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14. Fourteenth admonitory discourse concerning Wisdom—her excellence, her origin, her gifts. She is contrasted with the strange woman of Pro_7:1-27; and the exceeding greatness of the blessings which she offers exhibits in the most marked manner the nothingness of the deceiver's gifts. One is reminded of the celebrated episode of the choice of Hercules, delineated by Xenophon, 'Memorab.,' 2.1. 21, etc. The chapter divides itself into four sections.
(1) Introductory (Pro_7:1-3); Wisdom calls on all to listen, and gives reasons for trusting to her (Pro_7:4-11).
(2) She displays her excellence (Pro_7:12-21).
(3) She discourses of her origin and action (Pro_7:22 -31).
(4) She again inculcates the duty of hearkening to her instructions (verses 32-36).
Pro_8:1
Doth not Wisdom cry? (see on Pro_1:20, and Introduction). The interrogative form, which expects an affirmative answer, is a mode of asserting a truth universally allowed. Wisdom is personified, though we are not so plainly confronted by an individual, as in the preceding case of the harlot. But it must be remembered that, whatever may have been the author's exact meaning, however worldly a view the original enunciation may have afforded, we, reading these chapters by the light cast upon them by later revelation, see m the description of Wisdom no mere ideal of practical prudence and good sense, no mere poetic personification of an abstract quality, but an adumbration of him who is the Wisdom of God, the coeternal Son of the Father. The open, bold, and public utterances of Wisdom are in happy contrast to the secret and stealthy enticements of Vice. So Christ, the true Wisdom, says, "I have spoken openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogues, and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and in secret spake I nothing" (Joh_18:20). The Septuagint changes the subject of this verse, and makes the pupil addressed: "Thou shalt proclaim ( κηρύξεις ) wisdom, that understanding ( φρόνησις ) may obey thee;" which seems to mean that, if you wish to acquire wisdom, so that it may serve you practically, you must act as a herald or preacher, and make your desire generally known. St. Gregory has some remarks about wilful ignorance of what is right. "It is one thing," he says, "to be ignorant; another to have refused to learn. For not to know is only ignorance; to refuse to learn is pride. And they are the less able to plead ignorance in excuse, the more that knowledge is set before them, even against their will. We might, perhaps, be able to pass along the way of this present life in ignorance of this Wisdom, if she herself had not steed in the corners of the way" ('Moral.,' 25.29).
Pro_8:2
She standeth in the top of high places, by the way. She takes her stand, not in thievish corners of the streets, like the harlot, but in the most open and elevated parts of the city, where she may be best seen and heard by all who pass by (see Pro_1:21, and note there). In the places of the paths; i.e. where many paths converge, and where people meet from different quarters.
Pro_8:3
The expressions in the text indicate the position which she takes and its capabilities. At the hand of the gates (1Sa_19:3). She posts herself at the side of the city gates, under the archway pierced in the wall, where she is sure of an audience. At the mouth of the city, inside the gate, where people pass on their way to the country. At the coming in at the doors, by which persons enter the town. Thus she catches all comers, those who are entering, as well as those who are leaving the city. Here standing, as in the Agora or Forum, she crieth; she calls aloud, saying what follows (Pro_8:4-36). It is a fine picture of the comprehensiveness of the gospel, which is meant for high and low, prince and peasant; which is proclaimed everywhere, in the courts of kings, in the lanes of the country, in the hovels of the city; which sets forth the infinite love of God, who is not willing that any should perish, but would have all men come to the knowledge of the truth (2Pe_3:9). Septuagint, "By the gates of the mighty she sits, in the entrances she sings aloud ( ὑμνεῖται )."
Pro_8:4-11
She summons various classes of persons to attend to her, showing how trustworthy she is, and how precious her instruction.
Pro_8:4
Unto you, O men, I call. "Men," ishim ( àÄéùÄÑéí ); equivalent to ἄνδρες , viri, men in the highest sense, who have some wisdom and experience, but need further enlightenment (Isa_53:3; Psa_141:4). The sons of man; áÀÌðÅé àÈãÈí , "children of Adam;" equivalent to ἄνθρωποι , homines, the general kind of men, who are taken up with material interests. St. Gregory notes ('Moral ,' 27.6) that persons (heroines) of perfect life are in Scripture sometimes called "men" (viri). And again, "Scripture is wont to call those persons 'men' who follow the ways of the Lord with firm and steady steps. Whence Wisdom says in the Proverbs, 'Unto you, O men, I call.' As if she were saying openly, 'I do not speak to women, but to men; because they who are of an unstable mind cannot at all understand my words'" ('Moral.,' 28.12, Oxford transl.).
