Wisdom Woman
Wisdom of Solomon 8-10
Artist: Donald Jackson

The motif of the mirror comes to full fruition in this illumination, with the face of Wisdom reflected in a mirror. As mentioned earlier, it is in this book that Wisdom is elevated to full divinity. We read in chapter 7, "For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty... she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, an image of his goodness" (7:25-26). We can never see God directly in this life, but in wisdom we see God's reflection in the mirror-and it is a female face we see.

A photograph of a Palestinian woman was used to make the image seen here. The only other time actual human faces appear in The Saint John's Bible is in Genesis, with Adam and Eve. In fact, it is worth going back to that image, which was accompanied by a quotation from the book of Romans. "And all of us with unveiled faces seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" (Rom 8:19). The mirror connects both images, and the idea as well of humanity created in God's image and reflecting back God's glory.

The round frame of the mirror depicts the twenty-eight phases of the moon, another association with the feminine in the universe. In the four corners of the outer frame are paintings based on images from the Hubble telescope, again pointing to the cosmic nature of wisdom. The shapes here, of the circle and the frame, hearken back to the walled garden in Song of Solomon, or even to the vision of Solomon's temple in Ezekiel. When contemplating Wisdom, we should employ all our metaphors: journey, creation, reflection, and relationship, and any others that help us approach the mystery of God. (Reflection by Susan Sink.)

A vast illuminated manuscript, The Saint John's Bible, has been commissioned by Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, from the contemporary scribe and illuminator, Donald Jackson. Mr. Jackson works in the Scriptorium in Wales, where he handwrites the Bible and creates illuminations in a unique collaboration with other artists and scribes.

Wisdom Woman, Donald Jackson, Copyright 2002, The Saint John's Bible, Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Scripture quotations are from the Rew Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition, Copyright 1993, 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.