The
identification of Jesus with the personified Wisdom
of Proverbs 8 extends well back into the early
church. The writings of Justin, Cyprian, Origen, Arius, Athanasius and others display the extent to
which the doctrine of Christ as Wisdom permeated the early church.
The
Jerusalem Bible explains: “Christian tradition from St.
Justin onwards sees the Wisdom of the O[ld] T[estament]
the person of Christ himself.”
Not alone, McGee states: “Wisdom is a person, the person
of the Lord Christ Jesus... Wisdom is Jesus.”
While the early Church held to Christ being the Wisdom of
the Hebrew Scriptures, can we prove it Biblically?
The
New Testament authors present several lines of evidence
that demonstrate Jesus to be the personified Wisdom of the
Old Testament. The apostle Paul presented one of the
more explicit statements to this effect, identifying
Christ directly as "the Wisdom of God."
(1Cor. 1:24) Christ is certainly not a mere
attribute of God, but we understand that the attribute of
wisdom dwells within him. (Col. 2:3) It dwelling in him,
he is naturally identified with it because he displays it
so perfectly, personifying it.
To further demonstrate the New Testament link between
Christ and Wisdom we can turn to the Gospels.
Luke, in
recording the words of Jesus, observed an interesting
reference to Wisdom. Jesus stated:
"And because of this, the wisdom of God said, I will send
prophets and apostles to them, and they will kill and
drive out some of them..." (Luk. 11:49)
Jesus attributed the words quoted to "the Wisdom of God,"
and yet in Matthew's parallel account the words are
ascribed directly to Jesus.
Jesus here is said to attribute these words to “the wisdom
of God,” and yet when we view Matthew’s account at Matthew
23:43 the words are are attributed to Jesus directly
While these two examples are quite clear, some of the most
interesting links between Christ and Wisdom come from the
New Testament epistles. To fully understand this
argument we must consider the background of the
personification of Wisdom in the Hebrew Scriptures and how
this ties into Jesus Christ.
The Personification of Wisdom
Jewish literature is well known for its use of
personification as a literary tool. This type of
personification was typically done by assigning personal
attributes to impersonal things. This is often seen within the various
writings of the 1st century and prior,
including the Bible. As such it is natural to
find impersonal things at times spoken of as personal, such as with
the
Holy Spirit. In fact, as an attribute of God,
an extension of himself, the Holy Spirit’s personification
is well in line with the personification of some of God’s
other attributes.
Larry Hurtado cites an interesting example of
personification within a 1st century Jewish
text. He states: “To illustrate my point [of divine
attributes being personified], I cite an example from
Joseph and Asenath… we have an elaborate
personification of Penitence… as ‘the Most High’s
daughter… the mother of virgins… a virgin, very beautiful
and pure and chase and gentle.’”
It is not entirely unreasonable for Hurtado views the
personification of Wisdom to be in line with this type of
personification. As such Wisdom was merely an
attribute spoken of in personal terms.
Wisdom, as personified by Solomon in the book of Proverbs,
has would have only come to be identified with Jesus
Christ in the first century. We would not anticipate
that the Jews prior to this fully understood that this
Wisdom was the pre-existent Messiah. (Joh. 1:1, 14)
This is little different than their failure to understand
numerous Messianic prophecies. It is only be
inspiration that the New Testament authors were able to
reveal these things so that they could be understood.
Were it not for the New Testament teaching on Jesus as
Wisdom, Hurtado's position would probably be correct. From
the New Testament teaching it is necessary to recognize
that Solomon was not merely applying personal
characteristics to an impersonal attribute. He was
speaking of a person who embodied an attribute so as to
personify it. Jesus is Wisdom because the
attribute is so clearly seen in him and his works.
Several texts both inspired and otherwise are drawn upon
by the apostles in discussing Jesus. Proverbs 8:22, which
speaks of Wisdom as the one created as the beginning of
God’s ways, is a text alluded to in Colossians 1:15 and
Revelation 3:14. Sirach 1:4 and 24:8-9 follow a similar
line of though, noting that “Wisdom was created before all
things,” which is a parallel to Colossians 1:17 when
Jesus is said to be “before all things.” Related,
Proverbs
8:30 identified Wisdom as a “master worker,” while
John 1:3 and Colossians
1:16 show Jesus filling this role as God's intermediate
agent in creation. Similarly, we call to mind Proverbs
3:19 where God is said to have created by Wisdom when we
read Hebrews 1:10.
Further examples are found in places such as the
apocryphal
Wisdom 7:1. This text identifies Wisdom as “an unspotted mirror of the
working of God and an image of his goodness,” a text
alluded to in Colossians 1:15 when Jesus is said to be “the
image of the invisible God.” This text along with Wisdom
7:25, where Wisdom is said to serve as “an emanation of
the glory of the Almighty,” provides a clear parallel to
Hebrews 1:3, presenting Christ as “radiance of
[God’s] glory.”
