Texts in Conversation
Proverbs 3:19 and Psalm 136 both describe creation as the result of God’s wisdom, drawing on ancient Near Eastern traditions where building the world required both skill and understanding. Proverbs presents wisdom as the tool through which creation was shaped, while Psalm 136 turns this language into liturgy.
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Proverbs 3:19
Hebrew Bible
17 Her ways are very pleasant, and all her paths are peaceful. 18 She is like a tree of life to those who grasp onto her, and everyone who takes hold of her will be blessed. 19 By wisdom the Lord laid the foundation of the earth; he established the heavens by understanding. 20 By his knowledge the primordial sea was broken open, so that the clouds drip down dew. 21 My child, do not let them escape from your sight; safeguard sound wisdom and discretion.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Psalm 136:5
Hebrew Bible
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his loyal love endures. 4 To the one who performs magnificent, amazing deeds all by himself, for his loyal love endures. 5 To the one who used wisdom to make the heavens, for his loyal love endures. 6 To the one who spread out the earth over the water, for his loyal love endures. 7 To the one who made the great lights, for his loyal love endures,
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Thus, in Proverbs, divine creation and provision are the implicit model for the wisdom by which ordinary builders make and “fill” houses. Lady Wisdom herself, whose role in creation is explored below, is represented by the broken word pair, המכח … הנובת, “wisdom … skill,” not just by “wisdom” - a crucial but sometimes neglected point (Proverbs 8:1; compare 2:2; 3:13; and 9:1). (In Ezekiel 28:4–5 the word pair refers to mercantile prowess. By itself, the term bears connotations of practical competence in areas as diverse as speech; Psalm 49:4; and Proverbs 17:27, warfare; Proverbs 21:30, metallurgy; Hosea 13:2, powers of psychological penetration; Proverbs 20:5, and political governance; Proverbs 28:16, compare Psalm 78:72, which reflects a prior literal usage referring to the skilled hands of a shepherd. Psalm 136:5 describes creation by 'wisdom' alone; compare Psalm 147:5) The word pair reminds one of the double wisdom name of the Ugaritic builder-craftsman god, Kothar-wa-Hasis, who was famous for building Baal’s palace ... house building is a fundamental metaphoric domain used by ancient Near Eastern societies to express their respective views of human wisdom as rooted in divine wisdom manifest in the ordering and provisioning of the cosmos ..."
Van Leeuwen, Raymond C.
"Cosmos, Temple, House: Building and Wisdom in Ancient Mesopotamia and Israel" in Ellis, Richard S., et al. (eds.) From the Foundations to the Crenellations: Essays on Temple Building in the Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible
(pp. 399-421) Ugarit-Verlag, 2010
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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