When an average layperson thinks about creation stories and the Bible, he normally only thinks of a single story–Genesis 1. This is perfectly understandable since anyone who has ever attempted to read the Bible has likely begun with this chapter. It is also, obviously, about creation. When scholars talk about creation and the Bible, however, they often discuss passages beyond Genesis 1. Some may mention certain Psalms, or passages in the prophets. Others might comment on various sections of the Book of Job. Still others talk about Proverbs 8.
Proverbs 8 is a poem in which the speaker, Lady Wisdom, discusses how she was with God when he created the world. Indeed, one even gets the impression that Lady Wisdom assisted God in his creative activity. Below, I include the relevant verses from Proverbs 8. I assume that everyone already knows Genesis 1.
22 “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of old.
23 Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth,
26 before he had made the earth with its fields,
or the first of the dust of the world.
27 When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28 when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
29 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,
30 then I was beside him, like a master workman,
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,
31 rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the children of man. (ESV)
Recently, I’ve discussed genre and it’s importance in understanding the Bible. To illustrate this importance, I thought we might look at Genesis 1 and Proverbs 8. Both of these passages discuss what we might call the creation of the world, but they do so in widely disparate terms.
Genesis 1 is, of course, familiar to us. Proverbs 8, however, may be less so. Here Lady Wisdom explains how she was at the creation of the world. Before the world began God created Lady Wisdom. But she also gives us some hints about how God created the world. In this passage there is no hint of creation via divine fiat (i.e., God does not command things to be, and they are). Rather, God shapes the mountains. When God makes the sky firm (!) Wisdom is with him. Lady Wisdom explains that God set a limit on the sea, and made foundations for the earth.
There are quite obviously difficulties in reconciling a literal reading of this passage with a literal reading of Genesis 1. For instance, why is Lady Wisdom not mentioned in Genesis 1? Why does God shape the mountains here, but in Genesis he simply commands them to be? What is all of this about firm skies? In some ways, if one understands the background that both of these passages are set against (an ancient near eastern understanding of the universe, e.g., a solid/firm sky, the earth sitting on pillars, etc), they actually make some sense side by side. Nevertheless, if we were to accept the plain, literal reading of Proverbs 8 we come away with a rather different view of the creation than we do if we accept a plain, literal reading of Genesis 1.
Thanks for this post – I guess I really never realized that there was more than 1 creation account. Must have fallen asleep that day in Old Testament (which was with Marv Wilson, so surprising that I would have slept through it!).
Calvin, you bring up a very key point when you bring up the importance of genre. I noticed that you didn’t get into the details, at least not here, of how one should go about determining what the genre of a particular text is,
As a Hebrew Scholar I would be interested to see what criteria you use when coming to proverbs 8 vs Genesis 1. What do you look for to determine the genre of these texts?
I also noticed in your blog on Mohler and Biologos that you stated that Mohler believed Genesis 1 to be “historical narrative” and you also said “you didn’t know why.”
Do you feel that using other Biblical writings in determining the genre of a text is appropriate? For example, if other Biblical authors take Genesis 1 as historical narrative, is it then safe for us to do the same, or should we only look at Genesis one?
Exodus 20:11 says that God created the world in 6 days and on the seventh day he rested. Since that is exactly the process that Genesis describes one might assume that the author of Exodus based his conclusion on the fact that he read (or wrote) Genesis as historical narrative.
This being the foundation of the celebration of the Sabbath which persists even to this day, it becomes apparent that to dislodge genesis 1 from historical narrative is to undermine not only the reading of Genesis 1, but Exodus 20:11 and to bring into questions the reason behind the Jews Celebration of the Sabbath.
In summary:
1) What process is appropriate for determining the genre of a text
2) Is the history of Biblical interpretation of a text a part of determining the genre?
3) What does is the Biblical interpretation (ie what do Biblical authors say) of Proverbs 8?
@Tam – Thanks! The Bible is full of surprises.
@Jeremy – Thanks for the comment! I will cover some of what you mention in part 2 of this post. However, to give a brief summary now…
1. I think one of the best ways of determining genre is via comparison of other similar texts. What I mean is, we look at a whole bunch of texts and establish what makes them X. So, we might look at a bunch of psalms and determine what they have in common (thus revealing the elements of a psalm) and also look at what some groups have in common but others don’t (thus separating out thanksgiving psalms, lament psalms, etc). So, identifying genre can sometimes be hard work that requires reading a great deal more than a single passage.
2. I don’t think the history of interpretation has anything to do with genre. What other passages in the Bible say about a certain passage may shed light on things, but may not as well. It depends on the particular issue in question.
3. To my knowledge, no Canonical text deals with Proverbs 8.
As for my comment about not knowing why Mohler takes Genesis 1 as historical narrative…he has never explained why. My own thought on the matter is that Genesis 1 is not meant to be understood in the same way as a story from 2 Kings.
On canonical treatment of Prov. 8, G.K. Beale notes a number of commentators see it lying behind Colossians 1:15-17, 19. Check out his contribution on Colossions in the volume he co-edited with D.A. Carson, Commentay on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. While not explicitly concrete, he makes a pretty substantial argument.