Pro_8:5
O ye simple, understand wisdom. "The simple," those not yet perverted, but easily influenced for good or evil. See on Pro_1:4, where also is explained the word ormah, used here for "wisdom;" equivalent to calliditas in a good sense, or πανουργία , as sometimes employed in the Septuagint; so here: νοήσατε ἄκακοι πανουργίαν , "subtlety." Ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart. For "fools" (khesilim), the intellectually heavy and dull, see on Pro_1:22. The heart is considered the seat of the mind or understanding (comp. Pro_15:32; Pro_17:16, etc.). Septuagint, "Ye that are untaught, take in heart ( ἔνθεσθε καρδίαν )." The call thus addressed to various classes of parsons is like the section in 1Jn_2:1-29, "I write unto you. little children," etc.
Pro_8:6
I will speak of excellent things; de rebus magnis, Vulgate; σεμνὰ γὰρ ἐρῶ , Septuagint. The Hebrew nagid is elsewhere used of persons; e.g. a prince, leader (1Sa_9:16; 1Ch_26:24); so it may here be best translated "princely," "noble"—an epithet which the subject matter of Wisdom's discourse fully confirms (comp. Pro_22:20, though the word there is different). Hitzig and others, following the Syriac, prefer the meaning, "plain, evident truths" (comp. Pro_8:9); but the former interpretation is most suitable. The opening of my lips shall be right things. That which I announce when I open my mouth is just and right (Pro_23:16). Septuagint.
Pro_8:7
Another coordinate reason for attention. My mouth; chek, "palate" (Pro_5:3, where see note); the organ of speech. Shall speak truth; emeth (see on Pro_3:3). The verb äÈâÈä (hagah) properly means "to speak with one's self," "to meditate;" and so the versions translate here, meditabitur, μελετήσει ; but this idea is not appropriate to the word joined with it, "the palate," and it must be taken to signify to utter, as in Psa_35:28; Psa_37:30, etc. Wickedness is an abomination to my lips. Resha, "wickedness," is the contrary of moral truth and right. Septuagint, "False lips are abominable in my sight."
Pro_8:8
In righteousness; i.e. joined with righteousness equivalent to "righteous." In Pro_3:16 the Septuagint has an addition which may perhaps be an echo of this passage: "Out of her mouth proceedeth righteousness, and she beareth upon her tongue law and mercy." But more probably it is derived partly from Isa_45:23, and partly from Pro_31:26. There is nothing froward or perverse in them. In the utterance of Wisdom there is nothing crooked, no distortion of the truth; all is straightforward and direct.
Pro_8:9
They are all plain to him that understandeth. The man who listens to and imbibes the teaching of Wisdom finds these words intelligible, and "to the point." Opening his heart to receive Divine instruction, he is rewarded by having his understanding enlightened; for while "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God" (1Co_2:14), yet "the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him" (Psa_25:14), and "mysteries are revealed unto the meek" (Ecc_3:19, Complutensian *). Right to them that find knowledge (Pro_8:10). They form an even path without stumbling blocks for those who have learned to discern right from wrong, and are seeking to direct their lives in accordance with high motives. Septuagint, "They are all present ( ἐνώπια ) to those that understand, and right ( ὀρθὰ ) to those that find knowledge."
Pro_8:10
Receive my instruction, and not silver; i.e. acquire wisdom rather than silver, if ever the choice is yours. And knowledge rather than choice gold (comp. Pro_8:19; Pro_3:1-35 :140. (For "knowledge," daath, see on Pro_2:10.) The comparison is implied rather than expressed in the first clause, while it is made clear in the second. Thus Hos_6:6, "I desired mercy, and not sacrifice," the second matter mentioned being, not necessarily of no importance, but always in such cases of inferior importance to the other. We may quote Horace's complaint of the worldliness of his countrymen, a marked contrast to the inspired counsel of Proverbs ('Epist.,' Pro_1:1, 52)—
"Villus argentum est auro, virtutibus aurum.
O cives, cives! quaerenda pecunia primum est,
Virtus post nummos."
Pro_8:11
(See Pro_3:14, Pro_3:15, and notes.)
Pro_8:12-21
Wisdom tells of her own excellence.
Pro_8:12
I wisdom dwell with prudence; rather, as in the Revised Version, I have made subtilty (Pro_8:5) my dwelling. Wisdom inhabits prudence, animates and possesses that cleverness and tact which is needed for the practical purposes of life. So the Lord is said to "inhabit eternity" (Isa_57:15). Septuagint, "I wisdom dwelt ( κατεσκήνωσα ) in counsel and knowledge," which recalls, "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt ( ἐσκήνωσεν ) among us" (Joh_1:14). In 1Ti_6:16 we find the expression, "Who alone hath ( μόνος ἔχων ) immortality," exchanged with the phrase, "Who dwelleth ( οἰκῶν ) in the unapproachable light." And find out knowledge of witty inventions. This rendering refers to the production and solution of dark sayings which Wisdom effects. But the expression is better rendered, "knowledge of deeds of discretion" (1Ti_1:4), or "of right counsels," and it signifies that Wisdom presides over all well considered designs, that they are not beyond her sphere, and that she has and uses the knowledge of them. Septuagint, "I ( ἐγὼ ) called upon understanding," i.e. it is I who inspire all good and righteous thought.
