Ruach and Chochmah

The extra-Biblical book called “Wisdom of Solomon” equates Sophia (“Chochmah”) with the “Holy Spirit” (9:17) and characterizes “Her” as Divine “Breath” (7:25).  The extra-Biblical book “Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sirach)” states that Sophia (“Chochmah”) came out of the mouth of G-d (24:3).   Thus, it would appear that there is good reason to consider “Chochmah” of the Biblical book “Mishlei (Proverbs)” as equatable with G-d’s “Ruach” from Gen. 1:2 and elsewhere.  Some have raised the objection that while G-d’s “Ruach”, like breath in humans, must be regarded as essential (inherent) to G-d, not a creation by G-d, “Chochmah” appears to have been created (Prov. 8:22-25; Ben Sirach 1:4, 24:9).  In fact, in one case, an attempt has been made to consider Sophia (“Chochmah”) as a created angelic nature of G-d’s “Ruach” existing in “hypostatic union” with “Her”, akin to the relationship of human and Divine natures in Jesus per Christian Nicene theology (cf. Sophia, The Holy Spirit: The Divine Feminine p.16).  However, a careful examination of the verses said to assert the creation of Sophia (“Chochmah”) suggest that “She” is not a creation.  First, the Hebrew verbs used in Proverbs 8:22-25 are a qal form of “qanah”, a niphal form of “nasak”, and a pulal form of “chul”.  The first word can mean “create” but in the Tanach much more commonly means “possess or acquire”.  The second word means “installed” or “anointed”, and the third means “born” or “brought forth”.  So, a plausible translation of Proverbs 8:22-25 is:
 
Y-H-W-H possessed me as the beginning of His way,
   before His works of old.
I was installed from everlasting, from the beginning,
   or ever the earth was.
When [there were] no depths, I was brought forth;
   when [there were] no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled, before the hills,
   I was brought forth.
 
Turning to the ancient Greek translation of Proverbs (the so-called “Septuagent”), we find that the Greek words used to translate Hebrew “qanati” are “ektise me”, with “ektise” from the verb “ktizo”.  Forms of this very same Greek verb appear in both of the other verses under consideration (Ben Sirach 1:4, 24:9).  In addition to “qanah”, the Greek verb “ktizo” is used to translate a variety of Hebrew verbs in Greek translations of the Tanach, some relate to creation (“bara”, “yatzar”), but others have a variety of meanings, such as “yasad” (found or establish), “kun” (set up), and “shakan” (dwell or settle).  So, while some are eager to use the Greek verb as evidence for the creation of “Chochmah” (Sophia), the matter is not so simple, and one can legitimately understand the Greek as “The Lord established me as…”.  Furthermore, some have pointed to the linguistic relationship of “ktizo” and “ktaomai”, which means “acquire” or “possess”.  With that relationship, we may consider that the forms of “ktizo” used to translate Proverbs 8:22 and the two Ben Sirach verses (no Hebrew version of these verses has yet been discovered) are expressing “possess” just like “qanah”.

So, we are left with no legitimate reason to regard “Chochmah” (Sophia) as created.  Instead, like G-d’s “Ruach”, we should understand “Her” as something inherent (essential) to G-d, which is “brought forth” in the process of creation, as with the “breath” in creating “words”.  So like “Ruach”, there are two aspects – the one that “comes forth” (the “outward breath”, “Chochmah” as “brought forth from G-d”) and the one that is “within” (the “inward breath”, “Chochmah” as “possessed by G-d”).  The latter reflects the essentiality of the “Ruach”/ “Chochmah” to G-d, the Divine Freedom to assume limitation that is inherent in the Divine Freedom from any limitation, while the former represents the sense of separateness/distinction from G-d that marks the actualization of the Freedom to assume limitation and constitutes the very finitude of creation itself and concomitantly defines G-d as “Creator”.  The understanding that limitation, that creation, is an aspect of G-d’s “Ruach”/”Chochmah”, and that G-d’s “Ruach”/”Chochmah” is an aspect of G-d is a two-fold process that is the birth of the “Kingdom of G-d on Earth”, the realization of Oneness with G-d even in the diversity of our own existence.  This process starts with love for the Beloved, including reverence for all “Her” forms (e.g., harmlessness to all creatures as the cornerstone of daily living), and culminates in the realization that “He is She and She is He”.