Proverbs 8

Wisdom speaks in public at the crossroads, plainly and truthfully, available to anyone. "To fear the LORD is to hate evil," starting with arrogant pride. Then she describes being with God before creation: present when He marked the sea's boundary, a craftsman at His side, His daily delight, rejoicing in the world and "delighting together in the sons of men." Early Christians read this alongside John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:15-17 about the Word through whom all things were made, though the passage is a poem about wisdom, and Christians debated how far to press it (the Arian controversy turned partly on verse 22). The joy is what struck me: creation came out of delight.

"Then I was a skilled craftsman at His side, and His delight day by day, rejoicing always in His presence." (Proverbs 8:30)

Versions/Hebrew: 8:22 "created me" is qanani [7069], which can mean "acquired/possessed" (KJV, WEB, YLT "possessed me") or "created/brought forth" (BSB). That ambiguity is exactly why it was debated. In 8:30-31, "rejoicing" is mesacheqet [7832], playing or laughing, the same verb as Leviathan "playing" in Psalm 104:26. "Delight" is sha'ashu'im [8191], from the root of the "delights" in Psalm 94:19. Wisdom played before God at creation.