Proverbs8chapter 8

Proverbs 8:1

“A companion picture to that in Prov. 7, and serving in some measure to generalize and idealize it. Wisdom also calls Pro 8:5 to the “simple” and the “fools,” and they have to choose between her voice and that of the temptress.”

Proverbs 8:1-21

“The redeemer is the eternal Word and wisdom, the Logos. He is the Wisdom that speaks to the children of men in the former part of the chapter. All divine revelation passes through his hand, and centres in him; but of him as the personal Wisdom, the second person in the Godhead, in the judgment of many of the ancients, Solomon here speaks,”

Proverbs 8:2

“In the places of the paths - בית נתיבת נצבה beith nethiboth nitstsabah, “The constituted house of the paths.” Does not this mean the house of public worship? the tabernacle or temple, which stands a center to the surrounding villages, the paths from all the parts leading to and terminating at it? In such a place, where the holy word of God is read or preached, there in a particular manner does wisdom cry, and understanding lift up her voice.”

Proverbs 8:3

“Gates - The places of judgment, and of the confluence of people. The entry - To invite passengers at their first coming and to conduct them to her house.”

Proverbs 8:4

“Unto you, O men - אישים ishim, men of wealth and power, will I call; and not to you alone, for my voice is אל בני אדם al beney Adam, “to all the descendants of Adam;” to the whole human race. As Jesus Christ tasted death for every man, so the Gospel proclaims salvation to all: to You - to every individual, my voice is addressed. Thou hast sinned; and thou must perish, if not saved by grace.”

Proverbs 8:5

“O ye simple - פתאים pethaim, ye that are deceived, and with flattering words and fair speeches deluded and drawn away. Ye fools - כסילים kesilim, ye stupid, stiffnecked, senseless people. That preaching is never likely to do much good, that is not pointed; specifying and describing vices, and charging them home on the consciences of transgressors.”

Proverbs 8:6

“Hear; for I will speak of excellent things - נגידים negidim, things which are preeminent, and manifestly superior to all others. The teaching is not trifling, though addressed to triflers. The opening of my lips shall be right things - מישרים meysharim, things which are calculated to correct your false notions, and set straight your crooked ways. Hence she declares,”

Proverbs 8:7

“For . . . truth--literally, "My palate shall meditate," or (as Orientals did) "mutter," my thoughts expressed only to myself are truth. wickedness--specially falsehood, as opposed to truth.”

Proverbs 8:8

“All the words - are in righteousness - בצדק betsedek, in justice and equity, testifying what man owes to his God, to his neighbor, and to himself; giving to each his due. This is the true import of צדק tsadak. There is nothing froward - נפתל niphtal, tortuous, involved, or difficult. Or perverse - עקש ikkesh, distorted, leading to obstinacy. On the contrary,”

Proverbs 8:9

“They are all plain - נכחים nechochim, straight forward, over against every man, level to every capacity. This is true of all that concerns the salvation of the soul. To them that find knowledge - When a man gets the knowledge of himself, then he sees all the threatenings of God to be right. When he obtains the knowledge of God in Christ, then he finds that all the promises of God are right - yea and amen.”

Proverbs 8:10

"Accept discipline, not silver," so that at a time of calamity or physical illness or domestic trouble, you would think nothing at all perverse of God, but accept the blows meted out by him with great patience as though you were being castigated for your sins. Thus, conscious of being disciplined, say, "I will bear the wrath of the Lord because I have sinned against him."

Proverbs 8:12

“I wisdom dwell with prudence - Prudence is defined, wisdom applied to practice; so wherever true wisdom is, it will lead to action, and its activity will be always in reference to the accomplishment of the best ends by the use of the most appropriate means.”

Proverbs 8:12

“The connection of "wisdom" and "prudence" is that of the dictates of sound wisdom and its application. find . . . inventions--or, "devices," "discreet ways" (Pr 1:4).”

