O Come Emmanuel: Preparing for Wisdom and the Word to come in the Flesh
- Elaine R Kelly
- 24 minutes ago
- 16 min read
Advent is a season of waiting for the Christ-child, but it is also a season of preparing for God to enter our world, of making room for God with us, for Emmanuel. Early Christians saw Jesus as God's Wisdom in the flesh and recognized Lady Wisdom as a female personification of God. The Bible personifies God as Lady Wisdom, calling out to us. She is also called Sophia, the Greek word for Wisdom.
Today, most Protestant Christians have not heard of the God of Abraham being called Lady Wisdom. But what if God's invisible wisdom became visible in the person of Jesus? Why did early Christians personify God as Lady Wisdom, and when did Christianity stop promoting the idea?
In Medieval times
An ancient Latin hymn reflects on how Christians wait for Lady Wisdom to come in the flesh, to become incarnate in Jesus:
This hymn calls the long-awaited Messiah by a different name in seven verses
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel: "God with us" (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23). Christians believe God came to us in Jesus.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high: And order all things, far and nigh; To us the path of knowledge show, And cause us in her ways to go. Jesus refers to himself as wisdom justified by her actions /deeds (Matthew 11:19). Paul, who studied under the Pharisees, identifies Jesus as "the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom (Colossians 2:3). Isaiah prophesied that a descendant of Jesse would have the Spirit of wisdom and understanding (Isaiah 11:1).
O Come, O Branch of Jesse's Stem: Jesus is a descendant of Jesse who came to save women and men from Satan's oppressive rule (Isaiah 11:1, Acts 13:22-23, Revelation 22:16).
O come, thou Dayspring bright: Jesus is the morning star (Isaiah 60:1-2, Revelation 22:16), the healing light (Luke 1:76-79) and the light of the world (John 8:12). Being the light of the world means knowing God and showing God in acts of kindness, compassion, and good actions/deeds. The way, or path, of the righteous is like the light of dawn, getting brighter as the day grows (Proverbs 4:18).
O Come, O Key of David: Jesus flings wide a door that no one can shut and opens a path to God for everyone (Isaiah 22:22). The Lord holds the Key of David, and what he opens no one can shut. The Lord knows our deeds and will make faithful women and men pillars in the temple of God (Revelation 3:7-12, Psalm 144:12).
O Come, O Lord of Might: Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6), above all other rule and authority, the Lord of Might gave ancient Israelites the law of Sinai (Ephesians 1:2-21). Zechariah praised God for raising up a horn of salvation, which means raising up a strong king of salvation (Luke 1:69).
O Come, Desire of Nations: Jesus is what is desired by nations. The prophet Haggai said that the Lord Almighty promised that what is desired by all nations will come and bring peace (Haggai 2:6-9). Nations fight against nations, and we have divisions among people, but Jesus unites us all as the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Some translations of this verse say, O Come, King of Nations, putting a focus less on unity and peace and more on power and ruling to end envy and strife.
This Advent hymn began as an 8th-century chant sung by monks in the weeks leading up to Christmas. In the 12th century, it was made into verses in Latin. Most of the verses were translated into English in the 19th century. In about 1851, a priest named John Mason Neale made an English translation that included five verses. In 1916, Henry Sloane Coffin translated the remaining two verses, inviting Wisdom to come, and the Desire of Nations to come. It seems that for centuries, Christians have thought of waiting eagerly in anticipation of the arrival of Wisdom.
Asherah: Ancient goddess or an object to worship the One God
Before the Jewish exile (Judges, Kings), there are references to "Yahweh and his Asherah", who may have been a goddess who was Yahweh's consort, or may have been a cultic object used in worship. Ancient Israelites saw God as male and female, with Asherah the female side of god. This mirrors the idea of Eve being the female side of Adam.
William Dever, author of Did God Have a Wife?, discusses archeological insights into ancient Israelite religious practices. He notes that Asherah is a goddess whose name is well attested in ancient Israel. She is associated with Mother Earth, fertility, and trees.
Edward Durand says that there has always been a goddess as part of Christianity [1]. Durand tells us that in Solomon's first Temple, there was a common blessing for Yahweh and Asherah, the female divine present in the temple. Edward Durand notes that in Hebrew, the Holy Spirit is Ruah, and the Aramaic is Shekinah, and both are female words that imply a feminine divine presence. Edward Durand reveals that the Gospel of the Holy Twelve, an ancient gnostic text, shows Jesus saying, “I come from the Father-Mother who sent me.” The Lord's Prayer is translated from the original Aramaic as, “O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos”[2].
