Hokmah

Occurrences in Scripture

Hokmah is a Hebrew noun translated "wisdom" in the Old Testament. The New Korean Revised Version renders it "wisdom" in most places. Its uses fall broadly into three categories.

• Skill and craftsmanship: Exodus 31:3 records that Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God and with wisdom to build the tabernacle. Those who made the priestly garments are likewise called "wise hearted" (Exodus 28:3).
• Governance and judgment: Solomon asked for "an understanding heart to judge thy people" and received "a wise and an understanding heart" (1 Kings 3:9–12; 4:29).
• The foundation of life: In Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes, wisdom is the way of right living, and its starting point is "the fear of the LORD" (Proverbs 9:10; Psalm 111:10; Job 28:28).

In Proverbs 8, Wisdom speaks as a person. She calls out to people in the streets (8:1–4) and declares that she was beside God before He made the earth (8:22–31).

Background of the Word

Hokmah derives from the root ḥ-k-m, meaning "to be wise," and is grammatically a feminine noun. Other peoples of the ancient Near East also had wisdom literature. Israel's wisdom literature is distinctive in binding wisdom to a faith that fears God. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, generally rendered hokmah as sophia, and this term carries over into the New Testament concept of wisdom.

Meaning Carried into the New Testament

The New Testament connects wisdom with Christ. Paul calls Christ crucified "the wisdom of God" and contrasts this with the wisdom of the world (1 Corinthians 1:22–25; 1:30). Colossians 2:3 says that in Christ "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Many scholars hold that Colossians 1:15–17, Hebrews 1:1–3, and the Logos of John 1 draw on the portrait of Wisdom present at creation (Proverbs 8). James 1:5–6 urges believers to ask God for wisdom.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• Who is Wisdom in Proverbs 8? Many Church Fathers read this Wisdom as Christ, and many church traditions afterward followed this interpretation. Some early Fathers instead connected it with the Holy Spirit. In modern scholarship, the view that Wisdom is a poetic personification is widely held. Some scholars hold both readings together.
• The Proverbs 8:22 controversy: The Septuagint translated this verse in the sense of "he created me." Arius used this as grounds for claiming that the Son is a created being. The Fathers who supported the Nicene Creed interpreted it differently, for example by explaining it as referring to the human nature of the incarnate Son. The verse became an important text in the Christological controversies.
• Wisdom books of the Apocrypha: The Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) treat wisdom at length. The Catholic Church accepts these books as canonical, but Protestants do not include them in the canon.
• Extrabiblical additions: Later Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah) described hokmah as one level in a system of divine attributes. Some modern schools of thought treat "Sophia" as an independent goddess. Both are later interpretations rather than the teaching of the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

In Korean church preaching, Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom," and James 1:5 are frequently cited. In this context wisdom is often presented as a discernment rooted in faith, distinct from worldly knowledge. The original-language term "hokmah" itself has been used in the titles of Bible commentaries, Bible study materials, and church education programs, such as the Hokma Comprehensive Commentary edited by Kang Byung-do.