Why is wisdom feminine in proverbs

The theme of the book of Proverbs is wisdom and Proverbs tells us that this wisdom comes from the Lord our God. The word wisdom occurs more often in Proverbs than in any other book in the Bible.

But in Proverbs and other passages we discover that wisdom is personified and referred to as a woman. Why did this happen? Wisdom is personified as a woman in Proverbs ; ; ; ; and Each time wisdom speaks. The first time wisdom speaks is in Proverbs Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings: Proverbs NASB. The Hebrew word for wisdom is hakmot and this noun is a feminine plural.

Cook writes,. In the Hebrew the noun is a feminine plural. There is no greater wisdom. For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly. Proverbs NKJV.

Pr This is where the female personification is essential — how best can the sages make wisdom attractive to their young male charges? What better way to illustrate passion than by stimulating it? This is the chapter over which much has been written.

I have already referred to the connections with the goddesses of the Near East that have been seen here. In this chapter Wisdom is elevated from the homestead and the bustling marketplace to the silence before creation began — further heightening her authority. She, unlike the father, is in a position to rebuke directly the scoffers who provoke only violence for quick gain.

Putting women in the position of men creates a spectacle for the ancient readers — how funny, that a woman should be a political leader cf. Theological context Turning from the historical and literary context I will now look at some of the theological issues raised by the female personification of wisdom. I have already hinted at the discussion about chapter 8 of Proverbs and whether this represents a hypostatisation of Wisdom.

Proverbs chapter 8 says something to us about God and about woman. Having referred to the 37 Jane S. It might do that for the modern reader but I do not think the original writers had that in mind. When wisdom proclaims, "I was beside God like a little child," the community, like wisdom, becomes initiated into the grand and joyous ways of God that began in creation In fact, the relationship she wishes with her discipleship is modeled on her relationship with Yahweh. This then becomes not only a relationship with Wisdom that affects all of life but also a relationship with YHWH.

See also William P. It is striking that the greatest church in early Christianity was named the Hagia Sophia47 — the concept of Divine Wisdom remains an important symbol of Christian truth and beauty in the Eastern Orthodox tradition.

The personification of Wisdom as female has had lasting power for generations since it was first conceived by those early Hebrew sages. Conclusion I have explored and described the personification of Wisdom as a woman in Proverbs by looking at the historical context in which it was likely written, the use of the personification as a literary tool and then finally looked at some of its theological consequences. The post-exilic setting had heightened the importance of women and a stable home and this contributed to the setting used within Proverbs for the instruction.

The literary context shed light on the use of female personification as a very effective pedagogical tool — especially for its young male audience. Barton, S. Where Shall Wisdom Be Found? Brown, W. Crenshaw, J. Meyendorff, J. Morgan, D. Perry, T. Sandelin, K. Wisdom as nourisher Abo Akademi, Schroder, S. Webster, J. Weeks, S. Jesus the Sage Minneapolis: Fortress Press, Total views 16, On Slideshare 0.

The first is effusive, the latter exacting. And these are just two examples of types of writings that must read with sensitivity to their genre, their purpose, and their contexts. Therefore, you are not likely reading a technical definition. In considering this, it is important to note that native English speakers are at a disadvantage in understanding grammatical gender.

As for the Bible, the Hebrew and Greek languages do use grammatical gender, and herein is our problem. To show how we native English speakers are ambivalent concerning grammatical gender, consider this. Easy enough.

But what about a car? Is that masculine or feminine? It is neuter. So, you might refer to its gas mileage, its interior, etc. How about a Navy ship? Well, it too is neuter, and we might refer to its displacement or its paint job. However, these ships are often named after men like the USS Ronald Reagan … but that does not make them masculine. In fact, mariners usually refer to a ship in feminine terms.

She is a fine ship; head her into port, etc. I bring all this up to show you that gender is a relatively arbitrary part of English grammar, but this is not so for many other languages. Now in English, since these are both objects and not people, so we do not think of them in terms of gender at all.

In these gender-based languages, most nouns have a strong gender component — but it is grammatical , and it does not necessarily indicate the sexual gender of the object.