Chokhmah

Chokhmah (Hebrew: חָכְמָה) is the Biblical Hebrew word rendered as "wisdom" in English Bible versions (LXX σοφία sophia, Vulgate sapientia).

The word occurs 149 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible. It is cognate with the Arabic word for "wisdom", ḥikma حكمة (Semitic root ḥ-k-m). Adjectival ḥakham "wise" is used as a honorific, as in Talmid Chakham (lit. "student of a sage") for a Torah scholar, or Hakham Bashi for a Chief Rabbi.

The Talmud, Shabbat 31a, describes knowledge of the Talmudic order of Kodshim as a high level of wisdom, chokhmah. In the Kabbalah, Chokhmah is the uppermost of the sephirot of the right line (kav yamin, the "Pillar of Mercy") in the Tree of Life. It is to the bottom right of Keter, with Binah across from it. Under it are the sephirot of Chesed and Netzach. It commonly has four paths going to Keter, Binah, Tiferet, and Chesed (some kabbalists, such as Isaac Luria, also attributed a path between Chokhmah and Gevurah).