Proverbs 8:13

“One of the hermits said, 'Unless you first hate, you cannot love. Unless you hate sin, you cannot live sinlessly. As it is written, "Depart from evil and do good" (Ps. 37:27). But perseverance is needed for this. Adam, even though he was in Paradise, …”

Proverbs 8:13

“True religion, consisting in the fear of the Lord, which is the wisdom before recommended, teaches men, 1. To hate all sin, as displeasing to God and destructive to the soul: The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, the evil way, to hate sin as sin, and therefore to hate every false way. Wherever there is an awe of God there is a dread of sin, as an evil, as only evil.”

Proverbs 8:14

“Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom,.... The words and sentiments in this and the following clause are the same with those in Job 12:13; and scent to be taken from thence, which are spoken of God; and being here applied to Wisdom, show that a divine Person is meant; and are very applicable to him who the Wisdom of God, and the power of God; and on whom rests the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel, and of might, and of the fear of the Lord, 1Co 1:”

Proverbs 8:14

“Counsel is mine - Direction how to act in all circumstances and on all occasions must come from wisdom: the foolish man can give no counsel, cannot show another how he is to act in the various changes and chances of life. The wise man alone can give this counsel; and he can give it only as continually receiving instruction from God: for this Divine wisdom can say, תושיה Tushiyah, substance, reality, essence, all belong to me: I am the Fountain whence all are derived.”

Proverbs 8:14

“It also gives the elements of good character in counsel. sound wisdom-- (Pr 2:7). I . . . strength--or, "As for me, understanding is strength to me," the source of power (Ec 9:16); good judgment gives more efficiency to actions; 15, 16. of which a wisely conducted government is an example.”

Proverbs 8:15

“By me kings reign,.... Christ is the Prince of the kings of the earth, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; they are made kings by him, and are under him; he sets them up, and deposes them at pleasure; they have their kingdoms, crowns, and sceptres from him, and are accountable to him. The Syriac version renders it, "for me"; it is for the sake of Christ they reign; and they ought to seek his glory, and the good of his kingdom and interest.”

Proverbs 8:15

Not only the common life of common men, but the exercise of the highest sovereignty, must have this Wisdom as its ground. Compare with this passage Pro 8:15-21 the teaching of 1Ki 3:5-14. The word rendered “princes” Pro 8:15 is different from that in Pro 8:16; the first might, perhaps, be rendered “rulers.”

Proverbs 8:15-16

“Civil government is a divine institution, and those that are entrusted with the administration of it have their commission from Christ; it is a branch of his kingly office that by him kings reign; from him to whom all judgment is committed their power is derived.”

Proverbs 8:16

“By me princes rule,.... All governors of provinces and cities, who are under the king as supreme; the discharge of whose office in a right manner requires much wisdom, prudence, justice, and integrity; all which they have from Christ, as well as their power of ruling, that rule well; and nobles, even all the judges of the earth; the word (e) for nobles signifies persons of a "free" spirit, generous, bountiful men; such as are called "benefactors", Luk 22:25; so one of the Ptolemys, king of Egypt, was called Evergetes.”

Proverbs 8:17

“For indeed he says: "I love those who love me, and those who watch for me at dawn will find me." You see how he not only makes you certain of his love, if indeed you love him, but also of his solicitude, which he …”

Proverbs 8:18

“Riches and honor are with me - Often the wise, prudent, and discreet man arrives literally to riches and honor; but this is not always the case. But there are other riches of which he never fails; and these seem to be what Solomon has particularly in view, durable riches and righteousness; the treasure deposited by God in earthen vessels.”

Proverbs 8:19

“My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold,.... This is said in allusion to the fruit that grows on trees, Wisdom, or Christ, being a tree of life; see Gill on Pro 3:18; and so he is compared to other trees, Son 2:”

Proverbs 8:19

“Gold - The “choice, fine gold” of margin reference. The “fine gold” in the second clause is a different word, and perhaps represents gold extracted from the ore.”

