Text -- Proverbs 7:2-27 (NET)

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. 7:27 Her house is the way to the grave, going down to the chambers of death.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Pro 7:2

Thou shalt live.

Wesley: Pro 7:2

With all possible care and diligence.

Wesley: Pro 7:3

As a ring which is continually in a man's eye.

Wesley: Pro 7:4

Acquaint and delight thyself with her.

Wesley: Pro 7:8

Idle and careless, near the corner of the street in which her house stood.

Wesley: Pro 7:12

Without the door of her house.

Wesley: Pro 7:12

Of the streets, where she might either conceal or discover herself, as she saw fit.

Wesley: Pro 7:14

I have paid my peace-offerings which I had vowed. Whereby she signifies, that she had plentiful provisions at her house for his entertainment. For the peace-offerings were to be of the best flesh, Lev 22:21, and a considerable part of these offerings fell to the offerer's share.

Wesley: Pro 7:20

Which is an evidence that he designs to stay a considerable time.

Wesley: Pro 7:20

So that we need not fear any surprise.

Wesley: Pro 7:22

Going to it securely, as if it were going to a good pasture.

Wesley: Pro 7:23

His vital parts, 'till his life be lost.

JFB: Pro 7:1-4

The subject continued, by a delineation of the arts of strange women, as a caution to the unwary. (Pro. 7:1-27)

Similar calls (Pro 3:1-3; Pro 4:10, &c.).

JFB: Pro 7:2

Pupil of eye, a custody (Pro 4:23) of special value.

JFB: Pro 7:3

As inscriptions on rings.

JFB: Pro 7:5

The design of the teaching (compare Pro 2:16; Pro 6:24).

JFB: Pro 7:6

Or, "Since," introducing an example to illustrate the warning, which, whether a narrative or a parable, is equally pertinent.

JFB: Pro 7:6

Or, "opening"

JFB: Pro 7:6

Literally, "watched earnestly" (Jdg 5:28).

JFB: Pro 7:6

Or, "lattice."

JFB: Pro 7:7

As in Pro 1:4.

JFB: Pro 7:7

(Compare Pro 6:32).

JFB: Pro 7:8

Where she was usually found.

JFB: Pro 7:8

Implying, perhaps, confidence in himself by his manner, as denoted in the word

JFB: Pro 7:8

Literally, "tread pompously."

JFB: Pro 7:9

The time, twilight, ending in darkness.

JFB: Pro 7:9

Literally, "pupil," or, "eye," that is, middle of night.

JFB: Pro 7:10

That of harlots was sometimes peculiar.

JFB: Pro 7:10

Or, "wary," "cunning."

JFB: Pro 7:11-12

Or, "noisy," "bustling."

JFB: Pro 7:11-12

Not submissive.

JFB: Pro 7:11-12

(Compare 1Ti 5:13; Tit 2:5).

JFB: Pro 7:13-15

The preparations for a feast do not necessarily imply peculiar religious professions. The offerer retained part of the victim for a feast (Lev 3:9, &c.). This feast she professes was prepared for him whom she boldly addresses as one sought specially to partake of it.

JFB: Pro 7:16-17

Or, "couch," adorned in the costliest manner.

JFB: Pro 7:17

A place for sleeping.

JFB: Pro 7:18-20

There is no fear of discovery.

JFB: Pro 7:20

Perhaps, literally, "a full moon," that is, a fortnight's time (compare Pro 7:19).

JFB: Pro 7:21

Or, "inclines."

JFB: Pro 7:21

(Compare Pro 5:3).

JFB: Pro 7:21

By persuasion overcoming his scruples.

JFB: Pro 7:22

Quickly, either as ignorant of danger, or incapable of resistance.

JFB: Pro 7:23

He is now caught (Pro 6:26).

JFB: Pro 7:24

The inferential admonition is followed (Pro 7:26-27), by a more general allegation of the evils of this vice.

JFB: Pro 7:26-27

Even the mightiest fail to resist her deathly allurements.

Clarke: Pro 7:2

As the apple of thine eye - As the pupil of the eye, which is of such essential necessity to sight, and so easily injured.

Clarke: Pro 7:3

Bind them upon thy fingers - See on Pro 3:3 (note).

Clarke: Pro 7:4

Thou art my sister - Thou art my dearest friend, and I will treat thee as such.

Clarke: Pro 7:5

The strange woman - The prostitute, the adulteress.

