Weaving Wisdom II: Prov. 8:22-31

Our passage can be divided into three sections: (1) an introductory or "title" verse--v. 22; (2) Wisdom, before the world was brought forth--vv. 23-26; (3) Wisdom, when the world was established--vv. 27-31. The major point in the whole ten verses, however, is to show how wisdom has the dignity, insight and presence with God to be a source of guidance for life. Wisdom was the only other thing/item (how do you call it?) with God since before the creation of the world. Surely it knows! That is the message.

Though it might be fruitful to do a "line by line" investigation of these verses, time constrains me to focus on a few suggestive words, phrases or pictures from this text. First is the antiquity and priority of wisdom. Lest we miss it, the third (Hebrew) word of v. 22 is reoshit, a word that can variously mean "first" in temporal priority or "first" in order of importance. Some commentators just want to stress the former meaning, pointing out the three other uses of "temporal priority" language in vv. 22-23. We can see the creation/establishment of wisdom as from the most remote time without losing the sense of its primary importance. Both seem to be in view, even if the temporal remoteness is emphasized more.

The verb in v. 23 is most fascinating and has been translated many ways by scholars. The NRSV has: "I was set up.." The Hebrew form is nisakti, derived from the verb nasak. But here is where the agreement ends. The noun nesek which stands behind it is a libation or liquid offering. Thus, the verb has been translated as to pour out (the thing you do with libations) or to cast. Some dictionaries say, however, that our text should be rendered "to be appointed" or "set up," to make the verb parallel to the verb "establish" in v. 22. But there is also the meaning of nasak as "weave" in Is. 25:7. I like the conflicting and mutually-reinforcing pictures presented to us by the words "poured out" and "woven." Wisdom gushed forth from God; wisdom was woven by God. A parallel use of this verb as "weave" is in a passage which echoes this remarkable passage from Proverbs: Ps. 139. Both the verbs qanah (used in Prov. 8:22 and translated "established") and nasak appear together in Ps. 139:13. The verse is well rendered: "For it was you who fomed my inward parts; you knet me together in my mother's womb" (Ps. 139:13). Thus, I like the Prov. 8:23 text because it suggests that wisdom was not just created by the word of God: "Let there be wisdom," but by the careful woven work of God. God the weaver knits wisdom into being.

Prov. 8:23-26

The language of vv. 23-26 stresses wisdom's passive origins before the creation of the universe. In so doing the author uses five phrases to express this antiquity and receptivity of wisdom. How old is wisdom? Well, it was "before" the deeps and mountains and hills and soils. Note the literary movement from vv. 23-26. We begin with the remotest category--the thing farthest away from humans. These are "the depths" (tehom), which can either be understood as the oceans or as the "deep" which is a mythological realm of the primeval abyss. However you read it, wisdom was before this. Then, as the verses go along, we get closer and closer to our realms of experience. Wisdom was there before the mountains took their shape, and even before the very fields and dirt which humans work every day. From the majestic to the mundane, wisdom was there. Before it all. Watching everything. When there was just darkness and the deep.

Lest we miss what the author is saying, we are given a Hebrew phrase in v. 27 that stops us in our tracks. The English has, "When he established the heavens, I was there." That is a good translation, but let's "hear" it in Hebrew. Literally, it reads, "In his establishing the heavens, there I was." But the alliteration of "heavens" and "there I was" is what makes me pause. It runs, "shamayim sham ani." We hear the words in Hebrew and want to stop. It is almost as if the author is telling the reader not to forget wisdom. In the rush and glory of created things in vv. 23-26, one ought to to overlook wisdom. Shamayim sham ani tells us that wisdom was there before the heavens, to be sure; but it also tells us that wisdom is the one thing that was always with God.

Prov. 8:27-31

Then, in vv. 27-31, we move to the realm of the created world. Wisdom was there before it was all made; wisdom then saw it being made. If we think we are wise, just think how much more insight wisdom has by virtue of its being right there in witnessing the creative process of God. What is significant about these verses is the "echo" of Job 38 that we hear in the background. Job 38 is God's majestic speech when He finally decides to "show up" and speak to Job. I was just about ready to write "answer Job," but in fact that is one of the big issues of the Book of Job--that God never seems to answer Job directly. Listen to the words of God in Job 38 and then read them alongside of Prov. 8:27-30.

"8 ‘Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb?—
9 when I made the clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
10 and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,
11 and said, “Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stopped”?

Wisdom has seen and undestood God's work to such an extent that her very words mimic those of God. That is, God's couldn't have "said it better" than wisdom does in Prov. 8. In fact a detailed comparison between the language and thought forms of Job 38:4-11 and Prov. 8:27-30 would be fruitful. The point is, however, that wisdom knows what God knows. Wisdom was there and saw it all.

Finally, I need to say a word about Prov. 8:30-31. One word in the translation has been difficult for expositors, and that is amon in v. 30. Literally it means "constantly" but it can also be translated as "craftsman" or "artisan," which is how many of our translations render it. But the problem with this translation is that wisdom doesn't seem to create anything in this passage. She just watches. And, she learns. And the learning that wisdom picks up through watching God is then imparted to people. Hence, seek wisdom. But the images of "artisan" or "craftsman," as commentator Bruce Waltke points out (The Book of Proverbs, vol. 1, p. 417-19) suggest that wisdom is a sort of "co-creator" with God. That isn't the tone of the passage. Wisdom is more of a witness than a creator. So, then, what could amon mean? Well, if you just "pointed" it differently ('pointing' is the process of placing diacritical marks, marks which tell you how to pronounce the word and where the vowels are--the original text didn't have vowels), you have amun, a common word for "faithful." And this seems to fit the flow of the passage neatly. Wisdom was with God as a faithful companion, as she daily delighted in the created world. A more detailed study of the structure of vv. 30-31, which is beyond the scope of this essay, would show the pleasant parallelisms caused by this reading of the word.

Conclusion

With all of this we are really left with very few good options other than to pursue wisdom. It has all the insight in the world, gained from witnessing "up close and personal" the creative work of God. This knowledge can then be communicated to those who seek it out diligently. Some of it is in the aphorisms that fill the book of Proverbs; some of it is in the desire of those who want their hearts steeped in wisdom. But, as Proverbs promises, wisdom is there for those who seek it diligently. Ask wisdom. She will tell you.

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