Pro_8:13
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Wisdom here enunciates the proposition which is the foundation of all her teaching, only here, as it were, on the reverse side, net as the beginning of wisdom (Pro_1:7; Pro_9:10), but as the hatred of evil; she then proceeds to particularize the evil which the Lord hates. Taking the clause in this sense, we have no need to alter the persons and forms of the verbs to "I fear the Lord, I hate evil," as Dathe and others suggest; still less to suppress the whole paragraph as a late insertion. These violent measures are arbitrary and quite unnecessary, the present text allowing a natural and sufficient exposition. There can be no fellowship between light and darkness; he who serves the Lord must renounce the works of the devil. Pride and arrogancy, which are opposed to the sovereign virtue of humility, are the first sins which Wisdom names. These are among the things which the Lord is said to hate (Pro_6:17, etc.). "Initium omnis peccati est superbia" (Ecc_10:15, Vet. Lat.). The evil way; i.e. sins of conduct, "way" being, as commonly, equivalent to "manner of life." The froward mouth; literally, mouth of perverseness, sins of speech (see on Pro_2:12; and comp. Pro_10:31); Vulgate, os bilingue.
Pro_8:14
Having said what she hates, Wisdom now says what she is, and what she can bestow on her followers. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom. There is some doubt about the meaning of the word translated "sound wisdom" (tushiyyah). The Vulgate has aequitas; the Septuagint, ἀσφάλεια , "safety." The word occurs elsewhere in this book and in Job, but only in two other places of Scripture, viz. Isa_28:29 and Mic_6:9. It means properly "elevation" or "furtherance," or, as others say, "substance;" and then that which is essentially good end useful, which may be wisdom, aid, or security (see on Pro_2:7). Wisdom affirms that she possesses counsel and all that can help forward righteousness; see Job_12:13, Job_12:16, passages very similar to the present (comp. Wis. 8:9, etc.). I am understanding. Wisdom does not merely possess these attributes; they are her very nature, as it is said, "God is love" St. Jerome's mea est prudentia, and the LXX.'s ἐμὴ φρόνησις , lose this trait. I have strength. Wisdom directs the energies and powers of her pupils, which without her control would be spent wrongly or uselessly (comp. Ecc_7:19). Wisdom, understanding, and might are named among the seven gifts of the Spirit in Isa_11:2; and we may see in the passage generally an adumbration of him who is called "Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God" (Isa_9:6).
Pro_8:15
By me kings reign. By possession of wisdom kings are enabled to discharge their functions duly and righteously. So Solomon prayed for wisdom to enable him to rule his subjects properly (1Ki_3:9; Wis. 9:4). Princes (rozenim, Pro_31:4); either those who are weighty, inflexible, or these who weigh causes; the latter explanation seems most suitable. Vulgate, legum conditores; Septuagint, οἱ δυνάσται , These are said to decree justice; literally, to engrave just decrees on tablets; γράφουσι δικαιοσύνην , Septuagint. Early expositors take these words as spoken by Christ, to whom they are very plainly applicable (comp. Isa_32:1).
Pro_8:16
Princes; here sarim, "leaders." All the judges of the earth. These words stand without a conjunction, in apposition to what has preceded, by what is called asyndeton summativum (Pro_1:21), and gather in one view kings, princes, and leaders. Thus the Book of Wisdom, which speaks of the duties of rulers, commences by addressing of κρίνοντες τὴν γῆν , "ye that are judges of the earth." In the East judgment of causes was an integral part of a monarch's duties. The reading of the Authorized Version is supported by the Septuagint, which gives κρατοῦσι γῆς . The Vulgate, Syriac, and Chaldee road, öã÷ , "justice," in place of àøõ , "earth;" but this seems to have been an alteration of the original text derived from some idea of the assertion there made being too comprehensive or universal. Nowack compares Psa_2:10 and Psa_148:11, "Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth." The Fathers have taken these verses as spoken by God, and as asserting his supremacy and the providential ordering of human government, according to St. Paul's saying, "There is no power but of God; and the powers that be are ordained of God".
Pro_8:17
I love them that love me. So Christ says (Joh_14:21), "He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him" Love attracts love. "Magues amoris est amor." They who love virtue and wisdom are regarded with favour by God. whoso inspiration they have obeyed, obtaining grace for grace. So Ben Sira says, "Them that love her the Lord doth love "(Ecclesiasticus 4:14); so Wis. 7:28, "God loveth none but him that dwelleth with Wisdom." The Septuagint changes the verbs in this clause, though they are parts of the same word in the Hebrew: Ἐγὼ τοὺς ἐμὲ φιλοῦντας ἀγαπῶ . This reminds one of the passage in the last chapter of St. John (Joh_21:15-17). where a similar interchange is made. Those that seek me early shall find me (see the contrast in Pro_1:28). "Early" may mean from tender years; but more probably it is equivalent to "earnestly," "strenuously," as people deeply interested in any pursuit rise betimes to set about the necessary work (comp. Isa_26:9; Hos_5:15). The Septuagint, "They who seek ( ζητοῦντες ) me shall find." So the Lord says (Mat_7:7), "Seek ( ζητεῖτε ), and ye shall find;" Ecc_4:12, "He that loveth her loveth life; and they that seek to her early ( οἱ ὀρθρίζοντες πρὸς αὐτὴν ) shall be filled with joy" (comp. Luk_21:38).
