Have you been struggling to make sense of the sometimes senseless world we live in? Where truth is whatever an individual decides to call truth. Are you losing faith in family, friends, employer, and government to do what is right and decent by you and others? Are you feeling all of the options for saftety and security, once the standards in life, have been trampled upon by those in power or with money? Where does a person go for comfort when life has become a struggle to navigate? Being wise can be your answer.
From a very young age to the present, there is a verse in the Bible I have always prayed, which centers around WISDOM. Proverbs 3:16-18 "Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed."
The reason I pray for WISDOM is because of what this passage says in the Bible also: James 1:5-8 "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind."
This prayer is such a part of my life that I have the words tattooed on my palms. My right palm has long life in it and my left palm has riches and honor in it. The back of my right hand has Proverbs 3:16 on it. If you have ever gotten your palms tattooed, you know it has tons of nerves and is a painful tattoo to get there. But, the verse is such a part of me, until I braved the pain. Because the hands are used so much and washed often, I will need to have frequent touch ups of this tattoo.
As a young girl I noticed wisdom was refered to as a SHE. This really fascinated me. Why is wisdom referred to as a "she?" I invite you now on an exercise of the mind. To go where many church leaders have not taken you.
Wisdom is an important concept in the Old Testament Hebrew Scriptures. Wisdom is also described as more than a good quality. She is a personified heavenly female power. Most of the Wisdom books that portray her as a personified deity are only present in the canon of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox church. For Protestants they are part of the Apocrypha. These books are the Wisdom of Solomon, Ben Sirach and, to a lesser extent, Baruch, which were all written before the birth of Jesus.
In Proverbs 8, Wisdom describes her role in the creation of the world. At one point, in verses 22-25 (all quotes from RSV), she says,“The LORD created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. 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.” If Wisdom is “created” or “acquired” by Yahweh “in the beginning” this might indicate her secondary rank.She tells us she was “created” “before the beginning of the earth” and “brought forth.” The word translated as “created” also means “acquire.” For example, it is used when Boaz made Ruth his wife (Ruth 10:5, 10) which gives it another profound meaning here.
A couple verses later in 29-30 she continues,“… when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the sons of men.” Lady Wisdom was “beside” Yahweh,” and rejoicing “before him.”
In the last section of chapter 8, verses 32-36, Wisdom says about herself, "And now, my sons, listen to me: happy are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Happy is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD; but he who misses me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”
Genesis 1:26-27 also confirms that at the creation of Mankind Yahweh speaks to another divine being. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (Many believe God was speaking to Jesus in this verse, but the earlier paragraph indicates wisdom was present at creation). So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. If it is considered heretical for Wisdom to be a divine being, we should remember that angels and cherubim are present in the Bible as heavenly entities. It does not mean they are minor gods contesting monotheism. Lady Wisdom – A divine feminine entity ignored in Christianity | Marianne Widmalm | The Blogs (timesofisrael.com)
If you have noticed, a large amount of my writing centers around the role of women in Christianity. My book, When Will Eve Be Forgiven?, looks at some teachings about women which I believe are due further research (Bible study). I am not introducing a new concept of the role of women in the Bible, but, looking at the interpretation of Scripture by many who may not have looked at the verses in its original language.
There is never a need to argue or fight about the Bible and its content. Acting out of love goes against the philosophy and teaching of the Bible. I only encourage studying the Bible for yourself. Some people feel if they question any understanding of the Bible they are being sinful. That is far from true and if anyone makes you believe that or feel that way, they are being abusive towards you. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, 2 Timothy 2:15.
Personally, I have understood the word "before" here as referring to rank – that is, you may not consider any other god to be more valuable/worthy than the one true God. The preposition "before" here (עַל־ al: Strong's #5921) is a simple preposition, and simply means upon, over, above, on (e.g. Genesis 1:2; Leviticus 9:7; 18:30) toward, about (Exodus 18:13), against (Exodus 17:3) beside(s) (Genesis 15:27), before (the passage in quesiton); on account of, because of, for this reason (Genesis 2:24; Exodus 15:23; 18:9), among other synonymic meanings, being used to specify position of something, often in relation to something else (originating from a verb עָלָה alah describing movement). So no, it cannot be taken to denote a 'higer rank', and is never used to that effect in the rest of the Hebrew Bible.
Other scholars believe "before" me means in his sight, where he can see. Since God sees everything, it is not possible to have any other god secretly.
I hope you found this as fascinating as I did when I was a child. I hope it sparks the studier in you to take a closer look at some of your favorite and faith held Bible verses. In this same vein of why so many things are refered to as a woman, I will be looking at why justice is a she.
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