Between the verses, “WisdomWisdom in the Hebrew is chokmah חָכְמָה and in the Greek sophia σοφία. Both are feminine nouns. shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square” (Proverbs 1:20) and “Wisdom has built her house” (Proverbs 9:1) is a very obscure text. In chapter 8 of the book of Proverbs there is an example of what has been called personified wisdom.
Perhaps an investigation is in order as to who or what is being spoken of. The text as it appears in The New American Standard Version (NASV) is shown below. Notes shown in angle brackets ⟨⟩ are alternate translations found in the margins of that translation.
22 The Lord (Yahweh) possessed me at the beginning of His way, (||The caesura mark || may be used to separate poetic phrases in the Old Testament. This is why a sentence appears to be broken into parts.)
22 Before His works of old ⟨from then⟩.
23 From everlasting I was established ⟨consecrated⟩,
23 From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth ⟨born⟩,
24 When there were no springs abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled,
25 Before the hills was I brought forth ⟨born⟩;
26 While He had not yet made the earth and the fields ⟨outside places⟩,
26 Nor the first dust of the world
27 When He established the heavens, I was there,
27 When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He made firm the skies above,
28 When the springs of the deep became fixed ⟨strong⟩,
29 When He set for the sea its boundary,
29 So that the water should not transgress His command ⟨mouth⟩,
29 When He marked out the foundations of the earth;
30 Then I was beside Him, as a master workman (אׇמוֹן);
30 And I was daily His delight,
30 Rejoicing ⟨playing⟩ always before Him,
31 Rejoicing ⟨playing⟩ in the world, His earth,
31 And having my delight in the sons of men.
The Hebrew word amon אׇמוֹן means nourished or a master workman. This word is found one other time in Jeremiah 52:15 and is translated in various ways as artisans, craftsmen, and multitude.
Looking at this from a Jewish perspective might shed some light on this text. The English translation taken from Tanakh Hebrew BibleTranslator: Rabbi A.J. Rosenberg is shown below (https://www.chabad.org).
22 The Lord (Yahweh) acquired me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old.
23 From the distant past I was enthroned, from the beginning, of those that preceded the earth.
24 I was created when there were yet no deeps, when there were no fountains replete with water.
25 I was created before the mountains were sunk, before the hills;
26 when He had not yet made the land and the outsides and the beginning of the dust of the earth.
27 When He established the heavens, there I was, when He drew a circle over the face of the deep;
28 when He made the skies above firm, when He strengthened the fountains of the deep;
29 when He gave the sea its boundary, and the water shall not transgress His command, when He
29 established the foundations of the earth
30 I was a nursling (אׇמוֹן) beside Him, and I was His delight every day, playing before Him at all times;
31 playing in the habitable world of His earth, and having my delights with the children of man.
Sefaria is a A Living Library of Jewish Texts (https://www.sefaria.org). Consider the English translation that accompanied their Hebrew text.
22 The LORD (Yahweh) created me at the beginning of His course
22 As the first of His works of old.
23 In the distant past I was fashioned,
23 At the beginning, at the origin of earth.
24 There was still no deep when I was brought forth,
24 No springs rich in water;
25 Before [the foundation of] the mountains were sunk,
25 Before the hills I was born.
26 He had not yet made earth and fields,
26 Or the world’s first clumps of clay.
27 I was there when He set the heavens into place;
27 When He fixed the horizon upon the deep;
28 When He made the heavens above firm,
28 And the fountains of the deep gushed forth;
29 When He assigned the sea its limits,
29 So that its waters never transgress His command;
29 When He fixed the foundations of the earth,
30 I was with Him as a confidant (אׇמוֹן),
30 A source of delight every day,
30 Rejoicing before Him at all times,
31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world,
31 Finding delight with mankind.
The Septuagint was the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, being translated between 300-200 BC. How did the Jewish scholar translating this portion of the SeptuagintBrenton, Sir Lancelot C.L. trans, The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987. understand verse 30?
30 I was by him, suitingAlternate translation in margins:
arranging all things. (ἁρμόζουσαActive Participle • Present Tense •
Nominative Feminine Singular) myself to him, I was that wherein he took delight; and daily I rejoiced
30 in his presence continually.
The Greek word ἁρμόζω means to join, fit together as a carpenter might, or to join as in marriage. The Jewish scholar thought that the idea of feminine wisdom should be carried forward.
Trying to make sense out of the different translations, consider the following table:
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You can see that the translators are having trouble with these verses. We have a child, a confidant, a close associate, a workman, and a woman in some capacity.
It can be seen that this text refers to the time around creation so the pre-incarnate Christ should be considered. It has already been suggested that Melchizedek was the pre-incarnate Christ, since He was “Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he abides a priest perpetually” (Hebrews 7:3). The other manifestations of the pre-incarnate Christ were also made-like but were not born.
There are some who say these verses refer to Jesus as evidence that He is a created being. Scripture states that Jesus is “the Only Begotten from the Father” (John 1:14). Could Jesus have been born twice?
By trade Jesus was a carpenterThe Greek word τέκτων implies a builder and could be translated as a craftsman, being either a worker in wood or stone. (Mark 6:3). From an early age He was into the things of His heavenly Father. Although Jesus knew how to build a house and lay a foundation (Luke 6:48), in reality He is the Word of God. Therefore Jesus as the teacher and herald of the kingdom of God is not the best fit.
