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Proverbs
8:22-31
(About
Wisdom and Her Beginnings)
(From the Orthodox Study Bible):
22 If I declare to you the
things that happen daily,
I will also remember to recount the things of old.(1)
23 The Lord created me in the
beginning of His ways for His works;
He established me in the beginning before time,(2)
24 Before He made the earth, and
before He made the abysses,
Before the going forth of the fountains of waters,
25 Before the mountains were
created;
And He begot me before all hills.(3)
26 The Lord made the fields and
the uninhabited places
And the inhabited heights under heaven.
27 When He prepared heaven, I
was present with Him,
And when He set apart His throne upon the winds.
28 When He made strong the
things above the clouds,
And made sure the fountains under heaven,(4)
29 And made strong the
foundations of the earth,
I was working beside Him;
30 I was He in whom He rejoiced;
Daily and continually I was gladdened by His face.(5)
31 When He completed the world,
He rejoiced,
And He rejoiced in the sons of men.(6)
***Verse-by-Verse
Study Notes Provided in This Bible***
(1) Verse 22: Wisdom knows all things.
(2) Verse 23: The Lord is the
Father, and created in this statement means the Father established
Wisdom over His works; for the Father made all things through Wisdom (from
Early Christian Church Father Athanasius the Great). “Created” as used here
does not mean the Father made Wisdom Himself, for the next clause shows
the Father established Wisdom over His works in the beginning before time.
Therefore, “created” is used in this verse as a synonym of established,
for Wisdom, who is the Word and Son of the Father, is not a creature. He
is “begotten from the Father before all time” (from the Nicene Creed).
The beginning of His ways means
two things. It means the Father made all things through Wisdom, and it also
refers to the Incarnation, when the Wisdom and Word of the Father became flesh
(see also John 1:14). The phrase for His works refers both to the works
of creation and to those accomplished by Christ for our salvation, which are
outlined in the Creed. “In the beginning before time” is the same as “In the
beginning was the Word” in John 1:1. For the Father “established” Wisdom
“before time.” Therefore Christ, the Wisdom and Power of God, is not a creature
(1 Corinthians 1:24).
(3) Verses 24 and 25: The word before
occurs five times in these verses, and it emphasizes that Wisdom Himself exists
outside creation. The words begot me show the relation of Wisdom to the
Father. Wisdom is the Son of the Father, begotten from Him before and outside
all time and ages (see also the Creed).
(4) Verses 26-28: Wisdom, the Son of
the Father, was present with the Father when He made the world;
therefore, the Son exists with the Father outside creation. The Father is not a
creature; therefore, neither is His Son.
(5) Verses 29 and 30: The Son also
created the world, for He was working beside the Father. The Father is
the Creator, and the Son is the Creator. How so? Because the working is one
working. They are two distinct Persons, but the work of creation is one work.
Although He is not mentioned here by name, the Holy Spirit was also present and
working, for He, too, is the Creator (see Genesis 1:2). Three distinct Persons
created the world with one working. This one working is emphasized in the
statement: “The Father made the world through the Son in the Spirit.” Therefore
the Holy Trinity, our one God, made the world with one working, and They
rejoice in one another.
(6) Verse 31: When the Father
completed creation, He rejoiced in it. He also rejoices in the sons of men.
Those who respond to the Father’s joy, in turn, rejoice in Him.
(From the New Analytical King James Study Bible):
22 The Lord possessed me in the
beginning of his way, before his works of old.
23 I was set up from
everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
24 When there were no depths, I
was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were
settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
26 While as yet he had not made
the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part [beginning] of the dust of the
world.
27 When he prepared the heavens,
I was there: when he set a compass [circle] upon the face of the depth:
28 When he established the
clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
29 When he gave to the sea his
decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the
foundations of the earth:
30 Then I was by him, as one
brought up with him [a master workman]: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing
always before him;
31 Rejoicing in the habitable
part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
(From the Amplified Holy Bible):
22 The LORD created and
possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old [were
accomplished].
