The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
All Commentaries on Proverbs 8:22 Go To Proverbs 8
Didymus the Blind
AD 398
Since wisdom is already eternal, it is not subjected to time. The “beginning,” then, is yoked together with created things. But having existed before creation as wisdom, the Son of God—even though, he says, “The Lord created me”—this assertion [“The Lord created me”] must be understood as referring not to substance but to his relationship toward creatures. For [wisdom] says that its works were at the beginning of the creative and providential ways of God, that is, a “cause,” introducing still another way of speaking. The Son of God was made man when he assumed the form of a servant. He is eternal before the ages, as he is God the Word. It says he was “created” because he was born of Mary and was made flesh. For those desiring to walk like God and with God, consult this teacher, an example of perfect life, who gives his teaching to those who follow him. The fact that the word “to create” does not mean everywhere “to make substance” is confirmed by David, who says, “Create in me a pure heart, O God.” He asks for such a creation not as if he does not have a heart; but since he had polluted it, he desires to have it back pure. Also Paul, when he speaks about creating out of the two a single new man, does not mean from [two] human substances but rather the unity that results from concord. And so the interpreters proclaimed, “He created me.” Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon, Fragment