Clarke: Pro 7:6

I looked through my casement - The casement is a small aperture in a large window, or a window opening on hinges. Here it means the lattice, for they had no glass windows in the East. And the latticed windows produced a double advantag

1.    Making the apartments sufficiently private; an

2.    Admitting fresh air to keep them cool.

Clarke: Pro 7:7

Among the simple ones - The inexperienced, inconsiderate young men

Clarke: Pro 7:7

A young man void of understanding - בעל ראשאהץ חסר לב, "destitute of a heart."He had not wisdom to discern the evil intended; nor courage to resist the flatteries of the seducer.

Clarke: Pro 7:8

He went the way to her house - She appears to have had a corner house sufficiently remarkable; and a way from the main street to it.

Clarke: Pro 7:9

In the twilight, in the evening - Some time after sun-setting; before it was quite dark

Clarke: Pro 7:9

In the black and dark night - When there were neither lamps nor moon-shine.

Clarke: Pro 7:10

A woman with the attire of a harlot - It appears that sitting in some open place, and covering the face, or having a veil of a peculiar kind on, was the evidence of a harlot, Gen 38:14, Gen 38:15-19. No doubt, in Solomon’ s time, they had other distinctions. In all other countries, and in all times. the show of their countenance did testify against them; they declared their sin as Sodom; they hid it not. However, this does not seem to have been a mere prostitute; for she was, according to her own declaration, a married woman, and kept house, Pro 7:19, if her assertions relative to this were not falsehoods, and calculated the better to render him secure, and prevent the suspicion of endangering himself by cohabiting with a common woman; which I am rather inclined to think was the case, for she was subtle of heart.

Clarke: Pro 7:11

She is loud and stubborn - המיה homiyah , she is never at rest, always agitated; busily employed to gain her end, and this is to go into the path of error: סררת sorereth , "turning aside;"preferring any way to the right way. And, therefore, it is added, her feet abide not in her house, she gads abroad; and this disposition probably first led her to this vice.

Clarke: Pro 7:12

Now is she without - She is continually exposing herself, and showing by her gait and gestures what she is, and what she wants. These two verses are a parenthesis, intended to show the character of the woman.

Clarke: Pro 7:13

So she caught him - Laid fast hold on him, and kissed him, to show that she was affectionately attached to him

Clarke: Pro 7:13

And with an impudent face - העזה פניה heezzah paneyha , "she strengthened her countenance,"assumed the most confident look she could; endeavored to appear friendly and sincere.

Clarke: Pro 7:14

I have peace-offerings with me - More literally, "the sacrifices of the peace-offerings are with me."Peace-offerings Mymlv shelamim, were offerings the spiritual design of which was to make peace between God and man, to make up the breach between them which sin had occasioned; see the notes on Leviticus 7 (note), where every kind of sacrifice offered under the law is explained. When the blood of these was poured out at the altar, and the fat burnt there, the breast and right shoulder were the priest’ s portion; but the rest of the carcass belonged to the sacrificer, who might carry it home, and make a feast to his friends. See Lev 3:1-11. Much light is cast on this place by the fact that the gods in many parts of the East are actually worshipped in brothels, and fragments of the offerings are divided among the wretches who fall into the snare of the prostitutes - Ward’ s Customs

Clarke: Pro 7:14

Have I payed my vows - She seems to insinuate that she had made a vow for the health and safety of this young man; and having done so, and prepared the sacrificial banquet, came actually out to seek him, that he might partake of it with her, Pro 7:15. But, as she intended to proceed farther than mere friendship, she was obliged to avail herself of the night season, and the absence of her husband.

Clarke: Pro 7:16

I have decked my bed - ערשי arsi , "my couch or sofa;"distinguished from משכבי mishcabi , "my bed,"Pro 7:17, the place to sleep on, as the other was the place to recline on at meals. The tapestry, מרבדים marbaddim , mentioned here seems to refer to the covering of the sofa; exquisitely woven and figured cloth. חטבות אטון chatuboth etun , the Targum translates painted carpets, such as were manufactured in Egypt; some kind of embroidered or embossed stuff is apparently meant.

Clarke: Pro 7:17

I have perfumed any bed with Myrrh - מר mor , "aloes," אהלים ahalim , and "cinnamon," קנמון kinnamon . We have taken our names from the original words; but probably the ahalim may not mean aloes, which is no perfume; but sandal wood, which is very much used in the East. She had used every means to excite the passions she wished to bring into action.

