1. Hebrew Bible, Song of Songs, 7.2 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 7.2. מַה־יָּפוּ פְעָמַיִךְ בַּנְּעָלִים בַּת־נָדִיב חַמּוּקֵי יְרֵכַיִךְ כְּמוֹ חֲלָאִים מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אָמָּן׃ | 7.2. How beautiful are thy steps in sandals, O prince’s daughter! The roundings of thy thighs are like the links of a chain, The work of the hands of a skilled workman. |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 30.9 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 30.9. וְהוֹתִירְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּכֹל מַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶךָ בִּפְרִי בִטְנְךָ וּבִפְרִי בְהֶמְתְּךָ וּבִפְרִי אַדְמָתְךָ לְטוֹבָה כִּי יָשׁוּב יְהוָה לָשׂוּשׂ עָלֶיךָ לְטוֹב כַּאֲשֶׁר־שָׂשׂ עַל־אֲבֹתֶיךָ׃ | 30.9. And the LORD thy God will make thee over-abundant in all the work of thy hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good; for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as He rejoiced over thy fathers;" |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Genesis, 2.7 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 2.7. וַיִּיצֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה וַיִּפַּח בְּאַפָּיו נִשְׁמַת חַיִּים וַיְהִי הָאָדָם לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה׃ | 2.7. Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Numbers, 23.10 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 23.10. Who hath counted the dust of Jacob, Or numbered the stock of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, And let mine end be like his!" |
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5. Hebrew Bible, Proverbs, 8.3, 8.22-8.32 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 8.3. לְיַד־שְׁעָרִים לְפִי־קָרֶת מְבוֹא פְתָחִים תָּרֹנָּה׃ 8.3. וָאֶהְיֶה אֶצְלוֹ אָמוֹן וָאֶהְיֶה שַׁעֲשֻׁעִים יוֹם יוֹם מְשַׂחֶקֶת לְפָנָיו בְּכָל־עֵת׃ 8.22. יְהוָה קָנָנִי רֵאשִׁית דַּרְכּוֹ קֶדֶם מִפְעָלָיו מֵאָז׃ 8.23. מֵעוֹלָם נִסַּכְתִּי מֵרֹאשׁ מִקַּדְמֵי־אָרֶץ׃ 8.24. בְּאֵין־תְּהֹמוֹת חוֹלָלְתִּי בְּאֵין מַעְיָנוֹת נִכְבַּדֵּי־מָיִם׃ 8.25. בְּטֶרֶם הָרִים הָטְבָּעוּ לִפְנֵי גְבָעוֹת חוֹלָלְתִּי׃ 8.26. עַד־לֹא עָשָׂה אֶרֶץ וְחוּצוֹת וְרֹאשׁ עָפְרוֹת תֵּבֵל׃ 8.27. בַּהֲכִינוֹ שָׁמַיִם שָׁם אָנִי בְּחוּקוֹ חוּג עַל־פְּנֵי תְהוֹם׃ 8.28. בְּאַמְּצוֹ שְׁחָקִים מִמָּעַל בַּעֲזוֹז עִינוֹת תְּהוֹם׃ 8.29. בְּשׂוּמוֹ לַיָּם חֻקּוֹ וּמַיִם לֹא יַעַבְרוּ־פִיו בְּחוּקוֹ מוֹסְדֵי אָרֶץ׃ 8.31. מְשַׂחֶקֶת בְּתֵבֵל אַרְצוֹ וְשַׁעֲשֻׁעַי אֶת־בְּנֵי אָדָם׃ 8.32. וְעַתָּה בָנִים שִׁמְעוּ־לִי וְאַשְׁרֵי דְּרָכַי יִשְׁמֹרוּ׃ | 8.3. Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, At the coming in at the doors, she crieth aloud:" 8.22. The LORD made me as the beginning of His way, The first of His works of old." 8.23. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, Or ever the earth was." 8.24. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; When there were no fountains abounding with water." 8.25. Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills was I brought forth;" 8.26. While as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields, Nor the beginning of the dust of the world." 8.27. When He established the heavens, I was there; When He set a circle upon the face of the deep," 8.28. When He made firm the skies above, When the fountains of the deep showed their might," 8.29. When He gave to the sea His decree, That the waters should not transgress His commandment, When He appointed the foundations of the earth;" 8.30. Then I was by Him, as a nursling; And I was daily all delight, Playing always before Him," 8.31. Playing in His habitable earth, And my delights are with the sons of men." 8.32. Now therefore, ye children, hearken unto me; For happy are they that keep my ways." |
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6. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 31.11 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
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7. Plato, Phaedrus, 245d (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 245d. the source and beginning of motion for all other things which have motion. But the beginning is ungenerated. For everything that is generated must be generated from a beginning, but the beginning is not generated from anything; for if the beginning were generated from anything, it would not be generated from a beginning. And since it is ungenerated, it must be also indestructible; for if the beginning were destroyed, it could never be generated from anything nor anything else from it, since all things must be generated from a beginning. Thus that which moves itself must be the beginning of motion. And this can be neither destroyed nor generated |