Pro_8:18
Riches and honour are with me (see Pro_3:16). Wisdom has these things in her possession to bestow on whom she will, as God gave them to Solomon in reward of his petition for wisdom (1Ki_3:13). Durable riches and righteousness. Things often regarded as incompatible. Durable, òÈúÅ÷ (athek), occurs only here (but see Isa_23:18), and means "old," "venerable," "long accumulated;" hence firm and lasting. Righteousness is the last reward that Wisdom bestows, without which, indeed, all material blessings would be nothing worth. Wealth obtained in a right way, and rightly used, is durable and stable. This was especially true under a temporal dispensation. We Christians, however, look not for reward in uncertain riches, but in God's favour here and happiness in another world. The Septuagint, "Possession of many things, and righteousness." What is denoted by "righteousness" is further explained in the following verses, 19-21.
Pro_8:19
My fruit is better than gold. We have had Wisdom called "a tree of life" (Pro_3:18), and the gain from possessing her compared to gold and silver (Pro_3:14). Fine gold (paz); Septuagint and Vulgate, "precious stone." The word signifies "purified gold"—gold from which all mixture or alloy has been separated. My revenue; Vulgate, genimina mea; Septuagint, γεννήματα ; Hebrew, tebuah, "produce," "profits."
Pro_8:20
I lead in the way (better, I walk in the way) of righteousness. I act always according to the rules of justice. In the midst of the paths of judgment. I swerve not to one side or the other (Pro_4:27). So the psalmist prays, "Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end;" "Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk" (Psa_119:33; Psa_143:8). And the promise is given to the faithful in Isa_30:21, "Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." Virtue, as Aristotle has taught us, is the mean between two extremes.
Pro_8:21
That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; éÅùÑ (yesh), ὕπαρξις , "real, valuable possessions." Those who love Wisdom will walk in her path, follow her leading, and therefore, doing God's will, will be blessed with success. Such will lay up treasure in heaven, will provide bags which wax not old, will be preparing for "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away" (Mat_6:20; Luk_12:33; 1Pe_1:4). The LXX. here inserts a paragraph as a kind of introduction to the important section which follows: "If I declare unto you the things which daily befall, I will remember to recount the things of eternity;" i.e. thus far I have spoken of the advantages derived from Wisdom in daily circumstances; now I proceed to narrate her origin and her doings from all eternity. But the addition appears awkward, and is probably not now in its original position.
Pro_8:22-31
Wisdom speaks of her origin, her active operations, the part which she bore in the creation of the universe, her relation to God (see on Pro_1:20 and 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 indited 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.).
Pro_8:22
The Lord possessed me. Great controversy has arisen about the word rendered "possessed." The verb used is ÷ÈðÈä (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, ἔκτισε , "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 κτίζω in speaking of Wisdom's origin; e.g. Ecc_1:4, Ecc_1:9; 24:8. Opposing the heresy of the Arians, the Fathers generally adopted the rendering ἐκτήσατο , possedit, "possessed;" and even those who received the translation ἔκτισε , 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. St. John (Joh_1:1), before saying that the Word was God, affirms that "the Word was with God ( ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν )." So we may assert that Solomon has arrived at the truth that Wisdom was πρὸς τὸν Θεόν , if he has left it for later revelation to declare that ἡ Σοφία or ὁ Λόγος Θεὸς ἦν . 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"; 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 ( πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως )" (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, ÷ÆãÆí (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. 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 Wis. 8:3, "In that she dwelleth with God ( συμβίωσιν Θεοῦ ἔχουσα ), she magnifieth her nobility."
Pro_8:23
I was set up from everlasting. The verb used here is remarkable. It is ðÈñÇêÀ (nasak), in niph.; and it is found in Psa_2:6, "I have set my King upon my holy hill." Both here and there it has been translated "anointed," which would make a noteworthy reference to Christ. But there seems no proof that the word has this meaning. It signifies properly "to pour forth" (as of molten metal), then "to put down," "to appoint or establish." The versions recognize this. Thus the Septuagint, "he established ( ἐθεμελίωσε ) me;" Vulgate, ordinata sum; Aquila, κατεστάθην ; Symmachus, προεχείρισμαι ; Venetian, κέχυμαι (comp. Ecc_1:9). So what is here said is that Wisdom was from everlasting exalted as ruler and disposer of all things. To express eternal relation, three synonymous terms are used. From everlasting; πρὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος , Septuagint, as Delitzsch notes, points back to infinite distance. From the beginning; i.e. before the world was begun to be made; as St. John says (Joh_1:1), "In the beginning was the Word;" and Christ prays, "Glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was" (Joh_17:5). Or ever the earth was. This looks to the most remote time after the actual creation, while the earth was being formed and adapted.