Clarke: Pro 7:18

Come, let us take our fill of love - נרוה דדים nirveh dodim , "Let us revel in the breasts;"and then it is added, "Let us solace ourselves with loves," נתעלסה באהבים nithallesah boohabim ; "let us gratify each other with loves, with the utmost delights."This does not half express the original; but I forbear. The speech shows the brazen face of this woman, well translated by the Vulgate, "Veni, inebriemur uberibus; et fruamur cupidinis amplexibus."And the Septuagint has expressed the spirit of it: Ελθε, και απολαυσωμεν φιλιας - δευρο, και εγκυλισθωμεν ερωτι . " Veni, et fruamur amicitia - Veni, et colluctemur cupidine ."Though varied in the words, all the versions have expressed the same thing. In the old MS. Bible, the speech of this woman is as follows: I have arrayed with cordis my litil bed, and spred with peyntid tapetis of Egipt: I have springid my ligginge place with mirre and aloes and calelcum, and be we inwardly drunken with Tetis, and use we the coveytied clippingis to the tyme that the dai wax light. The original itself is too gross to be literally translated; but quite in character as coming from the mouth of an abandoned woman.

Clarke: Pro 7:19

For the good man - Literally, "For the man is not in his house."

Clarke: Pro 7:20

He hath taken - Literally, "The money bag he hath taken in his hand."He is gone a journey of itinerant merchandising. This seems to be what is intended

Clarke: Pro 7:20

And will come home at the day appointed - ליום הכסא leyom hakkase , the time fixed for a return from such a journey. The Vulgate says, "at the full moon."The Targum, "the day of the assembly."In other words, He will return by the approaching festival.

Clarke: Pro 7:21

With her much fair speech - With her blandishments and lascivious talk, she overcame all his scruples, and constrained him to yield.

Clarke: Pro 7:22

As an ox goeth to the slaughter - The original of this and the following verse has been variously translated. Dr. Grey corrects and translates thus: "He goeth after her straightway, as an Ox goeth to the Slaughter; as a Dog to the Chain; and as a Deer till the Dart strike through his liver; as a Bird hasteneth to the Snare, and knoweth not that it is for its life."Very slight alterations in the Hebrew text produce these differences; but it is not necessary to pursue them; all serve to mark the stupidity and folly of the man who is led away by enticing women or who lives a life of intemperance.

Clarke: Pro 7:24

Hearken unto me now, therefore, O ye children - Ye that are young and inexperienced, seriously consider the example set before your eyes, and take warning at another’ s expense.

Clarke: Pro 7:26

For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her - That is, such like women have been the ruin of many. חללים chalalim , which we render wounded, also signifies solsliers or men of war; and עצמים atsumim , which we render strong men, may be translated heroes. Many of those who have distinguished themselves in the field and in the cabinet have been overcome and destroyed by their mistresses. History is full of such examples.

Clarke: Pro 7:27

Her house is the way to hell - שאול sheol , the pit, the grave, the place of the dead, the eternal and infernal world. And they who, through such, fall into the grave, descend lower, into the chambers of death; the place where pleasure is at an end, and illusion mocks no more.

Defender: Pro 7:4

The "kinswoman" here, contrasted with the "strange woman" in the next verse, is a further example of the recurring theme in Proverbs of the conflict between wisdom and folly."

TSK: Pro 7:2

Keep : Pro 4:13; Lev 18:5; Isa 55:3; Joh 12:49, Joh 12:50, Joh 14:21, Joh 15:14; 1Jo 2:3, 1Jo 2:4; 1Jo 5:1-3; Rev 22:14

as the : As the pupil of the eye, the hole or the opening of the uveous coat, or iris, through which the rays of light pass, and falling upon the retina, there depict every object in its natural colour, as upon a piece of white paper. Now the pupil of the eye being essentially necessary to sight, and easily injured, it is not only, in common with the other parts, deeply entrenched in the skull, ramparted with the forehead and cheek bones, defended by the eyebrows, eyelids, and eyelashes, and placed so as to be best protected by the hands, but, by a wonderful mechanism, is contracted or dilated by the muscular power of the iris, without which an excess of light would cause instant blindness. Deu 32:10; Psa 17:8; Zec 2:8

TSK: Pro 7:3

Pro 3:3, Pro 6:21; Deu 6:8, Deu 6:9, Deu 11:18-20; Isa 30:8; Jer 17:1, Jer 31:33; 2Co 3:3

TSK: Pro 7:4

Say : Pro 2:2-4, Pro 4:6-8

Thou : Job 17:14; Son 8:1; Mat 12:49, Mat 12:50; Luk 11:27, Luk 11:28

TSK: Pro 7:5

Pro 2:16, Pro 5:3, Pro 6:24

TSK: Pro 7:6

at the : Gen 26:8; 2Sa 6:16

casement : Eshnav , rather a lattice, so called from the Arabic shanaba , ""to be cool,""because of its use in keeping the apartments cool.

