Female = Wisdom

[tinytim]

Ok, why is it in Proverbs that Wisdom is referred to with female pronouns?
Are there some qualities of Wisdom that equal the qualities of women?


Surely, God is not saying women are more wise than men... :laugh:
For instance...

Proverbs 3:13-15
(13) Happy [is] the man [that] findeth wisdom, and the man [that] getteth understanding.
(14) For the merchandise of it [is] better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
(15) She [is] more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

Or....

Proverbs 4:5-9
(5) Get wisdom, get understanding: forget [it] not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.
(6) Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.
(7) Wisdom [is] the principal thing; [therefore] get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
(8) Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.
(9) She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

 

[tinytim]

OH, Great...
I just started this thread, and one of the google ads on it is "HILARY For 2008" OH Brother!!!!

 

[rbell]

My guess:

The writer of Proverbs was in trouble with the missus. Rather than say, "I was wrong, sorry!" like a good husband, he couched it in these terms.





(not to mention..300 wives? I imagine he probably thought female wisdom was the ONLY kind....)

 

[annsni]

Well, I've seen that many things that men desire is in female terms - cars, boats, wisdom. I think it's just being consistent. :laugh:

 

[tinytim]

I thought it was something in chapter 4 when he speaks about what his father taught him...

Since he was the child of DAvid and Bathsheba, but by the time Solomon would have been teachable, David would have repented...

I wonder what David taught him....
Apparently not to stay away from Women!!!

Maybe David referred to Wisdom as a her... And Solomon took it literal!!

After all we all want more wisdom, so maybe Solomon thought... Hmmmm... I will have 300 times as much as other guys!!!!

And He is supposed to be the wisest man that ever lived? Hmmm

I do wonder why wisdom is considered a her... beyond the poetic sense...
Or is it just poetry?

 

[tinytim]

Well, I've seen that many things that men desire is in female terms - cars, boats, wisdom. I think it's just being consistent. :laugh:

I wonder if a computer is a female or male?

 

[npetreley]

I wonder if a computer is a female or male?

Also posted in Humor:

A language instructor was explaining to her class that in French, nouns, unlike their English counterparts, are grammatically designated as masculine or feminine.

"House," in French, is feminine = "la maison."

"Pencil," in French, is masculine = "le crayon."

One puzzled student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"

The teacher did not know, and the word wasn't in her French dictionary. So for fun she split the class into two groups, appropriately enough by gender, and asked them to decide whether "computer" should be a masculine or feminine noun.

Both groups were required to give four reasons for their recommendation.

The men's group decided that computers should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computer" ), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine ("le computer" ), because:

1. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but they are still clueless;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you'd waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

(Sociologically, this seems like a good example of a pervasive technology serving as a mirror to spoof cultural attitudes.)

Author Unknown

 

[J.D.]

Also posted in Humor:

A language instructor was explaining to her class that in French, nouns, unlike their English counterparts, are grammatically designated as masculine or feminine.

"House," in French, is feminine = "la maison."

"Pencil," in French, is masculine = "le crayon."

One puzzled student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"

The teacher did not know, and the word wasn't in her French dictionary. So for fun she split the class into two groups, appropriately enough by gender, and asked them to decide whether "computer" should be a masculine or feminine noun.

Both groups were required to give four reasons for their recommendation.

The men's group decided that computers should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computer" ), because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine ("le computer" ), because:

1. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but they are still clueless;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you'd waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

(Sociologically, this seems like a good example of a pervasive technology serving as a mirror to spoof cultural attitudes.)

Author Unknown

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

 

[Helen]

Whatever conclusion you folks come to, I LOVE the title of the thread!

 

[webdog]

I'll ask my wife and get back to you

 

[Friend of God]

Some folks are Wise...some are otherwise. Anonymous

Don't give a Woman advice; one should never give a Woman anything she can't wear in the evening. Oscar Wilde.

 

[OLD SCHOOL]

Wisdom of a man is what women get when they get to heaven.

 

[Helen]

Some folks are Wise...some are otherwise. Anonymous

Glad I saw your whole post before you edited it! We enjoyed the Wilde quote!

OLD SCHOOL -- the VERY last thing I want is a man's wisdom! God made me a woman for a reason! He gives me HIS wisdom when I ask for it...:godisgood:

 

[Friend of God]

I put the quote by Oscar Wilde back in my previous post. [I originally edited it out because I thought some would find it offensive.]


Women have a passion for mathematics. They divide their age in half, double the price of their clothes, and always add 5 years to the age of their best friend. Marcel Archard. [Who says Women aren't wise? FOG]

 

[OLD SCHOOL]

Helen,
You don't get it now or when you ask for it you get it when you arrive.

 

[Scarlett O.]

Correct me if I am wrong, but was not Solomon addressing his sons? Am I dreaming that??????

Perhaps that is why he spoke of wisdom in terms of a woman.

 

[Friend of God]

Everything I've read or studies on Proverbs says that Scarlett's post is correct. Solomon was teaching his sons.

Here we are discussing Women=Wisdom, and Scarlett proves her point using....WISDOM! Great job, my friend.

Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, and she did it dancing backwards, and in high heels ::laugh: .

 

[trustitl]

The Old Testament was written in Aramaic and in Hebrew, which have two genders - Masculine and Feminine. All words fall into either category. This includes sensible inanimate objects such as: 'breath,' 'wind,' etc., translated as 'spirit' in the KJV. These objects are assigned masculine pronouns (he, etc.). Non-sensible objects such as wisdom, are assigned feminine pronouns.

Proverbs and Psalms are different types of writing than say Leviticus or Job.

This is a good example of how people can mishandle the word of God and get it to say what they want it to. Look at how often the OT is mis-used in different heresies.

 

[tinytim]

Thank you all...