Pro_8:24
The preexistence of Wisdom is still more expressly set forth. When there were no depths (Pro_8:27, Pro_8:28). The waste of waters which covered the face of the earth is meant—that great deep on which primeval darkness brooded (Gen_1:2). Before even this, man's earliest conception of the beginning of the world, uncreated Wisdom was. Septuagint, "before he made the abysses" (see on Pro_3:20). I was brought forth; Vulgate, et ego jam concepta eram; Septuagint, at the end of Pro_8:25, γεννᾷ με , "he begetteth me." The verb here is çåÌì (chul), which is used of the travailing of women, and is rightly translated, "brought forth by generation." It indicates in this place the energizing of Wisdom, her conception in the Divine mind, and her putting tbrth in operation. When there were no fountains abounding with water; i.e. springs in the interior of the earth (Gen_7:11; comp. Job_22:1-30; Job_26:1-14; Job_38:1-41.). Septuagint,"Before the springs of the waters came forward ( προελθεῖν )."
Pro_8:26
Before the mountains were settled (Job_38:6). It is questioned where the mountains were supposed to be fixed, and some have thought that they are represented as fixed in the depths of the earth. But, as we learn from Gen_1:9, they are regarded as rising from the waters, their foundations are laid in the great deep. So the psalmist, speaking of the waters, says, "They went up by the mountains, they went down by the valleys, unto the place which thou hast founded for them" (Psa_104:8; comp. Psa_24:2). What is here affirmed of Wisdom is said of Jehovah in Psa_90:2, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God."
Pro_8:26
The earth, nor the fields. The distinction intended is land as cultivated and occupied by buildings, etc; and waste uncultivated land outside towns. Septuagint, "The Lord made countries and uninhabited places ( ἀοικήτους );" Vulgate, Adhuc terram non fecerat, et flumina. Hebrew, chutsoth; things without, abroad, hence open country. The Vulgate rendering, and that of Aquila and Symmaehus, ἐξόδους , are plainly erroneous, as waters have already been mentioned (Pro_8:24). The highest part of the dust of the world; literally, the head of the dusts of the world. Some have interpreted this expression of "man," the chief of those creatures which are made of the dust of the ground (Gen_3:19; Ecc_3:20). But the idea comes in awkwardly here; it is not natural to introduce man amid the inanimate works of nature, or to use such an enigmatical designation for him. St. Jerome has, cardines orbis terrarum, "the world's hinges;" Septuagint, "the inhabited summits of the earth beneath the heavens; according to St. Hilary ('De Trinit.,' 12), "cacumina quae habitantur sub coelo." Others take the term to signify the capes or promontories ot the world, the peaks and elevations; others, the clods of dry, amble land, in contrast to the untilled waste of waters; others, the chief elements, the matter of which the earth is composed. This last interpretation would lead us back to a period which has already been passed. Amid the many possible explanations, it is perhaps best (with Delitzsch, Nowack, etc.) to take rosh, "head" as equivalent to "sum," "mass," as in Psa_139:17. "How great is the sum (rosh) of them!" Then the expression comprehensively means all the mass of earth's dust.
Pro_8:27
After asserting the pre-existence of Wisdom, the writer tells her part in the work of creation. When he prepared the heavens, I was there. When God made the firmament, and divided the waters above it and below (Gen_1:7), Wisdom cooperated. When he set a compass upon the face of the depth. çåÌâ (chug), "circle," or "circuit" (as Job_22:14), means the vault of heaven, conceived of as resting on the ocean which surrounds the earth, in partial accordance with the notion in Homer, who speaks of the streams of ocean flowing back into itself ( ἀψόῤῥοος ), 'Iliad,' 18:399; 'Odyssey,' 10:508, etc. That the reference is not to the marking out a limit for the waters is plain from the consideration that this interpretation would make the verse identical with Pro_8:29. Thus in Isa_40:22 we have, "It is he that sitteth above the circle (chug) of the earth;" i.e. the vault of heaven that encircles the earth. Septuagint, "When he marked out ( ἀφώριζε ) his throne upon the winds." The translators have referred tchom, "depth," to the waters above.
Pro_8:28
When he established the clouds above. The reference is to the waters above the firmament (Gen_1:7), which are suspended in the ether; and the idea is that God thus made this medium capable of sustaining them. Vulgate, Quando aethera firmabat sursum; Septuagint, "When he made strong the clouds above" (comp. Job_26:8). When he strengthened the fountains of the deep; rather, as in the Revised Version, when the fountains of the deep became strong; i.e. when the great deep (Gen_7:11) burst forth with power (comp. Job_38:16). The Septuagint anticipates the following details by here rendering, "When he made secure the fountains of the earth beneath the heaven."
