Texts in Conversation
In Proverbs, God's wisdom is pictured beside him as a master craftsman when he made the world. In the Shepherd of Hermas, the Son of God is described in similar language, older than creation and the Father's adviser in making it, a role like Wisdom's.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Proverbs 8:30
Hebrew Bible
22 The Lord created me as the beginning of his works, before his deeds of long ago. 23 From eternity I have been fashioned, from the beginning, from before the world existed. 24 When there were no deep oceans I was born, when there were no springs overflowing with water; 25 before the mountains were set in place—before the hills—I was born, 26 before he made the earth and its fields, or the top soil of the world. 27 When he established the heavens, I was there; when he marked out the horizon over the face of the deep, 28 when he established the clouds above, when he secured the fountains of the deep, 29 when he gave the sea his decree that the waters should not pass over his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was beside him as a master craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, rejoicing before him at all times, 31 rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, and delighting in its people.
Shepherd of Hermas 89:2
Early Christian
1 “First of all, Sir,” I said, “explain this to me: what are the rock and the gate?” “This rock and gate,” he said, “are the Son of God.” “How, Sir,” I said, “is the rock ancient, but the gate new?” “Listen,” he said, “and understand, foolish one. 2 The Son of God is older than all His creation, so that He was the Father’s adviser in creation. That is why He is ancient.” “But why is the gate new, Sir?” I said. 3 “Because,” he said, “He was revealed in the last days of the fulfillment; that is why the gate was made new, so that those who are to be saved can enter through it into the kingdom of God.
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Notes and References
“... The tension between the old rock and the new door expresses the christological tension between preexistence and historical incarnation. The preexistence of the Son is clearly stated in v. 2, but he is in good company: previously the church and the great angel are also said to be preexistent. A wisdom background provides the role of the Son as advisor [...] to the Father about creation. [...] Prov 8:22-31; Wis 9:9; Sir 24:10. ...”
* 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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