Well, let's take a closer look at that passage:
Proverbs 8:
1 Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?
2 She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.
3 She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.
4 Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man.
5 O ye simple, understand wisdom: and, ye fools, be ye of an understanding heart.
6 Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.
7 For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.
10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it
(her - 3rd person feminine singular).
12 I
(1st person common singular) wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions.
13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
14 Counsel is mine
(1st person common singular), and sound wisdom
(feminine singular): I
(1st person common singular) am understanding
(feminine singular); I
(1st person common singular) have strength
(feminine singular).
15 By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.
16 By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.
17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
18 Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.
20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment:
21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
22 The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
24 When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
27 When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
30 Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him;
31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
32 Now therefore hearken unto me, O ye children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.
33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.
36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
Analysis:
First thing I noticed is that "wisdom" is in the feminine. Which would be a weird rendering for a personification of God, because God is never portrayed in the feminine. (Which would include Jesus or the Holy Ghost.)
Verse 4 - "the speaker" switches from 3rd person feminine to 1st person common. (interesting). The "gender" of the voice remains "common" through the rest of the proverb except for the end of verse 11 and parts of verse 14.
Verse 22 - I think is where the "created" concept came from; although King James renders it as "possessed". (It can also be translated "created".) The idea behind this verb is that what ever is described as an "entity" (be it a concept or a tangible created thing) that has its origins coming forth from God.
Other passages say the Spirit is "sent" by (Son or Father) but the Spirit being a person of the Godhead is not created. He is an eternally existent entity. So "wisdom" here isn't a personification of the Holy Spirit either.
Is it Jesus?
At first glance that's what I had originally concluded because of the concept of "created"; yet the eternally existent Son did not have His origins coming forth from God either because just like the Holy Ghost, He is also an eternally existent entity.
Now Jesus's human nature had an origin. His humanity had a point where it was created. Yet the fact that this passage starts out portraying "wisdom" in the feminine doesn't fit either.
Yet we still have to reconcile that in places like verse 6-8, verse 10, verse 14, 17, 20 - 21, 34-35; we have the personification of some entity that is proclaiming wisdom. Now obviously the living entity that ultimately proclaims "wisdom" is Christ. Yet to say this "wisdom" is the personification of Him; I still don't think is "spot on".
It would be fair to say that Jesus is the personification of "wisdom" but "wisdom" is not the personification of Jesus because "wisdom" being an attribute of God is a "smaller" identity than Christ who is the wholeness of God. Hold that thought though because I think some of these other verses answer that question.
Verses explain themselves:
Verse 23 - This verse is interesting because it speaks of the "origin" of "wisdom". It states: "From eternity I have been poured out, from the summit (the head) before there was ever an earth."
So, if God's primary "substance" is described as "love"; it seems this passage is saying that the primary attribute coming forth from that love is wisdom. And this is why "wisdom" is "poured forth" of God.
Verse 14 - The phrase "I am understanding" is a little different rendering than the "me" "my" or "I (have strength)" in the rest of the verse. These other possessive pronouns are "standard generic". Only in this phrase "I am understanding" is the "I" of a form that "I" is emphasized. "I myself (am) understanding." This is not the "I AM" that we see in Exodus. Totally different Hebrew word.
Now for curiosity's sake, I looked up all the passages that couple "wisdom" and "understanding". (There's about 53 of them.) In several of these passages, "wisdom" seems to be something obtained with the mind and "understanding" of the heart.
Proverbs 14:33 says that wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding.
Proverbs 7:4 also speak of wisdom and understanding in female terms.
Now here's an interesting passage: (Isaiah 11)
1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
"Spirit of the Lord", "spirit of wisdom and understanding", "spirit of counsel and might", "spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord". Again, seems to be attributes coming forth from God.
Another interesting passage: (1 Corinthians 1)
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19
For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
This comes from Obadiah:
7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee even to the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived thee, and prevailed against thee; they that eat thy bread have laid a wound under thee: there is none understanding in him.
8
Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?
9 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
And Finally! (Let's attempt to wrap our brains around this one - LOL)
Revelation 13:18
Here is
wisdom. Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
So
@Michael Collum - If you've now come to the conclusion that this runs deeper than any of us had previously hypothesized - I would conclude you to be correct!