Wisdom of death

“Hades” is used in some 75 verses of the LXX, usually translating the Hebrew sheol , which is used about 65 times. But the distyribution of the usage is not even. Genesis uses sheol/hades four time, but outside of Genesis the word appears infrequently in the Pentateuch (Numbers 16; Deuteronomy 32:22). The term appears at the beginning and end of 1-2 Samuel (1 Samuel 2:6; 2 Samuel 22:6), and twice in 1 Kings 2 (vv. 6, 9). Otherwise, it is not used in the historical books at all.

When we open the wisdom literature, however, it pops up everywhere, and a few times in the prophetic books ( hades in LXX: Job 7:9; 11:8; 14:13; 17:13, 16; 21:13; 26:6; 33:22; 38:17; Psalm 6:6; 9:18; 15:10; 17:6; 48:15-16; 54:16; 85:13; 87:4; 88:49; 93:17; 113:25; 114:3; 119:137; 138:8; 140:7; Prov 1:12; 2:18; 5:5; 9:18; 14:12; 15:11, 24; 16:25; 30:16; SoS 8:6; Is 14:9, 11, 15, 19; 28:15, 28; 38:10, 19; 57:9; Hos 13:14-15; Amos 9:2; Hab 2:5). Sheol is used in fewer than 20 verses in the MT of the prophetic books, half in Isaiah. It is used in 30+ verses in the five wisdom books.

That suggests that biblical wisdom has something significant to do with death and the grave.