What Does Proverbs 8 Mean?

Was Jesus Created? (Proverbs 8)

According to some, Proverbs 8 shows Jesus was created; however, this claim has many issues with it. Arians will claim that "wisdom" is Jesus, coming from the idea that Jesus is the Word (John 1:1). The Greek word used is Logos or "Λόγος" which can mean the knowledge, wisdom, word, or the divine essence.

They normally keep their focus on verses 22-24 which say: “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. “From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth, “When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water." (Proverbs 8:22-24 NASB1995).

What is being used here is an etymological fallacy. As Dr. Falk notes: "The problem is going to be that, this is an etymological fallacy. An etymological fallacy, ultimately. ... just because "חָכְמָ֥ה" means wisdom, logos itself, even though wisdom is one of its meanings, it doesn't encapsulate the entirety of its meaning," (Falk, 2024).  

Another issue is seen in the very first verse of Proverbs 8: "Does not wisdom call, And understanding lift up her voice?" (Proverbs 8:1 NASB1995). Is Jesus a woman? Certainly not, he is the Son, but yet the passage says "her voice", and in verse 2: "... she takes her stand ...". Jesus is not a woman, so this can not be referring to Jesus.

This is merely the personification of wisdom, as The Pulpit Commentary notes: "Wisdom is personified, though we are not so plainly confronted by an individual, as in the preceding case of the harlot," (The Pulpit Commentary).

As other scholars also explain: "Many regard the passage as a description of the Son of God by the title, Wisdom, which the older Jews used (and by which He is called in Lu 11:49), as Joh 1:1, &c., describes Him by that of Logos, the Word. But the passage may be taken as a personification of wisdom: for, (1) Though described as with God, wisdom is not asserted to be God. (2) The use of personal attributes is equally consistent with a personification, as with the description of a real person. (3) The personal pronouns used accord with the gender (feminine) of wisdom constantly, and are never changed to that of the person meant, as sometimes occurs in a corresponding use of spirit, which is neuter in Greek, but to which masculine pronouns are often applied (Joh 16:14), when the acts of the Holy Spirit are described. (4) Such a personification is agreeable to the style of this book," (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary).

Works Cited:

Image by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash

Jamieson, Robert, et al. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary on the Whole Bible. United States, Zondervan, 1961.

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.

The Pulpit Commentary, Volume 6. United States, Delmarva Publications, Inc., 2015.

Dr. Falk, David. Live Stream #143: Something Overripe in The State of The Answers YouTube, 26 Jan. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/live/QihdtBTu_tg?si=e8yLYP3gGuuyl-Cu. Accessed 28 Jan. 2024.