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Texts -- Proverbs 7:1-26 (NET)

Context
Admonition to Avoid the Wiles of the Adulteress
7:1 My child , keep my words and treasure up my commands in your own keeping. 7:2 Keep my commands so that you may live , and obey my instruction as your most prized possession . 7:3 Bind them on your forearm ; write them on the tablet of your heart . 7:4 Say to wisdom , “You are my sister ,” and call understanding a close relative , 7:5 so that they may keep you from the adulterous woman , from the loose woman who flatters you with her words . 7:6 For at the window of my house through my window lattice I looked out 7:7 and I saw among the naive – I discerned among the youths – a young man who lacked wisdom . 7:8 He was passing by the street near her corner , making his way along the road to her house 7:9 in the twilight , the evening , in the dark of the night . 7:10 Suddenly a woman came out to meet him! She was dressed like a prostitute and with secret intent . 7:11 (She is loud and rebellious , she does not remain at home – 7:12 at one time outside , at another in the wide plazas , and by every corner she lies in wait .) 7:13 So she grabbed him and kissed him, and with a bold expression she said to him, 7:14 “I have fresh meat at home; today I have fulfilled my vows ! 7:15 That is why I came out to meet you, to look for you, and I found you! 7:16 I have spread my bed with elegant coverings , with richly colored fabric from Egypt . 7:17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh , aloes , and cinnamon . 7:18 Come , let’s drink deeply of lovemaking until morning , let’s delight ourselves with sexual intercourse . 7:19 For my husband is not at home ; he has gone on a journey of some distance . 7:20 He has taken a bag of money with him ; he will not return until the end of the month .” 7:21 She persuaded him with persuasive words; with her smooth talk she compelled him. 7:22 Suddenly he went after her like an ox that goes to the slaughter , like a stag prancing into a trapper’s snare 7:23 till an arrow pierces his liver – like a bird hurrying into a trap , and he does not know that it will cost him his life . 7:24 So now , sons , listen to me, and pay attention to the words I speak . 7:25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways – do not wander into her pathways ; 7:26 for she has brought down many fatally wounded , and all those she has slain are many.

Pericope

NET
  • Pro 7:1-27 -- Admonition to Avoid the Wiles of the Adulteress

Bible Dictionary

  • Young Men

    [nave] YOUNG MEN. Ex. 24:3-5; 1 Kin. 12:6-15 2 Chr. 10:8. Psa. 119:9; Psa. 148:12, 13; Prov. 1:1-33; Prov. 2:1-22; Prov. 3:1-35; Prov. 4:1-27; Prov. 5:1-23 Prov. 31:1-3. Prov. 6:1-35; Prov. 7:1-27; Prov. 10:1; Prov. 13:1; Prov. 15...

  • Women

    [nave] WOMEN Creation of, Gen. 1:27; 2:21, 22. Named, Gen. 2:23. Fall of, and curse upon, Gen. 3:1-16; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14. Promise to, Gen. 3:15. Had separate apartments in dwellings, Gen. 24:67; 31:33; Esth. 2:9, 11. Ve...

  • PERFUMES

    [ebd] were used in religious worship, and for personal and domestic enjoyment (Ex. 30:35-37; Prov. 7:17; Cant. 3:6; Isa. 57:9); and also in embalming the dead, and in other funeral ceremonies (Mark 14:8; Luke 24:1; John 19:39).
    [smith] The free use of perfumes was peculiarly grateful to the Orientals, (Proverbs 27:9) whose olfactory nerves are more than usually sensitive to the offensive smells engendered by the heat of their climate. The Hebrews manufactur...

  • Lasciviousness

    [nave] LASCIVIOUSNESS. Ex. 32:6; Prov. 2:16-18; Prov. 5:3-5, 8-13; Prov. 7:6-27; Prov. 9:13-18; Prov. 20:16; Prov. 30:18-20; Joel 3:3; Mark 7:21-23; Rom. 1:22-29; Rom. 7:8; Rom. 13:13; 1 Cor. 6:9, 10, 13, 15-18; 1 Cor. 9:27; 2 Cor...

