* Proverbs 8:22,23 - Wisdom Who Existed Before the Beginning

By Ronald R. Day, Sr.

Proverbs 8:22: Yahweh [Jehovah] had constituted me the beginning of his way, before his works, at the commencement of that time;
Proverbs 8:23: At the outset of the ages had I been established, in advance of the antiquities of the earth. -- Rotherham.

Many believe that Proverbs 8:22-31 refers to the Messiah. If this is so, we should realize that it is only these verses in Proverbs that would apply to the Messiah. In other words, the word wisdom used in other verses in Proverbs aside from these would not be referring to the Messiah. Without a scripture directly linking these verses to the Messiah, we cannot be certain that these verses actually speak of the Messiah. For this study, we will assume that these verses do apply to the Messiah.

The New Revised Standard renders Proverbs 8:22,23 like this:

The Lord [that is, Jehovah] created [qanah] me at the beginning of his work [derek], the first of his acts of long ago. Ages [olam] ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth -- New Revised Standard Version, Hebrew words transliterated.

Brown-Driver-Briggs gives one of the meanings of QANAH (Strong's #7069) as:

a. of God as originating, creating, קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ Genesis 14:19,22; Deuteronomy 32:6 (Israel), Psalm 139:13 (כִּלְֹיתָ֑י); Proverbs 8:22 ( חכמה q. v.). 

The context indicates that this is meaning of qanah in Proverbs 8:22. 

However, many translations read similar to the World English translation: "Yahweh [Jehovah] 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."

Thus it is argued that this is proof that Jesus has always existed in eternity past, having some kind of mystical perpetual state of being begotten in eternity, and that therefore Jesus is Jehovah, who is from everlasting to everlasting.

We should note that Jehovah and Wisdom are spoken of as two entities, not one. The context, as well, bears this out.

Jesus is spoken of as the beginning of the way [some translations render the Hebrew word transliterated as derek as work, as in the NRSV] of Jehovah. This indicates that he was the first of God's living creatures; that with him Jehovah had begun his "way"  or "journey" -- his work -- of creating living beings.

Although in some contexts the Hebrew olam evidently takes on the meaning "eternal" or "everlasting", it does not always mean such. Since the context states a beginning, and that the one being spoken of is "brought forth", then olam should not be regarded as eternal, but rather "old" "ages ago" or "ancient", similar to Genesis 6:4; Joshua 24:2; 1 Samuel 27:8; Psalm 119:52; -- as well as many other places. See also Proverbs 22:28; 23:20 where olam is translated in the KJV as "ancient".

Indeed, the word olam, when used of the past, very seldom actually means eternal. This can be seen by its usage in the following scriptures: Genesis 6:4; Deuteronomy 32:7; 1 Samuel 27:28; Ezra 4:15,19; Job 22:15; Proverbs 22:8; 23:10; Isaiah 51:9; 58:12; 61:4; 63:9,11; Jeremiah 6:16; 18:15; 28:8; Jonah 2:6; Micah 7:14; Malachi 3:4, as well as many others.

Only in reference to Jehovah's existence in the past, does it take on the meaning of eternal past. (Psalm 90:2) "Even then, it still expresses the idea of continued, measurable existence, rather than a state of being independent of time considerations." -- "Lexical Aids to the Old Testament", under #5769, Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible.

The Lord [Jehovah] made me as the start of his way, the first of his works in the past.  -- Basic English.

The LORD [Jehovah] made me as the beginning of His way, the first of His works of old.  -- Jewish Publication Society.

The LORD [Jehovah] formed me from the beginning, before he created anything else -- New Living Bible.

The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago.  -- New Revised Standard.

The word qanah, translated "possessed" in the KJV and "constituted" by Rotherham, is translated with "created", "formed", or "made" by many other translations: Jerusalem Bible 1966 * Revised Standard Version 1952 * New English Bible 1970 * Thomson's Septuagint 1808 * Brenton's Septuagint 1879 * Confraternity Version (Catholic) 1955 * Lesser * Today's English Version 1972 * Lamsa 1957.

