“Yahweh possessed me in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth existed.
When there were no depths, I was born, when there were no springs abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was born;
while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world.
When he established the heavens, I was there. When he set a circle on the surface of the deep,
when he established the clouds above, when the springs of the deep became strong,
when he gave to the sea its boundary, that the waters should not violate his commandment, when he marked out the foundations of the earth,
then I was the craftsman by his side. I was a delight day by day, always rejoicing before him,
rejoicing in his whole world. My delight was with the sons of men.
“Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways.
Hear instruction, and be wise. Don’t refuse it.
Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my door posts.
For whoever finds me, finds life, and will obtain favor from Yahweh.
But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 30, 31 He declareth hereby the divinity and eternity of this…
He declareth hereby the divinity and eternity of this wisdom, which he magnifieth and praiseth through this book: meaning thereby the eternal son of God Jesus Christ our Savior, whom Saint John calleth that word that was in the beginning, John 1:1.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv22–36 Pro 8:22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning…
Pro 8:22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
Ver. 22. The Lord possessed me.] Not created me, {a} as the Arians out of the Septuagint pressed it, to prove Christ a creature.
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Before his works of old.] Heb., Ante opera sua, ante tunc; id est, priusquam quis dicere potest tunc; before there was any either now or then; before all time, therefore from all eternity. For whatsoever was before the world and time, that was created with the world, must needs be eternal.
{a} εκτησε εκτισε.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36 Possessed me, as his Son by eternal generation, who…
Possessed me, as his Son by eternal generation, who was from eternity with him, as is said, Joh 14:10; and in him, as he also was in me, Joh 14:10.
In the beginning; yea, and before the beginning, as it is largely expressed in the following verses.
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Of his way; either,
1. Of his counsels or decrees. Or rather,
2. Of his works of creation, as it follows.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv22, 32 That it is an intelligent and divine person that…
That it is an intelligent and divine person that here speaks seems very plain, and that it is not meant of a mere essential property of the divine nature, for Wisdom here has personal properties and actions; and that intelligent divine person can be no other than the Son of God himself, to whom the principal things here spoken of wisdom are attributed in other scriptures, and we must explain scripture by itself. If Solomon himself designed only the praise of wisdom as it is an attribute of God, by which he made the world and governs it, so to recommend to men the study of that wisdom which belongs to them, yet the Spirit of God, who indited what he wrote, carried him, as David often, to such expressions as could agree to no other than the Son of God, and would lead us into the knowledge of great things concerning him. All divine revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, and here we are told who and what he is, as God, designed in the eternal counsels to be the Mediator between God and man. The best exposition of these verses we have in the first four verses of St. John's gospel. In the beginning was the Word, etc. Concerning the Son of God observe here,
I. His personality and distinct subsistence, one with the Father and of the same essence, and yet a person of himself, whom the Lord possessed (Pro 8:22), who was set up (Pro 8:23), was brought forth (Pro 8:24, Pro 8:25), was by him (Pro 8:30), for he was the express image of his person, Heb 1:3.
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II. His eternity; he was begotten of the Father, for the Lord possessed him, as his own Son, his beloved Son, laid him in his bosom; he was brought forth as the only-begotten of the Father, and this before all worlds, which is most largely insisted upon here. The Word was eternal, and had a being before the world, before the beginning of time; and therefore it must follow that it was from eternity. The Lord possessed him in the beginning of his way, of his eternal counsels, for those were before his works. This way indeed had no beginning, for God's purposes in himself are eternal like himself, but God speaks to us in our own language. Wisdom explains herself (Pro 8:23): I was set up from everlasting. The Son of God was, in the eternal counsels of God, designed and advanced to be the wisdom and power of the Father, light and life, and all in all both in the creation and in the redemption of the world. That he was brought forth as to his being, and set up as to the divine counsels concerning his office, before the world was made, is here set forth in a great variety of expressions, much the same with those by which the eternity of God himself is expressed. Psa 90:2, Before the mountains were brought forth. 1. Before the earth was, and that was made in the beginning, before man was made; therefore the second Adam had a being before the first, for the first Adam was made of the earth, the second had a being before the earth, and therefore is not of the earth, Joh 3:31. 2. Before the sea was (Pro 8:24), when there were no depths in which the waters were gathered together, no fountains from which those waters might arise, none of that deep on which the Spirit of God moved for the production of the visible creation, Gen 1:2. 3. Before the mountains were, the everlasting mountains, Pro 8:25. Eliphaz, to convince Job of his inability to judge of the divine counsels, asks him (Job 15:7), Wast thou made before the hills? No, thou wast not. But before the hills was the eternal Word brought forth. 4. Before the habitable parts of the world, which men cultivate, and reap the profits of (v. 26), the fields in the valleys and plains, to which the mountains are as a wall, which are the highest part of the dust of the world; the first part of the dust (so some), the atoms which compose the several parts of the world; the chief or principal part of the dust, so it may be read, and understood of man, who was made of the dust of the ground and is dust, but is the principal part of the dust, dust enlivened, dust refined. The eternal Word had a being before man was made, for in him was the life of men.
III. His agency in making the world. He not only had a being before the world, but he was present, not as a spectator, but as the architect, when the world was made. God silenced and humbled Job by asking him, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Who hath laid the measures thereof? (Job 38:4, etc.). Wast thou that eternal Word and wisdom, who was the prime manager of that great affair? No; thou art of yesterday." But here the Son of God, referring, as it should seem, to the discourse God had with Job, declares himself to have been engaged in that which Job could not pretend to be a witness of and a worker in, the creation of the world. By him God made the worlds, Eph 3:9; Heb 1:2; Col 1:16. 1. When, on the first day of the creation, in the very beginning of time, God said, Let there be light, and with a word produced it, this eternal Wisdom was that almighty Word: Then I was there, when he prepared the heavens, the fountain of that light, which, whatever it is here, is there substantial. 2. He was no less active when, on the second day, he stretched out the firmament, the vast expanse, and set that as a compass upon the face of the depth (Pro 8:27), surrounded it on all sides with that canopy, that curtain. Or it may refer to the exact order and method with which God framed all the parts of the universe, as the workman marks out his work with his line and compasses. The work in nothing varied from the plan of it formed in the eternal mind. 3. He was also employed in the third day's work, when the waters above the heavens, were gathered together by establishing the clouds above, and those under the heavens by strengthening the fountains of the deep, which send forth those waters (Pro 8:28), and by preserving the bounds of the sea, which is the receptacle of those waters, Pro 8:29. This speaks much the honour of this eternal Wisdom, for by this instance God proves himself a God greatly to be feared (Jer 5:22) that he has placed the sand for the bound of the sea, that the dry land might continue to appear above water, fit to be a habitation for man; and thus he has appointed the foundation of the earth. How able, how fit, is the Son of God to be the Saviour of the world, who was the Creator of it!
IV. The infinite complacency which the Father had in him, and he in the Father (Pro 8:30): I was by him, as one brought up with him. As by an eternal generation he was brought forth of the Father, so by an eternal counsel he was brought up with him, which intimates, not only the infinite love of the Father to the Son, who is therefore called the Son of his love (Col 1:13), but the mutual consciousness and good understanding that were between them concerning the work of man's redemption, which the Son was to undertake, and about which the counsel of peace was between them both, Zac 6:13. He was alumnus patris - the Father's pupil, as I may say, trained up from eternity for that service which in time, in the fulness of time, he was to go through with, and is therein taken under the special tuition and protection of the Father; he is my servant whom I uphold, Isa 42:1. He did what he saw the Father do (Joh 5:19), pleased his Father, sought his glory, did according to the commandment he received from his Father, and all this as one brought up with him. He was daily his Father's delight (my elect, in whom my soul delighteth, says God, Isa 43:1), and he also rejoiced always before him. This may be understood either, 1. Of the infinite delight which the persons of the blessed Trinity have in each other, wherein consists much of the happiness of the divine nature. Or, 2. Of the pleasure which the Father took in the operations of the Son, when he made the world; God saw every thing that the Son made, and, behold, it was very good, it pleased him, and therefore his Son was daily, day by day, during the six days of the creation, upon that account, his delight, Exo 39:43. And the Son also did himself rejoice before him in the beauty and harmony of the whole creation, Psa 104:31. Or, 3. Of the satisfaction they had in each other, with reference to the great work of man's redemption. The Father delighted in the Son, as Mediator between him and man, was well-pleased with what he proposed (Mat 3:17), and therefore loved him because he undertook to lay down his life for the sheep; he put a confidence in him that he would go through his work, and not fail nor fly off. The Son also rejoiced always before him, delighted to do his will (Psa 40:8), adhered closely to his undertaking, as one that was well-satisfied in it, and, when it came to the setting to, expressed as much satisfaction in it as ever, saying, Lo, I come, to do as in the volume of the book it is written of me.
V. The gracious concern he had for mankind, Pro 8:31. Wisdom rejoiced, not so much in the rich products of the earth, or the treasures hid in the bowels of it, as in the habitable parts os it, for her delights were with the sons of men; not only in the creation of man is it spoken with a particular air of pleasure (Gen 1:26), Let us make man, but in the redemption and salvation of man. The Son of God was ordained, before the world, to that great work, Pe1 1:20. A remnant of the sons of men were given him to be brought, through his grace, to his glory, and these were those in whom his delights were. His church was the habitable part of his earth, made habitable for him, that the Lord God might dwell even among those that had been rebellious; and this he rejoiced in, in the prospect of seeing his seed. Though he foresaw all the difficulties he was to meet with in his work, the services and sufferings he was to go through, yet, because it would issue in the glory of his Father and the salvation of those sons of men that were given him, he looked forward upon it with the greatest satisfaction imaginable, in which we have all the encouragement we can desire to come to him and rely upon him for all the benefits designed us by his glorious undertaking.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv22–36 The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his…
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way,.... Not "created me", as the Targum and the Septuagint version; which version Arius following gave birth to his pernicious doctrine; who from hence concluded Christ is a creature, and was the first creature that God made, not of the same but of a like nature with himself, in some moment or period of eternity; and by whom he made all others: the Word, or Wisdom of God is never said to be created; and if as such he was created, God must have been without his Wisdom before he was created; besides, Christ, as the Word and Wisdom of God, is the Creator of all things, and not created, Joh 1:1; but this possession is not in right of creation, as the word is sometimes used, Gen 4:1; it might be more truly rendered, "the Lord begat me", as the word is translated by the Septuagint in Zac 13:5; it denotes the Lord's having, possessing, and enjoying his word and wisdom as his own proper Son; which possession of him is expressed by his being with him and in him, and in his bosom, and as one brought forth and brought up by him; as he was "in the beginning of his way" of creation, when he went forth in his wisdom and power, and created all things; then he did possess his Son, and made use of him, for by him he made the worlds: and "in the beginning of his way" of grace, which was before his way of creation; he began with him when he first went out in acts of grace towards his people; his first thoughts, purposes, and decrees concerning their happiness, were in him; the choice of their persons was made in him; God was in him contriving the scheme of their peace, reconciliation, and salvation; the covenant of grace was made with him, and all fulness of grace was treasured up in him: the words may be rendered, "the Lord possessed me, the beginning of his way" (h); that is, who am the beginning, as he is; the beginning of the creation of God, the first cause, the efficient of it, both old and new; see Col 1:18. So Aben Ezra, who compares with this Job 40:19. This shows the real and actual existence of Christ from eternity, his relation to Jehovah his Father, his nearness to him, equality with him, and distinction from him: it is added, for further illustration and confirmation's sake,
before his works of old; the creation of the heavens and the earth; a detail of which there is in the following verses.