  • LIVER

    [isbe] LIVER - liv'-er (qabhedh, derived from a root meaning "to be heavy," being the heaviest of the viscera; Septuagint hepar): The word is usually joined with the Hebrew yothereth (see CAUL) (Ex 29:13,22; Lev 9:10,19) as a speci...

  • HARLOT

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. zonah (Gen. 34:31; 38:15). In verses 21, 22 the Hebrew word used in kedeshah, i.e., a woman consecrated or devoted to prostitution in connection with the abominable worship of Asherah or Astarte, the Syrian Venus. ...
    [isbe] HARLOT - har'-lot: This name replaces in the Revised Version (British and American) "whore" of the King James Version. It stands for several words and phrases used to designate or describe the unchaste woman, married or unma...

  • Fowler

    [ebd] the arts of, referred to Ps. 91:3; 124:7; Prov. 6:5; Jer. 5:26; Hos. 9:8; Ezek. 17:20; Eccl. 9:12. Birds of all kinds abound in Palestine, and the capture of these for the table and for other uses formed the employment of ma...

  • Corner

    [ebd] The angle of a house (Job 1:19) or a street (Prov. 7:8). "Corners" in Neh. 9:22 denotes the various districts of the promised land allotted to the Israelites. In Num. 24:17, the "corners of Moab" denotes the whole land of Mo...

  • Casement

    [ebd] a barrier of open-work placed before windows (Prov. 7:6). In Judg. 5:28 the Hebrew word is rendered "lattice," in the LXX. "network," an opening through which cool air is admitted.

  • CINNAMON

    [ebd] Heb. kinamon, the Cinnamomum zeylanicum of botanists, a tree of the Laurel family, which grows only in India on the Malabar coast, in Ceylon, and China. There is no trace of it in Egypt, and it was unknown in Syria. The inne...
    [isbe] CINNAMON - sin'-a-mun (qinnamon; kinnamomon): Mentioned, like cassia, as a perfume. In Ex 30:23 it is one of the ingredients of the "holy anointing oil"; in Prov 7:17 it is, along with myrrh and aloes, a perfume for a bed; i...

  • Bitumen

    [ebd] Gen. 11:3, R.V., margin, rendered in the A.V. "slime"), a mineral pitch. With this the ark was pitched (6:14. See also Ex. 2:3.) (See SLIME.)

  • Bird

    [ebd] Birds are divided in the Mosaic law into two classes, (1) the clean (Lev. 1:14-17; 5:7-10; 14:4-7), which were offered in sacrifice; and (2) the unclean (Lev. 11:13-20). When offered in sacrifice, they were not divided as ot...

  • BED; BEDCHAMBER; BEDSTEAD

    [isbe] BED; BEDCHAMBER; BEDSTEAD - For the very poor of the East, in ancient times as now, the "bed" was and is, as a rule, the bare ground; and the bedclothes, the gown, simlah, or "outer garment," worn during the day ("For that i...

  • BAG

    [ebd] (1.) A pocket of a cone-like shape in which Naaman bound two pieces of silver for Gehazi (2 Kings 5:23). The same Hebrew word occurs elsewhere only in Isa. 3:22, where it is rendered "crisping-pins," but denotes the reticule...
    [isbe] BAG - Bags of various kinds are mentioned in the English Bible, but often in a way to obscure rather than tr the original. (1) "Bag" is used for a Hebrew word which means a shepherd's "bag," rendered "wallet" in the Revised ...
    [smith] is the rendering of several words in the Old and New Testaments. Charitim , the "bags" in which Naaman bound up the two talents of silver for Gehazi. (2 Kings 5:23) They were long cone-like bags of the size to hold a prec...

  • Apple

    [ebd] (Heb. tappuah, meaning "fragrance"). Probably the apricot or quince is intended by the word, as Palestine was too hot for the growth of apples proper. It is enumerated among the most valuable trees of Palestine (Joel 1:12), ...

