The text of Prov. viii. 22 in the LXX. is κύριος ἔκτισέ με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ.  The rendering of A.V. is “possessed,” with “formed” in the margin. The Hebrew verb occurs some eighty times in the Old Testament, and in only four other passages is translated by possess, viz., Gen. xiv. 19, 22, Ps. cxxxix. 13, Jer. xxxii. 15, and Zec. xi. 5.  In the two former, though the LXX. renders the word in the Psalms ἐκτήσω, it would have borne the sense of “create.”  In the passage under discussion the Syriac agrees with the LXX., and among critics adopting the same view Bishop Wordsworth cites Ewald, Hitzig, and Genesius.  The ordinary meaning of the Hebrew is “get” or “acquire,” and hence it is easy to see how the idea of getting or possessing passed in relation to the Creator into that of creation.  The Greek translators were not unanimous and Aquila wrote ἐκτήσατο.  The passage inevitably became the Jezreel or Low Countries of the Arian war, and many a battle was fought on it.  The depreciators of the Son found in it Scriptural authority for calling Him κτίσμα, e.g. Arius in the Thalia, is quoted by Athanasius in Or. c. Ar. I. iii. § 9, and such writings of his followers as the Letter of Eusebius of Nicomedia to Paulinus of Tyre cited in Theod., Ecc. Hist. I. v., and Eunomius as quoted by Greg. Nyss., c. Eunom. II. 10; but as Dr. Liddon observes in his Bampton Lect. (p. 60, ed. 1868), “They did not doubt that this created Wisdom was a real being or person.” ἔκτισεwas accepted by the Catholic writers, but explained to refer to the manhood only, cf. Eustathius of Antioch, quoted in Theod., Dial. I.  The view of Athanasius will be found in his dissertation on the subject in the Second Discourse against the Arians, pp. 357–385 of Schaff & Wace’s edition.  cf. Bull, Def. Fid. Nic. II. vi. 8.