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8. Plato, Timaeus, 28c, 28b (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
| 28b. be beautiful; but whenever he gazes at that which has come into existence and uses a created model, the object thus executed is not beautiful. Now the whole Heaven, or Cosmos, or if there is any other name which it specially prefers, by that let us call it,—so, be its name what it may, we must first investigate concerning it that primary question which has to be investigated at the outset in every case,—namely, whether it has existed always, having no beginning of generation, or whether it has come into existence, having begun from some beginning. It has come into existence; for it is visible and tangible and possessed of a body; and all such things are sensible |
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9. Septuagint, Ecclesiasticus (Siracides), 4.11, 15.2, 16.1, 24.2, 24.8-24.9 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 4.11. Wisdom exalts her sons and gives help to those who seek her. 15.2. She will come to meet him like a mother,and like the wife of his youth she will welcome him. 15.2. He has not commanded any one to be ungodly,and he has not given any one permission to sin. 16.1. Do not desire a multitude of useless children,nor rejoice in ungodly sons. 16.1. nor for the six hundred thousand men on foot,who rebelliously assembled in their stubbornness. 24.2. In the assembly of the Most High she will open her mouth,and in the presence of his host she will glory: 24.2. For the remembrance of me is sweeter than honey,and my inheritance sweeter than the honeycomb. 24.8. Then the Creator of all things gave me a commandment,and the one who created me assigned a place for my tent. And he said, `Make your dwelling in Jacob,and in Israel receive your inheritance. 24.9. From eternity, in the beginning, he created me,and for eternity I shall not cease to exist. |
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10. Septuagint, Wisdom of Solomon, 3.1, 6.1-6.11, 6.24, 7.1-7.7, 7.10-7.11, 7.14-7.27, 7.29, 8.3, 8.6-8.7, 9.4, 9.10, 15.8, 15.11 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 3.1. But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,and no torment will ever touch them. 6.1. Listen therefore, O kings, and understand;learn, O judges of the ends of the earth. 6.2. Give ear, you that rule over multitudes,and boast of many nations. 6.3. For your dominion was given you from the Lord,and your sovereignty from the Most High,who will search out your works and inquire into your plans. 6.4. Because as servants of his kingdom you did not rule rightly,nor keep the law,nor walk according to the purpose of God 6.5. he will come upon you terribly and swiftly,because severe judgment falls on those in high places. 6.6. For the lowliest man may be pardoned in mercy,but mighty men will be mightily tested. 6.7. For the Lord of all will not stand in awe of any one,nor show deference to greatness;because he himself made both small and great,and he takes thought for all alike. 6.8. But a strict inquiry is in store for the mighty. 6.9. To you then, O monarchs, my words are directed,that you may learn wisdom and not transgress. 6.10. For they will be made holy who observe holy things in holiness,and those who have been taught them will find a defense. 6.11. Therefore set your desire on my words;long for them, and you will be instructed. 6.24. A multitude of wise men is the salvation of the world,and a sensible king is the stability of his people. 7.1. I also am mortal, like all men,a descendant of the first-formed child of earth;and in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh 7.2. within the period of ten months, compacted with blood,from the seed of a man and the pleasure of marriage. 7.3. And when I was born, I began to breathe the common air,and fell upon the kindred earth,and my first sound was a cry, like that of all. 7.4. I was nursed with care in swaddling cloths. 7.5. For no king has had a different beginning of existence; 7.6. there is for all mankind one entrance into life, and a common departure. 7.7. Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me;I called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. 7.10. I loved her more than health and beauty,and I chose to have her rather than light,because her radiance never ceases. 7.11. All good things came to me along with her,and in her hands uncounted wealth. 7.14. for it is an unfailing treasure for men;those who get it obtain friendship with God,commended for the gifts that come from instruction. 