Proverbs 8:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

NIV: when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.

NASB: When He set a boundary for the sea So that the water would not violate His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth;

CSB: when he set a limit for the sea so that the waters would not violate his command, when he laid out the foundations of the earth.

NLT: I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries. And when he marked off the earth’s foundations,

KJV: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:

NKJV: When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth,

According to this verse, wisdom existed before God placed a limit on the sea. This is part of a long statement made by wisdom—personified by Solomon as a woman—declaring an eternal existence as part of God's nature (Proverbs 8:22–28). Wisdom is not a gradual development of the universe, or something God grew into. It is a natural, intrinsic part of Who He is.

In Bible times, references to "the sea" are almost always to the Mediterranean Sea. However, the statement about the sea's limit applies to every sea and ocean. In His wisdom the Lord decreed that every sea and ocean would stop short of the land that borders it. If there were no boundaries, the water from a sea or ocean would engulf the land and doom its inhabitants. Also, in His wisdom, the Lord marked out the foundations of the earth. He created the dry land as well as the waters. Job 38:8–11 records God's questioning Job. He asks: "Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, and said, 'Thus far shall you come and no farther, and here shall your proud waters be stayed'?"

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.

Thus far in Proverbs, Solomon has spoken about the virtues of wisdom and the need to acquire it and live by it. He has also warned about the dangers of rejecting wisdom. Chapter 7 ended with a description of a promiscuous woman seducing a foolish young man. Now, in chapter 8, he lets wisdom speak, once again personified as a woman. She speaks about her existence before creation and her gift of life to all who find her. This analogy continues into chapter 9.

Proverbs is best understood in context with the books of Ecclesiastes and Job. In Proverbs, “wisdom” is given in short, simple, general terms. Ecclesiastes represents wisdom based on observation and experience. This often shows how the general principles of the book of Proverbs don’t apply in absolutely every circumstance. Job represents wisdom based on the experience of suffering and injustice. All three come to the conclusion that God does indeed know best, and the most sensible course of action is to follow His will.