By: Gen. Jim – 11/22/24
Like I’ve already mentioned, “wisdom” in Scripture can be both masculine (when it refers to the Son of God, masculine pronouns) & feminine (sophia, is actually feminine in gender & the English word “wisdom” is neuter).
We start with these words:
“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, & find out knowledge & discretion… The LORD possessed Me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting.” – Prov. 8:12,22,23.
Vs.12: Wisdom here describes herself in the terms by which men come to know her, (see 1:2). Hebrew scholars state that “to know” (KJV/NKJV) (the infinitives of vss.2-4 are all in close syntactical connection with vs.1, the subject of the infinitives is indefinite, anyone who intends to be instructed by these proverbs being meant… the good life is allied to the Socratic conception of morality, which is simply that if one knows what is right, he or she will do what is right, hence, conversion, or the change of heart, is not addressed for the right. “Wisdom” (hokhmāh) in vs.2 means moral & religious intelligence, i.e. the knowledge of the moral law of God – it is not the speculative, philosophical wisdom of the Greeks et al. verse 22, “The LORD possessed Me in the beginning of His way…” (8:22). What does this mean? Q. Was there a “beginning of the LORD?” The Bible says He had no beginning nor end.
Obviously, wisdom was present at the beginning of the creation of the world/humankind etc. A better reading I think is, “The LORD possessed Me in the beginning,” not as some translations read, “The LORD created Me at the beginning…”
“Possessed” Me or “Created” Me? The verb qānāh may be translated either way. Some believe that RSV is better (the RSV, I believe, correctly translates; here are several quotes for consideration:
“Wisdom was created before them all, & sound intelligence from eternity” (Ecclus. 1:4. Ecclesiasticus (or wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach) 1:1 starts off with, “All wisdom is from the Lord, & with Him it remains forever.” Eccl. 24:3 states, “I (wisdom) came forth from the mouth of the Most High…” Verse 1 states, “Wisdom praises herself, & tells of her glory in the midst of her people.” Vs.2 has “she” & “her”, female. The Bible (with the Apocrypha) has many, many things to say & share on “wisdom” – something this generation could certainly use!!
Proverbs 9:1 says, “Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars.” 1 Cor. 1:24 says, “Christ the power of God & the wisdom of God.”
Justin Martyr wrote: “The Word of Wisdom is Himself this God begotten of the Father of all things. He is the Word, Wisdom, Power, & the Glory…” (160 A.D., 1:227)
Melito wrote: “The Wisdom of the Lord is His Son. The apostle says: ‘Christ, the Power of God, & the Wisdom of God.’ Solomon says: ‘The Wisdom of the Lord reaches from one end to the other mightily.’” (170 A.D., 8:761)
Theophilus wrote: “The three days which were before the luminaries are types of the Triad – being God, His Word, & His Wisdom.” (180 A.D., 2:101)
Irenaeus had this to say: “The Father always had present with Him the Word & Wisdom, the Son & the Spirit, by whom and whom He made all things, freely & spontaneously.” (180 A.D., 1:487).
He continues: “I have also largely demonstrated that the Word, namely the Son, was always with the Father. And that Wisdom also, who is the Spirit, was present with Him before all creation.” (180 A.D., 1:488)
Clement of Alexandria had this to say: “Pointing to the First-Begotton Son, Peter writes, accurately comprehending the statement, ‘In the beginning God made the heaven & the earth.’ And He is called Wisdom by all the prophets. This is He who is the Teacher of all created beings.” (195 A.D., 2:493)
Tertullian penned the following 3 quotes: “For if that, which from its being inherent in the Lord was of Him & in Him, was yet not without an origin – I mean His Wisdom, which was then born & made, when in the thought of God He began to assume motion for the arrangement of His creative works – how much more impossible is it that anything should have been without an origin that was extrinsic to the Lord.” (200 A.D., 3:487)
“This power & disposition of the Divine Intelligence is set forth also in Scriptures under the name Sophia – Wisdom. For what can be better entitled to the name of wisdom than the Reason or the Word of God? Listen therefore to Wisdom, expressed in the character of the Second Person: ‘At the first, the Lord created Me as the beginning of His ways, with a view to His own works, before He made the earth, before the mountains were settled. Moreover, before all the hills, did He beget Me’. That is to say, ‘He created & generated Me in His own intelligence.’” (213 A.D., 3:601)