Durand suggests that the ten commandments might indicate a heavenly or divine father and mother, "Honour your father and mother." (Matthew 19:19, Exodus 20:12-16; Deut. 5:16-20). Is there a heavenly father and mother? Is God our father and mother? Is God a father-mother being?
While ancient art and inscriptions refer to Yahweh and his Asherah, Solomon had Asherah objects in the temples he built, and Josiah removed them (2 Kings 23:4). Putting an Asherah pole in the temple was called a sin (2 Kings 21:7). The worship of Asherah, or the use of Asherah worship symbols, were suppressed with the rise of monotheism.
Perhaps Asherah was not the name of a goddess, but the name for a sacred object used in worship. An Asherah pole may have been a wooden altar carved with images of a tree and female figures. Over time, Asherah was associated with wood and trees and the Tree of Life. The Latin Vulgate and King James translations of the Bible removed the name Asherah and instead translated the name as a grove or wood.
Wisdom/Sophia has some of the same characteristics as Asherah, such as being involved in creating, redeeming, restoring justice, and giving life. She is also sometimes symbolized with a Tree of Life.
Happy are those who find wisdom and those who gain understanding.... She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who hold her tight are happy. (Proverbs 3:13, 18 CEB)
This post is not about Asherah, but Sophia, who speaks to us in Proverbs.
Lady Wisdom: A Personification of God
Unlike Asherah, Lady Wisdom is not a goddess. Sophia (the Greek word for Wisdom) is an integral part of God.
The Hebrew Bible personifies God as Lady Wisdom (Proverbs). We may pray to the Prince of Peace, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Wonderful Counsellor, as these names acknowledge the traits of God named in Isaiah 9:6. Similarly, we might call on Holy Wisdom, as an attribute or characteristic of God. Holy Sophia is God's Wisdom, offering continuous guidance for creation and understanding.
While some translations indicate that God created Wisdom later, as a separate being, the proper translation is that Wisdom was "possessed" by God in the beginning. In Proverbs 8:22-23, we read that in the beginning, before the earth existed, God possessed Wisdom.
Deidre Havrelock, a Christian who lives in Canada and is part of the Cree nation, nurtures Christian feminist thought. She explains that God created Wisdom, not something external, but from the inner part of God; wisdom existed inside God from the beginning [3].
Havrelock shares an illustration of Wisdom by Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), an abbess who is recognized as a Doctor of the Church. This picture shows Sophia (also called Wisdom), sitting on a throne. The scroll in her hand is the Latin version of Proverbs 8:28, "I was created from the beginning before all ages". This indicates Sophia being part of God from the beginning, possibly an early form of the Holy Spirit.
Jewish Prophecies of Wisdom Coming to the World
Some first-century Christians believed that when God became flesh and dwelt among us, it was Sophia in the flesh as Jesus. The prophecies were fulfilled when Sophia (the Holy Spirit) became incarnate in Jesus.
Solomon had predicted that Wisdom would make herself a frame. The body of Jesus may be seen as Wisdom's house:
Wisdom has built her house; she has made its seven columns” (Proverbs 9:1).
The Lord laid the foundations of the earth with wisdom, establishing the heavens with understanding. (Proverbs 3:19 CEB).
Jesus refers to himself as Wisdom, proved right by her actions (Matthew 11:19, Luke 7:35). Early Christians would have heard this phrase and realized that Jesus was claiming to be Sophia, the ancient Hebrew personification of God's wisdom. First-century Jews and Christians saw Lady Wisdom as a personification or form that God took on.
Paul wrote that:
Christ is the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30, 2:6-11).
Christ held in himself the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).
Having wisdom is having the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:18-31).
The Spirit gives wisdom, "To one is given through the Spirit [the power to speak] the message of wisdom, and to another [the power to express] the word of knowledge and understanding according to the same Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:8, AMP).
Ancient Jews: God is Neither Male nor Female; Prophecies point to Lady Wisdom
Ancient Jews believed God was beyond the concept of gender and identified eight gender categories for humans. Christian Jews dominated early Christianity until Gentiles gained influence in the church and brought dualistic Greek thinking.
Katharine Bushnell, a medical doctor, theologian, and translator, noted that Talmudic rabbis discussed God as male-female. In 1921, Bushnell wrote that God made the original human in God's own image as a male-female [4]. It is possible that in the beginning, the male-female God made humans as asexual male-female beings. The Bible uses both male and female images to describe God. Being made in God's image means each human holds universal traits, that these characteristics are not male and female, but are contained in all of us. Nurturing is a trait that belongs to both men and women. So is courage. So is wisdom.
