The final chapter looks, necessarily in brief, at the afterlife of Proverbs, first outside the canon, notably in Ben Sira and the Wisdom of Solomon and second in relation to wisdom finds at Qumran. Beyond that, its place at key stages in the history of interpretation is discussed. In theological terms, the figure of Woman Wisdom and her influence on the theology of the Christian church is of particular interest, from the New Testament to the thought of the early church fathers and beyond.

Alexis Torrance considers early Church Fathers’ many treatments of the origins and roles of conscience in patristic literature. Contemporary commentators are especially prone to speak of conscience to affirm private judgments about personal feelings. Early Church Fathers, however, stressed that conscience is a communal gift presupposing shared convictions. They also stressed that conscience may become impaired under a variety of influences. The idea of conscience existed in Greek and Roman culture. Christians’ reflections, especially St. Paul, were crucial to the deliberations of Church Fathers. New Testament letters speak of conscience as a human faculty. Though not God’s voice, conscience does bring God’s voice to bear in our lives. Christian innovation connected conscience with the idea of a divine law, and some patristic authors identify conscience with a natural law. Human knowledge of right and wrong will be clouded by sin, thus conscience needs cleansing, by baptism, by following the commandments, and by continual examination of conscience and confession. It continually requires the grace of the Holy Spirit to govern one’s moral action in a way that might lead to God.