Proverbs 8:21

“Joy in God is substantial joy, solid and well-grounded. The promises are their bonds, Christ is their surety, and both substantial. They inherit substance; that is, their inheritance hereafter is substantial; it is a weight of glory; it is substance, Heb. x.”

Proverbs 8:22

“But it is written, say they, 'The Lord created me in the beginning of His ways for His works.' O untaught and insensate that ye are! He is called also in the Scriptures, 'servant,' and 'son of a handmaid,' and 'lamb,' and 'sheep,' and it is said that He suffered toil, and thirst, and was beaten, and has suffered pain.”

Proverbs 8:22

“The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way - Wisdom is not acquired by the Divine Being; man, and even angels, learn it by slow and progressive degrees; but in God it is as eternally inherent as any other essential attribute of his nature. The Targum makes this wisdom a creature, by thus translating the passage: אלהא בראני בריש בריתיה Elaha barani bereish biriteiah, “God created me in the beginning of his creatures.” The Syriac is the same. This is as absurd and heretical as some modern glosses on the same passage.”

Proverbs 8:22-31

“Strictly, God's attributes are part of Himself. Yet, to the poetical structure of the whole passage, this commendation of wisdom is entirely consonant. In order of time all His attributes are coincident and eternal as Himself.”

Proverbs 8:23

“Since the heretics, reading the next verse, take a perverse view of that also, because it is written, "He founded me before the world," namely, that this is said of the Godhead of the Word and not of his incarnate presence, it is necessary, explaining this verse also, to show their error.It is written, "The Lord in Wisdom founded the earth; if then by wisdom the earth is founded, how can he who founds be founded?”

Proverbs 8:23

“I was set up from everlasting,.... I, a person, and not a quality; a person, and not a nature; the person of Christ as the Son of God, and not the human nature of Christ, which then did not exist; this phrase designs the ordination and constitution of Christ in his office as Mediator. So the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "I was ordained"; Christ was foreordained to be the Redeemer and Saviour of men, to be the propitiation for their sins, to be the head of the church, and the Judge of the world.”

Proverbs 8:23

I was set up - Rather, “I was anointed” (compare Psa 2:6 margin: 2Ch 28:15). The image is that of Wisdom anointed, as at her birth, with “the oil of gladness.” Or ever the earth was - literally, “from the times before the earth.”

Proverbs 8:24

“When there were no depths, I was brought forth,.... Not only in the decree of God, as the head of the elect; foreordained to be the Redeemer of them, and to be the propitiation for their sins; and appointed the Judge of the world, and heir of all things; but "was begotten", as the Targum and Syriac version; the Septuagint is, "he begot me"; and so it is to be understood of the eternal generation and sonship of Christ; for the word חוללתי is used of generation, Job 15:”

Proverbs 8:24

“When there were no depths - תהמות tehomoth, before the original chaotic mass was formed. See Gen 1:2. I was brought forth - חוללתי cholalti, “I was produced as by laboring throes.” Mr. Parkhurst thinks that the heathen poets derived their idea of Minerva’s (wisdom’s) being born of Jupiter’s brain, from some such high poetic personification as that in the text.”

Proverbs 8:25

“Whether he is eternally begotten or not, I do not yet say, until I have looked into the statement, "Before all the hills he begets me" more accurately. But I cannot see the necessity of their conclusion. For if, as they say, everything that is to come to an end had also a beginning, then surely that which has no end had no beginning. What, then, will they decide concerning the soul or the angelic nature?”

Proverbs 8:25

“Compare Psa 90:2. What the Psalmist said of Yahweh, the teacher here asserts of Wisdom; she was before the everlasting hills.”

Proverbs 8:25

“Eliphaz, to convince Job of his inability to judge of the divine counsels, asks him ( Job xv. 7 ), Wast thou made before the hills? But before the hills was the eternal Word brought forth.”