Having considered some of the passages taken from Wisdom
literature and especially Proverbs that were applied to
Jesus, how do we understand the inspired texts that are
not quoted from? First, it is essential that we realize
that many texts speak only of the attribute, not the
personified Wisdom. These texts would not be understood
as speaking of the Logos, for he personifies the attribute
and is not the impersonal attribute itself. Other texts are a
bit more interesting to observe.
Let us
consider
Proverbs 9:1 as an example. This text relates that
Wisdom has “built her house.” Can this possibly be
understood of Jesus Christ? Indeed it can,
prophetically. What house would Christ come to
build? The congregation. There are “seven
pillars” that refer to the completeness of the
congregation.. The number seven is symbolic and very
significant. The International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia explains: “There is clear evidence in the cuneiform texts, which are our earliest
authorities, that the Babylonians regarded 7 as the number
of totality, of completeness. The Sumerians, from whom the
Semitic Babylonians seem to have borrowed the idea,
equated 7 and ‘all.’” The pillars were the supporting structures, there being seven of them
shows us that it was complete.
Continuing into verse 2 of Proverbs 9 we read of Wisdom having
“slaughtered her slaughter,” if we follow the text
literally. Gill properly explains that the
expression refers to “a crucified Christ, the principal of the provisions in
Wisdom's house, or the
church
of Christ. The death of Christ was prefigured by the
slaying of beasts for sacrifice under the old law; was
foretold in prophecy, and is expressed by ‘killing’ him in
the New Testament; and which shows his death not to be
natural, but violent.”
Continuing in verse 2 we read, “She has mixed her wine,”
which is naturally a reference to the blood that Christ
gave in his death, symbolically seen in the wine he gave
to
his disciples. (Luk. 22:20) Further, Wisdom is said to
have “set her table.” This is seen in Christ’s
preparation of his kingdom, where ones will sit with him
there at his table. (Luk. 22:30)
“She has
sent out her maidens.” (Prov. 9:3) As Wisdom is seen as a
woman for grammatical reasons (see below under Objections
Reviewed), the feminine imagery is
taken and applied to those that are sent out. This is a
reference to Jesus’ disciples, whom he sent out to
preach. (Mat. 28:19-20) “She cries on the highest places
of the city” is a statement of preaching, both by Jesus
himself and his disciples. He was in the highest places
of the city, both in his teaching within prominent places
such as the temple, and the Mount of
Olives.
While
other texts might warrant discussion, it is not the
purpose of this article to discuss every single text that
speaks of Wisdom as a person. What a gloss of these
passages reveals is that these passages are seen fulfilled
in Jesus. Many use these passages to object to Jesus
being this Wisdom, but they do so without proper research.
A Created Being
Of the passages that speak of Wisdom we note the most
significant to be those that speak of her creation.
(Prov. 8:22) Theologically, this point proves to be very
significant, for as Jesus Christ is this Wisdom we see him
to be created The Septuagint specifically uses the Greek
verb for “created,” while this understanding is furthered
by the Targum and Syriac translation. Many will properly
observe the use of the Hebrew word qanah not bara, which
is the word normally used for create. The basis for this
is found in the context, which makes use of birth imagery
to denote creation.
When we consider verses 24 and 25, depending upon the
translation used, we read of Wisdom being “brought forth”
or “born.” This use of language is also seen within the
Septuagint, which uses
γενναω, also meaning “born.” (c.f. Mat. 1:2) This
language was used idiomatically for creation, which is
similar to how the mountains were spoken of as being born
to denote their creation. (Psa. 90:2) The Theological
Wordbook of the Old Testament explains: "The Pulal is the
passive of the Polel, 'to be born' (Job 15:7; Psa 51:5 [H
7]). This idiom may be used to refer to creation or
origins on a cosmic scale (Prov
8:24-25).”
Wisdom being “born” was understood as her being “created”
by the LXX's translators. How does this related to the
use of qanah?
C.F. Burney relates the following: “In the first place,
the fact needs emphasis that the verb kana always seems to
possess the sense of ‘get, acquire’, never the sense of
‘possess, own’ simply, apart from the idea of possessing
something which has been acquired in one way or
another.”
There are different ways that people go about acquiring
things. Sometimes things are bought with money (Jos.
24:32), other times the term is used for acquiring a child
at birth (Gen 4:1), while the other way that we acquire
something is by making it, or in the case of God, creating
it. (Gen 14:22; Deut. 32:6) The imagery of Proverbs 8
leads to the thought of birth, for Wisdom is spoken of as
being “born.” At the same time, birth is idiomatic for
creating, and so there is a definite sense of “create”
within the use of the term as well. After all, God does
not literally birth something, but he creates everything.
