By carlos@thehumanjesus.org
According to the Oxford Languages dictionary personification can also mean “a person, animal, or object regarded as representing or embodying a quality, concept, or thing. For example, Sir Anthony can be "the very personification of British pluck and diplomacy." But John 1 does not use personification in this way.
In Proverbs 8 (a passage always said to be influencing John 1) the wisdom of God is described as a woman. But this is not a person representing or embodying the wisdom of God. The text simply describes wisdom as a person, which fits the primary Oxford dictionary definition of the “representation of a thing or abstraction as a person.” And of course we all know a person can represent or embody "a quality, concept, or thing."
Hence, the dictionary example: "he was the very personification of British pluck and diplomacy" doesn’t mean “British pluck and diplomacy" are persons!
So we could rightly say Jesus was the very personification of the word and wisdom of God.
Jesus was “God’s wisdom in person but not a personified, hypostatized (i.e., an actual) pre-existent figure alongside God.” (Kuschel, Born Before All Time)
According to the Oxford Languages dictionary personification can also mean “a person, animal, or object regarded as representing or embodying a quality, concept, or thing. For example, Sir Anthony can be "the very personification of British pluck and diplomacy." But John 1 does not use personification in this way.
In Proverbs 8 (a passage always said to be influencing John 1) the wisdom of God is described as a woman. But this is not a person representing or embodying the wisdom of God. The text simply describes wisdom as a person, which fits the primary Oxford dictionary definition of the “representation of a thing or abstraction as a person.” And of course we all know a person can represent or embody "a quality, concept, or thing."
Hence, the dictionary example: "he was the very personification of British pluck and diplomacy" doesn’t mean “British pluck and diplomacy" are persons!
So we could rightly say Jesus was the very personification of the word and wisdom of God.
Jesus was “God’s wisdom in person but not a personified, hypostatized (i.e., an actual) pre-existent figure alongside God.” (Kuschel, Born Before All Time)