According to Proverbs 8-9, Wisdom was with God during the act of creation. The character of wisdom is a woman. The word Wisdom is translated in Hebrew as Chokmah and in Greek as Sophia, both of which are grammatically feminine [5]. Scholar Marcus Borg states that when John writes that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us as Jesus, he could just as well have said that Sophia (Wisdom) became flesh and dwelt among us as Jesus. Jesus is the Wisdom/Sophia of God incarnate [6]
Lady Wisdom in Scripture
As we have seen, Wisdom is mentioned often in the book of Proverbs, and always personified as a lady, with female pronouns. She also appears in the Apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach.
Catholic and Orthodox Bibles include the books of Wisdom and Sirach because they were in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, called the Septuagint, used by Jews in the first century. This complete canon including the Apocryphal books, was accepted by early church councils such as the Council of Hippo (393 AD) and Carthage (397 AD). The church recognized them as being inspired and providing ethical teachings and wisdom. Catholics see Wisdom as an expression of the feminine aspects of God.
In Wisdom of Solomon 7, written in Greek, Wisdom's name is provided: Sophia. She is called “the fashioner” and “mother” of all good things. She is also the One who guided the Israelites through the wilderness (Wisdom 10:17-19). She is the Way.
In Sirach, Lady Wisdom says, “I am the word spoken by the Most High” (Sirach 24:3 GNT). John tells us that Jesus is the Word (John 1:1).
Early Christians Honoured Wisdom/Sophia
When I visited Lanercost Abbey in northern England, I was surprised to find a church dedicated to Mary Magdalene, with a carving above the entryway showing the canons praying with Mary Magdalene as their guide. Knights of Templar honoured Mary Magdalene for her key esoteric knowledge, her wisdom [7].
When Protestants stamped out the practice of praying to saints, it also broke, hid, or destroyed art or manuscripts that honoured female priests and evangelists, who were called saints. Most of Lanercost Abbey was destroyed by King Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s, but this carving above their door remains.
Gnosticism was a sect of Christianity that became popular in the 2nd century and revered "special knowledge" revealed by the Spirit.
The church wanted the focus to be on obeying the apostolic teachings rather than on any secret spiritual knowledge. When the Christian church condemned Gnosticism as a heresy, they associated Lady Wisdom with the "special knowledge" of the gnostics. To avoid being excommunicated, most Christians distanced themselves from Lady Wisdom, despite the many biblical references to Lady Wisdom as a personification of God. In a similar way, the Gospel of Mary has been discounted or condemned by associating it with Gnosticism.
Protestants Reject Wisdom/Sophia
During the Reformation, Protestants excluded apocryphal books from the Protestant Bible, reverting to the earlier Hebrew Bible. Protestants excluded the Greek books written after the Old Testament prophets and before John the Baptist, including the Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach, which mention Sophia.
Some of the Apocryphal books were omitted because they seemed to oppose the Protestant concept of "saved by grace alone". They may emphasize that those who are truly saved show their faith in their good deeds, praying for others, and giving generously.
While the Protestant Reformation returned to a focus on "by scripture alone", and the Bible as the authority, it did not restore the biblical place of Lady Wisdom, and indeed rejected female involvement in spiritual roles as nuns and abbesses, and destroyed or hid art and sculptures that depicted women offering the benediction or officiating funerals, weddings or Communion. Is it possible that the Protestant rejection of Lady Wisdom and the books of Wisdom and Sirach was partly due to the way these concepts showed God empowering women?
First-Century Theology Equates Wisdom with the Word
Philo of Alexandria was a Jewish scholar, theologian, and philosopher. He tried to unify Jewish thought with Greek philosophy, interpreting Jewish Scriptures through a lens of Plato's ideas [8]. Plato may have influenced New Testament writers who described our world as a shadow of what is in heaven (Hebrews 8:5; Colossians 2:17; 1 Corinthians 13:12). Plato proposed a world of perfect forms and a subordinate craftsman, while Philo proposed one God with a world of perfect forms in the mind of the creator, and the earth containing mere shadows of the world of perfect forms. Proverbs 8 identifies Wisdom as the master craftsperson beside God at creation. Wisdom could be seen as God's perfect plan and our world as an imperfect imitation, a shadow of what is to come. Wisdom might be seen as the divine plan or perfect form that is revealed in creation. Wisdom provides the aspirational goal, the plumb line by which we can align our lives with divine principles.
