We continue to discuss the importance of wisdom. In Proverbs 1:20-33, wisdom is portrayed as a woman calling out in the streets for people to listen to her. Here we follow up on that personification.
Proverbs 8:1-3, Standing in the crowded streets
Does not wisdom call out?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
On the heights along the way,
where the paths meet,
she takes her stand;
beside the gates leading into the city,
at the entrances, she cries aloud:
Wisdom places herself at the junctions of busy thoroughfares, trying to get the attention of crowds hurrying by. The implication is that if one -- anyone -- were just to slow down and listen, wisdom would be available.
Proverbs 8:4-11, Instruction better than silver
"To you, O men, I call out;
I raise my voice to all mankind.
You who are simple, gain prudence;
you who are foolish, gain understanding.
Listen, for I have worthy things to say;
I open my lips to speak what is right.
My mouth speaks what is true,
for my lips detest wickedness.
All the words of my mouth are just;
none of them is crooked or perverse.
To the discerning all of them are right;
they are faultless to those who have knowledge.
Choose my instruction instead of silver,
knowledge rather than choice gold,
for wisdom is more precious than rubies,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
The invitation from Wisdom is to listen from her words and to then grow in successful, righteous ways. The "geometry" of Proverbs appears again here: Wisdom leads to straight and smooth lines; her opposite, Folly (later, see Proverbs 9:13-18) will lead to jagged, crooked paths.
The gifts that Wisdom offers, says she to the busy merchants, is more important that any material wealth.
Proverbs 8:12-13, Prudence vs. arrogance
"I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
I possess knowledge and discretion.
To fear the LORD is to hate evil;
I hate pride and arrogance,
evil behavior and perverse speech.
Prudent, knowledge and discretion are contrasted with pride and arrogance, which are related to evil actions and perverse speech. Kidner asserts that prudence (Hebrew ormah) and discretion (mezimmah) can mean "craftiness" and "scheming." Wisdom too can be subtle and scheming, in a positive manner. (One is reminded of Jesus's saying about "being wise as serpents and harmless as doves," Matthew 6:10.)
Proverbs 8:14-15, Wise governing
Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
I have understanding and power.
By me kings reign
and rulers make laws that are just;
by me princes govern,
and all nobles who rule on earth.
Wisdom is a necessity of wise leadership.
Proverbs 8:17-21, Wisdom's affection
I love those who love me,
and those who seek me find me.
With me are riches and honor,
enduring wealth and prosperity.
My fruit is better than fine gold;
what I yield surpasses choice silver.
I walk in the way of righteousness,
along the paths of justice,
bestowing wealth on those who love me
and making their treasuries full.
Wisdom reciprocates attention and affection, providing various riches and honor, things beyond mere silver.
Proverbs 8:22-29, Wisdom from before the cosmos
"The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works,
before his deeds of old;
I was appointed from eternity,
from the beginning, before the world began.
When there were no oceans, I was given birth,
when there were no springs abounding with water;
before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
before he made the earth or its fields or any of the dust of the world.
I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
Wisdom is described as accompanying the Creator YHWH, before the universe began. This concept of Wisdom as a "first work" of God in Creation appears also in Job 38. Here, Wisdom recalls being with YHWH before the first days of Creation, before there were waters, ocean, clouds are dry land. In Job 38:8-11, God sets the boundaries on the seas; here it is Wisdom who is at His side as He does that.
In the New Testament Gospel of John, it is the Logos ("Logic, reasoning") that was with God at the beginning; in John 1:1-4, 14 that Logos is identified as the Messiah Yeshuah. This is a theme that runs throughout the New Testament, see for example, Colossians 1:15-17, 2:3, and 1 Corinthians 1:24,30.
In verse 27, the NIV says that God "marked out the horizon on the face of the deep." The Hebrew word ḥūḡ, translated "horizon", is literally "circle". It represents the circle at the ends of the earth, at the end of eyesight. If one is out in the Mediterranean, out of sight from shore, the ḥūḡ is the "circle" one sees where the ocean meets the sky, as one rotates their head in every direction. The word appears in Job 22:14 (translated there as "vaulted") and in Isaiah 40:22.
Proverbs 8:30-31, Delighting in Creation
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.
Wisdom declares that she was YHWH's companion in creation! And that she says it was a delight. With Him, surely, she repeats the exclamation of Genesis 1:31, "It is very good!"
In this section Alter, guided by Everett Fox, notes that "Wisdom does not only possess great utility... but it is fun--as, say, the scholar takes great pleasure in his research, the naturalist in discovering the intricacies of nature." As a retired mathematician and scientist, still intrigued by all the mysteries of mathematics, I can only say, "Amen!"
Proverbs 8:32-34, Watch from your doorway
"Now then, my sons, listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.
Listen to my instruction and be wise;
do not ignore it.
Blessed is the man who listens to me,
watching daily at my doors,
waiting at my doorway.
The one who seeks wisdom must seek her at one might seek a lover, looking daily from their door, hoping to see her walk by.
Proverbs 8:35-36, Choose life!
For whoever finds me finds life
and receives favor from the LORD.
But whoever fails to find me harms himself;
all who hate me love death."
Turning away from Wisdom is dangerous and deadly. The Christian echo of this stanza occurs in 1 John 5:12.
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