TSK: Pro 7:7

the simple : Pro 1:4, Pro 1:22, Pro 1:32, Pro 8:5, Pro 14:15, Pro 14:18, Pro 19:25, Pro 22:3, Pro 27:12; Psa 19:7, Psa 119:130; Rom 16:18, Rom 16:19

the youths : Heb. the sons

void : Pro 6:32, Pro 9:4, Pro 9:16, Pro 10:13, Pro 12:11, Pro 19:2, Pro 24:30; Jer 4:22; Mat 15:16

TSK: Pro 7:8

Pro 4:14, Pro 4:15, Pro 5:8; Jdg 16:1; 2Sa 11:2, 2Sa 11:3; 1Co 6:18; 2Ti 2:22; Jud 1:23

TSK: Pro 7:9

the twilight : Gen 39:11; Job 24:13-15; Rom 13:12-14; Eph 5:11

evening : Heb. evening of the day, Exo 12:6 *marg.

TSK: Pro 7:10

the attire : Gen 38:14, Gen 38:15; 2Ki 9:22, 2Ki 9:30; Isa 3:16-24, Isa 23:16; Jer 4:30; 1Ti 2:9; Rev 17:3-5

subtle : Gen 3:1; 2Co 11:2, 2Co 11:3

TSK: Pro 7:11

loud : Pro 9:13, Pro 25:24, Pro 27:14, Pro 27:15, 31:10-31

her feet : Gen 18:9; 1Ti 5:13, 1Ti 5:14; Tit 2:5

TSK: Pro 7:12

Pro 9:14, Pro 23:28; Jer 2:20, Jer 2:33, Jer 2:36, Jer 3:2; Eze 16:24, Eze 16:25, Eze 16:31; Rev 18:3, Rev 18:23

TSK: Pro 7:13

she : Gen 39:7, Gen 39:12; Num 25:1, Num 25:6-8, Num 31:16; Eze 16:33; Rev 2:20

with an impudent face said : Heb. she strengthened her face and said, Isa 50:7; Eze 2:4, Eze 2:6, Eze 3:7-9

TSK: Pro 7:14

I have peace offerings with me : Heb. Peace-offerings are upon me, Pro 15:8, Pro 17:1, Pro 21:27; Lev 7:15; Deu 12:6, Deu 12:7

this : 2Sa 15:7-9; 1Ki 21:9, 1Ki 21:10; Joh 18:28

TSK: Pro 7:16

decked : Son 1:16, Son 3:7-10; Rev 2:22

fine : 1Ki 10:28; Isa 19:9; Eze 27:7

TSK: Pro 7:17

perfumed : Son 3:6; Isa 57:7-9

with : Psa 45:8; Son 4:13, Son 4:14

TSK: Pro 7:19

the goodman : Mat 20:11, Mat 24:43; Luk 12:39

he : Mat 24:48; Mar 13:34-36; Luk 12:45, Luk 12:46

TSK: Pro 7:20

with him : Heb. in his hand

the day appointed : or, the new moon, 2Ch 2:4

TSK: Pro 7:21

With her : Pro 7:5, Pro 5:3; Jdg 16:15-17; Psa 12:2

forced : 1Sa 28:23; 2Ki 4:8; Luk 14:23, Luk 24:29; Act 16:15; 2Co 5:14

TSK: Pro 7:22

straightway : Heb. suddenly

as an : Act 14:13

as a : Dr. Grey, making a slight alteration in the text, renders, ""as a dog to the chain, and as a deer, till a dart strike through his liver;""and Dr. Hunt, ""Or as a hart boundeth into the toils, till a dart strike through his liver.""The LXX, Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic, concur in this interpretation. The circumstance of the dart, as applied to the deer, is beautiful and proper, which otherwise we are at a loss to dispose of; and this creature, of all others, was the most proper to be noticed on this occasion; for the usual representation which the Egyptians made of a man overthrown by flattery and fair speeches was the picture of a heart captivated and ensnared by the sound of music.

