Biblegems #114
Question:
In Proverbs 8, does “wisdom”
refer to Christ and, if so, why do the first 3 verses refer to wisdom in the
feminine?
The first
question that needs to be addressed is: does Wisdom in Proverbs 8 refer to
Christ? Matthew Henry, the renowned 18th century Bible commentator,
makes this statement in his opening remarks on Proverbs 8:
“The Redeemer is the eternal Word and
wisdom, the Logos. He is the Wisdom that speaks to the children of men in the
former part of the chapter. All divine revelation passes through his hand, and
centers in him; but of him as the personal Wisdom, the second person of the
Godhead, in the judgment of many of the ancients, Solomon here speaks, verses
22-23.”[i]
As
Matthew Henry notes, many of the ancient church fathers understood Wisdom, as
it is personified in Proverbs 8, as representing Jesus Christ, the living Word
of God. This is, of course, a matter of interpretation, not translation. It is
based, however, in solid biblical precedent and sound principles of
interpretation. Wisdom, in proverbs 8, is presented as eternal:
Prov. 8:27 I
was there when he set the heavens in place…
This eternal Wisdom demonstrates personality, showing love and
other emotions:
Prov. 8:17 I love those who love me…
Wisdom is described here as a craftsman involved in creation
who experiences delight and joy in the
presence of God:
Prov.
8:30-31 Then I was the craftsman at
his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his
presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.
All
of these attributes describe an eternal, personal Being who is identical with
Jesus, the Word of God, the second person of the Trinity.
So
then, the second question must also be answered: Why is Wisdom in Proverbs 8
described in feminine terms in the first three verses? Indeed, if Wisdom is
feminine there, then Wisdom throughout chapter 8, in which Wisdom speaks in the
first person, would also have to be understood in the feminine. How can this
be?
The
answer is grammatical, not interpretive. The word “wisdom” in Hebrew is a feminine word form. It does not mean that
Wisdom, when used of a person, is feminine. We see a similar dynamic happen in
the English language. We speak of a boat or ship in feminine terms—“she’s a
beautiful ship”—even though sailing vessels have no gender. From a technical
point of view then, the Hebrew word “wisdom”
is feminine and is matched by the words “her”
(v.1) and “she” (v.2) to complete the
sentence in correct grammatical form. So it is the context, not the grammatical
form, which determines if “Wisdom”
personified is to be understood as masculine, feminine or neutral.
The
apostle Paul picks up on this personification of Wisdom as fully represented in
Jesus Christ:
1
Cor. 1:30 It is because of him [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has
become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and
redemption.
Because
we who believe are in Christ, and Christ is in us, Jesus “has become for us wisdom form God.” What a wonderful gift!
Good answer!
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