Ángel
Manuel Rodríguez
Please identify the character
called “wisdom” in Proverbs 8:22-26.
Allow
me to share with you some of my thoughts on that passage and its implications
for
our understanding of the person of Jesus.
1. The Origin of Wisdom: Wisdom
is described as if it were a person, and its origin is located in God Himself: “The
Lord brought me forth as the first of his works” (verse 22). The
verb translated “to
bring forth” can be rendered in English “he acquired/conceived/created
me.” The basic meaning of the Hebrew verb qanah
seems to be “to possess” (Prov.
4:5-7). One can acquire or possess something in different ways. One of
them is through begetting (Gen. 4:1). In Proverbs the context seems to
suggest the idea of conception. The phrase “as the first of his
works” can be translated “in the beginning of his
way”; when God began to create, wisdom was already there.
“I was appointed from eternity” (verse 23). One of the
possible meanings of the verb nasak
is precisely “to appoint” (Ps. 2:6). In
that case God appointed wisdom from eternity, before the world began,
to some specific function. We are not informed concerning the nature
of that appointment.
It may also be that the verbal root is sakak,
“to weave.” The psalmist used that same verb to describe the
process of gestation in his mother’s womb (Ps. 139:13). In that case
Proverbs 8:23 would be describing the eternal process of gestation
of wisdom within the Divine Being. It would be metaphorically describing
the divine thoughts as taking different shapes, growing like an embryo
within the mother. Wisdom is personified in Proverbs, but it is fundamentally
a divine attribute; it belongs to God’s being and is hidden within
Him.
In verse 24—“When there were no oceans I was given birth”—
God’s wisdom is described as coming into existence through birth,
and yet it was always part of God’s being. The language employed
throughout this passage is highly metaphorical, but the message is clear:
Before God began His creative work, wisdom was
already part of His being. But when God began to create, wisdom was born
into the world; in other words, everything that came into existence was
first conceived in God’s mind. The implication is that through
God’s power wisdom took the concrete form of the realities that we
observe today. Therefore, when we explore the natural world we are analyzing
God’s wisdom, because that wisdom determined not only the physical
structure of the created world but also its functions.
2. Obtaining Wisdom: Allow me to move away from the passage
somewhat to deal with the issue of how wisdom is obtained. The source
of wisdom is always God: “For the Lord gives
wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (Prov.
2:6). We are recipients of true wisdom as we reflect on that which we
have seen and experienced. This type of wisdom is preceded by the “fear of the Lord” (Prov. 1:7). The fear of the Lord is the sphere within which
it is possible to obtain wisdom; it is the recognition that God is the
Creator and Redeemer.
Once that presupposition was accepted, the wise went out to obtain
wisdom, using basically the same methods we use today. They observed,
analyzed, and drew conclusions (Prov. 24:30-34).
They used the rational abilities God had given them to explore the intelligibility
of the created world. Nature revealed the wisdom and power of God.
3. Christ and Wisdom: The New Testament stresses the religious
significance of wisdom by referring to Christ as wisdom. Paul wrote: “Christ
the power of God, and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor.
1:24). God’s wisdom is now revealed in the person and
work of our Lord. Without Him it is impossible to acquire true wisdom.
This does not deny the value and the need to continually look for God’s
wisdom in the created world, but it calls us to do it with the understanding
that the most glorious revelation of God’s wisdom is now located
in the incarnation, death, resurrection, and mediation of our Lord. Divine
wisdom is uniquely present in a Person and not only in the objects of
the natural world. We need to contemplate God’s wisdom in the person
of Christ.
4/11/02
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