What does Proverbs 8:30 mean?

In this passage, Solomon has poetically described wisdom as a woman calling out to all men (Proverbs 8:1–4). That declaration includes the fact that wisdom is not an invention of God. Rather, godly wisdom has always been a part of God's nature. Truth was "established," so to speak (Proverbs 8:23), before the creation of the universe (Proverbs 8:24–29).

The terminology used here depicts God and wisdom enjoying close fellowship. For that reason, some interpret this passage as a depiction of Jesus: called "the Word" in John 1. John 1:1–2 portrays Jesus, the Word, as present with God in the beginning of beginnings. The word "with" in John 1:2 is the Greek word pros, meaning "toward." Christ was toward God, suggesting face-to-face fellowship between the Father and the Son. Likewise, John 1:3 states: "All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." The word for "God" in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim, a plural form of the noun, suggesting the Trinity was in the beginning before the universe was created.

However, the context of the passage itself does not suggest that Solomon means to identify wisdom, literally, as Jesus. While Jesus, as God, is a perfect representation of godly wisdom (Hebrews 1:3), the poetry used here in Proverbs is exactly that. This is a metaphor for the nature of godly wisdom, not a direct reference to Jesus.