(Proverbs 4:7) רֵאשִׁית חָכְמָה קְנֵה חָכְמָה וּבְכָל־קִנְיָנְךָ קְנֵה בִינָה
ray-SHEET khokh-MA k’-NAY khokh-MA uv’-khol-KIN-yan-KHA k’-NAY vee-NA
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and in all your “gettings,” get insight!
At first glance this proverb appears tautological: the first thing about wisdom is . . . get some! But this embodies an important truth—that wisdom is not an innate quality; it must be acquired. At the same time, this proverb underscores the moral imperative to pursue wisdom. This moral imperative, the necessity of pursuing wisdom, and the inestimatible value of aquiring her are key themes in the first nine chapters of the book of Proverbs.
Another notable feature of this proverb is the dual meaning of רֵאשִׁית, which may refer to temporal precedence—the starting point for wisdom is getting it—or to the first principle of wisdom—that it must be aquired (‘must’ with both an epistemic and deontic modal sense).