  • ATTIRE; DYED ATTIRE

    [isbe] ATTIRE; DYED ATTIRE - a-tir': "Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire?" asks the prophet Jeremiah in hot remonstrance against Israel's unfaithfulness. "Yet," saith Yahweh, "my people have forgotten me" (2:3...

  • ASTRONOMY, I

    [isbe] ASTRONOMY, I - as-tron'-omi: I. THE HEAVENLY BODIES 1. The Ordinances of Heaven 2. The Sun (1) The Names for the Sun (2) The "City of the Sun" (3) The Greater Light-Giver (4) The Purpose of the Sun (5) The Sun as a Type 3. T...

  • APPLE, OF THE EYE

    [isbe] APPLE, OF THE EYE - ap'-'-l: The eyeball, or globe of the eye, with pupil in center, called "apple" from its round shape. Its great value and careful protection by the eyelids automatically closing when there is the least po...

  • AMULET

    [isbe] AMULET - am'-u-let (qemia, lechashim, mezuzah, tephillin, tsitsith; phulakterion): Modern scholars are of opinion that our English word amulet comes from the Latin amuletum, used by Pliny (Naturalis Historia, xxviii, 28; xxx...

  • ALOES; LIGNALOES

    [isbe] ALOES; LIGNALOES - al'-oz, lin-al'-oz, lig-nal'-oz ('ahalim, Nu 24:6, translation "lign-aloes" (= lignum aloes, "wood of aloes"), Prov 7:17; 'ahaloth, Ps 45:8; Song 4:14; aloe, Jn 19:39): Mentioned as a substance for perfumi...

Arts

Hymns

(Note: In "active" or "on" condition, the hymns music will be played automatically when mouse hover on a hymns title)
  • [Pro 7:13] How Shall I Meet Thee?
  • [Pro 7:13] O Lord, How Shall I Meet You?

