This file can be printed for personal use and study. © Reachout Trust - www.reachouttrust.org
The Eternally Begotten-ness of Jesus - 3 - by Andrew Harrison
In this final article on the Eternal Begotten-Ness
of Jesus we will be looking at the passage in Proverbs chapter 8 (verses
22-31) more analytically and see even more of God's eternal Father-Son
relationship expressed in the original text.
As Jesus says in John 17:24:
"Father…you loved me before the creation/foundation
of the world." (See NIV, NRSV, NKJV, ESV).
In this particular verse we have the preposition pro meaning
'before'. Jesus speaks to His Father and we know Jesus existed prior
to the creation/foundation of the world. Clearly even then the Father
was the Father and loved the Son, even before God created anything.
That Parent-Child relationship has always been there. One could argue
that Ephesians 1:4 has a similar phrase, with the same preposition pro,
and so if we are saying that the Father and Son existed as Father and
Son then, Ephesians 1:4 must mean that we have also existed ourselves
and then to have been chosen by God. But Ephesians 1:4 is not only talking
about us being chosen before the foundation of the world, but about
predestination as we see clearly from the following verse (Eph.1:5).
Predestination is certainly not the emphasis in John 17:24. The Father-Son
relationship existed at the beginning as we will further confirm from
Proverbs 8:22-31.
My second article introduced Proverbs 8:22-31. We are now in a position
to look at the passage in more depth. I think we are already in a good
position to tackle the translation difficulty in verse 22.
"The Lord possessed me at the beginning
of his work, the first of his acts of old." (ESV)
The Hebrew word qanah is translated 'possessed' and it can also
be translated 'created'. The context of the verse is time prior to the
creation of the universe - before anything was made. The Lord (Yahweh)
already possessed wisdom at the beginning. He possessed both the attribute
of wisdom and His Son, the 'wisdom of God'. You can 'possess' the Son
as Matthew 3:17 shows:
"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am
well pleased." (ESV).
Proverbs 8:22 is reminiscent of:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with
God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing
made that was made." (ESV John 1:1-3).
The Word (Logos) is not just a spoken word, but the
very reasoning and thought processes of God. So Yahweh possessed wisdom
and He possessed reason/thought at the beginning - before He created
anything. Shortly, I will show that it is speaking not only of a finite
time prior to any act of creation, but prior to (in a manner of speaking)
God ever doing anything, i.e., from eternity-past.
The ESV has an alternative translation for 'possessed' in a footnote
- 'fathered'. This fits well too, as we already know that Jesus Christ
is eternally begotten of the Father. Also in the footnote it says that
the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament [LXX]) has 'created'.
But the Greek O.T. is not the superior text for translating; the Hebrew
is. Even so, Brenton does translate this Greek word ektise (from
ktidzo) as 'made' rather than 'created'. We have:
"The Lord made me the
beginning of his ways for his works." (Proverbs 8:22. Brenton).
We already know that the Hebrew qanah can be translated 'he created'
and we are in the same situation here with ktidzo, although it
is not essential to translate it 'create' or 'made'. Liddell and Scott
tells us that ktidzo means:
"... to found, plant, build, institute, establish,
produce, create, etc."
A Preposition
Also important in the Greek translation is the fact that the Greek does
not have the preposition 'at'. Brenton translates it, "He made
me the beginning of…" rather than "He made me at the
beginning of…". The Hebrew tends to be translated, "He possessed
me at the beginning of"'. In other words, even the Greek does not
say God created wisdom at the beginning, but rather that He simply made
Him to be the beginning of the Father's way - i.e., it was through Jesus
that all things began. In fact even the Hebrew does not have a preposition
here - it is supplied as, 'in', 'as', 'at', etc. So, wisdom was not
created at the beginning of His way, but rather made to be the beginning
of His way. This is reminiscent of 1 Corinthians 1:30 where we read
that God made Jesus (to be) our wisdom (see Part 2).
Ellicott even says, relating to Proverbs 8:22, that the Hebrew word
qanah being translated 'formed' or 'begotten' not only agrees
with verses 23 and 24, but also agrees with the Greek word ktidzo
in the Septuagint Greek O.T. (LXX). The translation 'created' is not
necessary or, in my opinion, even appropriate in Proverbs 8:22. (See
Ellicott).
Revelation 3:14
This verse is sometimes used to support the translation, 'he created'
in Proverbs 8:22.
Here we read that Jesus is:
"the beginning of God's
creation." (ESV)
"the ruler of God's creation." (NIV)
"the beginning of the creation of God." (NKJV)
"the origin of God's creation." (NRSV)
Jesus is not the first to be created; He is the first to be born as
the Firstborn; Jesus is not the first creature to be made, He is the
one from which all things were created; Jesus is not simply the beginning
or start of all these things, He is their origin. (See also Colossians
1:18; Revelation 21:6; 22:13). The Greek word from which we get the
translations, beginning, origin and ruler is arche. Abbott-Smith
gives various definitions:
Beginning, origin
An extremity, corner
Sovereignty, principality, rule
In line with Colossians 1:15-17, Jesus is the originator of the creation
of God/God's creation. Metzger points out that "the creation by
God" would require the preposition hupo. So we cannot have
"Jesus the beginning of the creation by God" which might imply
Jesus was created. Rather, we have Jesus as the original source of God's
creation (Metzger).
