Comments on: Wisdom: craftsman, child or companion?

By: ElShaddai Edwards

ElShaddai Edwards — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:55:28 +0000

Peter: I wonder if “darling” is supposed to be its rendering of ‘amon. I think you're right. For what it's worth, here are the notes from the NEB Oxford Study Edition:

30: Darling: The Heb. is uncertain; perhaps the meaning is master workman or confidant. If darling, the figure is of a child playing in the presence of a loving father. The personification of Wisdom is of profound theological significance, for it corrects a faulty notion that God was thought of in Wisdom literature as somewhat remote from his creation. A development in the idea of personification can be traced from Job ch. 28, which asks about Wisdom's hiding place, through [Proverbs] 8.22-31 (and 3.19-20), to Ecclus. 24.1-24 and Wis. 7.22-8.21. In Ecclus. 24.1 Wisdom is identified with Torah; in Wis. she is viewed, in a Greek manner, as an emanation of God.

By: Peter Kirk

Peter Kirk — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:48:08 +0000

I think NEB has transposed (as is its wont) “each day” from the second line to the first. I wonder if “darling” is supposed to be its rendering of ‘amon.

For reference, here is a very literal translation of verse 30, words in brackets added to make sense in English:

And I was (in) his proximity ‘amon
And I was (his) delight day (by) day
Playing to his face (i.e. in front of him) in all time.

By: ElShaddai Edwards

ElShaddai Edwards — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:27:38 +0000

Peter noted: The TNIV rendering appears to be based on reading `amon as “constantly”. This fits in well with the parallelism of “day after day” and “always” in the following lines.

Okay, that makes sense. They must be rendering “constantly” in a sense of “faithful” as mentioned in the NET notes. I read that note as the translation could be “I was faithfully at his side”, which seems to be the interpretation of the NEB/REB’s “each day” in that first line. I wasn’t sure if that was the case because the NEB/REB doesn’t include a parallel in line 2, which the other translations seem to do (e.g. TNIV: “day after day”).

By: tc robinson

tc robinson — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:56:17 +0000

Peter, I also see the reasoning behind the TNIV’s choice–the synonymous parallelism of “constantly” and “day after day,” which make “constantly” a viable option for the Hebrew in question.

By: ElShaddai Edwards

ElShaddai Edwards — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:47:55 +0000

Thanks, Peter. I waffled on where to put the KJV since I initially read it as “a child” as you’ve noted. Then I read Strong’s notes and they noted that the most likely meaning was “as one trained through apprenticeship”. But maybe that’s just an attempt to line up with other interpretations.

I will note that the NJB has deftly navigated these verses:

I was beside the master craftsman,
delighting him day after day,
ever at play in his presence,
at play everywhere on his earth,
delighting to be with the children of men.

By: Peter Kirk

Peter Kirk — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:42:39 +0000

Since my Hebrew Bible is still open at Proverbs 8 - The TNIV rendering appears to be based on reading `amon as "constantly". This fits in well with the parallelism of "day after day" and "always" in the following lines. The meaning "master worker" for `amon is poorly attested, being possible but uncertain in Jeremiah 52:15 and there is a similar form apparently with this meaning in Song of Songs 7:1. The Hebrew consonants could equally be read `emun meaning "faithfulness", which could easily be used adverbially in the sense "constantly". I suppose that the "child" sense comes from the KJV rendering as I read it (certainly not "master worker"): "as one brought up with him" based I suppose on reading `amon as a Qal passive participle of the verb `aman in the sense "nourish, be a foster parent".