Proverbs 8:25
in Proverbs 8Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills was I brought forth;
KJV
Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
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This verse in Proverbs 8
Commentary
9 notes on this verseWhether 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?
This site's exposition
The LORD created me as His first course
on Proverbs 8:22-26
The argument turns on the Hebrew qanah, which the King James renders possessed and the Septuagint created. On that Greek reading the Arians called the Son a creature. One reading takes wisdom as God's personified attribute, and another reads toward Christ “the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24).
This site's exposition
Before the mountains were settled
Barnes compares Psalm 90:2, where the mountains are born after the LORD, who is from everlasting to everlasting. The teacher here says the same of Wisdom. The oldest hills are younger than she is.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Let us consider [that] our Savior is a "reflection of glory." The reflection of glory has not been begotten just once and no longer begotten. But just as the light is an agent of reflection, in such a way the reflection of the glory of God is begotten. Our Savior is the wisdom of God. But the wisdom is the reflection of everlasting light. If then the Savior is always begotten—because of this he also says, "Before all the hills he begets me" (and not "Before all the hills he has begotten me," but "Before all of the hills he begets me")—and the Savior is always begotten by the Father, and likewise also if you have the Spirit of adoption, God always begets you in him according to each work, according to each thought. And may one so begotten always be a begotten son of God in Christ Jesus, "to whom is the glory and the power for the ages of ages. Amen."
But now, lest the terms 'creation' and 'establishing' should be an obstacle to belief in the divine birth, these words follow, "Before He made the earth, before He made firm the mountains, before all the hills He begat Me." Thus He is begotten before the earth, Who is established before the ages; and not only before the earth, but also before the mountains and hills. And indeed in these expressions, since Wisdom speaks of itself, more is meant than is said. For all objects which are used to convey the idea of infinity must be of such a kind as to be subsequent in point of time to no single thing and to no class of things. But things existing in time cannot possibly be fitted to indicate eternity; because, from the very fact that they are posterior to other things, they are incapable of suggesting the thought of infinity as a beginning, themselves having their own beginning in time.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
Before the mountains were settled,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Compare Psa 90:2. What the Psalmist said of Yahweh, the teacher here asserts of Wisdom; she was before the everlasting hills.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
The words behind it
6 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּטֶ֣רֶם | beterem | <in> before | H2962 → | 56 times |
| הָרִ֣ים | harim | mountains | H2022 → | |
| הָטְבָּ֑עוּ | hatebau | they were planted | H2883 → | |
| לִפְנֵ֖י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| גְבָע֣וֹת | gevaot | [the] hills | H1389 → | |
| חוֹלָֽלְתִּי׃ | cholalti | I was brought forth | H2342 → | 58 times |
בְּטֶ֣רֶם<in> before
beteremH2962 →56 times
הָרִ֣יםmountains
harimH2022 →
הָטְבָּ֑עוּthey were planted
hatebauH2883 →
לִפְנֵ֖י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
גְבָע֣וֹת[the] hills
gevaotH1389 →
חוֹלָֽלְתִּי׃I was brought forth
cholaltiH2342 →58 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 1:10And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
it leads to
- Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 102:25–27
In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
- John 1:1–3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- Jeremiah 32:17
“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
- Isaiah 48:13
Surely My own hand founded the earth, and My right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand up together.
- Genesis 1:1
Through
Psalms 90:2Before the mountains were born or You brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
- Psalms 102:24–27
I say: “O my God, do not take me in the midst of my days! Your years go on through all generations.
- Revelation 1:8
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.
- Hebrews 13:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this chapter
About Proverbs
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; Gregory of Nazianzus, ON THE SON, THEOLOGICAL ORATION 3 (29).13; Hilary of Poitiers, ON THE TRINITY 12:37; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 9:5.