“Happy Is the Person to Whom She Has Been Given”: The Continuum of Wisdom and Torah in 4QSapiential Admonitions B (4Q185) and 4QBeatitudes (4Q525)

This article examines the association of wisdom and Torah in two wisdom texts, 4QSapiential Admonition B(4Q185) and 4QBeatitudes (4Q525), known from Qumran Cave 4. As is well-known, wisdom and Torah—which in this article refers to a broad concept rather than the Pentateuch or a collection of laws alone—became connected in Second Temple Judaism to such an extent that at times a clear distinction no longer exists between them. Indeed, both 4Q185 and 4Q525 make use of the feminine, third person singular suffix ,ה which can refer to both wisdom and Torah as both are feminine words in their grammatical gender. The article argues that the authors employed the suffix as a pedagogical and literary device to point out their essential identification.