Actually the Greek Old Testament has the same word for 'beginning',
arche, in Proverbs 8:22, and so we can be justified in translating
it: "The Lord made me the origin of his
ways for his works." (LXX Proverbs 8:22).
The Hebrew for 'beginning' in Proverbs 8:22 can also have the meaning
of 'first' or 'chief' in the sense of rank. In square brackets in Gesenius'
Hebrew Lexicon, it is stated that it is in the sense of, "head
of creation, not spoken of as a creature". (Gesenius).
As mentioned, the preposition is absent in the Greek as it is in the
Hebrew, and this possible translation confirms 1 Corinthians 1:30 where
we see that God made Jesus to be our wisdom (see ESV).
For the Hebrew, Ellicott suggests supplying the word "as".
He says:
"It is probable that this verse [Proverbs 8:22]
should be translated, "He [The Lord] brought me forth as the beginning
of His way…" (Ellicott [square brackets added])
In Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament on qanah
we have the following note:
"There does not appear to be any sufficient
ground for ascribing the sense of 'to create' to this verb; in all the
passages cited for that sense, 'to possess' appears to be the true meaning."
(Gesenius)
Even if we decide it was God creating His own architectural skills for
the task at hand, 'brought forth' would be the more appropriate translation.
It is more like God positioning wisdom in readiness for creation - as
a function of Himself - namely, the Son as one Person of the Godhead
(Trinity). After all, how can God create wisdom without perfect wisdom
already there?
I have already presented many possible translations of this passage
without feeling we ever need to translate qanah as "He created".
Here are a few of the many possibilities already mentioned:
"The Lord made me (to be) the beginning of his way…"
"The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his way…" (NKJV)
"The Lord brought me forth as the beginning of his way…" (Ellicott).
Literal Translations
I have chosen several translations respected as faithful to the literal
text of the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament to look
at in this article. Are these translations of Proverbs 8:22 correct?
I am hesitant in saying any translation of the Bible is incorrect, but
let's look at some examples.
"The Lord possessed me at the beginning
of his way, before his works of old." (NKJV)
The Lord possessed the attribute of wisdom and actually was 'wisdom'
if we see Jesus as the true 'personification' of wisdom. He possessed
wisdom at the beginning. The beginning of what? Wisdom has always been
there and always been involved from before anything was created. This
passage in Proverbs takes us on a journey almost, from before creation,
until the time after mankind was created and 'wisdom' delighted in it
(Proverbs 8:31).
If we take 'beginning' as temporal it has to refer to the beginning
of anything! Before anything even started - from eternity.
This translation is literal: 'beginning of His way' (Hebrew derek).
The word means literally 'way' as opposed to 'work'. Yes, the Lord possessed
wisdom 'before His works of old' but also before God acted in any way,
shape or form - at the beginning of His way! Now, was there ever a time
when God did not have a 'way' - thought, action intention, etc.? No.
The 'beginning' has to be from eternity because God has been God 'from
everlasting to everlasting' (Psalm 90:2 - NRSV).
So wisdom as an attribute and wisdom as the Person Jesus, has always
been part of God from eternity. This translation (NKJV) confirms it
and so does the original Hebrew. So, relying on the literal translation
'way', it seems to me impossible to justify saying that wisdom was created
before God created anything else. If God did not do anything at all
before He possessed wisdom then who created wisdom? Well, we know who
brought forth wisdom - the Lord Himself! Wisdom therefore was certainly
not created! The only way I can accept 'created', while accepting the
passage as doctrinally significant (rather than simply proverbial language),
is as 'creating from infinity-past (eternity)', if we can accept such
a concept.
"The Lord possessed me at the beginning
of his work, before his deeds of old." (NIV)
The NIV is basically the same here but is less literal and translates
'way' as 'work'. This still fits. God did possess wisdom at the beginning
of His work - creative work or any activity. The NIV places 'way' or
'dominion' in a footnote. Again God has always possessed wisdom so did
so at the beginning of any activity.
"The Lord brought me forth…" (NIV
footnote)
In line with accurate translation of the Hebrew, the fathering aspect
of the word 'possessed' is noted as an alternative. This also fits in
with the eternal begotten-Ness of God.
"The Lord possessed me at the beginning
of his work, the first of his acts of old." (ESV)
Again, the ESV has translated the word for 'way' as 'work'. This is
due to the translators identifying that wisdom was part and parcel of
the process of creation from the very beginning. However, reading from
the original Hebrew, both nuances are clear. You need to see several
English translations to get a similar picture. Again, 'way' is noted
in the footnote and admits that the Hebrew (our primary biblical authority
for the Old Testament) says 'way' literally.