“We need not dwell any longer on this point, as if it were not the very Word Himself, who is spoken of under the name of both Wisdom & Reason, & of the entire Divine Soul & Spirit. He became also the Son of God & was begotten, when He proceeded forth from Him.” (213 A.D., 3:602)
Hippolytus wrote: “Wisdom has built her house.’ By this, he means Christ, the Wisdom & Power of God the Father. Christ has built His ‘house,’ which is His nature in the flesh derived from the virgin.” (205 A.D., 5:175)
The next 8 quotes come from Origen: “Seeing that He is called by many different names, we, therefore, must first ascertain who the Only-Begotten Son of God is… For He is called Wisdom, according to the expression of Solomon: ‘The Lord created Me – the beginning of His ways, & among His works before He made any other thing.’ … He is also called Firstborn, for the apostle has declared, ‘who is the Firstborn of every creature.’ The First born, however, is not a different person by nature then Wisdom. They are one & the same; Finally, the apostle Paul says, that Christ is ‘the Power of God & the Wisdom of God.’ However, let no one imagine that we mean anything impersonal when we call Him the Wisdom of God. For instance, let no one suppose that we understand Him to be something that makes men wise, rather than a living Being.” (225 A.D., 4:246)
Origen quotes 1 Cor. 1:24 “… Christ the power of God & the wisdom of God,” written by the apostle Paul. There is a debate whether these words are applied to Christ because of the theme under discussion, or whether they are used in a specific Christological sense. Simon Magus had been called “that power of God which is called Great,” (Acts 8:10). The Wisdom of God was a separate hypostasis (scholars write) in much of the later Jewish literature (see Ecclus. 24:9 51:23; Wisdom of Solomon 7:24; 9:9 etc.). Nevertheless, in light of the paradox that foolishness is the true wisdom (1 Cor. 1:25), it would seem precarious to take the terms here as Christological titles (some believe).
The word “Wisdom” (Gk. σοφία) is “Sophia,” from σοφός, “Sophos,” meaning wise, expert, skilled. There is another Gk. word, σοφίζω, “Sophizō,” meaning to make wise, to be cleverly invented.
So, Christ is both Wisdom & Power!
Origen continues:
“Who that is capable of entertaining reverential thoughts or feelings regarding God can suppose or believe that God the Father ever existed – even for a moment of time – without having generated His Wisdom? For in that case, we would have to say one of two things: Either God was unable to generate Wisdom before He produced Him – so that He afterwards called into being Him who formerly did not exist. Or He indeed possessed the power… but was unwilling to use it.” (225 A.D., 4:246)
“What need is there to speak of Wisdom, which ‘the Lord created the beginning of His ways, for His Works’? This is the One in whom His Father rejoiced. The Father delighted in His manifold intellectual beauty, seen by the eyes of the mind alone, whoever discerns His divine & heavenly charm is incited to love.” (220 A.D., 9:303)
“The wisdom of God, who is above every creature, speaks of Himself, when He says: ‘God created Me the beginning of His ways for His works.’ By this creating act, the whole creation was enabled to exist, being receptive of that divine Wisdom.” (228 A.D., 9:317)
“The Son of God is the Word by whom all things were made. He exists in substance throughout the underlying nature of things, being the same as Wisdom. For He permeated all creation from the beginning.” (228 A.D., 9:369)
“It is because Christ was the Power of God & the Wisdom of the Father that He accomplished & still accomplishes such results.” (248 A.D., 4:464)
“His son is God the Word, & Wisdom, & Truth, & Righteousness, & everything else that the sacred Scriptures call Him when speaking of God.” (248 A.D., 4:541)
Now we finish with one last quote from Origen:
“We must not regard Wisdom & Righteousness as females, simply because of their feminine name & grammatical gender. For these things are in our view the Son of God.” (248 A.D., 4:561).
This debate is ongoing – male vs female.
Cyprian has this to say: “We have put on Christ, the Wisdom of God the Father.” (250 A.D., 5:421)
Dionysius of Alexandria wrote, “He is that Wisdom who says, ‘I was the thing in which He delighted, & I was daily His delight before His face at all times.” (262 A.D., 6:92, as quoted by Athanasius)
Victorinus states, “This Word, therefore, when He made light, is called Wisdom.” (280 A.D., 7:342)
One last quote from the early Church fathers: “The Beginning is Wisdom. For Wisdom is said by one of the Divine company to speak in this manner concerning itself: ‘the Lord created Me the beginning of His ways for His works.” (Methodius, 290 A.D., 6:381, quoted by Photius).
To me, I care not if Wisdom is male or female – we need it! The Bible tells us to get Wisdom (Prov. 4:5). It also tells us to incline our ear to Wisdom & apply our heart to understanding (Prov. 2:2).