The following is obtained from: http://www.heraldmag.org/2001/01so_3.htm by Jeff Mezera

There are differences about the meaning of the word qanah in Proverbs 8:22 as to whether it means “possessed” or “created.” From a footnote on the NET translation of Proverbs 8:22 found at www.bible.org [now at https://netbible.org/bible/Proverbs+8]: “There are two roots in Hebrew, one meaning ‘to possess,’ and the other meaning ‘to create.’ The older translations did not know of the second root, but suspected in certain places that a meaning like that was necessary (e.g., Genesis 4:1; 14:19; Deuteronomy 32:6). Ugaritic confirmed that it was indeed another root. The older versions have the translation ‘possess’ because otherwise it sounds like God lacked wisdom and therefore created it at the beginning. They wanted to avoid saying that wisdom was not eternal. Arius liked the idea of Christ as the wisdom of God and so chose the translation ‘create.’ Athanasius translated it, ‘constituted me as the head of creation.’ The verb occurs twelve times in Proverbs with the meaning of ‘to acquire’; but the Greek and the Syriac versions have the meaning ‘create.’ Although the idea is that wisdom existed before creation, the parallel ideas in these verses (‘appointed,’ ‘given birth’) argue for the translation of ‘create’ or ‘establish’ (R. N. Whybray, ‘Proverbs 8:22-31 and Its Supposed Prototypes,’VT 15 [1965]: 504-14; and W. A. Irwin, ‘Where Will Wisdom Be Found?’ JBL 80 [1961]: 133-42).” Many translators render qanahas “created.”.

“Gesenius gives as the primary meaning of qanah: ‘to get, to gain, to obtain, to acquire.’ Davies gives it the meaning of ‘to form or make, to get or acquire, to gain or buy.’ Strong defines qanah as ‘to erect, i.e., to create; by extension to procure, especially by purchase.’ ” —The Great Debate, by Robert Wagoner

Regardless of the controversy surrounding the meaning of this word, contextually Wisdom is still spoken of as being “brought forth”: "When there were no depths, I was brought forth" (Proverbs 8:24). The Hebrew word translated “brought forth” means “to be brought forth, to be born.” Wisdom was indeed “brought forth” and this helps us understand the context and meaning of this chapter and especially what “possessed” means in verse 22.

“Then I was by him, as one brought up [Strong’s #525: “artificer, architect, master workman, skilled workman”] with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him” (Proverbs 8:30). Not only can the word “possess” in this context have the meaning of “create” as translated in the Septuagint and Syriac, but we also see that Wisdom was brought up, was trained, and was the master workman of God’s creative works.

Yes, Jesus is the master workman of God’s creative works! He was the first of Jehovah’s creative acts, and it was with his assistance that all other things came into being. Truly this great being who plays so many important roles in the great plan of the ages is worthy of our adoration and worship! -- "The Image of the Invisible God" By Jeff Mezera. Herald of Christ's Kingdom, September-October, 2001.

In verses 23-27 we read of the prehuman Wisdom: "Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth— when he had not yet made earth and fields, or the world's first bits of soil." -- New Revised Standard Version.

From this we learn that the time when Jesus was begotten, brought forth, was at the first, a point in time which is definitely before the beginning of the earth and formation of its surface. There is nothing here that would indicate that Jesus is in some mystical state of eternally being brought forth or begotten.

Verse 30 says: "then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, " -- NRSV.

Again, we find that Jesus speaks of himself in his prehuman condition as "beside" Jehovah, not that he was Jehovah whom he was beside.

Of course, those who contend that Jesus is Jehovah have found their own arguments for the reasons for the wording of this chapter regarding Wisdom, but the chapter itself offers no proof that Jesus existed from an eternal past, nor that Jesus is Jehovah. In other words, the argument that Jesus is Jehovah becomes circular, in effect saying: because we believe that Jesus is Jehovah, we believe the passage means this or that, and therefore the meaning we give the passage because we believe that Jesus is Jehovah proves that Jesus is Jehovah.

There is definitely nothing in Proverbs 8:22,23 that proves that Jesus is Jehovah, and certainly, there is nothing here to give us reason to add to the scriptures the story of three persons in one being, or that there are three modes of Jehovah.

Wisdom Personified as a Woman

Some claim that in Proverbs 8, wisdom is being personified as a woman, and that it has no reference to Jesus. In Proverbs 8:22, we read that Wisdom personified states: 

{Proverbs 8:22} "Jehovah created me in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old.

{Proverbs 8:23} I was set up from ancient times, from the beginning, before the earth existed.

{Proverbs 8:24} When there were no depths, I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.

{Proverbs 8:25} Before the mountains were settled in place, before the mountains, I was brought forth;

{Proverbs 8:26} while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world.

{Proverbs 8:27} When he established the heavens, I was there; when he set a circle on the surface of the depths,

{Proverbs 8:28} when he established the clouds above, when the springs of the depths became strong,

{Proverbs 8:29} 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;

{Proverbs 8:30} then I was the master craftsman by his side. I was a delight day by day,  always rejoicing before him,

{Proverbs 8:31} Rejoicing in the habitation of his earth. My delight was with the sons of men. -- Restoration Light Improved Version.

