE and probably written by a Jewish author in Alexandria. One of the most valuable documents forming part of the genre known as sapiential literature along with books such as Proverbs. Being part of the Old Testament apocrypha it constitutes part of wisdom literature along with books such as Proverbs, Ben Sira, and Qoheleth. Among the Septuagint books the level of Greek displayed in the document is extremely high. Our annotated English translation is based on the critical edition prepared by J. Ziegler (1962). Wisdom of Solomon markedly differs from the two principal representatives of the genre, Proverbs and Ben Sira, in that instead of a series of unconnected sayings, we have here a logical sequence, a theology. In ancient times the document was read and studied quite extensively as evidenced by its two Syriac versions, i.e. Peshitta and Syrohexapla. We have paid careful attention to them.
Muraoka, Takamitsu