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(h) "possidet me principium viae suae", Pagninus, Michaelis, Schultens; "habuit me principium viae suae", Cocceius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 31, 34 Possessed me - As his son by eternal generation,…
Possessed me - As his son by eternal generation, before the beginning. Of old - His works of creation.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36 Verse 22. The Lord possessed me in the beginning…
Verse 22. The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way] Wisdom is not acquired by the Divine Being; man, and even angels, learn it by slow and progressive degrees; but in God it is as eternally inherent as any other essential attribute of his nature. The Targum makes this wisdom a creature, by thus translating the passage: אלהא בראני בריש בריתיה Elaha barani bereish biriteiah, "God created me in the beginning of his creatures." The Syriac is the same. This is as absurd and heretical as some modern glosses on the same passage.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv22, 27, 30, 32, 36 Pro 8:22-26. The Lord possessed me — As his…
Pro 8:22-26. The Lord possessed me — As his eternal Wisdom and Word, which was in the beginning with him, Joh 1:1, and in him, Joh 14:10, and was afterward made flesh, and dwelt among men, as the only begotten of the Father, full of truth and grace, Joh 1:14. Before his works of old — His works of creation, as it follows. He is before all things, says the apostle, and by him all things consist, Col 1:17. I had glory with the Father, says this eternal wisdom, before the world was, Joh 17:5. I was set up from everlasting — Hebrew, נסכתי, I was anointed, ordained, or constituted, to be the person by whom the Father resolved to do all his works, first to create, and then to uphold, and govern, and judge, and afterward to redeem and save the world; all which works are particularly ascribed to the Son of God, as is manifest from Joh 1:1, &c.; Col 1:16-17; Heb 1:3, and many other places. From the beginning — Before which there was nothing but a vast eternity; or ever the earth was — Which he mentions, because this, together with the heaven, was the first of God’s visible works. When there were no depths — No abyss or deep waters, either mixed with the earth, as they were at first, or separated from it; I was brought forth — Begotten of my Father. Before the mountains were settled — Or fixed by the roots in the earth. While as yet he had not made the earth — That is, the dry land, called earth, after it was separated from the waters, Gen 1:10. Nor the fields — The plain and open parts of the earth, distinguished from the mountains and hills, and the valleys enclosed between them; nor the highest part — Hebrew, the head; the first part, or beginning; or, the best part; that which exceeds other parts in riches or fruitfulness; which he seems to distinguish from the common fields. Of the dust of the world — Of this lower part of the world, which consists of dust.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35 A verse which has played an important part in…
A verse which has played an important part in the history of Christian dogma. Wisdom reveals herself as preceding all creation, stamped upon it all, one with God, yet in some way distinguishable from Him as the object of His love Pro 8:30. John declares that all which Wisdom here speaks of herself was true in its highest sense of the Word that became flesh Joh 1:1-14 : just as Apostles afterward applied Wisd. 7:22-30 to Christ (compare Col 1:15; Heb 1:3).
Possessed - The word has acquired a special prominence in connection with the Arian controversy. The meaning which it usually bears is that of “getting” Gen 4:1, “buying” Gen 47:22, “possessing” Jer 32:15. In this sense one of the oldest divine names was that of “Possessor of heaven and earth” Gen 14:19, Gen 14:22. But the idea of thus “getting” or “possessing” involved, as a divine act in relation to the universe, the idea of creation, and thus in one or two passages the word might be rendered, though not accurately, by “created” (e. g., Psa 139:13). It would seem accordingly as if the Greek translators of the Old Testament oscillated between the two meanings; and in this passage we find the various renderings ἔκτισε ektise “created” (Septuagint), and ἐκτήσατο ektēsato “possessed” (Aquila). The text with the former word naturally became one of the stock arguments of the Arians against the eternal co-existence of the Son, and the other translation was as vehemently defended by the orthodox fathers. Athanasius receiving ἔκτισεν ektisen, took it in the sense of appointing, and saw in the Septuagint a declaration that the Father had made the Son the “chief,” the “head,” the “sovereign,” over all creation. There does not seem indeed any ground for the thought of creation either in the meaning of the root, or in the general usage of the word. What is meant in this passage is that we cannot think of God as ever having been without Wisdom. She is “as the beginning of His ways.” So far as the words bear upon Christian dogma, they accord with the words of Joh 1:1, “the Word was with God.” The next words indeed assert priority to all the works of God, from the first starting point of time.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain On vv22, 32, 34 It must be a perverted imagination that can suppose…
It must be a perverted imagination that can suppose an attribute here.†† So glorious are the rays of eternal supreme Deity, distinct personality, and essential unity, that the mysterious, ever-blessed Being — "the Word, who was in the beginning with God, and was God" (Joh 1:1-2 ) — now undoubtedly stands before us. Curiously to pry into the mode of his subsistence, would be "intruding into those things which we have not seen." (Col 2:18 . 1Ti 6:16 .) To receive his own revelation of himself is our reverential privilege.
How clear is his essential unity with the Father! The LORD possessed†1 me — present with him in the bosom of Deity. Every movement of the Divine mind was infinitely known — every purpose of Divine counsel eternally present — fully developed, I was by Him†2 — in the same essence and blessedness. (Joh 10:30 .) Such was "the glory which he had with the Father before the world was!" (Joh 17:5 .) Neither man nor angel could declare it. No created intelligence could tread one footstep in the course, that realizes any conception of the mystery. The mode of his existence in the Godhead (and this is all that is revealed of this inscrutable subject) is generation — I was brought forth — "the only-begotten Son"†3 — a term which it is much safer to adore than to expound; expressing, as it does, what is unsearchable. ’Take care’ — saith an old expositor — ’that in this generation we invent nothing temporal, carnal, or human. But rather let us worship this generation, beholding it by faith; and let us take heed from searching further than Scripture doth teach us thereof. Otherwise we should deserve to be blinded and punished for our great curiosity.’†4
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Not less clear is his eternal existence — in the beginning†5 of the way of God — coeval ["of the same age"] with his eternal counsels — before his works of old†6 — set up or anointed†7 from everlasting for his covenant offices (1Pe 1:20 ); ’destined and advanced to be the Wisdom and Power of the Father, Light and Life, and All in All, both in the creation and the redemption of the World.’†8
Connected with his eternity was his agency in the work of Creation. Before the works was he brought forth. But when they were in operation he was there — and that, not, like "the sons of God," an interested spectator (Job 38:6-7 ), but an efficient cause.†9 The whole detail of the creative work is brought out — the highest part or summits of the dust of the world, with its deep and unsearchable foundations. Thus is uncreated Wisdom displayed in clear and undoubted glory — ’the Divinity and eternity of Wisdom, meaning thereby the eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ our Savior.’†10
Next he describes his unspeakable blessedness in communion with his Father. I was by him, as one brought up with him — embosomed in him as the object of daily delight;†11 rejoicing before him as the Fountain and Centre of infinite joy. All this mutual intimate satisfaction and delight had respect to the beginning of the way of God — his eternal purpose, and "the counsel of peace, which was between them both." (Zec 6:13 .) Here it was that the Father once and again proclaimed him to be his delight; "His elect, in whom his soul delighted; his beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased" (Isa 42:1 . Mat 3:17 ; Mat 17:5 . Compare Col 1:13, Gr.); ’willing that by the Son we should approach to him; in the Son we should honour and adore him; and honour the Son as himself.’†12
Yet how deeply interesting is it to see him rejoicing, not only before his Father, but in the habitable part of the earth! And what was it that here attracted his interest? Man had been created in the image of God — free to stand or fall. This freedom was the perfection of his nature. His fall was permitted as the mysterious means of his higher elevation. His ruin was overruled for his greater security. This habitable earth was to be the grand theatre of the work, that should fill the whole creation with wonder and joy. (Psa 98:1-9 . Isa 44:23 .) Here "the Serpent’s head was to be visibly bruised" (Gen 3:15 . Heb 2:14-15 . 1Jn 3:8 ), the kingdom of Satan to be destroyed, precious "spoil to be divided with the strong." (Isa 53:12 . Luk 11:21-22 .) Here was the Church to be framed, as the manifestation of his glory, the mirror of all his Divine Perfections. (Eph 3:10, Eph 3:21 .)
Considering the infinite cost at which he was to accomplish this work — the wonder is — that he should have endured it — a greater wonder that, ere one atom of the creation was formed — ere the first blossom had been put forth in Paradise, he should have rejoiced in it.
But the wonder of wonders yet remains — that he, who was his Father’s infinite delight, and infinitely delighting in him, should find his delights from all eternity in the sons of men; that he should, as it were, long to be with us; that he should solace his heart with the prospect; that he should anticipate the moment with joyous readiness (Psa 40:6-8 . Heb 10:7 ); that he should pass by the far nobler nature of angels "to take hold of man" (Heb 2:16, margin), to embrace man as one with his All-perfect self! But though he foresaw how they would despise, reject, and put him to shame; yet they were the objects of his everlasting love (Jer 31:3 .) the purchase and satisfaction of the "travail of his soul" (Isa 53:10-11 ), the eternal monuments to his praise (Isa 55:13 ). Yet for their sakes did he make humanity a temple of the Deity, for them did he exchange the throne of glory for the accursed cross (Php 2:6-8 ) — the worship of the Seraphim for the scorn and buffeting of men (Isa 6:1-2, with Mat 27:22-31 ) — inexpressible joy for unknown sorrow. (Joh 17:5, with Mat 26:38 ; Mat 27:46 .) Yes — thou adorable Redeemer, nothing but the strength of thine own love could have brought thee out from the bosom of ineffable delight to suffer such things for such sinners! But this was "the joy set before thee, for" which — unfathomable love! — thou wast content "to endure the cross, despising the shame." (Heb 12:2 .) For this love dost thou inherit thy Father’s justly proportioned reward. (Php 2:8-11 .) On this foundation is thy people’s confidence — rest — security.
