Why does solomon refer to wisdom as she

Sheffield, England: Camp, Claudia V. Wisdom and the Feminine in the Book of Proverbs. Decatur, Georgia: Fontaine, Carole. Mays, — San Francisco: McKinlay, Judith E. Newsom, Carol A. Day, 43— Minneapolis: Have an update or correction? Let us know. Episode E. Lockhart's New Jewish Superhero. Camp, Claudia V.. Jewish Women's Archive. Learn more. Advanced Search.

Tip: to find an exact phrase or title, enclose it in quotation marks. Academic Article. Book Review. Featured Articles. For other personifications in the Old Testament, see Psalms ; ; ; Isaiah ; Job Genesis , 6, 8,11,13,18, 20, 23; 1 Samuel ; ; Proverbs Proverbs ; ; 31; Proverbs ; ; ; Camp, ; Pr Proverbs , ; ; ; Jeremiah ; ; Ezekiel Proverbs , 22; , 22f; Proverbs ; ; and Songs ,11; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Proverbs ; ; Nicolas J.

Proverbs ; Hosea Proverbs Conclusion There is no final answer to the "why? See: R. Murphy, "The personification of Wisdom", pp. Hadley, "Wisdom and the goddess", pp. This book should be available in most seminary or university libraries.

The latest full, scholarly treatment is the published version of an Oxford doctoral thesis: Alice M. Sinnott, The Personification of Wisdom Ashgate, These both have a limited "preview" on Google Books. Notes There is an excellent, brief treatment of how the other female figures in Prov.

It's well worth a read. In sum, he argues that there is a double movement between the literal and metaphorical female figures, so that "sexual fidelity is also a symbol of one's attachment to Lady Wisdom" p. There is a fairly large corpus of extra-biblical literature on the personified city, but that's not the question here.

I only mention it to show that it is not unique to the Hebrew Bible. For an early account, see William G. Dever, " Asherah, Consort of Yahweh? Judith Hadley's comprehensive study is also available; see J. Improve this answer. PS I created the point bounty to specifically award it to this answer but for various reasons, the system won't let me award it for 24 hours.

This is an exemplary response. I'm really looking forward to reading your questions and answers here. I guess it is Solomon's way of asking: "So who's door are you going to knock on? Niobius Niobius 5, 2 2 gold badges 25 25 silver badges 51 51 bronze badges. Good question. Positively there are both the woman Wisdom who lifts up her voice in Proverbs 8 and the "virtuous woman" in Proverbs 31, and negatively there are both the Great Harlot or "Babylon the Great," of John's Revelation of Jesus Christ , and the "woman clothed with the sun, [with] the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

The Great Harlot serves as a foil for the pregnant woman who gives birth to a son. I DV'd for a few reasons: 1. Denigrating the need to 'show your work'. That's the whole point of SE. These comments are unnecessary. Drawing on a variety of biblical texts without truly 'showing' how they help us understand the specific text s in Proverbs. A systematic connection between Proverbs and those texts can't be assumed.

A perceived lack of PC in the bible isn't relevant to the question. Bringing this into four of ten paragraphs is unnecessary. I do think this is a good answer pointing us to Amenemope is a good thing! Mark 1 was easily fixed: do feel free to edit in a case like this if you feel able.

MarkEdward: Thanks for your comments. I'm still stinging from some rebukes I've received recently about my failure to "show my work," hence the somewhat snide remark, which I've excised. As for the PC references, I've excised them as being irrelevant. As for linking the woman-wisdom to other uses of female personification, I do this to prevent eisegesis. The OP's question focuses on Proverbs, but that book is but one of 66, and a literary device one author uses in one book of Scripture is often used by another author elsewhere.

Such linking is encouraged in any thoroughgoing hermeneutic. I liked your answer the best because it stated the actual truth; the 'woman' is a trope, a figure of expression the author uses to get his point across. Because he must 'court' her in order to gain her favors, she must be treated as a woman and not a man; although all true wisdom comes from God who takes the masculine gender. You might have shortened this up a little bit, but you are on the right track-unlike the 1st answer.

We all need a whup up the side 'o the head occasionally some of us, more than occasionally! Some folks call it an "attitude adjustment. Show 4 more comments. Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. Linked