The Varieties of Chokma
Chokma is an ancient Hebrew word with a wide array of meanings, under the general meaning of "Wisdom." Various implications of this word are: "knowledge, experience, intelligence, insight, and judgment." If a man or woman receives chokma, vast resources become available. By meditating on the message shown below, one may begin to understand how powerful chokma is, but there is a secret linked to this page that brings the fullest dimension of participation in this realm of powerful understanding. The link is indirect.
I encourage you to study the pages in a logical sequence. Begin with the text below. Hebrew often uses parallelism, so each word in the sequence relates to chokma. The words in bold are linked to their specific meanings. Study those meanings to see if a pattern emerges, then click through the links on the sidebar.
Be careful! Different Hebrew words may be translated by the same English word. Don't miss the meaning.
The Chokma Tree
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
To know wisdom and instruction;
to perceive the words of understanding;
To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice,
and judgment, and equity;
To give subtilty to the simple,
to the young man knowledge and discretion
A wise man will hear, and will increase learning;
and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
To understand a proverb, and the interpretation;
the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
- chokmah
- ~ knowledge, experience, intelligence, insight, judgment
Chokmah has a wide variety of applications. Chokma can mean artistic skills: such as, embroidery (See Exodus 28:3), construction and metalworking (See Exodus 31:3,6). It can mean skill in military strategy (See Isaiah 10:13), or diplomacy. Joshua "was full of the spirit of wisdom…and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded." Diplomacy is the art of seeing varied and divergent goals of numbers of people involved in an enterprise and convincing them to accomplish a single, unified goal (See Deuteronomy 34:9; and also Ezekie 28: 4-5). This kind of wisdom can mean a practical spirituality, whereby one can apply God's word and His principles in times of crisis or to produce daily success (See Isaiah 33:6). Associated with this is the concept of prudence in knowing the right actions for life situations Psalm 37:30), knowing the value of our time (Psalm 90:12), and how to control our words (Proverbs 10:31).
Back to proverb - musar
- ~ chastisement, punishment, correction, experience, a bond, checking due to discipline or self control, restraint
“My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. —Proverbs 3:11-12
Back to proverb - biynah
- ~ insight, prudence, intelligence
(See Isaiah 33:19, Daniel 8:15, 9:22, 10:1)
~ distinguishing between good and evil, using information wisely
(See Job 28:2, 20, Proverbs 3:5 )
Back to proverb - sakal
- ~ circumspect, prudent
Then the princes of the Philistines came out to battle, and as often as they came out David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his name was highly esteemed.— 1 Samuel 18:30, ESV
~skill, expertise, to teach
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.—Psalm 32:8, KJV
(See also Amos 5:13)
~ comprehension
This is what the LORD says: The wise must not boast in his wisdom; the mighty must not boast in his might; the rich must not boast in his riches. But the one who boasts should boast in this, that he understands and knows Me — that I am the LORD, showing faithful love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for I delight in these things. — Jeremiah 9:23-24, HCSB
A major idea behind sakal is
the intelligent knowledge of the reason for something
Back to proverb - ormah
- ~ guile, prudence, subtility, wilily, wisdom.
This noun may be used negatively of presumptuous guile
(as in Exodus 21:14), or positively of prudent behavior
(as in Proverbs 1:4) —Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
The root word means to be bare or smooth (See also Joshua 9:4, Proverbs 8:5 & 12)
Back to proverb - dha‘ath
- ~ knowledge gained through the senses
In modern times this would be called empirical knowledge. Proverbs 24:5 tells us that a man of dha'ath increases strength
~ technical "know how"
(See Exodus 31:3, 35:31, and 1 Kings 7:14)
~ discernment
Teach me good judgment and discernment, for I rely on Your commands. —Psalm 119:66, HCSB
God teaches dha'ath to man (Psalm 94:10, Proverbs 2:6)
Back to proverb - mĕzimmâ
- ~ meditation, prudence, plan, device, plot, purpose, intrigue
The book of Proverbs contains the broadest range of meaning relative to this term. There is a sharp division between the negative concept of “men who devise evil” and the positive notion of “discretion.” The former occurs only in conjunction with the nouns “man” (Prov 12:2; 14:17) and “possessor” (Prov 24:8), and in each case the plural mĕzimmôt is used. A “man of schemes” or “who devises evil” is readily condemned and hated (Prov 12:2; 14:17). The singular form mĕzimmâ, however, receives the consistently positive meaning of “discretion” the five times it appears. This use occurs in Prov 1:4; 5:2; 8:12, where it is linked with “knowledge” and “prudence.” In Prov 2:11; 3:21 “discretion,” like her sisters, “understanding” and “sound wisdom,” guards one’s life from harm. Hence, within Proverbs 1–8 “discretion” ranks as one of the key terms for wisdom employed by the author. The verb occurs only twice, in Prov, once with the normal meaning of “plot” (Prov 30:32), and once in the sense of “consider” (31:16). This latter meaning is found in the epilogue of the book, a poem honoring the woman who exemplifies wisdom at its best. This excellent wife “considers a field and buys it.” Instead of spending her time dreaming up wicked schemes, she makes plans that will bring great benefit to her family—Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
—Proverbs 2:11
Back to proverb - leqach
- ~ teaching, learning, persuasiveness
This word occurs nine times, in four of which it is the object of yāsap “to add more, increase” (Prov 1:5; 9:9; 16:21, 23). As with the root meaning “take, seize,” the “grasping” is with the mind and hence “perceiving” is the nuance prominent in this derivative. Note some of the words with which it is paired: bınâ “understanding” (Isa 29:24), hākām “wisdom” (Prov 1:5; 9:9) and tôrâ “instruction, law” (Prov 4:2). In Prov 7:21 leqach means “the persuasiveness” of a harlot. But in Prov 16:21 the word is used in a good sense of a teacher’s persuasiveness.—Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
Back to proverb - Chiydah
- ~ riddle, difficult question, parable, enigmatic saying or question, perplexing saying or question—Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Chiydah is used eight times in Jud 14 of “riddles” propounded by Samson to the Philistine guests at his wedding. These were conundrums involving a contest of wits, a source of entertainment popular among Arabs today. Cf. the contest of the guardsmen in I Esd 3:4–24. At a higher social level the ḥı̂dôt in I Kgs 10:1 (II Chr 9:1) were “difficult questions” posed by the Queen of Sheba to test Solomon’s reputation for wisdom. Josephus (Antiquities 8.5.3 [143]) describes Hiram of Tyre sending Solomon “tricky problems and enigmatic sayings.” The Psalmist in Ps 49:4 [H 5] speaks of the “riddle” of life, death, and redemption. In Num 12:8 the “dark speeches” denote the indirect revelations ordinarily given by the Lord, in contrast to the face-to-face mode of communication granted to Moses. —Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament
Back to proverb