Footnotes:
†† (Note to e-Sword users: while many insightful commentators hold to a "personal wisdom" interpretation of this chapter (i.e., Christ), prayerfully take into consideration the repeated feminines of these opening verses ["her", "she" "she"]. It is this "she" that continues to speak throughout the whole chapter. Note also that the chapter follows immediately after the "she" "she" "she" of Chapter 7. Could it be that Solomon, by way of contrast, sets forth this better "woman" to persue, as one of the means by which his son would be delivered from the aforementioned adultress(?). See a similar contrast in Chapter 5 ("My son, avoid this adulterous woman,,," [ Pro 5:1-14 ] ,,, by "rejoicing with the wife of thy youth" [ Pro 5:15-19 ]. Likewise 1Co 7:2 ). Holders of this view do not "suppose an attribute here", but judge that the language used can be consistent with an attribute personified. See how this "she-wisdom continues to speak through the first six verses of the next chapter: Pro 9:1-6 .
†1 LXX and Syriac Translation — ’created’ — most unwarrantable — one of the main pillars of the Arian heresy.
†2 Joh 1:2. Geier remarks, that out of above sixty instances, where this preposition occurs, not one can be produced, where vicinity is not supposed between two distinct persons or substances.
†3 Joh 1:18 ; Joh 3:16 . Col 1:15 — ’begotten before every creature.’ — Bishop Middleton.
†4 Cope (Michael), Exposition of Proverbs. 4to. 1580.
†5 Holden strongly advocates the Translation — supported by many Ancient Versions, and some of the best critics (see Poole’s Synopsis) — ’the beginning of the way’ — and expounds it — ’That Jehovah possessed by an eternal generation Wisdom or the Son, who is the origin, or efficient cause, of all the works of God.’ — Joh 1:18 ; Joh 3:16 . Col 1:15 . Geier and other accredited authorities prefer the received version upon critical grounds. Holden’s remark, however, holds good on either hypothesis: — ’It is scarcely possible in the whole compass of the Hebrew language to select terms more expressive of the eternity of Wisdom than those which Solomon employs from this verse to the thirtieth.’
†6 Contrast Job 38:4-5 . Compare Pro 8:23-25, with Psa 90:2 — the sublime adoration of the eternity of God. Compare also Exo 3:14, with Joh 8:58 . Mic 5:2, Rev 1:11 .
†7 Heb. Anointing was the inaugurating ceremony in the consecration of prophets, priests, and kings — a figure of the eternal consecration of Messiah to those high offices. Compare 1Ki 19:16, with Isa 41:1 ; Isa 62:1 . Exo 29:7, with Psa 110:4 . 1Sa 10:1 ; 1Sa 16:13 . 2Ki 9:6, with Psa 2:6, marg. [margin={set: Heb. anointed}] Psa 45:6-7 .
†8 Henry in loco. Compare Eph 3:9 .
†9 Joh 1:3. Col 1:16 . Even in the creation of man he was a co-worker, Gen 2:7, with Gen 1:26 .
†10 Reformers’ Notes.
†11 Compare Joh 1:18 — the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father — ’exhibiting at once,’ as Dr. Jamieson admirably observes — ’the idea conveyed by both the terms — brought forth, and brought up.’ — Vindication of the Doctrine of Deity of Christ, i. 224. Holden with some others prefers the rendering ’Fabricator’ for brought up. But the scope appears to be — not the power of Messiah, but the mutual delight and communion between himself and his Father, as it were, never absent from each other.
†12 Quoted by Scott.
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 35, 36 Possessed. As Christ was with God, equal to him…
Possessed. As Christ was with God, equal to him in eternity, John i. Septuagint, "created," which many of the Fathers explain of the word incarnate, (see Cornelius a Lapide; Bossuet) or he hath "placed me," (St. Athanasius iii. contra Arian. Eusebius) a pattern of all virtues. The Septuagint generally render kana, "possessed," as Aquila does here. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36 Strictly, God's attributes are part of Himself. Yet, to…
Strictly, God's attributes are part of Himself. Yet, to the poetical structure of the whole passage, this commendation of wisdom is entirely consonant. In order of time all His attributes are coincident and eternal as Himself. But to set forth the importance of wisdom as devising the products of benevolence and power, it is here assigned a precedence. As it has such in divine, so should it be desired in human, affairs (compare Pro 3:19).
possessed--or, "created"; in either sense, the idea of precedence.
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in the beginning--or simply, "beginning," in apposition with "me."
before . . . of old--preceding the most ancient deeds.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35 HEAVENLY ORIGIN OF WISDOM, Pro_8:22-31.
HEAVENLY ORIGIN OF WISDOM, Pro_8:22-31.
22. Possessed me… of old — Literally, from then, since. Great controversies have been held over this word. Great theological questions have been supposed involved. Hence the earnestness of the disputants. “I will also show mine opinion.”
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(1.) It is an error to lay too much stress upon words, especially on their etymology, in a poetical composition, in order to deduce nice theological distinctions. Theology is a science, and requires words to be used in an accurate, well defined, scientific manner, in statements and disquisitions. The object of poetry is different, and seeks to arrange them in an ornate, esthetic mode, partly for the purpose of moving the passions. The strict etymological meaning of words is very little regarded in poetry, only as it contributes to an esthetic effect; nay, it is very frequently departed from purposely, for the same effect. These considerations are to be borne in mind in drawing theological propositions from poetic language. There are, doubtless, doctrines involved in the sacred poetic compositions, but they are not so much to be learned from the etymological or even conventional sense of individual words, as from the general scope, tenor, and drift of the passage. It is the very essence of poetic genius and inspiration to conceive of things in a mode different from the vulgar reality, and so to represent them in poetic language. Poesy, so to speak, sees things with her own eyes, invests them with her own hues and forms, and exhibits them according to her own fancies. When theology, for her own purposes, becomes interested in these esthetic creations, she must learn to distinguish the shadow from the substance; above all, she must avoid the mistake of regarding an ornament as an essential part of the building; a poetic conception of a thing for the scientific statement of an eternal verity.
(2.) The Hebrew term for “possessed,” קנה, kanah, is a word used, in its various inflections, with a great variety of significations. As usual, these significations are related to each other, and it is, perhaps, impossible at this day to tell which is the original one; nor if we could would it help the matter, for how do we know that the royal poet used the word in that particular sense here? It is just as likely to have been used in a secondary as in a primary sense. The following are some of the meanings given to it in the dictionaries. Gesenius says, “Perhaps the primary idea is to set upright, to erect, kindred with קון, kun, and כון, khun; then, to found, to create; to get, to gain, to obtain; to own, to possess: Niphal, to be bought: Hiphil, to sell.” Bagster’s Analyt., “To form, to create; to get, acquire, obtain; to buy, purchase, redeem, possess. Hiphil, to buy.”
As to the nouns derived from it: קנין, kinyan, (Psa_104:24,) is rendered in our version riches, (the lexicons say creatures,) also acquisition, purchase, possession, wealth; מקנה, mikneh, purchase, possession, riches, wealth, (but chiefly in cattle;) מקנה, miknah, purchase, things purchased, price of purchase, possession. The participle, קנה, koneh, signifies owner, possessor, master, and, some think, creator.
So far as discovered there is no place where this word, (possessed,) in any of its inflections, necessarily involves the idea of creation proper, as we understand that word. Our translators have very properly avoided giving it that sense in any case. The primary idea was probably, to hold, to contain, which, by an easy transition, as in other tongues, passed over into holding as property, or possessing; only another step takes us to the idea of getting, acquiring; and closely allied to this is that of originating, as our property: that is, as we say, making money, creating wealth. The most frequent use of the term is to express the relation of possessor and possessed, and the translators were probably right in rendering it by that term here. In this book there is no other place where the word could, with any plausibility, be translated by the verb create. Who would think of rendering Pro_4:7 : Create wisdom, and with all thy creating, create understanding? The usus loquendi in this book is wholly against the translation of Pro_8:22, by our verb “created.” Stuart, Zockler, and others contend stoutly for created. In conformity with the remarks above, in (1,) we would not object to it, if the sense and usage of the word by any means required it. But they do not: rather, the reverse. There are terms in the above verses in respect to wisdom which imply and express origination; but it seems fitting that in the setting out the poet should express the idea that wisdom belongs inherently to God. That at the beginning of his creative acts, whenever that was, she was his: yea, and before his most ancient works. Stuart renders the verse thus: “Jehovah created me, the firstling of his way, before his works, long ago.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 35, 36 22. possessed] So also R.V. text: marg., “or, formed.”…
22. possessed] So also R.V. text: marg., “or, formed.” ἔκτισεν, LXX.; ἐκτήσατο, Aquila; possedit, Vulg. This word has been a battleground of controversy since the days of the Arian heresy. But it is well to remember that, all theological questions apart, it is impossible to understand the word, whatever rendering of it we adopt, as indicating that Wisdom ever had a beginning, or was ever properly speaking created. Wisdom is inseparable from any worthy conception of Him who is “the only wise God” (1Ti_1:17), and therefore is like Him “from everlasting to everlasting” (Psa_90:1).
The Heb. word seems properly to mean, to acquire, and so to possess, (comparavit, emit, acquisivit, acquisitum possedit,” Buxtorf, ad verb.), without defining the method of acquisition. Thus Eve says on the birth of Cain, whom she named accordingly, “I have gotten a man with the help of Jehovah” (Gen_4:1). Almighty God is called “the possessor of heaven and earth” (Gen_14:19; Gen_14:22) which He created; land is said to be acquired, which is bought (Gen_47:22-23); and a son to be bought (A.V. and R.V. text, or possessed or gotten, R.V. marg.) by his father (Deu_32:6; comp. Psa_139:13, “Thou hast possessed my reins,” A.V. and R.V. text, “or formed,” R.V. marg.). And so again it is used of an owner (Isa_1:3).
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The rendering, Jehovah possessed me, would seem therefore most accurately to represent the original, while the idea contained in the word lends itself readily in the higher reference of the passage, to the Catholic doctrine of the Eternal Generation of the Son.
in the beginning] There is no preposition in the Hebrew. We might therefore render, with R.V. marg., as the beginning (lit. the beginning, ἔκτισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ, LXX.). And so the same Heb. word is rendered in the next verse, or ever the earth was, lit. from the beginning of the earth. But the rendering of A.V. and R.V. text is preferable.
before] Or, the first of, R.V. marg. The ambiguity in the Heb. is similar to that mentioned in the preceding note. But the considerations urged in the first note on this verse are decisive for the rendering, before. Comp. πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως, Coloss. Pro_1:15, which “declares the absolute pre-existence of the Son,” Bp Lightfoot ad loc.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36 (22) The Lord possessed me in the beginning of…
(22) The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way.—The Hebrew word translated” possessed” in this passage (qânah) seems originally to have signified to” set up” or “establish,” and is applied (1) to the “forming” of the heavens (Gen_14:19) and the “begetting” of a son, (Deu_32:6); next it signifies (2) to “acquire” (Gen_4:1), (3) to “purchase” (Gen_25:10), and (4) to “own,” as in Isa_1:3. From the fact that “set up” and “brought forth” are used just after as synonyms to it, it is most likely that (1) is the proper meaning of the word here, and that the sense of the passage is that Wisdom was “formed” or “begotten” before the Creation, comp. Psa_104:24. This agrees with the rendering of the most important Greek translation, the Septuagint (έκτισε). When in Christian times it was observed how well the description of Wisdom in Job and Proverbs harmonised with that of God the Son in the New Testament, such passages as this were universally applied to Him, and the present one was rightly interpreted as describing His eternal generation from the Father. Such was the view, for instance, of Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Tertullian. But when the Arian controversy arose, this phrase was seized upon by the opponents of our Lord’s Divinity, and claimed as teaching that He was, though the highest of created beings, still only a creature. The Catholics then changed their ground, some standing up for the rendering of Aquila, ἐκτήσατο (“acquired” or “possessed”), others applying the term έκτισε to Christ’s Incarnation (comp. “first-begotten among many brethren,” Rom_8:29), or to His being appointed to be the first principle or efficient cause of His creatures, the “beginning of the creation of God” (Rev_3:14). For references to the Fathers see Bishop Wordsworth’s note, and, for a like variation in the rendering of “first-begotten of every creature,” comp. Bishop Lightfoot’s note on Col_1:15.
