Proverbs 8:24Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The wise person listens attentively to the voice of wisdom. She calls out to everyone from elevated and bustling places and, recognizing that she embodies profound truth and significance, she reveals her divine nature and actions as the embodiment of Wisdom. She imparts strength, wealth, and prosperity to her followers; she collaborates in creation alongside God the Creator and plays a vital role in the formation of the universe. Now, she invites all to heed her teachings, with the assurance that she will bring them wisdom and joy. The Lord made me the beginning of His ways in His works.

How did existence or life come to be? Is it akin to other beings, meaning through creation? No, the Divine hypostatic Wisdom affirms, it is not through creation but through birth: the Lord brings Me forth, that is, draws Me from His essence, making Me one in substance with Himself, similar to how a human father generates his son. However, the distinction lies in the fact that a human son is conceived in time and has forebears, whereas the hypostatic Wisdom, the consubstantial Son of God, is eternally begotten. He was present before the foundation of the earth. The earth was established on the first day of creation, enveloped by the deep, which is to say by primordial waters.