The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 172

who tells us that thoy who prophesied of the with God (6 A/ryo, ;jv ,rpb, -rhv 0,011)." So grace of Christ sought e.nd searched dili- we may assert that Solomon has arrived at gently what the Spirit of God that was in the truth that Wisdom was ,rpb, -rbv 0,6v, if them did point unto, and were shown that he has left it for later revelation to declare that ,;, ~0<1>!11 or 6 A/ryo• ®,b, ;Jv. Whichever not unto themselves, hut unto us, they sense we assign to the verb on which the ministered those things, secrete which difficulty iR supposed to hang, whether we angels themselves desire to look into (I Pet. take it a.s '' posse::ised,'' "formed," ur "ac• i. 10, etc.). Wisdom as e. human endow- quired," we may safely assume that the ment, e.nimati11g e.11 intellectual and even idea conveyed to Christian minds is this- that Wisdom, existing eternally in the physical powers; Wisdom e.s communicat- Godhead, was said to be "formed" or ing to man more.I excellence and piety; "brougl,t forth" when it operated in crea- Wisdom as not only e.n attribute of God, tion, and when it assumed human nature. but itself as the eternal thought of God ;- In the beginning of his way. So the Vulge.te, under these a.specie it is regarded in onr in initio 'Di11rum suarum. But the preposi- tion "in" does not occur in the original; book; but under and through e.11 it is more and the words may be better translated, or less personified. Khochmah is contrasted "as the beginning of his way" (Septua- in the next chapter, not with an abstraction, gint, lt<'rlO'E µ.• a.px't,11 661:dv ab-rov); i.e. but with e.n actual woman of impure life-a. as the earliest revelation of his working. real, not e.n imaginary, antagonist. The Wisdom, eternal and uncreated, first puts furth its energy in creation, then be- persona.lily of the latter intimates that of comes incarnate, and is now called. "the the former (see Liddon, • Bampt, Leete.,' First born of all creation ( ,rp.,.,6-ro1<M 1rcur11• ii.). 1<-r/q,,.,,)" (Col. i. 15). Thus in Ps. ii. 7, Ver. 22.-The Lord possessed me. Great "Thou a.rt my Son; this day have I be- controversy has arisen a.bout the word gotten thee" (Heb. i. 5); and, "When he rendered " possessed." The verb used is ;,m bringeth in the Firstborn into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship (kanah), which means properly "to erect, him" (Heh. i. 6). In the present clause, the set upright," also " to foun~, form" (~en. "fays of God a.re his works, as in Job xxvi. xiv. 19, 22), then "to acquire" (eh. 1. 5; 14 and xl. 19, where behemoth is called iv. 5, 7, etc.) or .. to possess" (eh. xv. 32; "chief among the ways of God" (comp. Ps. xix. 8). The Vulgate, Aquila., Theodotion, cxlv. 17, where•• ways" stands as a paullel Syrume.clrns, Venetian, give "possessed; " to" works"). Before his works of old. These Septuagint, (1<-r10'<, "made," and so Syri.ac, words are better reg,uded (with Delitzsch) The Arians took the word in the sense of as a second parallel object, CJR (kedem), "created'' (which, though supported by translated " before,'' b!'ing not a preposi- the LXX., it seelllij never to have had), and tion, but denotin~ previous existence. Hence deduced therefrom the Son's inferiority to we tro.nsle.te, "The foremost of his works of tho Ft1ther-that he was made, not begotten old;" i.e. the earliest revdat10C1 of his from all eternity. Ben Sim more than once energy. There is a curious passage in the employs the verb 1<Ti(w in speaking of Wis- • Book of Enoch,' eh. xiii., which speu.ks of dom's origin; e.g. Ecclus. i. 4, 9; xxiv. 8. the persune.lity and pr,.. existence of Wis- Opposing the heresy of the Arians, the dom, of her desire to dwell nmong men, Fu.thers generully adopted the rendering frustrated by mu.n's wickedness; "Wisdom E1<-r1)0'11-ro, pr,•sedit, "pus,essed ; " e.ud even found no place where she could dwell; thosu who received the tru.nslo.tion lH-r10'<, ex- therefore was her dwelling in lieu.ven. Wis- pli1iued it uot of creating, but of upvointing, dum cnme forth in order to dwell among thus; The Fat1 ,er s, ·t Wisdom over a.JI cri,ated the sons of men, and founcl no habitation ; things, or made Wisdow to be tlie efficient then she returned to her pluce, llnd tank cause of his creatures (Rev. iii. 14). May her seat among the angels." We may add we not say that the writer was guided to Wisd. viii. 3, "In that she dwelleth with use a word which would express relation in God (O'vµ.f3[o,qu, e,oii lxouO'a), she magui- a twofold sense? Wistlom is regarded either fieth her nobility." as the mind of God expressed in operation, or the Second Person of the Holy Trinity; Ver. 23.-I was set up from everlasting. e.nd the verb thus signifies tho.t God The verb used here is reme.rkuble. It is possesses in himself this essential_ Wisdom, 'i)I?~ (nasak), in niph.; and it is found in Ps. and intimates likewise the.t W1~dom by ii. 6, " I have set my King upon my holy etemal generation is e. Divine Personality. hill." Both here and there it he.s been St. Johu (John i. 1), before saying tl10.t the translated "anointed," which woulJ mo.ko Word was Go<l, affirms tho.t "tile Word was a notewo1·thy reference to Ohrlllt, But there 166 THE PROVERBS. [oH, VllI. 1-36.