The Logos (Word or Reason) is an intermediary between God and people. Jesus is the one mediator between God and humans (1 Timothy 2:5). The Logos is active, implementing God's divine wisdom. The Word provides capacity for reason, logic, understanding, and the ability to rise above our natural instincts. The way Jesus lived gives a glimpse of the perfect ways for us to imitate.
Philo equates the Wisdom of God with Logos; both are with God in the beginning; both are in God. Philo understood that Wisdom (Sophia) and the Word (Logos) are closely related. Both are divine emanations from God. Wisdom looks and acts like the Word. Is Wisdom the Word?
Jesus: The Word and Wisdom
The New Testament shows that early Christians associated Jesus with Lady Wisdom. Some believed that Lady Wisdom became incarnate as Jesus, or that Wisdom is a figurative depiction of Jesus. According to Proverbs, ancient Jews believed that Wisdom (Sophia) was with God and was God. John describes "the Word" in the same language that had commonly described "Wisdom" [9].
Both Wisdom and Logos are:
divine, eternal
present before the world began
took part in creation
sent from heaven to dwell on earth
the source of life
the light /enlightenment opf the world
the vehicle by which God speaks to humans
Wisdom the daughter of God;
Jesus, the son of God
Compare Wisdom with the Word (Logos) below:
Wisdom and the Word Present in the Beginning, Before Creation
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4 CSB)
Yahweh possessed me [Sophia] in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth existed. (Proverbs 8:22-23 World English Bible)
When Yahweh marked out the foundations of the earth, then I [Sophia] was the craftsman by his side (Proverbs 8:29-30)
The Life
Jesus is the life (John 14:6)
In the Word was life (John 1:4)
Don’t lose sight of them [wisdom's words] keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and health to one’s whole body. Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life. Proverbs 4:21-23 CSB
Blessed are those who keep my ways (Proverbs 8:32)
Whoever finds me finds life, and will obtain favour from Yahweh. Proverbs 8:35
The Way
Jesus is the Way (John 14:6)
I [Sophia] am teaching you the way of wisdom; I am guiding you on straight paths. (Proverbs 4:11 CSB)
Wisdom led the Israelites through the wilderness
The Holy Spirit leads those who listen (Acts 16:6-10, Matthew 4:1).
The Light
Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12)
In the Word was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. (John 1:4-5 NRSVUE)
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105)
The path of the righteous (of Wisdom) is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday (Proverbs 4:18).
Uplifts Us
Humble yourself before Jesus, and he will exalt you (James 4:10)
Cherish her [Wisdom], and she will exalt you; if you embrace her, she will honour you (Proverbs 4:8).
Supreme Being
Jesus is supreme, existing before creation, and through him God created everything (Colossians 1:15-16)
Wisdom is supreme—so get wisdom. And whatever else you get, get understanding. Proverbs 4:7
Lady Wisdom: A Person of God
Scriptures portray Wisdom as a female expression of God, present with God in the beginning and during creation. While Christians may accept Wisdom as a personification of God, most would reject the idea of honouring Lady Wisdom as a separate person of God. The idea of the Divine Feminine, or goddess, is one that comes with a lot of baggage that most Christians would see as pagan and heretical. However, some Christians are finding comfort in seeing the invisible God in a female form, praying to our Father/Mother.
Since God is beyond the concept of gender, the Bible refers to God using a variety of pronouns (he/she/it/they). See my article on God's pronouns here. The Bible also describes God in both male and female terms. The female terms include things like a mother eagle protecting us, a mother hen sheltering us, a creator, a nurturer, feeding us and bouncing her children on her knee. In fact, these terms are neither male nor female, as all humans have these traits since we are in God's image.
When Sue Monk Kidd looked for female images of God in the Bible, she found that God is often called "El Shaddai". While this name is usually translated to "the Almighty", the literal meaning of Shaddai comes from the word "mountain" or "mammery" or "breasts". The prefix "el" indicates power, and the ending "ai" indicates plural. The literal translation of "El Shaddai" is "the divine power of my breasts", or "The powerful breasted God". Susan McLeod-Harrison explores feminine images of God, including El Shaddai [10].
Joyce Rupp suggests that Wisdom may be seen as a person of the One God, an early form of the Holy Spirit or Logos (the Word) [11].