Pro_8:29
When he gave to the sea his decree (chok, as Job_28:26; Jer_5:22); or, its bounds. The meaning is much the same in either case, being what is expressed in Job_38:8, etc,, "Who shut up the sea with doors …and prescribed for it my decree, and set bars and doors, and said, Hitherto shall thou come, and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?" The LXX. omits this hemistich. When he appointed the foundations of the earth. Job_38:4, "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?… Who determined the measures thereof? or who stretched the line upon it? Wherein were the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the cornerstone thereof?"
Pro_8:30
Then I was by him. Wis. 9:9, "Wisdom was with thee; which knoweth thy works, and was present when thou madest the world." So Joh_1:2, "The Word was with God." As one brought up with him; Vulgate, cuncta componens; Septuagint, Ημην παρ αὐτῷ ἁρμόζουσα , "I was with him arranging things in harmony." The Hebrew word is àÈîåÉï (amon), "an artificer," "workman" (Jer_52:15). Thus in Wis. 7:22 Wisdom is called ἡ πάντων τεχνῖτις , "the worker of all things." The Authorized Version takes the word in a passive state, as equivalent to alumnus, "foster child." and this interpretation is etymologically admissible, and may possibly, as Schultens suggests, be glanced at in St. John's expression (Joh_1:18), "the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father." But as the point here is the creative energy of Wisdom, it is best to take the term as denoting "artificer." It will then accord with the expression δημιουργὸς , applied by the Fathers to the Word of God, by whom all things were made (Eph_3:9, Textus Receptus, and Heb_1:2). And I was daily his delight; literally, I was delights day by day, which may mean either as in Authorized Version, or "I had delight continually," i.e. it may signify
(1) either that God took pleasure in the wisdom which displayed his workmanship, saw that it was very good (Gen_1:4, etc.), looked with delight on the beloved Son in whom he was well pleased (Mat_3:17, etc.); or
(2) it may mean that Wisdom herself rejoiced in her power and her work, rejoiced in giving effect to the Creator's idea, and so "founding the earth" (Pro_3:19). Vulgate, delectabar per singulos dies. The Septuagint adopts the former of these views, "I was that wherein he took delight." But the second interpretation seems most suitable, as the paragraph is stating rather what Wisdom is in herself than what she was in the eyes of Jehovah. What follows is a parallel. Rejoicing always before him; Vulgate, ludens coram eo omni tempore, as though the work of creation was a sport and pastime of a happy holiday. The expression is meant to denote the ease with which the operations were performed, and the pleasure which their execution yielded. David uses the same word, speaking of his dancing before the ark, when he says. "Therefore will I play before the Lord" (2Sa_6:21; comp. Pro_10:23).
Pro_8:31
Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth. Wisdom declares wherein she chiefly delighted, viz. in the world as the habitation of rational creatures. "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good" (Gen_1:31); comp. Psa_104:31, and see the eloquent account of Wisdom in the book so named (Wis. 7:22-8:1). My delights were with the sons of men. Man, made in the image of God. is the principal object of creative Wisdom's pleasure; and her joy is fulfilled only in the Incarnation. When the Word became flesh, then was the end and design of creation exhibited, and the infinite love of God towards man made, as it were, visible and palpable. Septuagint, "Because he rejoiced when he completed the world ( τὴν οἰκουμένην ), and rejoiced in the children of men."
Pro_8:32-36
Wisdom renews the exhortation before given
. The Vatican text of the Septuagint omits this verse; it is added in the Alexandrian and Sin.
Pro_8:34
Watching daily at my gates. The idea suggested has been variously taken; e.g. as that of eager students waiting at the school door for their teacher's appearance; clients besieging a great man's portals; Levites guarding the doors of the temple; a lover at his mistress's gate. This last notion is supported by Wis. 8:2, "I loved her, and sought her out from my youth; I desired to make her my spouse, and I was a lover of her beauty." Waiting at the posts of my doors; keeping close to the entrance, so as to be quite sure of not missing her whom he longs to see.
Pro_8:35
For whoso findeth me findeth life. Here is the reason why the man is blessed who attends to the instruction of Wisdom. A similar promise is made at Pro_3:16, Pro_3:18, Pro_3:22. The truth here enunciated is also spoken or the Word of God, the everlasting Son of the Father. Joh_1:4, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men;" Joh_3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life;" Joh_17:3, "This is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ" (comp. Joh_8:51; 1Jn_5:12; Ecc_4:12). Shall obtain favour of the Lord; Vulgate, hauriet salutem, which happily renders the Hebrew verb (Pro_12:2). The grace of God bringeth salvation (Tit_2:11). Septuagint, "For my outgoings ( ἔξοδοι ) are the outgoings of life, and the will is prepared by the Lord ( καὶ ἐτοιμάζεται θέλησις παρὰ Κυρίου )." This latter clause was used by the Fathers, especially in the Pelagian controversy, to prove the necessity of prevenient grace.