23 From everlasting I was
established and ordained, From the beginning, before the earth existed, [I,
godly wisdom, existed].
24 When there were no ocean
depths I was born, When there were no fountains and springs overflowing with
water.
25 Before the mountains were
settled, Before the hills, I was born;
26 While He had not yet made the
earth and the fields, Or the first of the dust of the earth.
27 When He established the
heavens, I [Wisdom] was there; When He drew a circle upon the face of the deep,
28 When He made firm the skies
above, When the fountains and springs of the deep became fixed and strong,
29 When He set for the sea its
boundary So that the waters would not transgress [the boundaries set by] His
command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth –
30 Then I was beside Him, as a
master craftsman; And I was daily His delight; Rejoicing before Him always,
31 Rejoicing in the world, His
inhabited earth, And having my delight in the sons of men.
(From the Complete Jewish Study Bible):
22 ADONAI [My Lord] made me as
the beginning of his way, the first of his ancient works.(1)
23 I was appointed before the
world, before the start, before the earth’s beginnings.
24 When I was brought forth,
there were no ocean depths, no springs brimming with water.
25 I was brought forth before
the hills, before the mountains had settled in place;
26 he had not yet made the
earth, the fields, or even the earth’s first grains of dust.
27 When he established the
heavens, I was there. When he drew the horizon’s circle on the deep,
28 when he set the skies above
in place, when the fountains of the deep poured forth,
29 when he prescribed boundaries
for the sea, so that its water would not transgress his command, when he marked
out the foundations of the earth,
30 I was with him as someone he
could trust. For me, every day was pure delight, as I played in his presence
all the time,
31 playing everywhere on his
earth, and delighting to be with humankind.
***Study
Note Provided in This Bible***
(1) Verse 22: “ADONAI made
me as the beginning of his way, the first of his ancient works”: Some see
the figure of wisdom (hokmah) in Proverbs 8 as representing the Messiah,
but this is not likely. Verse 22 states that ADONAI created wisdom, a
construction similar to Genesis 14:19: “Maker of heaven and earth.” From
rabbinical sources, Rashi identifies “as the beginning of his way” to mean
“before the creation of the world.”
(From the New American Standard Bible):
22 The Lord possessed me at the
beginning of His way, Before His works of old.
23 From everlasting I was
established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.
24 When there were no depths I
was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were
settled, Before the hills I was brought forth;
26 While He had not yet made the
earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world.
27 When he established the
heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,
28 When He made firm the skies
above, When the springs of the deep became fixed,
29 When He set for the sea its
boundary So that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out
the foundations of the earth;
30 Then I was beside Him, as a
master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him,
31 Rejoicing in the world, His
earth, And having my delight in the sons of men.
(From the Knox Bible – Latin Vulgate):
22 The Lord made me his(1)
when first he went about his work, at the birth of time,
23 before his creation began.
Long, long ago, before earth was fashioned, I held my
24 course. Already I lay in the
womb, when the depths were not yet in being, when no
25 springs of water had yet
broken; when I was born, the mountains had not yet sunk
26 on their firm foundations,
and there were no hills; not yet had he made the earth,
27 or the rivers, or the solid
framework of the world(2). I was there when he built the
28 heavens, when he fenced in
the waters with a vault unviolable, when he fixed the
29 sky overhead, and levelled
the fountain-springs of the deep. I was there when he enclosed the sea within
its confines, forbidding the waters to transgress their assigned
30 limits, when he poised the
foundations of the world. I was at his side, a master workman, my delight
increasing with each day, as I made play before him all the
31 while; made play in this
world of dust, with the sons of Adam for my play-fellows.
***Study
Notes Provided in This Bible***
(1) Some would give ‘made me’ as the right translation of
the verb used in the Hebrew text. But it is doubtful whether it really has this
meaning in the passages cited (see Genesis 14:19), and all through the book of
Proverbs it is regularly used in the sense of ‘acquiring’ wisdom.
(2) In the Hebrew text, ‘the open spaces, or the beginnings
of the world’s dust’.