Genesis 1:1

Hebrew Bible

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was hovering11 over the surface of the water. 3 God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light!

Proverbs 8:22

Hebrew Bible

21 that I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, and that I may fill their treasuries. 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.

 Notes and References

"... In Proverbs 8 one reads that personified Wisdom also played a role in creation, which is not mentioned in the other accounts. She says, “YHWH created me, the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth ... then I was beside him, like a master worker” (verses 22–23, 30). She says that she came before the depths, the dust, the heavens, and the establishment of the boundaries of the waters; all of these figure prominently in the Genesis accounts, which creates a dialogue among these texts. Proverbs 8 can be seen as a kind of inner-biblical midrash, a retelling and reinterpretation of the story. By calling Wisdom “the beginning of [God’s] work,” the author inserts her into Genesis 1:1, so that one can read, “With the beginning (one), God created,” that is, “With Wisdom at his side, God created ...” One can discuss whether Proverbs 8’s insertion is compatible with Genesis 1:1 when the latter is read on its own, but in any case the author of Proverbs 8 seemingly set out to transform and redefine the reader’s view of creation ..."

Hays, Christopher B. Hidden Riches: A Sourcebook for the Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East (p. 68) Westminster John Knox Press, 2014

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