잠언 8:23의 Quotation

Rabbi Bun said: What is the meaning of the verse (Proverbs 8:23), "In the distant past I was fashioned, At the beginning, at the origin of earth." What is the meaning of "in the distant past"? (m'Olam) This means that it must be concealed (he-elam) from the world. It is thus written (Ecclesiastes 3:11), "He also puts eternity (ha-Olam) in their mind." Do not read ha-Olam (eternity), but he-elam. (concealment) The Torah said, "I was first, so that I might be the head of the world." It is thus written, "In the distant past I was fashioned, At the beginning," You may think that the earth was before it. It is therefore written, "before the earth." It is thus written (Gen. 1:1), "In the beginning, when God began to create heaven and earth" What is the meaning of "created"? He created everything that was needed for all things, and then God, only after that is it written "the heaven and the earth."