Jesus says the Holy Spirit will teach, counsel, and guide us (John 14:25-26, 16:12-13). In the same way, Wisdom in the Old Testament provided teaching, counsel, and guidance. Luke wrote that when the believers prayed, the Spirit filled and empowered them to speak the word of God boldly (Acts 4:31). In the same way, Wisdom strengthened the Israelites and empowered them to leave Egypt.
Jann Aldredge Clanton is reclaiming the Bible's portrayal of Wisdom-Sophia as a person of the Godhead, a person of the Holy Trinity. The Wisdom Sophia Spirit was there at creation, the wind over the waters. She existed before being poured out on Christians.
"Sophia is one of the many biblical female images of God. Including these female images along with other biblical divine images to create gender-balanced worship will expand our spiritual experience" [12].
Conclusion
As we prepare our hearts for the coming of the Christ-child, the promised deliverer, let us also prepare to make room for Emmanuel, God with us. Let us make room for Wisdom-Sophia to guide us in God's ways.
Let us take a moment to imagine God as neither male nor female, but a Spirit that can take on various forms.
Perhaps God sent Wisdom in the flesh in Jesus. Perhaps Jesus, the man, was filled with the Spirit and with Wisdom-Sophia. Jesus came at Christmas, bringing the Way, the truth, and the life to all who will listen. Jesus brought Wisdom, and she remains active today, guiding us and calling us to follow God's ways. Maybe we will be able to sing with those who used the words of Scripture to write and translate the hymn, O Come Emmanuel.
My Advent Prayer:
“Oh great Creator, maker of heaven, earth, skies and seas, you are sovereign over it all. In the beginning, when there were no watery depths and no springs overflowing with water, you gave birth to Wisdom-Sophia. She blew the breath of life over the waters. In the beginning, you spoke your Word, and your Word is Jesus, the mediator who brings light and gives us life. Your prophets promised that Wisdom would come. Come, Emmanuel, be with us and guide us. We are preparing for your birth and making room for you in our lives. Come thou Wisdom from on high and show us the path of knowledge. Come, thou bright and morning star and bring your healing light. You were in the beginning, you are with us now, and you are with us in the future. Come, Lord Jesus, Amen.”
Elaine Ricker Kelly Author is empowering women with historical fiction about women in the Bible and early church and Christian blogs about women in leadership, church history and doctrine. Her books include:
Forgotten Followers from Broken to Bold, Book 1, A Novel (2022)
The Sword: A Fun Way to Engage in Healthy Debate on What the Bible Says About a Woman's Role (2023)
Because She Was Called from Broken to Bold, Book 2, A Novel of the Early Church (2024)
Walk with Mara on Her Healing Journey: 21 Steps to Emotional Resilience (2024)
Finding Her Voice from Broken to Bold, Book 3, Acts of Early Female Apostles: A Novel (2025)
Sources:
[1] Edward Durand https://braidedway.org/rediscovering-sophia-the-goddess-in-christianity/
[2] Neil Douglas-Klotz, Prayers of the Cosmos, https://www.songofhome.com/Klotz.htm
[3] Deidre Havrelock https://www.deidrehavrelock.com/womanimageoftheholyspirit/is-wisdom-a-created-being/
[4] Katharine Bushnell, God's Word to Women Lesson 3, https://godswordtowomen.org/lesson%203.htm
[5] Sign of the Rose https://signoftherose.org/2020/02/12/wisdom-logos-and-a-cosmic-christology/
[6] Marcus Borg, Sophia: Wisdom of God”, Center for Action and Contemplation, taken from “Female Images of God in the Bible" ,November 7, 2017,
[8] Rabbi Joshua Garroway, “Inside the Mind of God: Plato’s Influence on Ancient Judaism and Christianity”, CSP – Community Scholar Program, April 8, 2022, https://youtu.be/2ViX2tKpQ8g?si=58ZyAyXLM4UGGuqO.
[9] Thomas Moller, https://freethinkingministries.com/what-is-logos-a-look-at-john-11-3/
[10] Susan McLeod-Harrison https://www.mothergodexperiment.com/el-shaddai-mother-name-god/
[11] Joyce Rupp, “Who is Sophia in the Bible?”, U.S. Catholic, January 4, 2016, https://uscatholic.org/articles/201601/desperately-seeking-sophia/.
[12] Jan Aldredge Clanton https://jannaldredgeclanton.com/reclaiming-sophia-all-her-paths-are-peace-she-is-a-tree-of-life/
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