Architect of Creation

Proverbs 8 describes Wisdom as being “brought forth” before the earth existed and standing beside God as creation unfolded. Part 11 examines the Hebrew language behind these passages.

Wisdom distinguishes Herself from the created world: creation was made, while Wisdom was brought forth. The Hebrew hul carries associations of twisting and whirling, which leads to Ezekiel’s vision of a fiery whirlwind (Ezekiel 1:4). From there the episode explores ruah — spirit, breath, wind — and the verb translated “moved” in Genesis 1:2, which describes the Spirit hovering or brooding over the waters.

Lady Wisdom declares that She was beside the Father as an architect (amon) when He appointed the foundations of the earth, “daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.” The episode closes with the Hebrew words for the sevenfold Spirit of Isaiah 11:2 — each of them feminine in gender.