04_Biblica_Collins_Layout 1 01/04/14 11:47 Pagina 85 85 COLOSSIANS 1,17 “HOLD TOGETHER”: A CO-OPTED TERM These factors make it likely that Col 1,15-17 represents the per- sonified “Wisdom” of Proverbs as a Person who became “incar- nate” in Jesus Christ 49. This does not account for all of the background to the composi- tion, as many have noted 50. Christ as “the image of the invisible God” (1,15) evokes the way that God made humankind “in the image of God” (katV eivko,na qeou/, Gen 1,27). New Testament au- thors echo this usage (1 Cor 11,7; 15,49; 2 Cor 3,18; Col 3,10), and apply it to Jesus as the image of God par excellence (Rom 8,29; 2 Cor 4,4) 51. Perhaps “firstborn”, at least in v. 18, reflects the ap- plication of that title to the Davidic king (Ps 89,27): NT writers apply that title to Jesus (Rom 8,29; Heb 1,6; Rev 1,5), and portray his resurrection as the event that elevated him to the Davidic throne (cf. Acts 13,33; Rom 1,4; Eph 1,20; 2 Tim 2,8). Since the Davidic king was to embody the whole people of God (cf. Exod 4,22; Jer 31,9; Pss. Sol. 18,4), it follows that he was to embody faithfulness to God, which meant that he was to show forth the true image of God. To the NT authors, Jesus carried out this role perfectly 52. A further text that may have suggested a link between Wisdom and Adam is Wis 7,26, where personified Wisdom is “an image of his [God’s] goodness” (eivkw.n th/j avgaqo,thtoj auvtou/), in com- parison with Wis 2,23, where “God created mankind for incorrup- sians was based on the Hebrew berē’šîṯ (combining Genesis 1 with Prov 8,22); but this would have been invisible to a Greek-speaking audience; and the dis- cussion here shows that a connection with Proverbs (LXX) is visible without it. 49 Cf. DUNN, Colossians and Philemon, 86: “the passage can be quite prop- erly classified as an early Christian hymn in which Christ is praised in lan- guage used commonly in Hellenistic Judaism in reference to divine Wisdom”. 50 For these points, compare G.K. BEALE, “Colossians”, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (eds. G.K. BEALE – D.A. CAR- SON) (Grand Rapids, MI 2007) 841-870, at 851-855. 51 As Matthews notes, “there is likely a blend of Wisdom and Adam motifs in the language of Christ as the eivkw.n of God in v. 15” (forthcoming article cited in n. 44). 52 See also LIGHTFOOT, Colossians and Philemon, 146. In the same dis- cussion, Lightfoot suggests that the way that Philo refers to the Logos as God’s “firstborn” might also be part of the background; however, he notes that Philo’s term is prwto,gonoj (rather than prwto,tokoj), though he does not show why we should treat the two terms as interchangeable. (Perhaps the textual variation between these two words in Sir 36,11 [Heb. v. 17] might provide such evidence?) Since the Biblical connection is straightforward and adequate, I judge the reference to Philo as unlikely.