The interpretation of Nwm) in verse 30 has long been subject of debate, which continues unabated even among the most recent modern scholars color=#0000ff>¹. Three basic explanations are currently under consideration. These meanings correspond to those of the root Nm) in other biblical passages, Aramaic, and Phoenician inscriptions on the one hand and a like sounding Akkadian word on the other. Each is possible on linguistic grounds and able to draw on support from comparative evidence ².

        1. The word has been read )a4mu=n (cf. Lam 4,5) and associated with Nmw) or tnmw) meaning nurse or child tender, so Wisdom is seen as God’s young nursling, ward, and the like. Several scholars have pointed to Ma’at, the Egyptian goddess of justice and cosmic order (?), as a parallel to the child-like character of Wisdom in this chapter. This interpretation, with a variation, has been defended by Michael Fox ³. Following the medieval grammarian Ibn Janah and exegete Moshe Kimhi, Fox parses the word not as a substantive but as an infinitive absolute meaning "being raised" or

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"growing up". This solves the grammatical difficulty and obviates the slight emendation to the vocalization.

        2. The noun Nmw) ()u=ma4n) means artisan (cf. Cant 7,2) or architect, so Wisdom has been taken to proclaim that she is a chief craftsman who assisted God in creating the world. Avi Hurvitz has supported this interpretation on morphological grounds, preserving the Massoretic vocalization, and claiming that the noun form qa4t[o<l is one that indicates professions ⁴. Cleon Rogers III advocates this meaning for the word but suggests that for reasons of syntax the referent is not Wisdom but God ⁵.

        3. The word has been associated with Akkadian umma4nu and Aramaic cognates meaning advisor and designating important court officials. This interpretation has been discussed at length by Henri Cazelles, who has adduced much comparative evidence about royal court advisors in Mesopotamian literature and in Ahiqar ⁶. This is the only interpretation that has not been challenged because of morphological difficulties.

        When confronting a polyvalent word the ultimate task is to determine which single meaning best suits the context in which it appears. All other options, interesting as they may be, are beside the point. This implies that in order for an ambiguous lexeme to be interpreted definitively the entire passage must be read as to its overall meaning, temporarily leaving the questionable word unexplained. Only then may the reader choose an explanation of the problematic term that is most appropriate. So let us first examine the larger literary unit to clarify the context.

        Prov 8,22-31 is the concluding passage of a long paean of self-praise by Lady Wisdom, occupying all of chap. 8. However, whereas in the previous verses Wisdom boasts of the many benefits she holds out to mankind, and the ruling class in particular (vv. 15-16), in this concluding passage she claims as much as to be a boon even to YHWH Himself. Also, the chronological framework changes. In vv. 1-21 Lady Wisdom speaks in the present, telling how she benefits mankind now, while in vv. 22-31 she reverts to the hoary past.

        There are two basic elements in this passage. On the one hand, Wisdom refers to YHWH’s acts before, during, and after the creation of the world, thereby accounting for the origin and maintenance of cosmic order. Quantitatively this is the dominant component of the pericope. However, all this material appears in adverbial uses, and secondary, subordinate clauses marking it as background. The backbone and main part of the speech, expressed in a chain of finite verbs in past tense, is a description

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of things done to Wisdom or Wisdom’s own actions corresponding with the different stages of YHWH’s activity. Wisdom stands center stage describing her own life against a backdrop of YHWH’s creative works. These two elements may be examined separately, first the background and then the main narrative.

        The stage is set in a primordial age. These times are referred to in vv. 22-23 with four adverbial phrases and adverbs denoting the distant past, essentially the beginning of time: wkrd ty#)r "at the beginning of His way" (i.e. "the first of His deeds"; cf. Job 40,19 l) ykrd ty#)r "the first of El’s ways", describing Behemoth); z)m wyl(pm Mdq, "before His works of then"; Mlw(m, "from eternity"; and Cr) ymdqm, "from before/ the beginnings of the earth".

        Vv. 24-25 continue to describe the time before creation, but no longer in general, temporal terms. Now Wisdom declares her precedence to the main forces of nature and components of the universe. First she speaks in the negative, referring to the non-existence of certain major components of the universe: twmht Ny)b, "when there were no subterranean waters"; Mym ydbkn twny(m Ny)b "when there were no springs heavy with water" ⁷. Describing the unformed universe negatively, in terms of what did not yet exist, is comparable to the beginning of the J creation account in Gen 2,4 and the Babylonian creation myth Enuma elish. Continuing her speech, Wisdom simply speaks of preceding certain events but no longer in negative formulation: w(b+wh Myrh Mr+b "before the mountains were submerged (in the water)"; tw(bg ynpl "before the hills (were founded)". Finally, in v. 26 both negative and positive references to past events occur, in a single verse as a conclusion of this pre-creation period in time: twcwxw Cr) h#( )l d( "while He had not yet made the land and unsettled areas"; lbt twrp( #)rw "before/at the beginning of the dust of the dry land" ⁸. Afterwards, in vv. 27-29, adverbial phrases containing infinitive constructs with possessive pronominal suffixes anteceded by God mention actual acts of creation indicating the progression of time: Mym# wnykhb "when He established/ founded/ made firm the heavens"; Mymh ynp l( gwx wqxb "when he inscribed a circle (the horizon) on the face of the water". These indicate the first steps in creating the heaven and the earth, while l(mm Myqx#& wcm)b "when He strengthened the highest heavens above" and Mwht twny( zwz(b "when He strengthened the wells of the deep" (or "when the wells of the deep gushed forth") indicate the completion of the process.

