'Wisdom reacheth from one end to another mightily: and sweetly doth she order all things.' The king tells how he loved her from his youth and desired to make her his spouse, for she is conversant with God and teaches temperance, prudence, justice and fortitude. Through her, though young, he expects honour among the elders, admiration from great men and fear from tyrants, and at home a companion with no bitterness. Yet he understands that he cannot obtain her unless God gives her, and that knowing whose gift she is was itself a point of wisdom. So he turns to the Lord in prayer.
Wisdom 8 - Summary
Summary
Read Wisdom Chapter 8 Summary
Original
Characters in This Chapter
Solomon
The king whose voice the book adopts, never named: he prays for wisdom and is charged with building the temple
Adam
The first formed father, whom wisdom preserved and brought out of his fall
Noah
The righteous man steered through the flood on a piece of wood of small value
Abraham
The righteous man kept blameless and strong against his tender love for his son
Joseph
The righteous man who was sold, whom wisdom followed into the pit and raised to the sceptre
Moses
The servant of the Lord and holy prophet through whom wisdom faced Pharaoh and led Israel
Places in This Chapter
Position in Book
Righteousness and ImmortalityChapters 1-2
The Fate of the RighteousChapters 3-5
A Call to KingsChapters 6
Solomon's Love of WisdomChapters 7-9
The king tells how he prayed for wisdom, describes her nature and her gifts, and gives the prayer in which he asks God for her.
Wisdom in HistoryChapters 10-11
God's Patience and the Folly of IdolsChapters 12-15
Egypt and IsraelChapters 16-19