In the beginning of his way.—That is, His way of acting, His activity in the Creation. But the preposition “in” does not occur in this passage, and from a comparison of Job_40:19, where behemoth (the hippopotamus) is termed the “beginning of the ways of God,” i.e., chief of His works, it is probable that this verse should be translated, “He brought me forth as the beginning of His way, as the earliest of His works from of old,” i.e., before the depths, and mountains, and hills, &c
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 Vers. 22-31. Wisdom speaks of her origin, her active…
Vers. 22-31. Wisdom speaks of her origin, her active operations, the part which she bore in the creation of the universe, her relation to God. (see Pro_1:20 and on Pro_3:19, and Introduction) It is impossible to decide what was the exact view of the writer with regard to the wisdom of which he speaks so eloquently; but there can be no doubt that he was guided in his diction so as to give expression to the idea of him whom St. John calls the Word of God. The language used is not applicable to an impersonal quality, an abstract faculty of God. It describes the nature and office of a Person; and who that Person is we learn from the later Scriptures, which speak of Christ as the "Wisdom of God" (Luk_11:49) and "the Power of God and the Wisdom of God". (1Co_1:24) If we confine our inquiry to the question What was in the mind of the author when he incited this wonderful section concerning Wisdom? we shall fail to apprehend its true significance, and shall be disowning the influence of the Holy Spirit, which inspires all Scripture, which prompted the holy men who spake to utter words of which they knew not the full spiritual significance, and which could only be understood by subsequent revelation. There is, then, nothing forced or incongruous in seeing in this episode a portraiture of the Second Person of the blessed Trinity, the essential Wisdom of God personified, the Logos of later books, and of the gospel. This interpretation obtained universally in the Church in the earliest times, and has commended itself to the most learned and reverent of modern commentators. That much which was contained in their own utterances was unknown to the prophets of old, that they did not fully perceive the mysteries which they darkly enunciated, we learn from St. Peter, who tells us that they who prophesied of the grace of Christ sought and searched diligently what the Spirit of God that was in them did point unto, and were shown that not unto themselves, but unto us, they ministered those things, secrets which angels themselves desire to look into. (1Pe_1:10, etc.) Wisdom as a human endowment, animating all intellectual and even physical powers; Wisdom as communicating to man moral excellence and piety; Wisdom as not only an attribute of God, but itself as the eternal thought of God; under these aspects it is regarded in our book; hut under and through all it is more or less personified. Khochmah is contrasted in the next chapter, not with an abstraction, but with an actual woman of impure life a real, not an imaginary, antagonist. The personality of the latter intimates that of the former (see Liddon, "Bampt. Lects.," 2.).
The Lord possessed me. Great controversy has arisen about the word rendered "possessed." The verb used is hnq (kanah), which means properly "to erect, set upright," also "to found, form", (Gen_14:19, Gen_14:22) then "to acquire" (Pro_1:5 Pro_4:5, Pro_4:7, etc.) or "to possess". (Pro_15:32 Pro_19:8) The Vulgate, Aquila, Theodotion, Symmachus, Venetian, give "possessed;" Septuagint, ektise , "made," and so Syriac. The Arians took the word in the sense of "created" (which, though supported by the LXX, it seems never to have had), and deduced therefrom the Son"s inferiority to the Father that he was made, not begotten from all eternity. Ben Sira more than once employs the verb ktizw in speaking of Wisdom"s origin; e.g. Ecc_1:4, Ecc_1:9; Ecc 24:8. Opposing the heresy of the Arians, the Fathers generally adopted the rendering ekthsato , possedit, "possessed;" and even those who received the translation ektise , explained it not of creating, but of appointing, thus: The Father set Wisdom over all created things, or made Wisdom to be the efficient cause of his creatures. (Rev_3:14) May we not say that the writer was guided to use a word which would express relation in a twofold sense? Wisdom is regarded either as the mind of God expressed in operation, or the Second Person of the Holy Trinity; and the verb thus signifies that God possesses in himself this essential Wisdom, and intimates likewise that Wisdom by eternal generation is a Divine Personality. John, (Joh_1:1) before saying that the Word was God, affirms that "the Word was with God (o Logov hn pron )." So we may assert that Solomon has arrived at the truth that Wisdom was pron , if he has left it for later revelation to declare that h Sofia or oo Logov Yeo . Whichever sense we assign to the verb on which the difficulty is supposed to hang, whether we take it as "possessed," "formed," or "acquired," we may safely assume that the idea conveyed to Christian minds is this that Wisdom, existing eternally in the Godhead, was said to be "formed" or "brought forth" when it operated in creation, and when it assumed human nature. In the beginning of his way. So the Vulgate, in initio viarum suarum. But the preposition "in" does not occur in the original; and the words may be bettor translated, "as the beginning of his way" (Septuagint, ektise me arch ); i.e. as the earliest revelation of his working. Wisdom, eternal and uncreated, first puts forth its energy in creation, then becomes incarnate, and is now called, "the Firstborn of all creation (prwtotokov pashv ktisewv )". (Col_1:15) Thus in Psa_2:7, "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee"; (Heb_1:5) and, "When he bringeth in the Firstborn into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him". (Heb_1:6) In the present clause, the ways of God are his works, as in Job_26:14 and Job_40:19, where behemoth is called "chief among the ways of God". (comp. Psa_145:17, where "ways" stands as a parallel to "works Before his works of old. These words are better regarded (with Delitzsch) as a second parallel object, (kedem), translated "before," being not a preposition, but denoting previous existence. Hence we translate, "The foremost of his works of old;" i.e. the earliest revelation of his energy.
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There is a curious passage in the "Book of Enoch," ch. 42., which speaks of the personality and pre-existence of Wisdom, of her desire to dwell among men, frustrated by man"s wickedness: "Wisdom found no place where she could dwell; therefore was her dwelling in heaven. Wisdom came forth in order to dwell among the sons of men, and found no habitation; then she returned to her place, and took her seat among the angels." We may add RAPC Wis 8:3, "In that she dwelleth with God (sumbiwsin Yeou ecousa ), she magnifieth her nobility.
Vers. 22-36. Wisdom in eternity and in time.
This sublime view lifts us at once above the seeming contradictions of time, and suggests the solution of all its problems in God.
I SHE IS OF THE DIVINE BEGINNINGS OR ELEMENTS. (Ver. 22) An element in chemistry is the last simple substance we can reach in analysis. An element in thought is the last simple notion yielded by the dialectic of the understanding. Wisdom is thus before the visible creation the earth, the sea, the mountains. The verses do but repeat and iterate this one simple and sublime thought. We may in like manner vary it in any form of thought and expression familiar to us. She is the Divine a priori; the logic of nature and spirit; the last and first, the ground of all existence; the eternal reason, the transcendent cause, the alpha and omega of the cosmic alphabet. We are trying to express the inexpressible, utter the unutterable, define the undefinable, find out God to perfection, if we press beyond these poor forms of speech and ignore the limit which separates the known from the unknowable, and reason from faith.
II THE CREATION PROCEEDING FROM THE DIVINE WISDOM FULFILS ITS COURSE BY WISDOM. (Ver. 27) What we term in science the discovery of law is for religion the revelation of the mind of God in the world and in us. The cosmos is here conceived under the forms of the poetic imagination the heavens and their outstretched circle or vault; the clouds as massive bags or skins; the springs on earth as set in motion by direct Divine activity; the sea as bounded by a positive fiat; the earth as fixed on firm pillars, by one act as it were of the Divine Architect. And then was Wisdom at his side as mistress of the work (ver. 30), and was in delight day by day (ver. 30), "playing before him always; playing on the circle of the earth, and I had my delight in men" (ver. 31). One of the best illustrations of the poetical force and sense of this passage is in the Wisdom of Sirach 24: "I went forth from the mouth of the Highest, and as a mist I covered the earth. I pitched my tent in the heights, and my throne was as a pillar of cloud. The gyre of heaven I encircled alone, and in the depths of abysses I walked about. In the billows of the sea, and in all the earth, and among every people and nation, I was busy" (vers. 3-6).
III WISDOM"S APPEAL AND PROMISES, (Vers. 32-36)
1. The appeal. "Listen to me, listen to instruction!" Drink out of this spring of eternity, whose currents flow through all the tracts of nature and of man. "Resist not!" for to resist is to oppose the law of things and to invite destruction. Let them be so eager to listen and to know that they shall daily apply, daily stand as suppliants or visitors at her door!
2. The promises. Happiness is repeatedly foretold (vers. 32, 34). Life in all senses, intensive and extensive (ver. 35). Favour with Jehovah (ver. 35). And it follows, as the night the day, that he who sins against Wisdom, whether by neglect or direct disobedience, is guilty of a moral suicide, and shows a contempt for life and happiness, a perverse preference for death. (see on Pro_4:13, 22 7:27; comp. Eze_18:21) J.
Vers. 22-31. The primeval glory of Divine wisdom.
I THE HIGHEST WISDOM IS CREATED BY GOD. "The Lord created me as the first of his way." This idea was suggested to the Greeks in the myth of Athene, who sprang from the head of Zeus. It is the poetic form of the great truth that God is the Creator of thoughts as well as of things; and it suggests that he not only called individual intelligences into being, but originated the primary laws and conditions of all intelligence, just as he ordained the laws of nature and the conditions of physical existence as well as the rocks and plants and animals subsequently created.
II DIVINE WISDOM WAS ANTECEDENT TO MATERIAL CREATION. wrought from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was." Thought precedes action, Design anticipates execution. The architect comes before the builder. Archetypal ideas precede creative work. In the awful depths of primeval antiquity the great Thinker wrought out the plans of the universe which as the great Worker he has been since evolving in visible existences.
III WISDOM ACCOMPANIED AND DIRECTED PHYSICAL CREATION. "I was by him as a master worker." Wisdom did not cease when force appeared. The two wrought together. The result of their joint operation is the energetic cosmos force and thought triumphing over death and chaos. When we endeavour to discover the secrets of nature, we are searching out the wisdom of God. When we learn the laws and processes of nature, we are able to think the thoughts of God. The naturalist should walk reverently, for he is treading in the footsteps of the mind of God. It should be our aim in studying nature to find God in his wisdom.