        After completing the heavens and the earth, the sea and foundations of the earth must be maintained in their place, for the sea perpetually threatens to wash away the land, while the earth itself is unstable, prone to trembling and earthquake. At any moment the world could revert to chaos. Cosmic order is preserved by continued divine fiat, expressed by repeating the word wqwx found in v. 27 but with different meanings and grammatical forms: Cr) ydswm wqwxb // wyp wrb(y )l Mymw wqwx Myl wmw#b " when

He imposed His ordinance (wqwx is a substantive) upon the sea so that the water does not transgress His word, when He ordained (wqwx is an infinitive construct with possessive suffix) the foundations/ regulations of the earth" ⁹.

        V. 31 refers to the dry land (lbt) which results from God’s successful management of the sea, and finally to humanity, Md) ynb, indicating that creation has been completed.

        This exquisitely structured account of creating, structuring, and maintaining the world, serves as a chronological setting and cosmological backdrop for the main narrative, the autobiography of Lady Wisdom. There is a problem in interpreting this autobiography, for some of the terms used are slightly ambiguous. This is directly related to the problem of Nwm), so when reading and preparing to define that term we must be aware of the possibilities of different interpretations.

        Wisdom was created by God. The word ynnq can be translated "acquired me", which could imply that Wisdom is God’s maidservant or wife. It could also indicate that Wisdom was already in existence and that she is either eternal like God or had come into existence independently of Him at some undesignated date in the past. Both these possibilities are highly unlikely on theological grounds and would contradict what follows. Since ytllwx in the continuation means "I was born", in this context ynnq more likely means "created me". It has the specific connotation of "bore me" as in Gen 4,1 describing the birth of Cain, the first human being born of a woman (see also Deut 32,6; Ps 139,13). The conception or gestation of Wisdom is described with the verb ytksn "I was poured out". This indicates either insemination (Niph‘al of Ksn; cf. Ktn in Job 10,10 ynkytt blxk )lh yn)ypqt hnbgkw "have you not poured me out like milk and solidified me like cheese?"), or development in the womb (Niph‘al of Kks; see Ps 139,13 ym) N+bb ynkst ytylk tynq ht) yk; "It was you who created my conscience [kidneys]; you fashioned me in my mother’s womb") ¹⁰. Some scholars would derive the verb from the noun Kysn, "prince", and translate "I was princely from the start" or "I became princess at the start", but there is no other evidence for such a denominative use of the word for prince. The birth process is described by ytllwx (vv. 24.25). The root lyx, which designates trembling and writhing, can refer specifically to labor pangs. In most cases the verb llwx points to the painful process of delivery, but the verb also designates the birthing process in its entirety (Isa 51,2), and appears parallel to dly (Deut 32,18; Isa 66,8). These prenatal and natal

activities took place during the primordial period described above. Wisdom was born before anything else was created. We should point out that lyx is used in reference to seismic or aquatic upheavals as well ¹¹ and this may have conditioned the use of this particular birth-related term at this point.

        In light of these birth-related verbs it is possible that wkrd, "His way", has an unnoticed secondary connotation, referring to sexual intercourse as in Prov 30,19, "the way of a man (rbg Krd) in a woman", and 31,3, "give not to women your vigor, or your paths (Kkrdw) to ¼ of kings". wkrd ty#)r, "the first of His Way", would then be comparable with the expression wnw) ty#)r, "the first of his sexual vigor" in which case Wisdom would be God’s eldest child and heir (cf. Deut 21,17; Ps 78,51; 105,36) ¹². If the text is not viewed purely metaphorically, this interpretation would entail the corollary assumption that there was a goddess, whereas without it we must assume God to be hermaphrodite and self-impregnating. Neither of these alternatives is incompatible with current scholarly fashion ¹³.

        Afterwards, in v. 27, while God engages in creating the heavens and the horizon Wisdom says she was simply present (yn) M#, "there I was"), perhaps meaning "there on the spot". This statement emphasizes that Wisdom has witnessed the wonders of creation.

