Question: Why does the Bible say that Wisdom does this or does that- as if Wisdom and not God does it? Why don’t they say God does this or does that? I’m thinking of Proverbs 9 and Sanhedrin 38a: “Wisdom has built her house… hewn out her seven pillars (the 7 days of creation)... etc. It’s disturbing. Why do they do this?

Answer: The answer is remarkably simple. We ALREADY know God does everything. But God is a King and employs delegates to accomplish His acts. One of God’s (distinguished) delegates is wisdom. So the statement “Wisdom built her house…” really means “God built the house using the attribute of wisdom.”

There is important information here. By advising us that God built the house through wisdom we are advised that the house be well built and stable.

The description of inanimate things as human is called PERSONIFICATION. It is a literary technique that is very powerful and facilitates communication.

Here is another simple example. In Ps45 we are told “My heart simmers a good speech.” Now the HEART does not create speech; the BRAIN does.

The same logic applies. We ALREADY know that the Brain creates good speech. But by saying the HEART creates it we are indicating the emotional enthusiasm of the speech. Not all speeches increase heart rate. But a really punchy speech does increase heart rate. By saying “MY HEART simmers a good speech” I am advising how good the speech is—it is the type of speech that increases heart rate.

I think these two examples show the power of personification. It enables POWERFUL PICTURESQUE communication with MORE DETAILS and ONLY A FEW MORE WORDS.
This is in fact how you should read the Bible.

Finally I cite the great legal codifier, Rambam, who in his laws of FOUNDATIONS OF RELIGION Chapter 1 explains “God does not have a hand or foot or heart of mind. But when the Bible says Gods MIGHTY HAND the Bible is using picturesque language which facilitates communication.”

Using the above-mentioned tools you can get a whole new perspective on the Bible and its study.

Russell Jay Hendel