IV THE DIVINE WISDOM IN CREATION LEADS ON TO THE TRIUMPH OF LIFE AND ORDER. First there is the confusion of the elements. Gradually these elements are marshalled into order till Wisdom is able to "rejoice in his earthly world." The onward movement of all things here indicated and illustrated very fully by recent science reveals the wisdom of God with increasing clearness. Instead of thinking of that wisdom as chiefly manifested in primitive creation, we should see that it is most active and most glorious in the latest and richest development of the life of the universe.
V THIS WISDOM IS ONE OF THE MOST GLORIOUS OF THE DIVINE ATTRIBUTES. God has glory of thought as well as glory of character. There must be all phases of perfection in the perfect Mind. God is not only to be regarded on the side of moral law and religious worship. He is the great Mathematician, Architect, Philosopher, Poet. Our thoughts of God are too "Churchy." God is not only in the church. He is much in the fields. He has his workshops as well as his temples; nay, they are his best temples. Let us try to find him in "secular" thought and work, and worship him the more for the wisdom seen in his "earthly world.
Vers. 22-31. The excellency of Divine wisdom: No. 3.
We have here additional features of the wisdom of God, viz.
I THAT THE WISDOM EVERYWHERE ILLUSTRATED DWELT IN THE DIVINE ONE FROM ETERNITY. (Vers. 22-26) Before anything visible was created, in the "far backward and abysm of time," even to eternity, wisdom was an attribute of the infinite God.
II THAT CREATION AND PROVIDENCE ARE THE DELIBERATE OUTWORKING OF THE DIVINE IDEA. "When he prepared the heavens...then I was by him" (vers. 27-30). All things were constructed after the model in the Divine mind. Perfect intelligence, seeing through and foreseeing everything, directed everything according to absolute wisdom; thus the kindest end was gained by the surest means; thus beauty and serviceableness, grandeur and loveliness, are bound together in the visible world because they existed together in the mind of the great Architect. (see Psa_104:24)
III THAT THE WISDOM OF HIS WORK WAS A CONSTANT SOURCE OF SATISFACTION TO THE MIND OF GOD. (Ver. 30) "I was daily his delight." We find a pure and God-given satisfaction in the execution of any work on which we have slant our utmost energy. We might have hesitated to refer this to the Supreme Intelligence, but the Word of God warrants us in doing this. (Gen_1:31) We may, therefore, believe that the glories and beauties of creation are not only the source of joy to our minds (and the deeper and fuller in proportion to our purity and piety), but that they are also a source of satisfaction to him who made them what they are.
IV THAT MAN IS THE SPECIAL OBJECT OF THE WISE ONE"S CARE. (Ver. 31) "My delights were with the sons of men.
1. When God made man upright he "blessed him", (Gen_1:28) and rejoiced in him as in his noblest work on earth.
2. When man fell God was grieved; the heavenly Father"s heart was saddened at his children"s disobedience and wrong doing.
3. When man returns to righteousness God is well pleased. (Luk_15:23, Luk_15:24) There is no such wisdom shown in creation or in providence as in redemption. To arrange the laws of a material universe, to direct the affairs of an illimitable kingdom, there is wondrous wisdom in these Divine doings; but there is deeper wisdom still in redeeming a lost world, reconciling an alienated world, cleansing a guilty world, sanctifying an unholy world and fitting it for the society of the sinless in heaven. C.
Vers. 22-31. "Christ the wisdom of God:" No. 2.
Again regarding the Lord Jesus Christ as the Wisdom of God incarnate, we may let these words suggest to us
I HIS ETERNITY. (Vers. 22-26)
II HIS SONSHIP. (Vers. 22, 30)
III HIS AGENCY IN CREATION. (Vers. 37-29; see also Joh_1:3, 10 Eph_3:9 Col_1:16 Heb_1:2, Heb_1:3, 10 1Co_8:6)
IV HIS PRIMAL BLESSEDNESS. (Ver. 30; and see Joh_17:5 Php_2:6)
V HIS SUPREME INTEREST IN MAN. (Ver. 31) "His delights were with the sons of men." The interest taken by our Lord in ourselves was that of a
(1) Creator,
(2) Divine Ruler,
(3) Redeemer; it is now that of a
(4) sovereign Saviour. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv22, 23, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 The Lord possessed us in the beginning of His…
Pro_8:22-36
The Lord possessed us in the beginning of His way.
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Wisdom the first creation of God
Here is the noble idea which overturns at a touch all mythological speculations about the origin of things--an idea which is in deep harmony with all the best knowledge of our time--that there is nothing fortuitous in the creation of the world; the Creator is not a blind Force, but an intelligent Being whose first creation is wisdom. He is the origin of a law by which He means to bind Himself; arbitrariness finds no place in His counsels; accident has no part in His works; in wisdom hath He formed them all. Here is a clear recognition of the principle that Gods law is a law also to Himself, and that His law is wisdom. He creates the world as an outcome of His own wise and holy design, so that nothing walks with aimless feet. It is on this theological conception that the possibility of science depends. (R. F. Horton, D. D.)
The autobiography of Wisdom
I. As having existed before all time.
II. As having been present at the creation.
III. As having been in external association with the creator.
IV. As having felt before all worlds a deep interest in man. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv22, 32 Pro_8:22. Jehovah possessed me. The signification of this verb…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_8:22. Jehovah possessed me. The signification of this verb has been the subject of much discussion; ancient expositors, believing Wisdom here to be the eternal Son of God, deemed it necessary to reject the translation of the Septuagint, etc., who rendered it created, as the text then became an argument with Arians against the eternal co-existence of the Son. But most modern commentators, whatever view they take of the signification of “Wisdom,” agree in rejecting the reading of the authorised version. The majority render it, “created;” Delitzsch reads, “brought me forth;” Wordsworth and Miller, “got possession of,” or, “acquired.” Wordsworth says, “The word occurs about eighty times in the Old Testament, and in only four places beside the present is it translated ‘possess;’ viz., Gen_14:19-22; Psa_139:13; Jer_32:15; Zec_11:5; in the last two it may well have the sense of getting, and in the former of creating.”
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Pro_8:23. Set up, Stuart, Miller, and early expositors render “anointed;” Delitzsch and Zöckler prefer the authorised rendering.
Pro_8:26. Earth, etc., “the land and the plains, or the beginning of the dust of the earth.”
Pro_8:27. Set a compass, etc., “marked out a circle,” i.e., “when He fixed the vault of heaven, which rests on the face of the ocean.”
Pro_8:30. As one brought up, “as director of His work,” or, “as a builder at His side.”
NOTE ON THE PERSONIFICATION OF WISDOM.—There has been great discussion among expositors as to who, or what, is to be understood by this personification. Many modern and all ancient expositors consider that it refers exclusively to the Divine Word, the Eternal Son of God, others understand it as relating entirely to an attribute of the Divine nature. There is a middle view, which is thus put by Dr. John Harris in his sermon on Pro_8:30-36 : “Others, again reply that it refers exclusively to neither—but partly to that wisdom which begins in the fear of the Lord, partly to the Divine attribute of wisdom, and partly to the Son of God, the second person in the Godhead.” We cannot do better than give the views of a few eminent expositors and writers. Delitzsch thus comments on Pro_8:22 : “Wisdom takes now a new departure in establishing her right to be heard and to be obeyed and loved by men. As the Divine King in Psalms 2. opposes to His adversaries the self-testimony: ‘I will speak concerning a decree! Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee;’ so Wisdom here unfolds her Divine patent of nobility; she originates with God before all creatures, and is the object of God’s love and joy, as she also has the object of her love and joy on God’s earth, and especially among the sons of men. (See his translation of the verb in this verse—Critical Notes).
1. Wisdom is not God, but is God’s; she has personal existence in the Logos of the New Testament, but is not herself the Logos; she is the world idea, which, once projected, is objective to God, not as a dead form, but as a living spiritual image; she is the archetype of the world, which originating from God, stands before God, the world of the idea which forms the medium between the Godhead and the world of actual existence, the communicated spiritual power in the origination and the completion of the world as God designed it to be. This wisdom the poet here personifies; he does not speak of the personal Logos, but the further progress of the revelation points to her actual personification in the Logos. And since to her the poet attributes an existence preceding the creation of the world, he thereby declares her to be eternal, for to be before the world is to be before time. For if he places her at the head of the creatures, as the first of them, so therewith he does not seek to make her a creature of this world having its commencement in time; he connects her origination with the origination of the creature only on this account, because that à priori refers and tends to the latter; the power which was before heaven and earth were, and which operated at the creation of the earth and of the heavens, cannot certainly fall under the category of the creatures around and above us.” Wordsworth, in accordance with the principle of interpretation set forth in the note at the beginning of chapter 7 says, “We should be taking a very low, unworthy, and inadequate view of the present and following magnificent and sublime chapters.… If we did not behold Him who is essential wisdom, the co-eternal Son of God, and recognise here a representation of His attributes and prerogative.” The arguments in favour of this view are thus summed up by Fausset: “Wisdom is here personal Wisdom—the Son of God. For many personal predicates are attributed to Him: thus, subsistence by or with God, in Pro_8:30; just as Joh_1:1 saith, ‘The Word was with God,’ which cannot be said of a mere attribute. Moreover, the mode of subsistence imparted is generation, Pro_8:22; Pro_8:24-25 (see CRITICAL NOTES). In Pro_8:22 God is said to have possessed or acquired wisdom, not by creation (Psa_104:24), nor by adoption, as Deu_32:6; Psa_74:2, but by generation. The same verb is used by Eve of her firstborn (Gen_4:1). Moreover, other attributes are assigned to Wisdom, as if she were not an attribute but a person—‘counsel,’ ‘strength,’ etc. Also, she has the feelings of a person (Pro_8:17): ‘I love them that love me.’ She does the acts of a person. She enables kings to rule, and invests them with authority (Pro_8:15-16). She takes part in creation, as one brought up, or nursed, in the bosom of the Father, as the only-begotten of His love (Joh_1:18). She cries aloud as a person (Pro_8:1-4), and her ‘lips’ and ‘mouth’ are mentioned (Pro_8:6-7). She is the delight of the Father, and she in turn delights in men (Pro_8:30-31), answering to the rapturous delight into which the Father breaks forth concerning Messiah (Isa_43:1; Mat_3:17; Mat_17:5; Eph_1:6). She builds a house, prepares a feast, and sends forth her maidens to invite the guests (ch. Pro_9:1-3). All which admirably applies to Messiah, who builds the Church, as His house, upon Himself the rock (Mat_16:8, etc.), and invites all to the Gospel feast (Luk_14:16, etc.). He is Wisdom itself absolute, and as the Archetype, from Him wisdom imparted flows to others. As such, He invites us to learn wisdom from Him who is its source, ‘counsel’ and ‘sound wisdom’ (Pro_8:14), are in Him as attributes are in their subject, and as effects are in their cause. The parallel (ch. Pro_1:20; Pro_1:23), ‘I will pour out my spirit unto you’ (see Joh_7:38), confirms the personal view. The same truth is confirmed by the reproof (ch. Pro_1:24), ‘Because I have called,’ etc., compared with Christ’s own words (Mat_11:28, etc.) So Christ is called the Wisdom of God (Col_2:3). As Wisdom here saith ‘I was set up,’ or ‘anointed from everlasting,’ so the Father saith of Messiah, ‘I have set’ or ‘anointed my king’ etc. (Psa_2:6). As in Pro_8:24, Wisdom is said to be “brought forth” or begotten by God before the world, and to have been by Him in creating all thimgs (Pro_8:27-30), so Messiah is called the ‘Son of God,’ and is said to have been with God in the beginning, and to have made all things (Joh_1:1-3) and to have been begotten before every creature (Col_1:15-17); and His goings forth are said, in Mic_5:2, to have been from of old, from everlasting.” The argument for the opposite view is thus stated by Dr. Wardlaw: “The objections to its meaning Christ, or the Word, are, to my mind, quite insuperable. For example:
(1) The passage is not so applied in any part of the New Testament. I do not adduce this consideration as any direct objection to the interpretation in question. I mean no more than this, that from its not being so explained there, we are relieved from any necessity of so explaining it. Such necessity, then, being thus precluded, the direct objections may be allowed to have their full force. Observe, then
(2), Wisdom here is a female personage. All along this is the case. Now, under such a view, the Scriptures nowhere else, in any of their figurative representations of ‘the Christ,’ ever thus describe or introduce Him. The application, on this account, appears to me exceedingly unnatural.