"The Lord created me at the beginning of
his work, the first of his acts of long ago." (NRSV)
Again, we have the word 'work' instead of 'way', which is placed as
a footnote, identifying that 'way' is the literal Hebrew translation.
In this version (NRSV) the Hebrew words behind 'work' and 'acts' are
taken as synonyms as though both refer to the creative acts of God,
but it is admittedly not as literal as it could be (the preface of the
NRSV confirms that the translators accept that the Hebrew was the primary
authoritative text for the translation). It is unfortunate that they
have not only chosen to see 'way' and 'works' as synonymous, but have
also combined this with the word 'created'.
The idea that God created wisdom at a finite time is a nonsense, whether
you believe this refers to wisdom as Jesus or simply the attribute.
Wisdom could not be created from 'nothing' like the universe was (Romans
4:17).
The Hebrew in Genesis chapter 1:1 and its Greek translation (LXX) use
different words for 'created'. Proverbs 8:22 has qanah (Hebrew)
and ktidzo (Greek) whereas Genesis 1:1 has bara (Hebrew)
and poieo (Greek). This may well be another hint that 'created'
is not an appropriate translation in Proverbs 8:22 since the English
word has the wrong connotations.
There was never a time when God was without wisdom as the Perfect Eternal
God. God was able to send He who was already His Son into the world
as God Incarnate. Similarly, God sent forth His Sonship/Wisdom/Word
from eternity for the purpose of creating the universe. Proverbs 8:23
This verse goes into more detail about when God possessed wisdom.
"I have been established from everlasting,
from the beginning, before there was ever an earth." - (NKJV)
"I was appointed (Footnote: fashioned) from eternity, from the
beginning, before the world began." -( NIV)
"Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the
earth." - (ESV)
"Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the
earth." - (NRSV)
The ESV and NRSV take it at least as far back as before the creation
of the earth, which it was - from eternity past, in fact.
The NIV is right to use 'from eternity' since this is the significance
of the Hebrew word, olam. Its meaning is: "a time hidden,
indefinite or unlimited" (Davidson). And especially in this verse,
where we have no fewer than three synonymous Hebrew words, 'eternity',
'beginning' and 'ancient times' (see Green), there is a clear emphasis
not only on the fact that wisdom was 'set up' long ago, but an emphasis
on the time - from eternity.
As it says in Proverbs 8:24 and 25: 'I was brought forth/ given birth'
(see NIV, NRSV, ESV, NKJV), which confirms everything I have shown so
far.
Conclusion
So we can see that wisdom, whether referring to Jesus Christ or not,
had to be 'brought forth' in eternity, and since wisdom has always been
part of God's nature, He possessed wisdom before all things.
This is a beautiful passage with wisdom identified as Jesus because
it shows a wonderful relationship between Father and Son.
Unfortunately, these things can be lost in translation and this is where
a knowledge of Greek and Hebrew helps. Translators cannot know everything
about every doctrine and every nuance of meaning and I think the translation
'he created' in the NRSV is an honest translation by a committee trying
to be accurate. Unfortunately, in translation you cannot sometimes help
'fixing down' one nuance of the meaning of the original words. This
is sometimes inevitable and as a result the meaning is not left as broad
as it should be.
I want to end by giving glory to Jesus our salvation:
"in whom are hidden all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge." (Col.2:3).
Bibliography
New Revised Standard Version (1989) Oxford University Press
New International Version (1979) Hodder and Stoughton
New King James Version (1982) Thomas Nelson Publishers
English Standard Version (2002) Collins
Metzger, B.M., The Jehovah's Witnesses and Jesus Christ. From: Theology
Today 1953. The Theological Book Agency, Princeton, NJ.
Davidson, B., Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon. Bagster and Sons.
Ellicott, C.J.[Ed.],. Ellicott's Commentary on the Whole Bible Vol.
IV. (1959). Zondervan Publishing House.
Snaith, N.H. The Hebrew Bible. The British and Foreign Bible Society
The New Testament (Greek Text). Trinitarian Bible Society
Nestle - Aland. Novum Testamentum Graece. (1981). Deutsche Bibelstittung
Stuttgart.
Abbot/Smith. Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. (third ed. 1986)
T and T Clark.
The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament (AV). Bagster. The Nestle
Greek Text with a literal English translation by Rev. Dr. Alfred Marshall
(1958)
Moulton, H.K., The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised. (1978). Regency
Reference Library, Zondervan Publishing House.
Green, J.P., The Interlinear Bible - Hebrew, Greek, English. (second
ed. 1986). Baker Book House.
Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. (1979). Transl.
Samuel P. Tregelles. Baker Book House.
Brenton, Lancelot C.L., The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English.
(1851). Zondervan.
Rahlfs, Alfred (Ed.). Septuagint. (1979). Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
Stuttgart.
Liddell and Scott. Greek-English Lexicon (1899) ed. 27. Oxford
Reachout Quarterly, Issues 67, 68 and 72. Reachout Trust.
Return to Part 1 Return
to Part 2