Proverbs 8:22 - [Jehovah] created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.

 -- Revised Standard, Holy Name restored.

The claim is that Wisdom is personified as a woman in earlier verses; however, the subject in those earlier verses do not appear to be about Christ, until we get to Proverbs 8:22. Nevertheless, some point to Proverbs 8:1, which the American Standard Version, renders as;

Proverbs 8:1 - Doth not wisdom cry, And understanding put forth her voice? 

See Bible Hub's Hebrew analysis of Proverbs 8:1.

Many English-speaking people who make this claim may not understand gender agreement in ancient Hebrew. We have found that even when one has studied some of the Latin languages which calls for similar gender agreement, they fail to appreciate, or else ignore, that the ancient Hebrew also called for gender agreement.

There is actually no neuter gender in Biblical Hebrew. All nouns carry either a feminine or masculine gender, even if they are not a male or female. The gender of a word cannot be used to designate a person as being a woman or male, or even a person, or not a person. In Hebrew, the word for wisdom is often transliterated as chokmah (Strong's #2452), which is feminine, and thus in Hebrew, gender agreement would call for feminine nouns and pronouns in describing wisdom. Although there is actually no feminine pronoun in the Hebrew that corresponds with "her" in "her voice", many translators add that pronoun before "voice" due to the fact the word for wisdom is feminine. Generally, in English, we would refer to wisdom as an "it," but evidently because later in the chapter Wisdom is personified as speaking, translators use "her" in verse 1, giving the false impression that Wisdom is being spoken of as a woman. The Hebrew, however, is not actually presenting Wisdom as being a lady/woman; it is simply that the noun gender is feminine in the Hebrew. Often, however, translators ignore the gender and do use neuter pronouns in English related to an object that is not actually a male of female. 

In Proverbs 8:30, Wisdom is described as a master craftsman, which, in the Hebrew texts is masculine. Again, in Hebrew such would call for the use of a masculine pronoun or other descriptive noun related to this, although such is not called for in verse 30. 

Of course, we would not be dogmatic about it, but we do believe that in verse 22, it does describe God's Son, who is the ultimate personification of God's wisdom that those who accept him can appreciate. There are definitely two different entities in Proverbs 8;22-30. Since Wisdom personified says, "I was brought forth", this indicates that in these verses Wisdom is indeed speaking as a person. God's own wisdom has been in existence as long as God himself, and since God has always existed, so has his wisdom always existed, and never had to be brought forth. Jesus, however, was "brought forth", as indicated in the second part of the word "firstborn" as used in Colossians 1:15. 

We know that Jehovah had no beginning, and that there has never been a beginning of Jehovah's own internal wisdom. Thus "the beginning" and "His way" is not referring to the beginning Jehovah's own internal wisdom, and therefore the conclusion is that this is speaking of Wisdom personified in the firstborn Son of God (Colossians 1:15). "His way" then is evidently referring to the beginning of Jehovah's way of creating other life forms than Himself --- and yet creation before His works of creation of other spirit sons of God and the world of mankind.

If these words of Proverbs 8:22,23 are applied to the firstborn creature (Colossians 1:15), then it is designating that the Logos -- personified and presented under the figure of Wisdom -- was brought forth into being before any other of God's living creatures, whether invisible in heavens, as the "sons of God" spoken of in Job 38:4-7, or on earth, visible. (Colossians 1:16) With the creation of his firstborn creature, the beginning of Jehovah's way (derek) toward other intelligence than his own had begun. At the same time, this was before Jehovah had created "his works" (plural) of bringing into being many spirit sons of God (Job 38:7), as well as before the beginning of Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1. Job 38:4-7 lets us know that the spirit "sons of God" were created before the "beginning" spoken of in Genesis 1:1.

The Lord [that is, Jehovah] created [qanah] me at the beginning of his work [derek], the first of his acts of long ago. Ages [olam] ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth — New Revised Standard Version, Hebrew words transliterated.

Thus, we conclude that as a living creature under the figure of Wisdom in this translation, this would be speaking of Jehovah as having "created" him. Again, one should realize that God's internal wisdom itself, of course, does not need to be created, but the firstborn creature who is represented under the figure of Wisdom did need to be created.

We cannot be 100% certain that Proverbs 8:22-30 is actually speaking of Jesus, but there is much evidence that leads to that conclusion. However, it should be apparent that Wisdom is not speaking of Jesus throughout the book of Proverbs, but only in these verses could we see Wisdom be referring to Jesus..