(3) Wisdom does not appear intended as a personal designation, inasmuch as it is associated with various other terms, of synonymous, or, at least, of corresponding import (Pro_8:1, chap. Pro_3:19-20). Were it meant for a personal designation, like the Logos or Word in the beginning of John’s Gospel, this would hardly have been admissible.
(4) That the whole is a bold and striking personification of the attribute of Wisdom, as subsisting in the Deity, appears further from what she is represented as saying in Pro_8:12 : ‘I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.’ Here Wisdom is associated with prudence; and the import of the association is, that Wisdom directs to the best ends, and to the choice of the best means for their attainment; and prudence, or discretion, teaches to shun whatever might, in any way or degree, interfere with and impede, or mar their accomplishment. This is precisely what wisdom, as an attribute or quality, does. And it is worthy of remark, that this association of wisdom with prudence, is introduced by the Apostle as characterising the greatest of the Divine inventions and works—that of our redemption. Wisdom was associated with prudence in framing and perfecting that wonderful scheme (Eph_1:7-8).
(5). It is very true that there are many things here, especially in the latter part of the chapter—indeed through the whole—that are, in a very interesting and striking manner, applicable to the Divine Messiah. But this is no more than might have been anticipated, that things which are true of a Divine attribute should be susceptible of application to a Divine person.” We quote, in conclusion, the remarks of Dr. Aiken, the American editor and translator of this portion of Lange’s Commentary: “The error in our English exegetical and theological literature with respect to our passage has been, we think, the attempt to force upon it more of distinctness and precision in the revelation of the mysteries of the Divine Nature than is disclosed by a fair exegesis … If it be not unworthy of the Holy Spirit to employ a bold and graphic personification, many things in this chapter may be said of and by the personified Wisdom which these authors regard as triumphantly proving that we have here the pre-existent Christ, the Son of God.… We can, to say the least, go no farther than our author has done in discovering here the foreshadowings of the doctrine of the Logos. We are inclined to prefer the still more guarded statements, e.g., of Dr. Pye Smith (Scripture Testimony to the Messiah), that this beautiful picture cannot be satisfactorily proved to be a designed description of the Saviour’s person; or that of Dr. John Harris (Sermon on chap. Pro_8:30-36): “At all events, while, on the one hand, none can demonstrate that Christ is here directly intended, on the other, none can prove that He is not contemplated; and perhaps both will admit that, under certain conditions, language such as that in our text may be justifiably applied to Him. One of these conditions is, that the language be not employed argumentatively, or in proof of anything relating to Christ, but only for the purpose of illustration; and another is, that when so employed, it be only adduced to illustrate such views of the Son of God as are already established by such other parts of Scripture as are admitted by the parties addressed.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH—Pro_8:22-31
THE PERSONAL WISDOM OF GOD
I. The antiquity of the Personal Wisdom of God. Wisdom in the abstract must have existed before the creation of the world, because the world bears marks of wisdom. There must have been in Solomon the wisdom to design the temple before it took the form of beauty which made it so famous. There is skill hidden in the artist’s mind before it is manifested upon his canvas—the very existence of the picture proves the pre-existent skill. The world is a temple of large proportions, the beauty of which man can but copy afar off, and its existence proves the pre-existence of wisdom resident in a pre-existent person. As the world bears evident marks of great antiquity it proclaims an All-wise Cause which must necessarily be older still. There is no person known to the human race who claimed to have an existence before the world except Jesus Christ. He claimed—and it is claimed for Him by those who bore witness to Him—to have been before the world was, and to have been conscious of His divinity before the foundation of the world. He claims to have been possessor of “a glory with the Father before the world was” (Joh_17:5), a glory which included intellectual and moral wisdom. And the claim of His apostle concerning the pre-existence of the “Word of God” is most unmistakable (Joh_1:3). The existence of other and inferior “sons of God” before the creation of this world is implied in Scripture (Job_38:7), but we have no direct revelation concerning them. We feel that we could not apply to them, or to any creature, the words of the text, “The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way,” etc. But, in the light of New Testament revelation, if we give them a personal application, we must apply them to the Son of God, the Eternal Word, and to Him alone. The words point to an existence distinct from God. “I was by Him,” and “I was with Him.” And yet the intimate relationship and fellowship described does not express inferiority, but finds its fulfilment only in Him who not only “was in the beginning with God,” but who “was God.” (On this subject see note).
II. The Personal Wisdom of God the delight of the Eternal Father. “I was daily His delight” (Pro_8:30).
(1) Likeness in character is a foundation of delight. A man who is godly delights to see his own godly character reflected in his son. The recognition of moral likeness in the uncreated Son gave delight to the Eternal Father. Nothing gives God so much joy as goodness. Hence His joy in His only-begotten Son.
(2) Equality of nature is a source of delight to the good and true. Fellowship with an equal gives joy. Christ, when on earth, ever claimed this equality with the Father. He claimed an eternity of being. “Before Abraham was, I am” (Exo_3:14; Joh_8:58). Omniscience is claimed for Him, and He gave evidence that He possessed it. “He knew what was in man” (Joh_2:25). “And Jesus knowing their thoughts,” etc. (Mat_9:4). Divine energy. “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (Joh_5:17). Independent existence. “As the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself” (Joh_5:26). Holiness. “Which of you convinceth me of sin?” (Joh_8:46). Almighty power. “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Mat_28:18). In the eternal ages, before the creation of the world, the Father looked upon this “brightness of His glory and express image of His person” (Heb_1:3), and this Divine Equal gave joy to the uncreated God (Isa_42:1).
III. The delight of the Personal Wisdom of God in the creation of the home of man. “Rejoicing in the habitable parts of the earth” (Pro_8:31). The artist has joy in the thought of his completed work while it is in progress. He joys in that which is not as yet in outward form, but which is, in its completeness, within his mind. The architect, who sees day by day the building being reared which he knows will be the wonder of coming ages and the means of yielding comfort to thousands, rejoices in the thought of the blessing that is to come out of his work. He experiences an emotion with which a stranger cannot intermeddle (Pro_14:10). And so Eternal Wisdom is here represented as regarding the future home of man. He saw its adaptibility to the wants of the creatures who were to inhabit it—its inexhaustible resources for the supply of all man’s physical and many of his intellectual wants, and the thought of the millions to whose happiness the earth’s riches and beauties would minister throughout the ages gave Him joy. The best natures among human-kind delight when they are able to produce what will increase the happiness of their fellow-creatures. The poet rejoices when he feels that his thoughts will cheer the hearts of other men. The inventor is glad when he has made a discovery which he knows will be a boon to his race. And so the Eternal Wisdom of God looked with joy upon the earth which He had called into being for the habitation of the race whom He was about to create. The joy that would be theirs gave Him joy when He looked upon creation with their eyes.
IV. The special delight of the Personal Wisdom in man himself. “My delights were with the sons of men.”
1. His delight in man would arise from the fact that he was a creature different from all pre-existing creatures. Man is a link between mind and matter. He is a compound of the animal and the angel, of the dust of the earth and the breath of God. The material creation was called into being before man. The angelic and spiritual creatures existed before man. Man was, as it were, the clasp which united the two, and his unique character, we may well believe, made him a special object of interest to his Creator. New combinations give joy to those who, by combining forces, or material, or thoughts for the first time, bring about a new thing in the earth. They create a power or an idea which would not have existed if these elements had remained separate. Man, as he came originally from the hand of God, was such a perfectly balanced compound of mind and matter, of body and spirit, that his Creator had joy in the contemplation of His work, and declared it to be “very good” (Gen_1:31). If we apply the words of the text to the second person of the Godhead, we know, from Scripture testimony, that He was the Creator of man, for “without Him was not anything made that was made.” He is as rich in invention as He is in goodness.
2. The delight of Christ would be especially with men, because in His own nature God and man would meet in an eternal combination. The commander who can pluck victory out of the jaws of defeat, by the combination of certain forces not yet brought upon the field with others which have been already defeated, is allowed to give evidence of the highest military skill. The statesman who, anticipating the defeat of one measure, reserved another method of tactics in the background which he knew would ensure an ultimate success, and who used the very means by which he had been defeated as a lever to establish a better law and a more lasting benefit, would be considered to display ability of the first degree, and to be a benefactor of his race. And the contemplation of such a victory beforehand must be an occupation of the deepest interest to the mind which originates the plan and carries it into action. Christ is, beyond all comparison, the leader of men. He saw beforehand that human nature would be defeated in its first conflict with evil. He knew that Satan would enter in and spoil this new principality of God. But He had already made preparation for this defeat, and He purposed, by means of the very human nature which would be thus defeated, in combination with His own divinity, to spoil the spoiler and lead captivity captive. By the eternal union of His own nature with the human He purposed to place man on a firmer standing ground, and gain for him the power of an endless life. Christ becoming the head of the race has defeated sin in the human nature that was itself defeated, and the grace which He has thus imparted to man has lifted him to a higher level than that in which he was created. And if the first edition of man, which was “of the earth, earthy” (1Co_15:47), gave joy to his Creator, how much more must He have rejoiced in the prospect of that second edition which was to be made after His own likeness, and to be the reward of “the travail of His soul” (Isa_53:11), although even then He knew at what a cost the work would be accomplished. (1Pe_1:20.)