Such is also seen in texts such as Genesis 14:22, where
God is said be the one who qanah heaven and earth.
Indeed, he possesses it, but it was acquired by him
through his creating it. The Jewish Study Bible thus
states for Proverbs 8:22:
“In fact,
‘kanah’ refers to acquisition by means including creation,
as here.”
Trinitarians have historically taken various views to
overcome the express statements found within this text.
Some have argued that it referred only to a position
filled by the Son, while others that he was somehow
eternally created. Of course no position is referenced
within the text, only his person, while to say that he is
eternally created is nothing short of an oxymoron.
Consider the thought of eternal existence. It is existing
without beginning or end. It is to say that at no time in
the past did one not exist. Yet to create is an action,
and so to be created requires that one have performed the
action of creating. In the Greek text of the Septuagint
we find that the aorist is used, capturing this action in
a moment in time. How can one be eternal when one’s way
of coming into existence is expressed in time? How can he
be eternal and yet said to be born if he was never
really born? He was either eternal or not.
Trinitarians
must resort to special pleading to overcome the meaning of
this text. They must say that "created" has a unique
meaning when applied to Wisdom. They must claim that
it is used in a way that it is never otherwise used. Solomon, in penning the
text of Proverbs 8:22, obviously meant what he said. He
used language that was established in his day and it meant
something specific. The same could be said for the LXX's translators, as well as the Syriac's and those who
penned the Targum on this text. If they did not mean it
as the words were understood they simply would
not have said it!
In response to this some might point to Proverbs 8:23,
which in some translations does read of Wisdom being “from
eternity” or “everlasting.” The Septuagint reads that he
was “before the age.” Does this serve as a valid
objection? Of course, the very first point we must
recognize is that verse 22 eliminates the thought of
"eternity," but more can be said on this.
Consider the account recorded in Genesis 6:4
were we read of men as being “from ancient times” or “from
of old.” The world Hebrew word olam is used in both this
text and in Proverbs 8:23, in no way demanding an eternal
existence. When we take this in light of the birth or
creation of the one identified as Wisdom in the context,
it is natural to understand this not as “eternity,” but
“ancient times.” This does not mean that God was at one
time without the attribute of wisdom, but rather that the
person identified as Wisdom, because of his personifying
it, at one time did not exist. This one is identified as
Wisdom for all of God’s wisdom is seen in the creation of
this one.
Objections Reviewed
One objection raised to identifying Jesus with the Wisdom
that Solomon spoke of is the fact that it is spoken of as
a woman. We find that the feminine pronouns are
repeatedly applied to it, and so it has become commonly
known as “lady wisdom.” Is this a valid objection?
Hebrew, much like Greek, assigns a gender to every noun.
The Hebrew noun for wisdom, chokmah is feminine in gender,
and so it naturally demands the use of feminine
pronouns. This proves to be a matter of grammar, and so
it should not be taken as teaching that Wisdom is a
female. Those in heaven, be it God or angels, do not have
a true gender, though they are typically spoken of as men.
As this is the case, there would be no objection to
assigning similar feminine imagery to them.
Within the New Testament when Jesus is identified as
Wisdom it is done with the Greek noun
ςοφια,
which is also feminine. Others, such as Solomon are
identified in a similar manner, with the title of
"congregator" also being feminine. (Ecc. 1:1) Genesis
49:21 provides us with another example: "Naphtali is a
hind let loose, that bears comely fawns." (Revised
Standard Version.) Here the man Naphtali is called
"a hind," "a female deer," and “a doe," but not "a ram."
He, who is metaphorically represented as a "she," even
produces fawns! Clearly
the use of feminine nouns and language for a male is not a
valid ground for objection.
Another objection is found in referencing Proverbs 8:12.
It is asked, “If Wisdom is a person, who is prudence?”
There are several points that could be noted, the first of
which is that prudence is simply not personified. The
text is easily understood in that Christ is with prudence
for he is in possession of it. This is understood by
Gill: “The
phrase, taken both ways, shows that Christ is very
largely, yea, fully possessed of prudence; as a man that
dwells in a house is the proprietor and possessor of it,
so prudence is Christ's; it belongs to him, he enjoys it;
he dwells in prudence, and prudence dwells in him.”
We conclude by revisiting what we have
herein discussed. Jesus is the personified Wisdom of
Proverbs. He is not the attribute, but a person that
personifies the attribute. As the first of God’s
creation, he personifies it because all of God’s wisdom is
seen in the creation of him and it continues to be seen in
this one's works.
