In my book, Solomon Says: Directives for Young Men (Amazon, Kindle), I don’t ask (or answer!) why Solomon portrays Wisdom personified as a female. The main reason I did not ask it is that I had no answer to give that I was confident about.
But Solomon does it without apology or explanation:
Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.
Proverbs 1:20–27 {ESV)
So where did this woman come from in Solomon’s mind? We could assume that it all starts with him under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But I am not satisfied with that.
In some way, this woman seems to have existed before or at creation (Proverbs 3:19, 20; 8:22-31). This figured into some Christological controversies in the early Church. My guess is that part of the confusion lies in the Bible both teaching that wisdom is divine (and thus eternal) and that wisdom had special application to creation.
But that doesn’t explain why Wisdom is portrayed as female. It is possible to make connections between Wisdom and the Holy Spirit (without calling into question the masculine pronouns in the New Testament), but the data is not consistent. The role of the Spirit at creation (Genesis 1:2) is associated with a husband’s role in sheltering his wife (Ruth 3:9; Luke 1:34, 35). And Jesus seems to identify with Solomon’s wisdom calling out in the streets (Matthew 23:34), promising the Spirit to his followers, inviting all to his meal (compare Proverbs 9). So, I don’t think wisdom as a woman is meant to apply especially to any of the persons of the Trinity. Wisdom obviously is an aspect of the Triune God, and women made in God’s image can be used to reveal him. That still leaves us with the question of why Solomon chose to portray wisdom as female.
On one level, the answer might simply lie in the fact that Solomon presents Proverbs as his exhortations to his son. The son needs a wife who can only come from God (Proverbs 19:14) and he also needs to listen to Wisdom.
But that doesn’t satisfy me as a complete picture. I point out in my book that Proverbs is easily read as a meditation on Genesis. I think it might be fruitful to consider Wisdom as a glorified composite of the women whom Solomon knows about in the history of creation and redemption.
Starting with Eve.
Eve? The one who was deceived by the Serpent’s “wisdom”?
Yes, Eve.
Eve, the redeemed sinner who is the mother of all living. The first Lady Wisdom on a quest for a wise son.