NOTE ON THE RELATION OF THE SON OF GOD TO THE FATHER. (Pro_8:22-30 Joh_1:1). On this subjeet Dr. John Brown says, “That the Son is essentially and eternally related to the Father, in some real sense, as Father and Son; but that while distinct in person (for ‘the Word was with God’), He is neither posterior to Him in time (for ‘in the beginning was the Word’), nor inferior to Him in nature (for ‘the Word was God’), nor separate from Him in being (for ‘the same was in the beginning with God’), but One Godhead with the Father;” this would seem to come as near to the full testimony of Scripture on this mysterious subject as can be reached by our finite understanding, without darkening counsel with words without knowledge.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro_8:22. “The beginning of His way” evidently means the commencement of creation, when Jehovah set out in His course of creative and consequently of providential manifestation of His eternal perfections. When this was we cannot tell. We may know the age of our own world, at least according to its present constitution. But when the universe was brought into being, and whether by one omnipotent fiat, or at successive and widely varying periods, it is beyond our power to ascertain. One thing we know for a certainly revealed fact, that there were angelic creatures in existence previous to the reduction of our globe to order and to the creation of man upon it. These holy intelligences contemplated the six days work of Divine wisdom and power in this part of the universe with benevolent transport. “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” How many other creatures, and of what descriptions—how many other worlds, and how peopled, might have existed before man and his earthly residence we are unable to affirm. When men, indeed, begin to talk of its being absurd to suppose the universe so recent as to have been only coeval with our own globe, or our own system, they forget themselves. They do not speak considerately nor philosophically. There is no lapse of ages or any point of measurement in eternity.… Beginning is as inconsistent with the idea of eternity as termination is. Go as far back as imagination, or as numbers heaped on numbers, can carry you, there still remains the previous eternity, during which our speculative and presumptuous minds may wonder that Divine power had not been put forth.—Wardlaw.
Pro_8:23. It was in the last times, that the Eternal Wisdom was set forth unto us, but it was from everlasting, that He was set up to be a king over us. It was in the fulness of time that He offered Himself for us, but it was from the beginning that He was anointed to be priest unto us. It was upon the earth that His gracious lips taught us, but it was before the earth was that He was ordained to be a prophet for us. It is in Him that all are chosen who come unto eternity, and He Himself was chosen from eternity. From everlasting he was set up our King, to set us up an everlasting kingdom. From the beginning was He anointed our priest, to anoint us in a priesthood that shall never end. Before the earth was, He was ordained our prophet, to order our feet in that way which shall bring us from earth to heaven; He was chosen that we might be the chosen people of God.—Jermin.
Pro_8:24. The order of creation corresponds to that which we find in Genesis I. Still more striking is the resemblance with the thoughts and language of the book of Job, chap. 22; 26; 38. A world of waters, “great deeps” lying in darkness—this was the picture of the remotest time of which man could form any conception, and yet the coexistence of the uncreated wisdom with the eternal Jehovah was before that.—Plumptre.
At the period referred to here, creation was not yet actually framed and executed, it was only framed and planned; the whole being at once, in all its magnificence and in all its minuteness, before the eye of the Omniscient mind, in its almost infinite complexity, extent, and variety, yet without the slightest approach to confusion! All there, in one vast and complicated, yet simple idea!—Wardlaw.
Pro_8:27. God’s “setting a compass upon the face of the deep” seems to refer to His circumscribing the earth when in its fluid state, assigning to it its spherical form, and fixing the laws by which that form should be constantly maintained. I think it probable that this refers to the earth in the state in which it is described previous to the beginning of the six days’ work, by which it was reduced to order, and fitted for and stocked with inhabitants. How was the fluid element held together in the spherical form? The answer is, God “set a compass upon the face of the deep, saying, This be thy just circumference, O world!” By the power of gravitation, affecting every particle, drawing it to the common centre, the equilibrium was maintained, the globular form effected and kept; which may here be meant by the poetical conception of sweeping a circle from the centre, and defining the spherical limits of the world of waters.—Wardlaw.
Pro_8:29. Though great be the noise of the roaring of the sea, great the inconstancy of the tumbling waves, great the looseness of the flowing waters; yet the voice of God’s decree is easily heard by them, constant is their obedience unto God’s commandment, firmly do they keep the bounds of His law. But in the noise of our disorders, little is God’s Word heard by us, in the lightness of our hearts, much is the will of God slighted, in the looseness of our lives every way doth a careless regard of God’s law spread itself, which could not but drown us in a sea of God’s wrath, did not He who was when the bounds of the sea were decreed, purchase by the red sea of His blood a gracious pardon for us.… Fitly is God said to appoint the foundations of the earth only; for that alone founded the whole earth, no more was needful for it. But how little doth God’s appointment prevail with man, a little piece of earth. How often are God’s purposes in the means of salvation disappointed by him. To lay firm the foundations of grace in man’s heart, the Eternal Wisdom, who was when the foundations of the earth were appointed, came down from Heaven, and here was pleased to work out His life thereby to accomplish the work of our redemption. And shall not this, then, make us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling?—Jermin.
Pro_8:30. To Wisdom the work was no laborious task. She “sported,” as it were, in the exuberance of her strength and might.—Plumptre.
Pro_8:31. What was it that here attracted His interest? Man had been created in the image of God—free to stand or fall. This freedom was the perfection of his nature. His fall was permitted as the mysterious means of his higher elevation. His ruin was overruled for his greater security. This habitable earth was to be the grand theatre of the work that should fill the whole creation with wonder and joy. Here the serpent’s head was to be visibly bruised, the kingdom of Satan to be destroyed, “precious spoil to be divided with the strong” (Isa_53:12). Here was the Church to be framed, as the manifestation of His glory, the mirror of His Divine perfections (Eph_3:10; Eph_3:21). Considering the infinite cost at which He was to accomplish this work, the wonder is that He should have endured it; a greater wonder that, ere one atom of the creation was formed—ere the first blossom had been put forth in Paradise, he should have rejoiced in it.—Bridges.
Of all earthly creatures, Christ delights most in men.
1. Because man is the chief of God’s creatures upon earth, made after God’s image, and for whom all the rest were made.
2. Because He took on Him the nature of men, and not of angels (Heb_2:16).
3. He conversed most familiarly with men when He was incarnate. Men only had reason and wisdom to delight in Christ’s company, and to give Him occasion to delight in theirs.
4. Because He gave His life for them, that they might live with Him for ever. It seems, then, that He took great delight in them, and means to do so for ever.—Francis Taylor.
Did our Saviour, before His incarnation, rejoice in the habitable parts of the earth, and delight in visiting and blessing the sons of men? Then we may be certain that He still does so; for He is, yesterday, to-day, and for ever, the same. Still, He prefers earth to heaven; still, His chief delights are with the sons of men; and while, as man, He intercedes for them in Heaven, He still, as God, visits our world, to meet with and bless His people.… And how great will be our Saviour’s happiness, after the final consummation of all things!… If He loved, and rejoiced, and delighted in them before they knew and loved Him, how will He love and rejoice in them, when He sees them surrounding His throne, perfectly resembling Himself in body and soul, loving Him with unutterable love, contemplating Him with ineffable delight, and praising Him as their deliverer from sin, and death, and hell, as the author of all their everlasting glory and felicity.—Payson.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v30 Pro 8:30 - Pro 8:31.
Proverbs
WISDOM AND CHRIST
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Pro 8:30 - Pro 8:31.
There is a singular difference between the two portions of this Book of Proverbs. The bulk of it, beginning with Pro 10:1 - Pro 10:32, contains a collection of isolated maxims which may be described as the product of sanctified common sense. They are shrewd and homely, but not remarkably spiritual or elevated. To these is prefixed this introductory portion, continuous, lofty in style, and in its personification of divine wisdom, rising to great sublimity both of thought and of expression. It seems as if the main body of the book had been fitted with an introduction by another hand than that of the compilers of the various sets of proverbial sayings. It is apparently due to an intellectual movement, perhaps not uninfluenced by Greek thought, and chronologically the latest of the elements composing the Old Testament scriptures. In place of the lyric fervour of prophets, and the devout intuition of psalmists, we have the praise of Wisdom. But that noble portrait is no copy of the Greek conception, but contains features peculiar to itself. She stands opposed to blatant, meretricious Folly, and seeks to draw men to herself by lofty motives and offering pure delights. She is not a person, but she is a personification of an aspect of the divine nature, and seeing that she is held forth as willing to bestow herself on men, that queenly figure shadows the great truth of God’s self-communication as being the end and climax of all His revelation.
We are on the wrong tack when we look for more or less complete resemblances between the ‘Wisdom’ of Proverbs and the ‘Sophia’ of Greek thinkers. It is much rather an anticipation, imperfect but real, of Jesus than a pale reflection of Greek thought. The way for the perfect revelation of God in the incarnation was prepared by prophet and psalmist. Was it not also prepared by this vision of a Wisdom which was always with God, and yet had its delights with the sons of men, and whilst ‘rejoicing always before Him,’ yet rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth?
Let us then look, however imperfect our gaze may be, at the self-revelation in Proverbs of the personified divine Wisdom, and compare it with the revelation of the incarnate divine Word.
I. The Self-revelation of Wisdom.
The words translated in Authorised Version, ‘As one brought up with him,’ are rendered in Revised Version, ‘as a master workman,’ and seem intended to represent Wisdom-that is, of course, the divine Wisdom-as having been God’s agent in the creative act. In the preceding context, she triumphantly proclaims her existence before His ‘works of old,’ and that she was with God, ‘or ever the earth was.’ Before the everlasting mountains she was, before fountains flashed in the light and refreshed the earth, her waters flowed. But that presence is not all, Wisdom was the divine agent in creation. That thought goes beyond the ancient one: ‘He spake and it was done.’ Genesis regards the divine command as the cause of creatural being. God said, ‘Let there be-and there was’: the forthputting of His will was the impulse to which creatures sprang into existence at response. That is a great thought, but the meditative thinker in our text has pondered over the facts of creation, and notwithstanding all their apparent incompletenesses and errors, has risen to the conclusion that they can all be vindicated as ‘very good.’ To him, this wonderful universe is not only the product of a sovereign will, but of one guided in its operations by all-seeing Wisdom.
Then the relation of this divine Wisdom to God is represented as being a continual delight and a childlike rejoicing in Him, or as the word literally means, a ‘sporting’ in Him. Whatever energy of creative action is suggested by the preceding figure of a ‘master workman,’ that energy had no effort. To the divine Wisdom creation was an easy task. She was not so occupied with it as to interrupt her delight in contemplating God, and her task gave her infinite satisfaction, for she ‘rejoiced always’ before Him, and she rejoiced in His habitable earth. The writer does not shrink from ascribing to the agent of creation something like the glow of satisfaction that we feel over a piece of well-done work, the poet’s or the painter’s rapture as he sees his thoughts bodied forth in melody or glowing on canvas.
