This passage is not saying the messiah will be from everlasting. There is no mention of the messiah. Mishlei / Proverbs 8:22-23 is speaking of G-d's wisdom as given to us in His Torah. Part of the missionary error may lie in the fact that in Mishlei / Proverbs wisdom is personified as a woman (was Jesus ever a woman?). Some missionaries seem to take this personification as literal -- as in yet a 4th part of their "godhead" (G-d is one). Yet the author, Solomon, tells us it is NOT literal -- it is allegory and metaphor! "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, [are]. . . to understand an allegory and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles." Mishlei / Proverbs 1:1 - 6. The very Hebrew word of the book, מִשְׁלֵי / Mishlei means a proverb or parable -- an allegoric metaphor. In other words -- this is not a prophecy, not a literal reading (such as wisdom personified as a woman being literal). The basic building block of Solomon's book of wise sayings is the allegory (מָשָׁל / mashal). Portraying wisdom as a woman Solomon is using metaphors and images to make abstract concepts come alive. This missionary error of seeing these metaphors as literal may stem from the fact that Christians have re-ordered the Jewish bible out of all recognition. The word TaNaCH is actually an acronym for the parts of the Hebrew Bible: "T" is for Torah, "N" is for Nevi'im, and "CH" is for Ketuvim. The Torah is the first part of the TaNaCH. The Christian version of the Jewish bible moves the books around – which changes not only the flow but the logic of many of them. . . The T’nach is comprised of תּוֹרָה (Torah), translates to "instruction." The Torah is often called the “Five Books of Moses” or the Pentateuch. G-d dictated the Torah to Moses and it is the holiest part of the bible. The second part of the bible is נְבִיאִים / Nevi’im (Prophets). נְבִיאִים / Nevi’im (Prophets) records the communication to the Jewish people by the prophets aka a navi. A navi is really a spokesperson for G-d one who speaks to his or her generation on behalf of G-d. These prophets had dreams and visions (not direct communication as did Moses). The works in נְבִיאִים / Nevi’im (Prophets) were saved by the Men of the Great Assembly as their messages were both for their own generation and future generations. The prophets often warned the Jews to follow Torah. There is nothing in Nevi'im that adds to or contradicts the Torah – the books re-enforce the need to be Torah observant. Then we come to כְּתוּבִים / Ketuvim -- translated as "Writings" is the third section of the T'nach. Ketuvim consists of history, stories, essays, songs and poems. Again, the Men of the Great Assembly compiled Ketuvim. Just as Nevi'im is holy, but not as holy as the Torah, so too is Ketuvim holy, but not as holy as Nevi'im. The Writings were written under the influence of the spirit of G-d, which is a communication with G-d that is a level less than that of prophecy. In prophecy G-d speaks through the prophet. With ruach haKodesh (spirit of holiness) the person is moved by the spirit of G-d. Mishlei / Proverbs is found in כְּתוּבִים / Ketuvim translated as "Writings." It is not prophecy, and it is not literal. It is placed in this portion of the T'nach because it is Solomon's teachings of wise sayings in his own words, not in G-d's words (direct prohecy). To summarize:
Mishlei / Proverbs is manual witten by wise King Solomon (Shlomo HaMelech) about how to live a righteous life by following the wisdom of G-d's "little instruction book" for life -- the Torah. The book focuses on behavior, and how through our actions we can live righteous lives. This seems to contradict the missionary belief than man is too wicked to act righteously and so needs to be saved by Jesus. Here are a few quotes from the sefer (book) showing that people have the ability to be righteous and there is no need for Jesus to die as an atoning sacrifice: Mishlei / Proverbs 2:20 in order that you go in the way of the good, and you keep the ways of the righteous. Mishlei / Proverbs 3:33 The curse of the L-rd is in the wicked man's house, but He shall bless the dwelling of the righteous. Mishlei / Proverbs 8:20 In the way of righteousness I will go, in the midst of the paths of justice. Mishlei / Proverbs 10:6 Blessings [shall come] upon the head of a righteous man, but violence shall cover the mouth of the wicked. Wisdom, in Mishlei / Proverbs is often personified as a woman (the Hebrew word for wisdom, חָכְמָה (hochMAH), is a feminine noun). If Jesus “was” wisdom why does Luke 2:52 say “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature”? The passage says that that G-d "acquired me (wisdom) at the beginning of His way, before His works of old." -- at the beginning means it had a beginning (ergo not eternal, not part of G-d Himself). But, if wisdom has been around "from the beginning" -- and the Christian bible states that Jesus' wisdom grew -- then he was not wisdom personified (not to mention Jesus wasn't a woman!). If there is one thing to learn from this blog -- it is context, context, context. The book of Mishlei / Proverbs uses allegory to teach how to leave a righteous life, through G-d's wisdom (the Torah). It is not literal -- and Solomon tells the reader this in the very first part of the book. "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, [are]. . . to understand an allegory and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles." Mishlei / Proverbs 1:1 - 6.
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