Pro_8:36
He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul. So Septuagint and Vulgate. And the truth stated is obvious—he who refuses to obey Wisdom, and transgresses her wholesome rules, will smart for it. Every sin involves punishment, injures the spiritual life, and demands satisfaction. But Delitzsch and others take çÉèÀàÄé , "my sinning one," "my sinner," in the older sense of "missing," as Job_5:24, the derived meaning of "sinning" springing naturally from the idea of deviating from the right way or failing to hit the mark. So here the translation will be "he who misseth me," which is a good contrast to "whoso findeth me," of verse 35. He who takes a path which does not lead to wisdom is guilty of moral suicide. All that hate me love death (Pro_7:27). "He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (Joh_3:36). They who will not hearken to Wisdom, and who scorn her counsels, do virtually love death, because they love the things and the practices which lead to death, temporal and spiritual Job_12:10, "They that sin are enemies to their own life" (comp. Wis. 1:12).
Wisdom for the simple
We may divide the simple into three classes.
1. There are those who think themselves wise while they are but fools: there is no hope for such.
2. There are people who make no pretence to wisdom, but who have chosen folly, and are quite indifferent to the claims and charms of wisdom.
3. There are anxious seekers after wisdom, who feel their present ignorance and incompetence with acute distress, and long to be among the wise, but despair of reaching the privileged circle. The first class will refuse to believe that the call of wisdom is for them, but to the other two it may come with effect.
I. THE SIMPLE NEED WISDOM. This reflection should concern the second class—those who as yet have despised and rejected wisdom.
1. Wisdom is a joy. Even pleasure is rejected in the renunciation of truth, knowledge, thought, the vision of God, and the revelation of his will. The narrow mind is a dark mind, and when the light of God breaks in it will be seen that many new delights of knowledge and joys of Divine truth, which have long been missed, can now be happily received.
2. Wisdom is a safeguard. Men stumble in the dark. Snares are set for the unwary. In this great, mysterious world we may easily go astray and be lost, perhaps be entrapped in fearful soul perils. It is much to know the way, to know ourselves, to know our dangers, to know the will of God and how to have his guiding and saving help.
3. Wisdom is life. The foolish soul is but half alive, and it is on the road to destruction. Mere knowledge itself is a free intellectual life, and the exercise of thought in the practical application of the truth which we have assimilated, i.e. wisdom, is a living activity. It is moil;. unfortunate that many young men in the present day seem to despise all intellectual pursuits, and confine the attention of their leisure moments to idle amusements or at best to athletics. They fail to see the mental death that they are courting. But infinitely worse are they who turn from the moral side of wisdom—the fear of the Lord—and pursue the folly of godlessness, for this is soul death.
II. THE SIMPLE MAY HAVE WINDOW. Here is the encouragement for the third class of the simple. It is for children, for weak minds, and for uneducated people.
1. Mental improvement is attainable. Where there is a will to rise, the young man under most disadvantageous circumstances will find the means to cultivate self-education.
2. The highest wisdom is spiritual. This wisdom is not like Greek philosophy—only open to intellectual culture. It is the truth of God that may be rewaled to "babes and sucklings" (Mat_21:16), and yet it is the highest truth. To be spiritually wise we need. not be mentally clever. What is wanted is a sincere love of truth, a pure heart, and a childlike teachableness.
3. The gospel brings wisdom to the simple. That gospel was scoffed at for its apparent simplicity. Yet it was indeed the wisdom as well as the power of God (1Co_1:24). Christ comes to us as the eternal Wisdom incarnate. The simple may know him, and when such receive Christ they receive the Light of the world and a loftier wisdom than was ever reached by the sages of antiquity or can ever be attained in the cold light of science.
Pro_8:9
Plain words
The words of wisdom are here described as "plain words." This expression has been so often abused that it is almost as important to see what it does not mean as to consider what it does mean.
I. WHAT THE EXPRESSION DOES NOT MEAN.
1. Lack of grace. A mistake arising from the confusion of two meanings of the term "plain" has been pointed out by Archbishop Whately, and yet it is often repeated. "Plain" means smooth, simple, easy, intelligible; "plain" also means bare, unadorned, unbeautiful. The two meanings are quite distinct. But some have thought that a plain sermon must be a sermon wanting in all grace of style and beauty of illustration. This is an inappropriate use of the word "plain." The words of Christ were plain, i.e. clear and simple; yet they were very beautiful and full of living illustrations. The duty to be plain is no excuse for slovenliness of speech.
2. Intellectual feebleness. Some people insist on having a "simple gospel" in a way that leads one to think they would condemn all vigour of thought. They forget that the teaching of St. Paul, which they admire so much, teemed with the highest intellectuality, and that he regarded the truth of the crucified Christ as the wisdom of God, and only as falsely mistaken for foolishness by the Greeks. It is the charm of the highest thinking that it can simplify difficulties. We sometimes fail to detect the great intellectual power of a writer just because this has been so perfect as to disguise all effort and make the result of processes of thought clear; while the laboured attempts of weaker minds induce us to mistake obscurity for profundity. Any subject looks simple in the hands of a master.