But there is a greater thought than these here, for the writer adds, ‘and my delight was with the sons of men.’ It is noteworthy that the same word is used in the preceding verse. The ‘delight of the heavenly Wisdom in God’ is not unlike that directed to man. ‘The sons of men’ are the last, noblest work of Creation, and on them, as the shining apex, her delight settles. The words describe not only what was true when man came into being, as the utmost possible climax of creatural excellence, but are the revelation of what still remains true.
One cannot but feel how in all this most striking disclosure of the depths of God, a deeper mystery is on the verge of revelation. There is here, as we have said, a personification, but there seems to be a Person shining through, or dimly discerned moving behind, the curtain. Wisdom is the agent of creation. She creates with ease, and in creating delights in God as well as in her work, which calls for no effort in doing, and done, is all very good. She delights most of all in the sons of men, and that delight is permanent. Does not this unknown Jewish thinker, too, belong, as well as prophet and psalmist, to those who went before crying, Hosanna to Him that cometh in the name of the Lord? Let us turn to the New Testament and find an answer to the question.
II. The higher revelation of the divine Word.
There can be no doubt that the New Testament is committed to the teaching that the Eternal Word of God, who was incarnate in Jesus, was the agent of creation. John, in his profound prologue to the Gospel, utters the deepest truths in brief sentences of monosyllables, and utters them without a trace of feeling that they needed proof. To him they are axiomatic and self evident. ‘All things were made by Him.’ The words are the words of a child; the thought takes a flight beyond the furthest reach of the mind of men. Paul, too, adds his Amen when he proclaims that ‘All things have been created through Him and unto Him, and He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.’ The writer of Hebrews declares a Son ‘through whom also He made the worlds, and who upholds all things by the word of His power’ and does not scruple at transferring to Jesus the grand poetry of the Psalmist who hymned ‘Thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands.’ We speak of things too deep for us when we speak of persons in the Godhead, but yet we know that the Eternal Word, which was from the beginning, was made flesh and dwelt among us. The personified Wisdom of Proverbs is the personal Word of John’s prologue. John almost quotes the former when he says ‘the same was in the beginning with God.’ for his word recalls the grand declaration, ‘The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way . . . I was set up in the beginning or ever the earth was.’ Then there are two beginnings, one lost in the depths of timeless being, one, the commencement of creative activity, and that Word was with God in the remotest, as in the nearer, beginning.
But the ancient vision of the Jewish thinker anticipated the perfect revelation of the New Testament still further, in its thought of an unbroken communion between the personified Wisdom and God. That dim thought of perfect communion and interchange of delights flashes into wondrous clearness when we think of Him who spake of ‘the glory which I had with Thee before the foundation of the world,’ and calmly declared: ‘Thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.’ Into that depth of mutual love we cannot look, and our eyes are too dim-sighted to bear the blaze of that flashing interchange of glory, but we shall rob the earthly life of Jesus of its pathos and saving power, if we do not recognise that in Him the personification of Proverbs has become a person, and that when He became flesh, He not only took on Him the garment of mortality, but laid aside ‘the visible robes of His imperial majesty,’ and that His being found in fashion as a man was humbling Himself beyond all humiliation that afterwards was His.
But still further, the Gospel reality fills out and completes the personification of Proverbs in that it shows us a divine person who so turned to ‘the sons of men’ that He took on Him their nature and Himself bore their sicknesses. The Jewish writer had great thoughts of the divine condescension, and was sure that God’s love still rested on men, sinful as they were, but not even he could foresee the miracle of long-suffering love in the Incarnate Jesus, and he had no power of insight into the depths of the heart of God, that enabled him to foresee the sufferings and death of Jesus. Till that supreme self-sacrifice was a fact, it was inconceivable. Alas, now that it is a fact, to how many hearts that need it most is it still incredible. But passing all anticipation as it is, it is the root of all joy, the ground of all hope, and to millions of sinful souls it is their only refuge, and their sovereign example and pattern of life.
The Jewish thinker had a glimpse of a divine wisdom which delighted in man, but he did not dream of the divine stooping to share in man’s sorrows, or of its so loving humanity as to take on itself its limitations, not only to pity these as God’s images, but to take part of the same and to die. That man should minister to the divine delight is wonderful, but that God should participate in man’s grief passes wonder. Thereby a new tenderness is given to the ancient personification, and the august form of the divine Wisdom softens and melts into the yet more august and tender likeness of the divine Love. Nor is there only an adumbration of the redeeming love of Jesus as He dwells among us here, but we have to remember that Jesus delights in the sons of men when they love Him back again. All the sweet mysteries of our loving communion with Him, and of His joy in our faith, love, and obedience, all the secret treasures of His self-impartation to, and abiding in, souls that open themselves to His entrance, are suggested in that thought. We can minister to the joy of Jesus, and when He is welcomed into any heart, and any man’s love answers His, He sees of the travail of His soul and is satisfied.
III. The call of the personal Word to each of us.
The Wisdom of Proverbs is portrayed in her queenly dignity, as calling men to herself, and promising them the satisfaction of all their needs. She describes herself that the description may draw men to her. The self-revelation of God is His mightiest means of attracting men to Him. We but need to know Him as He really is, in order to love Him and cling to Him. A fairer form than hers has drawn near to us, and calls us with tenderer invitations and better promises. The divine Wisdom has become Man with ‘sweet human hands and lips and eyes.’ Such was His delight in the sons of men that He emptied Himself of His glory, and finished a greater work than that over which he presided when the mountains were settled and the hills brought forth. Now He calls us, and His summons is tenderer, and gives promise of loftier blessings than the call of Wisdom was and did. She called to the simple, ‘Come eat ye of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled.’ He invites us: ‘If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink,’ and He furnishes a table for us, and calls us to eat of the bread which is His body broken for us, and to drink of the wine which is His blood shed for many for the remission of sins. She promises ‘riches and honour, yea, durable riches and righteousness.’ His voice vibrates with sympathy, and calls the weary and heavy laden, of whom she scarcely thinks, and offers to them a gift, which may seem humble enough beside her more dazzling offers of fruit, better than gold and revenues, better than choice silver, but which come closer to universal wants, the gift of rest, which is really what all men long for, and none but they who take His yoke upon them possess. ‘See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh,’ for if they escaped not when they refused her that spake through the Jewish thinker’s lips of old, ‘much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that beseecheth us from heaven.’ Jesus is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and it is in Him crucified that our weakness and our folly are made strong and wise, and Wisdom’s ancient promise is fulfilled: ‘Whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v22 The Lord possessed me
The Lord possessed me
That wisdom is more than the personification of an attribute of God, or of the will of God as best for man, but is a distinct adumbration of Christ, is sure to the devout mind. Pro 8:22-36; Joh 1:1-3; Col 1:17 can refer to nothing less than the Eternal Son of God.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v22 The Origins and the Blessings of the Personal Wisdom
The Origins and the Blessings of the Personal Wisdom
v. 22. The Lord possessed Me, brought Me into being, the reference being to the eternal begetting of the Father by which the Son was brought forth from eternity, Psa 2:7, in the beginning of His way, as a revelation of His innermost essence, before His works of old, before the creation of the world.
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v. 23. I was set up from everlasting, ordained, inaugurated, established, from the beginning, or ever the earth was, from the primordial times of the earth, the eternity of the personal Word being asserted again and again.
v. 24. When there were no depths, I was brought forth, when the great oceans had not yet been made; when there were no fountains abounding with water, that is, the hidden springs from which the floods of the deep broke forth, Gen 7:11.
v. 25. Before the mountains were settled, placed in position by the Creator, as He laid the foundation of the earth, before the hills, was I brought forth,
v. 26. while as yet He had not made the earth nor the flelds, literally, "the open spaces," the deserts, as distinguished from the habitable part of the earth, nor the highest parts of the dust of the world, literally, "the first of the dust particles of the world," that is, the first clods of the earth.
v. 27. When He prepared the heavens, I was there; when He set a compass upon the face of the depth, the horizon all around serving as a circular boundary with reference to human eyes;
v. 28. when He established the clouds above, fixing and securing them in their place, to prevent a sadden outpouring of their contents; when He strengthened the fountains of the deep, subduing them, setting their bounds, keeping them in check by His laws;
v. 29. when He gave to the sea His decree, setting its bounds after the division of water and dry land, Gen 1:9-10, that the waters should not pass His commandment, no farther than He permitted them to go; when He appointed the foundations of the earth, settling its foundation pillars in the work of creation:
v. 30. then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him, as the Artist, Director, or Overseer of the work, Himself actively engaged in the creation of the earth; and I was daily His delight, that is, there was delight day after day on account of the wonderful relation between the Father and the Soa in their creative activity, rejoicing always before Him,
v. 31. rejoicing in the habitable part of His earth, the land where man lived; and My delights were with the sons of men, Gen 1:10-12; Gen 18:31. Thus the divine attributes of the personal Wisdom, His eternity, His omnipotence, are set forth, while at the same time it is emphasized that He was even then interested in all the sons of men, that they were the special objects of His loving care. He therefore closes this message of revelation of Himself with another admonition,
v. 32. Now, therefore, hearken unto Me, O ye children; for blessed are they that keep My ways, fashioning their entire conduct in life in agreement with the instruction given in the Word of God.
v. 33. Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not, rejecting it in foolish rebellion.
v. 34. Blessed is the man that heareth Me, in willing obedience, watching daily at My gates, eager to find out snore and more about the fundamental truths of true wisdom, waiting at the posts of My doors.
v. 35. For whoso findeth Me findeth life, wisdom teaching him the fullness of true life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord, gaining it, bearing it away as a reward of grace.
v. 36. But he that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul, bringing everlasting harm upon it. All they that hate Me love death, their behavior showing that they prefer destruction, that they deliberately plunge into their own misfortune. Christians, in seeking true wisdom, will follow the advice of the eternal Word, their Lord Jesus Christ, and thus be made wise unto salvation by faith in Him alone, 2Ti 3:16-17.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 35 the first of his deeds then
the first of his deeds then
"I was the first of the things he created then"
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In ages long ago
"Very long ago"
ages
The word "age" refers to a general, extended period of time.
I was made
This can be put into active form. AT: "God made me" (See: Active or Passive)
from the beginnings of the earth
The idea of beginnings can be translated in a less abstract way. AT: "from when God created the earth" (See: Abstract Nouns)
translationWords
Yahweh
create
age
earth
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv22, 27, 30, 32, 35 8:22-25 formed me from the beginning . . .…
8:22-25 formed me from the beginning . . . I was appointed in ages past: God’s wisdom has always existed. His wisdom is here personified, but wisdom itself is not a person. Wisdom does not exist outside of God; wisdom is an expression of his character and nature. Unlike pagan gods, God needs no outside counselor to give him instructions (see Isa 40:13-14). Jesus is the apex of God’s wisdom (see Col 1:15-17; 2:3).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.