She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is everyone that retains her.
All Commentaries on Proverbs 3:18 Go To Proverbs 3
Jerome
AD 420
This tree of life was planted in the Garden of Eden, and in Eden there rose a river that separated into four branches. … Likewise, we read in Solomon, … “She is a tree of life to those who grasp her,” [and here] he is speaking of wisdom. Now, if wisdom is the tree of life, wisdom itself, indeed, is Christ. You understand now that the man who is blessed and holy is compared to this tree, that is, he is compared to wisdom. Consequently, you see, too, that the just man, that blessed man who has not followed in the counsel of the wicked—who has not done that but has done this—is like the tree that is planted near running water. He is, in other words, like Christ, inasmuch as he “raised us up together, and seated us together in heaven.” You see, then, that we shall reign together with Christ in heaven; you see, too, that because this tree has been planted in the Garden of Eden, we have all been planted there together with him. Homilies on the Psalms (Psalm ).