3. Rudeness and offensiveness. Disagreeable people make a virtue of being plain spoken when they are really harsh and inconsiderate. There is no unkindness about the plain words of the Bible. The Christian teacher should remember the admonitions, "Be pitiful, be courteous."
II. WHAT THE EXPRESSION DOES MEAN.
1. It signifies that the words of wisdom are intelligible. The first object of revelation, of course, is to reveal. The first object of speech is to declare thoughts. It is the neglect of this simple point that has given an excuse for the sarcasm that "words were invented to conceal thoughts." The first duty of the speaker is to be plain. Afterwards he may be ornate if he will. But when the decorations of speech encumber its free movement and prevent it from accomplishing its practical ends, they are altogether encumbrances. And when intellectual power is wasted on a mere display of its own exercise, or confined to inventing difficulties and making obscure what was originally clear and simple, this also is misdirected. The Divine wisdom of the Bible claims to be intelligible. It is true that many people find. great difficulties in its pages, and all of us must confess that they are not to be fully measured and sounded. But
(1) they who approach them in a right way, having spiritual mind, so necessary for the discernment of spiritual things, will be able to understand the main, most important truths of Christianity; and
(2) whatever disputes may be raised about the meaning of the more abstract doctrines, the directions of duty and the indications of the things we are to do for our soul's welfare are plain; indeed, the obscurity of religious subjects varies proportionately with their abstractness, with their separation from our life and duty.
2. It signifies that the words of wisdom indicate a plain sad simple course of action. They are "right," or rather "straight to those that find knowledge." We are not called to any complicated course of action. The intricacies of casuistry are not to be found in the Book of Proverbs nor anywhere else in the Bible. The way of duty is simple and straightforward.
Pro_8:13
Hatred of evil
I. RELIGION INCLUDES MORALS. This is the broad lesson of the text. It should be accepted as a self-evident truism. Yet it has been often obscured by dangerous sophisms. Thus some have regarded religion as consisting in correctness of creed or in assiduity of devotion—things treated by God as worthless unless accompanied by righteousness of conduct (Isa_1:10-17). There is a common impression that religious merits may be pleaded as a set off against moral deficiencies. No assumption can be more false, nor can any be more degrading or more injurious. The reverse is true. Religiousness increases the guilt of unrighteousness of life by raising the standard up to which one is supposed to live, and also adds the sin of hypocrisy. True religion is impossible without a proportionate devotion to righteousness. because it consists in the fear of God. But God is holy; to reverence him must involve the adoration of his character—the love of goodness and the corresponding detestation of its opposite.
II. RELIGION INSPIRES MORALS WITH STRONG EMOTION. Morality is to obey the law. Religion goes further, and hates evil. It is not a matter of outward conduct only. It goes down to the secret springs of action. It rouses the deepest passions of the soul. We cannot accept Mr. M. Arnold's definition of religion as "morality touched with emotion," because it ignores the foundation of religion in "the fear of the Lord," in devotion to a personal God; but the phrase may serve as an apt description of an essential characteristic of religion. The difficulty we all feel is that, while we know the better way we are often so weak as to choose the worse. A cold, bare exposition of morality will be of little use with this difficulty. What we want is a powerful impulse, and that impulse it is the function of religion to supply. It makes goodness not only visible but beautiful and attractive, and it inspires a hunger and thirst after righteousness, a passion for a God-like life in the love of God, a yearning after the likeness of Christ in devotion of heart to him. It also makes evil appear hideous, detestable, by its horrible opposition to these affections.
III. AMONG RELIGIOUS EMOTIONS IS THE PASSION OF HATRED. Religion is not based upon hatred. It begins with" the fear of the Lord," with reverence for God rising up to love. No strong thing can rest on a mere negation. Neither morality nor religion starts from an attitude in regard to evil. But they lead on to this, and they are not perfect without it. The passion of hatred is natural; it has a useful, though a low, place in the array of spiritual forces. It is abused when it is spent upon persons, but it is rightly indulged against evil principles and practices. We are morally defective unless we can feel "the hate of hate, and scorn of scorn." One of the means by which we are helped to resist sin is found in this hatred of it. It is not enough that we disapprove of it. We must loathe and abhor it from the very bottom of our hearts.
IV. RELIGIOUS HATRED IS DETESTATION OF EVIL ITSELF, NOT THE MERE DISLIKE OF ITS CONSEQUENCES. When Paley, in his 'Moral Philosophy,' described the function of religion in aiding morality as the addition of the prospect of future rewards and promises, he expressed a common sense truth, but a very low truth detached from more spiritual ideas and a very partial representation of the case. Religious morality is not simply nor chiefly the fear of God as a Judge who will punish us if we do wrong. It is reverence for a holy Father leading to hatred of all that is displeasing to him. We have no religion till we go beyond the instinctive dislike for pain that follows sin to hatred of sin itself. This is the test of true religion—that we love goodness and hate evil for their own sakes. It is interesting to observe that the sin selected for special abhorrence on the part of those who are inspired by "the fear of the Lord" is