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NASB | Proverbs 3:16 Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Proverbs 3:16 Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. [Prov 8:12-21; 1 Tim 4:8] |
Bible Question: Why did Solomon choose to personify wisdom as a woman in Prov. 3:16-18, 4:3-6; 8:1-21; 9:1-6, 14:33? |
Bible Answer: Solomon did not personify wisdom as a woman. The Hebrew language like many others has gender for nouns, some are male some are female. The Greek does the same thing. German has male, female and neuter nouns, other languages may have as well. Hebrew I haven't studied so I don't know if it has neuter. The point is that wisdom is a feminine noun and all pronouns must agree in gender in languages that have such. So in the original all pronouns used to describe wisdom were feminine, to agree with the gender of the noun. When our Bibles were translated instead of translating the pronouns to agree with the receiving language, the pronouns were literally translated and kept their gender. So, if you told Solomon that he described wisdom with feminine pronouns he probably would have wondered what your point was, he was grammitically correct, as usual. Being a male, it humbles me to know that both Hebrew and Greek have wisdom as a feminine noun. I think that it is because it is a trait found more commonly in the fairer sex. |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Prov 3:16 | Author | ||
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gomar | ||
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PNLamb | ||
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Xapis |