Wisdom Personified

Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths. She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors. Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.
Proverbs 8:1-4

The personification of Wisdom according to much of the Book of Proverbs is often seen as a metaphorical description of man’s need for knowledge, understanding and sound judgment. However, there is reason to believe Proverbs in many instances may be describing the existence of an angelic being.

Debunking Myths

Not the Mama – Besides other errors, there are some who mistakenly believe Wisdom, particularly in Proverbs 8, represents the Holy Spirit. This is not true. Not only does the New Testament address the Holy Spirit in the masculine gender instead of the feminine as Proverbs does Wisdom, but further information disproving the association of Proverbs' Wisdom with the identity of God is found in Proverbs 8:22, where the original Hebrew language is translated saying: “The LORD created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old...” Since God including Christ and the Holy Spirit have no beginning and no end (Hebrews 7:3), this cannot be Him. The text is describing a creation and not the Creator.

Not a Metaphor - Since God never changes and is written to be all-wise, we can assume that wisdom itself, always belonged to Him, but Wisdom as described in Proverbs was created somewhere in time, so how can wisdom which is uncreated be created? And since God who was all-wise, has no beginning but Wisdom according to Proverbs does have a beginning, then Wisdom according to this Scripture must definitely be referring to something other than a notion. If wisdom itself was already with God, then all things considered, the only possible alternative to an abstract description of Proverbs 8, is that of a personal description.

History lines up with Scripture

Even secular history supports the notion of Wisdom as a personified being. Let me go off the subject a bit to explain how the Gentiles related to Jews; the Greeks in art and literature showed many unquestionable comparisons with Judaic beliefs. The comparisons are so sharp that some falsely accuse the Jews of plagiarism. To answer the confusion, the Bible confirms that the ancient world knew God even before the Nation of Israel was formed(Romans 1:19-24). This explains why Judaic beliefs and myth sound so similar. Like a nomad, God simply wandered from nation to nation until He found a people who could love Him, best.

The book of Acts even goes as far as validating certain Greek poets as men who were inspired by God. But before examining Greek prose relating to insight about Wisdom, let us first consider the validity of an ancient Greek poem that was later quoted by Apostle Paul about Christ:

"They fashioned a tomb for thee, O holy and high one— / The Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies! / But thou art not dead: thou livest and abidest forever, / For in thee we live and move and have our being.”

The above poem was written by non-Christian Greek writer, Epimenides in 6th Century B.C. The Apostle Paul, who also said that the Cretans were liars, as Epimenides did, mentions the passage many years later in Acts 17:28. Here he says to the Greeks:

“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring."

We find yet another correlation between Scripture and Ancient Greek prose with this passage:

“…consequently it is a difficult attainment to report each one of his deeds in a worthy manner and to present a record which shall be on a level with labours so great, the magnitude of which won for him the prize of immortality.”

The above poem comes from Diodorus Siculus, Library of History (Books III - VIII). It compares to John 21:25, which refers to Christ, yet it was written long before His time on Earth. Now that undeniable matches between Jewish and Greek religious literature have been presented, compare the following historical texts to Scripture concerning, Wisdom:

Athena – Worshipped by ancient Greeks as the goddess of wisdom. Her name meant, “the mind of God.”

Counsel

History - "Athena goes to each man's side, speaks and rouses the spirit and heart of each man---" Odyssey 8.7. Homer, circa 8th century B.C.

Holy Scripture - Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances, she cries aloud: "To you, O men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind.

Proverbs 8:1-4

Preferential Love

History - "If only the bright-eyed goddess chose to love you just as she lavished care on brave Odysseus...I've never seen the immortals show so much affection as Pallas (Athena) openly showed him..." Odyssey 3: 247. Homer, circa 8th century B.C.

… She (Athena) always favored Odysseus. She loved his cunning mind and shrewd ways, and she was always willing to help him. Homer’s Odyssey, circa 8th century B.C.

"For never yet have I seen the Gods so manifestly showing love, as Pallas Athena did to him (Odysseus), standing manifest by his side..."
Odyssey 3.222. Homer, circa 8th century B.C.

Holy Scripture - I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.

Proverbs 8:17

Battle Strategy

History – During the Trojan War, Athena who represented intellectual tactics in battle, defeated Ares the Greek god of war, who represented chaotic violence and slaughter. Homer, circa 8th century B.C.

Holy Scripture - "Wisdom prevails over strength, knowledge over brute force; for wars are won by skillful strategy, and victory is the fruit of long planning." Proverbs 24: 5-6

History - "Then down they (Athena and Oddysseus) sat by the sacred olive's trunk to plot the death of the high and mighty suitors. The bright eyed goddess Athena led the way..." Odyssey 13: 426. Homer, circa 8th century B.C.

Holy Scripture (repeated) - "Wisdom prevails over strength, knowledge over brute force; for wars are won by skillful strategy, and victory is the fruit of long planning." Proverbs 24: 5-6

Besides Athena’s basic functions, she was also known as a protector of cities under the name Athena Polias. The Biblical title of a Principality applies to certain of God’s angels, fallen angels and even authorities on earth, all who rule over specific domains and guard certain individuals.

The Forbidden Worship of Angels

The Bible says that many pagans worshipped angels (Colossians 2:18). This confirms that not all idols were forged from human imagination, but the knowledge of actual celestial creatures made known to the world. The Greeks who worshipped Wisdom under the name Athena, were committing a shameful act. Angels are our allies and brethren. They are not to be our gods. The Apostle John who spent intimate time with God in the form of Jesus Christ even fell to the sin of angel worship (Revelation 22:8). When he bowed down before his angelic guide in the book of Revelations, the angel was quick to correct him, but the Greeks were abandoned to their ongoing abomination of idol worship.

Not only did certain Greeks worship the angel Wisdom, but they worshipped other angels that were later made known to the Christian world. This includes the worship of the popularized and well known Herald Angel, Gabriel who announced the birth of Christ and appeared to Old Testament prophets. The Greeks identified Gabriel as Hermes, the swift and wing footed messenger god of travelers. Ultimately, the Greeks even subjected God Himself to idol worship. Almighty God was not only addressed by Greeks as the Unknown God from Acts 17:23, but He was also known as some of the most revered figures in ancient legend. However, pagan methods of worship and recognition were considered carnal and are unacceptable to Him.

Acts 17:22-31 asserts that God winked at such ignorance as the ancient Greeks demonstrated in terms of the knowledge of the unseen world and service to God, but since the birth, death, resurrection of Jesus Christ, all are responsible for knowing God accurately and fully. His heavenly hosts should no longer be overlooked or misrepresented, but identified for who they really are and how they truly function. Hopefully, this article helps to put such things into proper perspective.