Often the Deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament receive short shrift because they are not part of the canon accepted by many Christians. However, I don’t think any book gets less press than the Wisdom of Solomon. Readings from it appear eight times in the Sunday lectionary, but I’ll bet you can’t find a commentary on it online or at your local library. Here’s the short list of available book-length resources in English. Add more in the comments…if you can find any!
- Reider, Joseph. The Book of Wisdom: An English Translation with Introduction and Commentary. New York: Harper, 1957. 233 pp.
- Geyer, John. The Wisdom of Solomon: Introduction and Commentary. Torch Bible Commentary. London, SCM Press, 1963. 128 pp.
- Clarke, Ernest G. The Wisdom of Solomon. Cambridge Bible Commentary on the NEB.Cambridge University Press, 1973. 136 pp.
- Winston, David. The Wisdom of Solomon. Anchor Yale Bible Commentary. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1979. 360 pp.
- Grabbe, Lester. Wisdom of Solomon. T&T Clark Study Guides. Bloomsbury, 2004. 105 pp.
- Clifford, Richard. Wisdom. New Collegeville Bible Commentary, vol. 20. Liturgical Press, 2013. 88 pp.
There’s a wider-ranging bibliography put together by Daniel Harrington here. But yes, that’s it! Just a handful of short commentaries, and nothing very recent.
Edit 8/8/16:
Here are few more items to add to our list, though not all fit the criteria of being book-length or in English:
- Deane, William J. The Book of Wisdom. Oxford: Clarendon, 1881. (Full view online access)
- Goodrick A.T.S. The Book of Wisdom. Oxford Church Bible Commentary. 1914. (Full view online access)
- Kolarick, Michael. “Book of Wisdom” in Volume 5: Proverbs to Sirach. New Interpreters Bible. Abingdon, 1997.
- Larcher, Chrysostome. Le Livre de la Sagesse. 3 vols. Paris: Gabalda, 1983.
- Reese, James M. The Book of Wisdom, Song of Songs. Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1983.
- Reese, James M. Hellenistic Influence on the Book of Wisdom and Its Consequences. Analecta Biblica. Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1970.
I want to add to this list two titles that I just came across that are not listed above nor in Harrington’s bibliography. They are both by the same author:
Reese, James M. The Book of Wisdom, Song of Songs. Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1983.
Reese, James M. Hellenistic Influence on the Book of Wisdom and Its Consequences. Analecta Biblica. Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1970.
I know this is an old post, but since the Book of Wisdom is on my mind (in preparing a study for this coming Sunday’s Mass readings which include a selection from Wisdom 12), I think the Navarre Bible Commentary that includes this book is very helpful. Also, as I’m sure you’re aware, the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible volume on Wisdom-Sirach is due to be released this week, so I am looking forward to that.
Thanks for the recent video of your canceled talk (I hope to see the other talks as well!) and for all you do, especially for your CE ‘Unpacking the OT’ series which I continue to find helpful week after week, year after year. I really would like to see this in book form someday, or at least compiled on one internet page. I think many, many people would benefit greatly from it. God bless!
Thanks, Vince! Yes, I contributed to the Wisdom-Sirach volume from Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. And yes, thanks for the idea, I do hope that that series will become a book some day. I’m so happy you find it useful!