7.15. May God grant that I speak with judgment and have thought worthy of what I have received,for he is the guide even of wisdom and the corrector of the wise. 7.16. For both we and our words are in his hand,as are all understanding and skill in crafts. 7.17. For it is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists,to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements; 7.18. the beginning and end and middle of times,the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons 7.19. the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars 7.20. the natures of animals and the tempers of wild beasts,the powers of spirits and the reasonings of men,the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots; 7.21. I learned both what is secret and what is manifest 7.22. for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me. For in her there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy,unique, manifold, subtle,mobile, clear, unpolluted,distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,irresistible 7.23. beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,all-powerful, overseeing all,and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent and pure and most subtle. 7.24. For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things. 7.25. For she is a breath of the power of God,and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. 7.26. For she is a reflection of eternal light,a spotless mirror of the working of God,and an image of his goodness. 7.27. Though she is but one, she can do all things,and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets; 7.29. For she is more beautiful than the sun,and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior 8.3. She glorifies her noble birth by living with God,and the Lord of all loves her. 8.6. And if understanding is effective,who more than she is fashioner of what exists? 8.7. And if any one loves righteousness,her labors are virtues;for she teaches self-control and prudence,justice and courage;nothing in life is more profitable for men than these. 9.4. give me the wisdom that sits by thy throne,and do not reject me from among thy servants. 9.10. Send her forth from the holy heavens,and from the throne of thy glory send her,that she may be with me and toil,and that I may learn what is pleasing to thee. 15.8. With misspent toil, he forms a futile god from the same clay -- this man who was made of earth a short time before and after a little while goes to the earth from which he was taken,when he is required to return the soul that was lent him. 15.11. because he failed to know the one who formed him and inspired him with an active soul and breathed into him a living spirit. |
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11. Philo of Alexandria, On The Life of Moses, 1.279 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.279. Who has ever discovered with accuracy the first origin of the birth of these people? Their bodies, indeed, may have been fashioned according to human means of propagation; but their souls have been brought forth by divine agency, wherefore they are nearly related to God. May my soul die as to the death of the body, that it may be remembered among the souls of the righteous, such as the souls of these men are. |
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12. New Testament, Apocalypse, 11.10 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 11.10. Those who dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and they will be glad. They will give gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. |
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13. New Testament, Luke, 7.35 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 7.35. Wisdom is justified by all her children. |
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14. Hermas, Mandates, 3.1, 5.1.2, 5.2.5, 10.1.6, 10.2.5-10.2.6 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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15. Hermas, Similitudes, 9.1.1, 9.13.5, 9.13.7, 9.17.5, 9.18.3-9.18.4 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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16. Hermas, Visions, 2.4.1, 3.2.4, 3.9.2-3.9.10 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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17. Irenaeus, Refutation of All Heresies, 1.9.4, 2.28.1, 3.4.1 (2nd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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18. Plotinus, Enneads, 4.7 (3rd cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
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