Wisdom, wrote Solomon, is the principle thing (Prov. 4:7). He also wrote that fools DIE for want of Wisdom (10:21). He, a King that loved many beautiful things, e.g. – women/riches, wrote that better is it to get Wisdom than gold! (16:16). He also said that the rod & reproof give wisdom (29:15).
How UNWISE are people these days! They spend their time on vain things that in the END will amount to NOTHING!
Solomon, although very rich & powerful, wrote, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity (Eccl. 1:2). If one takes the time to study the texts, exegesis, & expositions of Ecclesiastes, one will discover Solomon’s agony & travail & sadness of soul. He writes about everything (under the sun) as vapor blown down the corridors of time. He considers life – his own life – as vanity & vapor.
It is believed (by some) that divine power is radiated from the ONE God, but it is diffused thru all divine beings; & thru this diffusion, the divine power seems less stark & more accessible. It is stated (by some) that these “semi-divine images/beliefs lessen the loneliness of monotheist humanity, which, they believe, seeks partnership/relationship with a “God” / “god” before whom humankind nevertheless feels small.
The Greco-Roman period witnessed belief systems with angels, archangels, princes, kings, Queens &, yes, even demons/witchcraft. (Saul sought out the witch of Endor because he had lost contact with the God of Israel (see 1 Sam. 28:5-16: witchcraft was forbidden by God. Saul & his sons were later killed by the enemy; “So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD (see 1 Sam. 13:13,14; 15:22-26; 28:7), because he did not keep the Word of the LORD, & also because he consulted a medium (witch) for guidance.”
Sophia was neglected, which she was the guide over Israel/Judah. The land of Canaan was full of darkness, a whole plethora of sons/daughters of darkness. In the wilderness journey (of Israel) the Cloud & Fire were present to lead & guide Israel.
Even today, demons & devils (in human bodies) stalk the land… seeking whom they may devour. Even Churches (not all) have invited spirits (of evil) into their midst (LGBTQ+ is a prime example!).
Sophia (Gk. σοφία) is to be our partner in our walk/war as Christian soldiers under the Commandship of God. The Bible distinguishes between Wisdom from above & wisdom from below, i.e. earthly, sensual, demonic (see James 3:13-18 – the Wisdom from above (Heavenly/divine) is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy & good fruits, without partiality & without hypocrisy (3:17).
There is “the word of wisdom through the Spirit” mentioned among the spiritual gifts found in 1 Cor. 12 (vs.8). This Gk. word is found about 50 times in the N.T. alone: the O.T. has several Heb. words (see Strong’s Concordance #2451, 7922, 2452, 8454, 7919, 3820, 989, 2449, 8394 etc.)
T.F. Kensky wrote in her book, In the wake of the Goddesses the following:
“The figure of Wisdom as a woman expresses the profound pull of devotion to scholarship. Desire for learning is a lust: it is a compelling attraction that can absorb a person deeply, that can consume a person’s life & desires, and can (in our language) supplant or suppress the libido. The male scholars of antiquity expressed the magnetism of this drive by representing wisdom as a FEMALE. But the erotic metaphor is aimed at men, as Wisdom states explicitly in Prov. 8:4: ‘To you, O men, I call, & my voice is towards the sons of Adam.’”
Some versions read, “sons of men,” or “sons of man.” But wisdom addresses ALL men, ALL women; her priceless treasures are for EVERYONE, if they will but heed her voice & obey her words. Her words are not limited to people of any one race or nation. Wisdom (as in the O.T. Proverbs, did not stop when racial Israel ended (as God’s only chosen people); it was extended to God’s New Israel (made up of born-again Jews & born-again Gentiles – the mystery that had been hidden as recorded in Eph. 1:7-9; Rom. 16:25.
Kensky continues:
“Here the word for men is ‘îsîm, which emphasizes the maleness of the beloved.” This word is an unusual plural of ‘îs (“man”). The normal pl. , ‘ānāsîm, can sometimes be a generic term, subsuming women. ‘îsîm is used to eliminate the possiblity of generic reading. In this context even benê ‘ādām, which can often mean “human beings,” should be understood as “sons of Adam,” as Kensky has used.
She continues:
“It is the erotic-like aspect of this love that made the male scribe follow & show devotion to wisdom as a divine woman.” (p.181)
So, as the lover of both men & God, she (wisdom) also joins them in her love. (see Prov. 8:35). In loving wisdom, the scholar forms an attachment to the cosmic world.
Shall we remain dull & dumb or shall we love Wisdom & become WISE?