The Tekoite Wise Woman and Her Prophecy

In the Wisdom Literature of the Hebrew Bible, wisdom is personalized as a woman. According to Claudia Camp, one can directly assume that “the picture of a woman calling out in the public places of the city” in the book of Proverbs 1.20, this is a female metaphor for wisdom. Why does the author of the Wisdom Literature want to give us a sense of the femaleness of wisdom? This metaphor is related to women’s specialized gifts and is depicted by the wise woman who has been known “for astute counselor, persuasiveness, and tact.”We have images of female wisdom not only in the Wisdom Literature but also in the monarchic stories. They are the unnamed wise women in Tekoa (2 Sam 14) and in Abel (2 Sam 20). These two women appear with the stories of Joab. The wise woman in Abel is clearly declared “wise” in the text so she definitely brings the genuine character of wisdom. However, the scholars argue about whether or not the woman in Tekoa represents genuine wisdom.