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Ordinary Time · The Most Holy Trinity · Year C

Proverbs 8:22-31

Wisdom at Play Before God

June 11, 2028

The Creation of Adam, Michelangelo Buonarroti
The Creation of Adam, Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1512Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam (1512), Sistine Chapel ceiling
The most reproduced detail of the ceiling. The two hands do not touch, and the cloak behind God has been read for a century as the shape of a human brain.When he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master worker. Wisdom says she was present at this.Michelangelo BuonarrotiSculptor first and painter under protest, who spent four years on his back on the Sistine ceiling and produced the most consequential painting in Europe.Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam (1512), Sistine Chapel ceilingThe pope's chapel, where conclaves are held, decorated by Perugino, Botticelli and Ghirlandaio before Michelangelo was ever asked.Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam (1512), Sistine Chapel ceiling
Roman Lectionary
GospelJohn 16:12-15Jn 16:12-15
Second ReadingRom. 5:1-5Rom 5:1-5
First ReadingProv. 8:22-31Prv 8:22-31
Responsorial PsalmPs. 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (2a)Ps 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (2a)

Overview & Insights

"I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world." (Proverbs 8:30-31)

Wisdom is personified as God's companion present at creation, calling out publicly for all to heed her. The church has long read this poem alongside John's Word made flesh, which is why it appears on Trinity Sunday.

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Take it further: Proverbs 8:22-31

Commentary

Proverbs 8 Commentary: In Praise of WisdomPrv 8 Commentary: In Praise of Wis Enduring Word · David Guzik

Verse-by-verse walk through Wisdom's self-description and her role in creation.

Proverbs 8:22 CommentariesPrv 8:22 Commentaries BibleHub

Classic commentaries together on the disputed sense of 'possessed' or 'created' in verse 22.

Proverbs 8 (Barnes' Notes)Prv 8 (Barnes' Notes) StudyLight

Barnes on Wisdom personified as active alongside God at creation.

Proverbs 8 (Gill's Exposition)Prv 8 (Gill's Exposition) StudyLight

Gill's older Reformed reading of Wisdom as a figure of the eternal Son.

Commentary on Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31Commentary on Prv 8:1-4, 22-31 Working Preacher

A Lutheran preaching voice on Wisdom as the 'mediatrix of God's presence.'

Proverbs 8:22 InterlinearPrv 8:22 Interlinear BibleHub

Hebrew text word by word for the verb debated between 'possessed' and 'created.'

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 CommentaryPrv 8:1-4, 22-31 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

Preaching-focused reflection on Wisdom's joy in creation for Trinity Sunday.

Background & Word Study

Proverbs 8:22-31Prv 8:22-31 Sefaria

Hebrew and English text of Wisdom's speech with linked Jewish commentary.

The Church Fathers

Discourse II Against the Arians (on Proverbs 8:22)Discourse II Against the Arians (on Prv 8:22) New Advent · Church Fathers

Athanasius directly answers the Arian reading of 'the Lord created me' in this verse.

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