When Jesus emptied Himself (Philippians 2:6-7), it was previously stated that He emptied Himself of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus is aligned with wisdom, so also the Holy Spirit would be aligned with wisdom. Originally Jesus Christ possessed the Spirit, but thereafter it can be said that the Spirit was brought forth.
The Holy Spirit was there when the earth was formed, “Moving over the surface of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). The Spirit was very active at creation working on both the macro level and the molecular level
Look at a college textbook that deals with the cell from a molecular approach and see how complex life is.. The Father worked out the plan and the Spirit made it happen. Therefore the Holy Spirit is a master workman. It might also be said that creation was child’s play for the Spirit.
The Spirit is also active in nurturing the believer toward maturity. Therefore the Holy Spirit is a better fit, but did the Holy Spirit ever speak in the first person?
The Spirit Speaks
Consider the first verse in the first chapter of the book of Revelation.
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Christ-Jesus), which God (the Father) gave Him (Jesus) to show to His
1 bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He (Jesus) sent and communicated it
1 by (διὰThe preposition διὰ with the genitive case means through or by means of.) His angel (ἀγγέλουThe Greek noun ἄγγελος can be translated messenger or angel.) to His bond-servant John.
This revelation was from the Father to Christ Jesus who then communicated it through His messenger to John. Who is this messenger? The answer in found a little further down in chapter 1.
The apostle John was on the island of Patmos and being in the Spirit on the Lord’s day he heard a loud voice behind him like a trumpet (Revelation 1:9-10).
12 And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden
12 lampstands;
13 and in the middle of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet,
13 and girded across the breast with a golden girdle.
14 And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of
14 fire;
15 and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and His voice
15 was like the sound of many waters.
16 And in His right hand He held seven stars; and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword;
16 and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
When this messenger spoke in the first person it was Jesus speaking through Him.
17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying,
17 “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,
18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have keys of death and
18 of Hades.”
According to one of the word of knowledge sessions John could not have seen the face of Jesus, so what did John see? He saw someone who was like the son of man. Was this all just a vision or was this actually the Holy Spirit? Consider the significance when “the Holy Spirit descended upon Him (Jesus) in bodily (σωματικῷThe Greek adjective σωματικός ή όν means bodily or corporeal. The root word σῶμα means a body.) form (εἴδειThe Greek neuter noun εἶδος means outward appearance or form. It is in the dative singular.) like a dove” (Luke 3:22) at His baptism. The Spirit can appear as a discreet individual.
As this messenger was giving instruction to the churches He would say, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22).
Jesus appears in the book of Revelation either symbolically as a lamb (Revelation 5:6,12), or the Spirit stands in for Him. Consider another appearance in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation.
13 And I (John) heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from
13 now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”
14 And I looked, and beheld, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like the a son of man, having
15 a golden crown on His head, and a sharp sickle in His hand.
This is a reference to a future event (Matthew 24:30). Jesus is the one sitting on the cloud, but up until that time His Spirit stands in for Him. When Jesus actually sits on that cloud we shall see Him as He actually is.
There is something strange about this messenger. John saw an open door in heaven and wrote, “The first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show (δείξω)δείκνυμι — To present to sight,
to show •
Active Voice • Indicative Mood •
Future Tense • 1st Person Singular you what must take place after these things.’” (Revelation 4:1). When John attempted to worship Him the messenger said, “Do not do thatThere is wisdom in this. The Spirit as a servant directs worship outward toward God rather than toward Himself.; I am (εἰμι)The verb ‘to be’ •
Indicative Mood • Present Tense •
1st Person Singular a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Revelation 19:10). John knew He was more than an angel (Revelation 22:8-9).
When John entered the open door in heaven he saw the seven Spirits of God burning as lamps or torches before the throne (Revelation 1:4; 4:5). In symbolic terms these Spirits are closely associated with Jesus as described in the fifth chapter of Revelation.
6 And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain,
6 having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.
The messenger wore a golden girdle or sash (Revelation 1:13), and so did the seven angels who were given the bowls of wrath (Revelation 15:6). Is the messengerThis is the area of speculation. The author wishes to unite God rather than further divide Him. one of the seven Spirits before the throne? We know that all judgment was given to Jesus (John 5:22), and “He (Jesus) treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15). The wrath of God is very personal and He Himself must quench His anger.
The last recorded time of the Holy Spirit spoke is in the twenty-second chapter of Revelation.
16 I, Jesus, have sent My angel (messenger) to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root
16 and offspring of David, the bright morning star.
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one
17 who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
Therefore given an opportunity the Spirit can speak in the first person. Previously it was described in a sliding text that the Spirit can speak directly from the heart to the mouth. Therefore applying this to the the book of Proverbs it seems reasonable that the Spirit of Christ spoke the proverbs to Solomon.
All things considered there is still something missing in the search to understand the text which has been called personified wisdom. Poetic license by Solomon cannot be ruled since “He pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs” (Ecclesiastes 12:9). The first nine chapters of the book of Proverbs seem to be a mixture of true proverbs and Solomon’s exposition. Perhaps the answer will be found from a Hebrew perspective in things hidden in the original language.
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