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • This section is somewhat repetitive, but the emphasis is on the Lord's right to the first-born in Israel and how the Israelites were to acknowledge that right. The repetition stresses its importance.13:1-2 "Every"refers to th...
  • This commandment deals with adultery only. Whereas murder violates life itself, adultery violates the most important and sacred human relationship, marriage.88God dealt with other forms of sexual sin elsewhere (cf. chs. 22-25...
  • One writer called the Song of Moses "one of the most impressive religious poems in the entire Old Testament."336It contrasts the faithfulness and loyal love of God with the unfaithfulness and perversity of His people. As othe...
  • The same petitions for guidance and pardon recur but this time the basis of David's request is the character of God.25:8-10 God is good, upright, loving, and faithful. Because He is this way He teaches sinners and guides the ...
  • 45:1 The psalmist claimed to be full of joy and inspiration as he composed this song. He said what he did out of a full heart.45:2 To him the king was the greatest man he knew. One evidence of this was his gracious speech for...
  • The title of this book in the Hebrew Bible is "The Proverbs of Solomon, the Son of David, King in Israel"(cf. 1:1). The Greek Septuagint called this book "Proverbs of Solomon."The Latin Vulgate named it "The Book of Proverbs....
  • Proverbs claims to be a compendium of the wise sayings of several different individuals.4Solomon originated some of them (10:1-22:16 and chs. 25-29 definitely, and probably chs. 1-9 as well).5Unnamed wise men (sages) wrote ot...
  • The Book of Proverbs contains no history. It is purely didactic. It is a book of explicit instruction. Like the other Old Testament wisdom books, Job and Ecclesiastes, it does not contain references to Israel's laws, rituals,...
  • I. Discourses on wisdom chs. 1-9A. Introduction to the book 1:1-71. The title of the book 1:12. The purpose of the book 1:2-63. The thesis of the book 1:7B. Instruction for young people 1:8-7:271. Warning against consorting w...
  • Verse one introduces both the book as a whole and chapters 1-9 in particular. The Book of Proverbs is a collection of at least five separate groups of proverbs. There are those that Solomon spoke and or wrote (possibly chs. 1...
  • The two ways (paths) introduced in 1:7 stretch out before the reader (cf. Matt. 7:13-14). In this section Solomon spoke to his son guiding him into God's way. "My son"was and is a customary way of addressing a disciple."It de...
  • The last pericope of this chapter emphasizes the importance of persisting in the good practices that will lead to life. Success usually comes to those who keep concentrating on and perfecting the basics in their work. Our tem...
  • Chapters 5-7 all deal with the consequences of sexual sins: eventual disappointment (ch. 5), gradual destruction (ch. 6), and ultimate death (ch. 7).67Chapter 5 first reveals the ugliness under the surface of the attractive s...
  • This chapter dramatizes the arguments Solomon advanced in the previous section (6:20-35).The prologue (vv. 1-5) again urges the adoption of this advice, not just the reception of it. The apple (pupil) of the eye (v. 2) is its...
  • The parallel between wisdom's invitation and the one Jesus Christ extended to everyone to come to His feast shows the similarity between wisdom and responding positively to God's Word (Matt. 22:1-14; Luke 14:15-24). The "seve...
  • Chapters 1-9, as we have seen, contain discourses that Solomon evidently wrote urging his sons to choose the way of wisdom for their lives.92At 10:1 we begin the part of the book that sets forth what the wise way is in a vari...
  • A third major section of the Book of Proverbs begins with 22:17. This is clear from several indicators. The proverbs lengthen out again from the typical one verse couplet that characterizes 10:1-26:16 (cf. chs. 1-9). The phra...
  • As in chapters 1-9, the writer began this section of the book with an exhortation to hear and give heed to the words of wisdom that follow (22:17-21)."This extended introduction reminds us that the wise sayings were not curio...
  • We return now to the proverbs of Solomon (cf. 1:1-22:16). Chapters 25-26 contain proverbs that are mainly comparisons. The key words in these chapters are "like . . . so."Chapter 27 is a mixture of comparative and antithetica...
  • 25:1 A group of scholars who served during King Hezekiah's reign (715-686 B.C.) added more of Solomon's 3,000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32) to the former collection (1:1-22:16). These men lived about 250 years after Solomon. Solomo...
  • This poem recalls the earlier discourses in chapters 1-9. In this one, Solomon gave some basic and practical advice designed to assure success in the context of Israel's most common occupation, animal husbandry.The essentials...
  • Chapters 30 and 31 form a distinct section in Proverbs because neither Solomon (1:1-22:16; chs. 25-29) nor the unnamed sages (22:17-24:34) wrote them. Two other wise men whose names the text records did. Some expositors specu...
  • The quality of wisdom that Proverbs presents is much more than the ability to apply knowledge to various situations in life effectively. It also involves submission to the way of God that is the order of life God has revealed...
  • Aitken, Kenneth T. Proverbs. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1986.Alden, Robert L. Proverbs: A Commentary on an Ancient Book of Timeless Advice. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984.Archer, Gleason L., Jr. Encyclopedia of Bi...
  • Even though the righteous sometimes do not receive a reward in this life and the wicked prosper, it is still better to live righteously."Proper evaluation of a man's character helps to explain the apparent inequalities in div...
  • In Solomon's day the king had far-reaching power over his subjects. Therefore it became imperative to avoid his wrath. We must keep this background in view because it lies behind what Solomon said in chapter 8.8:1 A wise man ...
  • 5:2 Again the woman dreamed (cf. 3:1-4). In her dream her husband came to her having been out of doors in the evening. His mind appears to have been on making love in view of what follows.5:3-4 However she had lost interest. ...
  • 3:1 God posed the question to His people of what happens in a divorce. The answer to His rhetorical question is, no, a husband who divorces his wife, if she goes to live with another man, will not return to her.92The Mosaic L...
  • 27:1-3 The Lord instructed Ezekiel to write a lamentation over Tyre, though presently it was renowned for its seafaring and commercial leadership in the world. Tyre's neighboring kings sang the first dirge over Tyre's demise ...
  • 22:47-48 All the synoptic evangelists noted the close connection between Jesus' praying and the arrival of the soldiers. It was very important that Jesus pray. Judas preceded the arresting mob (Gr. ochlos, crowd) as Jesus had...
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