Proverbs 8:26

"Before he made anything from the beginning," etc. Similar to this in the Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through him" (John 1). Perish those, therefore, who deny that …

Proverbs 8:26

“The highest part of the dust of the world - ראש עפרות תבל rosh aphroth tebel, “the first particle of matter.” The prima materia, the primitive atom. All these verses (verses 3-29) are a periphrasis for I existed before creation, consequently before time was. I dwelt in God as a principle which might be communicated in its influences to intellectual beings when formed.”

Proverbs 8:27-28

“Learn also that the Father was with him, and he with the Father, when all things were being made. Wisdom says, "When he was preparing the heavens I was with him, when he was making the fountains of waters." And in the Old Testament the Father … showed that the Son was to be worshiped with himself as the maker of all things.”

Proverbs 8:27

“A compass - Better as in the margin and Job 22:14 (see the note), i. e., the great vault of heaven stretched over the deep seas.”

Proverbs 8:28

“The clouds above - שחקים shechakim, “the ethereal regions,” taking in the whole of the atmosphere, with all its meteors, clouds, vapours, etc.”

Proverbs 8:28

“Strengthened - When he shut up the fountains in the cavities of the earth, and kept them there as it were by a strong band. The deep - Which have their original from the deep, either from the sea, or from the abyss of waters in the bowels of the earth.”

Proverbs 8:29

“For in the beginning when He created the world and all that therein is, and when He was establishing things, wisdom worked with Him, even as Solomon saith, "The Lord by His wisdom laid the foundations of the earth, and He constructed the heavens by …”

Proverbs 8:29

“When he gave to the sea his decree - When he assigned its limits, adjusted its saltness, and proportioned the extent of the surface to the quantity of vapors to be raised from it, for the irrigation of the terrene surface.”

Proverbs 8:30

“Then I was with him, as one brought up - אמון amon, a nursling, a darling child. Wisdom continues its parable, says Calmet; and represents itself as a new-born child which is ever near its parent, and takes pleasure to see him act, and to sport in his presence.”

Proverbs 8:31

“Wisdom rejoices yet more in the world as inhabited by God’s rational creatures. (compare Isa 45:18). Giving joy and delight to God, she finds her delight among the sons of men. These words, like the rest, are as an unconscious prophecy fulfilled in the Divine Word, in whom were “hid all the treasures of Wisdom.” Compare the marginal reference: in Him the Father was well pleased; and yet His “joy also is fulfilled,” not in the glory of the material universe, but in His work among the sons of men.”

Proverbs 8:34

“Blessed is the man that heareth me,.... Christ in his Gospel, as speaking by his ministers; for hearing them is hearing him, Luk 10:16; they have their commission from him; are his ambassadors, and represent him; receive their gifts from him; speak according to his mind and will, revealed in his word, and preach him himself.”

Proverbs 8:34

“Watching daily at my gates - Wisdom is represented as having a school for the instruction of men; and seems to point out some of the most forward of her scholars coming, through their intense desire to learn, even before the gates were opened, and waiting there for admission, that they might hear every word that was uttered, and not lose one accent of the heavenly teaching. Blessed are such.”

Proverbs 8:35

“Wisdom then is the only true life. The Word, the Light, is also the Life of man Joh 1:4. The eternal life is to know God and Christ Joh 17:3.”

Proverbs 8:36

“But he that sinneth against me,.... Or misses the mark, as the word (b) signifies; and which is observed by Aben Ezra; see Jdg 20:”

Proverbs 8:36

“Wrongeth his own soul - It is not Satan, it is not sin, properly speaking, that hurts him; it is himself. If he received the teaching of God, sin would have no dominion over him; if he resisted the devil, the devil would flee from him. Love death - They do it in effect, if not in fact, for as they love sin, that leads to death, so they may be justly said to love death, the wages of sin.”

Proverbs 8:36

“Their crime is very great; they sin against Wisdom, rebel against its light and laws, thwart its designs, and by their folly offend it. They sin against Christ; they act in contempt of his authority, and in contradiction to all the purposes of his life and death. This is construed into hating Wisdom, hating Christ; they are his enemies, who will not have him to reign over them.”