10. The Wisdom from the Beginning; Proverbs 8

27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He decreed a circle on the face of the deep (…) 30 then I was by Him as a little child, and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, 31 rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth, and my delights were with the sons of men.
—Proverbs 8 (based on NBG)

Proverbs 8 is often cited as a classical argument for the conscious pre-existence of the Son. The reasoning goes as follows: in this chapter, wisdom is portrayed as a person who was present with God during creation. And since Christ is called “the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:24), Proverbs 8 thus teaches that Christ was personally present at creation and already God’s beloved child at that time (Prov. 8:30).

At first glance, this line of reasoning seems logical. But the following points argue against it:

• In Proverbs 8, the subject is not Christ (the word translated as “anointed” in Prov. 8:23 is not the word Messiah) but wisdom (a feminine noun; Heb. chokmah > goochem), which is presented as God’s companion.
• Not only wisdom is personified in this chapter, but also prudence. “I, wisdom, dwell with prudence…” (8:12). Anyone claiming that “wisdom” is a distinct person alongside God must, to be consistent, also regard “prudence” as a distinct person.

It must be understood that Proverbs 8 is a poetic ode to the wisdom of God that stood at the cradle of creation. By means of wisdom and prudence, God created the world. Both qualities characterize God’s actions and are poetically portrayed as distinct persons who assisted Him in creation. This is not literal but a common literary device (personification), just as we speak of “Mother Nature” or “Lady Justice.” Scripture knows only one Creator (Isa. 44:24).

Delen: