Woman Wisdom, the Feminine Consort of the Divine and the African Theosophical Worldview

Abstract

Wisdom Literature (WL), also referred to as sapiential literature, is an important component of biblical studies (particularly, studies in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible). WL has a direct bearing on human life and addresses issues of human experience and existence. It calls on human beings to acquire deep insight to navigate their existential challenges and other vicissitudes of life. WL does not concern itself with the issues of Torah or Prophecy, which are two major parts of the tripartite Hebrew Bible. As such, though this branch of biblical studies is very important, it has been mostly pushed to the periphery. Due to the peripheral treatment of WL, it is not surprising that its protagonist, Lady/Woman Wisdom (particularly in the Book of Proverbs), has also been slighted and treated as unimportant. It could probably be said that Wisdom has become a “lost” character. This article attempts to rediscover the apparently “lost” protagonist of WL, in the person of Lady/Woman Wisdom. The article uses Proverbs 8 as a case in point to propose that the protagonist of WL (i.e., Lady/Woman Wisdom) should be considered as the feminine consort of the Divine. The article also examines the idea of the feminine consort of the Divine as an integral part of the theosophical worldview embedded in African traditional religions (ATRs) and suggests this worldview is an often untapped resource for Western theological hermeneutics/biblical interpretation.