What does Proverbs 8:24 mean?
This continues a series of statements made by wisdom, personified by Solomon as a woman (Proverbs 8:1–4).In this verse Solomon again points out that wisdom existed before the creation of the universe. The Bible's first reference to water is in Genesis 1:2, yet godly wisdom had been solidified before even then (Proverbs 8:23). Genesis 1:6–8 reports that on the second day of creation, "God said, 'Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.' And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven."
Proverbs 8:22–31 pays tribute to wisdom as having existed from the very beginning of beginnings. In this chapter, wisdom speaks as a woman, in a poetic style used by Solomon. Since the wisdom in question is godly truth, rooted in the knowledge and nature of God, that wisdom predates the creation of the world and everything in it. Like God's goodness and justice, His wisdom has always been part of who He is and how He creates.
In this passage, wisdom is once again imagined as a woman who cries out to be heard (Proverbs 1:20–21). Wisdom extols her own truth and value. Wisdom was part of God's creative power long before even the creation of the universe. The chapter again returns to the many benefits of godly wisdom, before completing those declarations at the start of the next chapter.