        Lastly, in a final stage, corresponding with the existence of the world, she says Nwm) wlc) hyh)w, "I was Nwm) alongside him." We will return to this passage later. With a repetition of the verb hyh)w Wisdom goes on to describe herself t( lkb wynpl twqx#m Mwy Mwy My(w#(# hyh)w, "I was His pleasure/delight/entertainment daily, playing before Him constantly", entertaining God with her playfulness. At long last she goes out into the world where she plays and entertains humanity, God’s final creature Md) ynb t) y(#(#w wcr) lbtb tqx#m "playing in the dry land of His earth, pleasing/delighting/entertaining humanity"¹⁴. The word My(#(#, used twice, is associated in various places with children, describing their own pleasure when at play (Isa 11,8) as well as the delight they give their parents (Jer 31,20). This is the case as well of tqx#m, "playing" (Zech 8,5; Gen 21,9 with the by-form qxcm) which appears with My(#(# in ab//ba chiastic order.

Before she labored (lyxt) she was delivered;
before her pangs came she bore a son.
Can a land pass through travail (lxwyh) in a single day?
Or is a nation born all at once?
Yet Zion travailed (hlx) and at once bore her children!
Shall I who bring on labor not bring about birth?
Shall I who cause birth shut the womb?
That you may suck from her breast consolation to the full,
That you may draw from her teat glory to your delight
You shall be carried (w)#&nt dc l) on shoulders
and dandled (w(#(#t) upon knees.
As a mother comforts her son

        The expressions h)#nt dc l( and hnm)t dc l( are synonymous and interchangeable. These verses form a "long distance" or "transitive association (a//b; b//c; a//c)" between Nwm) and (w#(#, precisely the combination we find in Prov 8,30, where we find the two terms juxtaposed in the same verse, My(#(# hyh)w // Nwm) wlc) hyh)w. We are no longer dealing with an isolated word with several possible meanings but with a conceptual pair where the second term restricts the semantic possibilities of the first ¹⁵. It is not inconceivable that Nwm)//(w#(# is actually a rare word pair, appearing once in parallelism and once in corresponding parts of identical, synonymous phrases. This bonded association eliminates all possibility of interpreting Nwm) as advisor, artisan, or anything outside the realm of child raising. Discovery of this pair permits us to say conclusively that Nwm) in Prov 8,30 means "nursling".

        Can Nwm) also mean "advisor? There is some evidence supporting this possibility. First of all, in v. 4 Wisdom calls to Md) ynb, "human beings", who are mentioned at the very end of her speech as enjoying her delights. This connection unifies the chapter and invites us to take into account the wider context when interpreting Wisdom’s autobiography. In the larger pericope, consisting of chapter 8 in its entirety, and in particular vv. 14-16, Wisdom proclaims her usefulness to kings and other rulers. This is a function of advisors. Moreover, since the terms qx, "ordinance", hp rb(, "transgress a command", qqx, "ordain", and Cr) ydswm with the meaning of "rules of nature" (v. 29; see above) introduce concepts of dominion into Wisdom’s speech, they create an image of a deity exercising sovereignty in the cosmos. Kings and other potentates employ wise advisors in their service, so it would not be dissonant with the context for Wisdom to play such a role. Two other words which come to mind which could support this secondary interpretation are wkrd in v. 22 and ytksn in v. 23. wkrd, which may mean no more than "His way" or may allude to sexual intercourse or acquired possessions as suggested above, has been associated with Ugaritic drkt, meaning nobility or dominion¹⁶. ytksn, for its part, has been taken as a denominative of Kysn, prince, and translated "I became a princess".

This interpretation is difficult for it would be the only case of Kysn forming a denominative verb. Even so, it can be an ad hoc invention, compared with Myr# in v. 16, which appears along with the denominative verb wr#y. It is not without interest that one of the traditional epithets of Ea, Mesopotamian god of wisdom of all sorts is nis$s$i4ku, prince, probably synonym of his more common title NUN = rubû, and the etymological and semantic cognate of Hebrew Kysn¹⁷. This point becomes even more interesting because the next verse mentions the subterranean waters that are Ea’s domain. Could the image of the Mesopotamian god be alluded to in this pericope? If these interpretations have any legitimacy, even as secondary meanings, then Nwm) would be in a (secondary) context of words concerning royalty and kingship and there would be some justification to interpreting it as "advisor", related to the Akkadian umma4nu and Aramaic cognates. There is thus some contextual justification for understanding Nwm) as a royal advisor. It must be remembered, nonetheless that this is at most a secondary meaning, and is tenuous, depending as it does on the validity of interpreting wkrd and ytksn as mentioned above. In any case, these words at most enable by way of word play understanding Nwm) as advisor.