"She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor." -- Proverbs 4:9

Years ago I was doing a seminar somewhere in the midwest. It was a prison where only women were incarcerated. In the course of a question and answer period, I made mention of "God the Father."

A hand quickly shot up.

When I recognized the person attached to the hand, she asked, "Why do you refer to God as a "Father?" I never got to know what was behind her question, but my guess is that it had something to do with an abusive father. In any case, the answer quickly formed on my lips.

"Because that is what Jesus called him," I replied.

Silence. I saw a few heads nodding.

It was a poignant moment in the seminar. All these years and I have never forgotten it. Not my answer -- her question . . .

For 2,000 years Christendom has perceived God as a Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We understand God to exist in these three Persons who share those things that can only be true of God. What then do we make of "Wisdom" characterized as feminine in Solomon's writings, who, according to Solomon, shares in these things as well?

Have you ever wondered why the "Wisdom" of which Solomon speaks in Proverbs is always in the feminine gender? That is what the "She" in this verse refers to. Wisdom.

Actually, the instruction about Wisdom was not so much Solomon's as it was his father David's. It was David who told Solomon of the value of Wisdom¹. Perhaps that is why Wisdom is what Solomon requested of God instead of riches, et. al.²

Still, wherever Wisdom is personified in Proverbs, it is described as "She," not "he" or "it." You must admit this is more than a little curious. When you examine Proverbs 1:20-31, the honest interpreter might become confused that the narrative is talking about God -- not wisdom -- which is, of course, a quality of God. In 3:13-20, Wisdom does things more characteristic of God himself than simply an intellectual entity.

It is not at all surprising then, to discover in 4:7 that Wisdom is more important that anything else we could get. Other translations render this as "the beginning of wisdom is Wisdom itself." In the eighth chapter we learn that Wisdom is Eternal³ and that it helped God create the universe.⁴ It seems that everything that defines God as God is also true of Wisdom. The old axiom which says, "things equal to the same thing are equal to each other," seems to have relevance here. Yet Wisdom is characterized in the feminine gender! What do we make of this?

Is there a Fourth Member of the "Trinity?" (Oxymoron?) Is the Father also a Mother? What? Who cares? Why bring this up in the first place? Why rattle the cages of theological sanctities?

Maybe there is no reason to do this except that this passage tells us that Wisdom will give us a garland of grace for our heads. When you think of grace, you think of something graceful, beautiful and charming. Feminine. The Epitome of grace is Wisdom. A garland of grace for your head.