the correction : Job 13:27; Jer 20:2; Act 16:24

TSK: Pro 7:23

a dart : Num 25:8, Num 25:9

as a bird : Pro 1:17; Ecc 9:12

knoweth : Pro 9:18

TSK: Pro 7:24

O : Pro 4:1, Pro 5:7, Pro 8:32, Pro 8:33; 1Co 4:14, 1Co 4:15; Gal 4:19; 1Jo 2:1

TSK: Pro 7:25

thine : Pro 4:14, Pro 4:15, Pro 5:8, Pro 6:25, Pro 23:31-33; Mat 5:28

go : Pro 5:23; Psa 119:176; Isa 53:6

TSK: Pro 7:26

Pro 6:33; Jdg 16:21; 2Sa 3:6-8, 2Sa 3:27, 2Sa 12:9-11; 1Ki 11:1, 1Ki 11:2; Neh 13:26; 1Co 10:8; 2Co 12:21; 1Pe 2:11

TSK: Pro 7:27

Pro 2:18, Pro 2:19, Pro 5:5, Pro 9:18; Ecc 7:26

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Pro 7:6

Casement - The latticed opening of an Eastern house, overlooking the street (compare Jdg 5:28).

Barnes: Pro 7:7

Simple - In the bad sense of the word (Pro 1:22 note); "open"to all impressions of evil, empty-headed and empty-hearted; lounging near the house of ill-repute, not as yet deliberately purposing to sin, but placing himself in the way of it at a time when the pure in heart would seek their home. There is a certain symbolic meaning in the picture of the gathering gloom Pro 7:9. Night is falling over the young man’ s life as the shadows deepen.

Barnes: Pro 7:11

Loud and stubborn - Both words describe the half-animal signs of a vicious nature. Compare Hos 4:16.

Barnes: Pro 7:14

This pretence of a religious feast gives us an insight into some strange features of popular religion under the monarchy of Judah. The harlot uses the technical word Lev 3:1 for the "peace-offerings,"and makes them the starting-point for her sin. They have to be eaten on the same day that they are offered Lev 7:15-16, and she invites her victim to the feast. She who speaks is a "foreigner"who, under a show of conformity to the religion of Israel, still retains her old notions (see Pro 2:16 note), and a feast-day to her is nothing but a time of self-indulgence, which she may invite another to share with her. If we assume, as probable, that these harlots of Jerusalem were mainly of Phoenician origin, the connection of their worship with their sin would be but the continuation of their original "cultus."

Barnes: Pro 7:16

The words point to the art and commerce which flourished under Solomon.

Carved works - Most commentators take the original as meaning "striped coverlets of linen of Egypt."

Barnes: Pro 7:17

The love of perfumes is here, as in Isa 3:24, a sign of luxurious vice.

Cinnamon - The Hebrew word is identical with the English. The spice imported by the Phoenician traders from the further East, probably from Ceylon, has kept its name through all changes of language.

Barnes: Pro 7:19

The reference to the husband is probably a blind. The use of the word "goodman"is due to the wish of the English translators to give a colloquial character to this part of their Version. The Hebrew is merely "the man."A touch of scorn may be noticed in the form of speech: not "my husband,"but simply "the man."

Barnes: Pro 7:21

Fair speech - The Hebrew word is usually translated "doctrine,"or "learning"Pro 1:5; Pro 4:2; Pro 9:9; possibly it is used here in keen irony.

Barnes: Pro 7:22

As a fool ... - literally, "As a fetter to the correction of a fool,"the order of which is inverted in the King James Version The Septuagint, followed by the Syriac Version, has another reading, and interprets the clause: "As a dog, enticed by food, goes to the chain that is to bind him, so does the youth go to the temptress."None of the attempts of commentators to get a meaning out of the present text are in any degree satisfactory.

Barnes: Pro 7:23

The first clause does not connect itself very clearly with the foregoing, and is probably affected by the corrupt text which makes it perplexing.

Barnes: Pro 7:26

The house of the harlot is now likened to a field of battle strewn with the corpses of the many slain.

Poole: Pro 7:2

And live i.e. thou shalt live. A promise in the form of a command, as Pro 3:25 .

As the apple of thine eye with all possible care and diligence, as men guard that part from all dangers, yea, even from the least mote. The eye is a most noble and necessary, and therefore highly esteemed and beloved, part of the body, and the apple thereof is the most honourable, and beautiful, and useful part of that part, and it is a most tender part, easily hurt, or destroyed, and therefore needs to be diligently watched.

Poole: Pro 7:3

Bind them upon thy fingers as a ring which is put upon them, and is continually in a man’ s eye. Constantly remember them, and meditate upon them.

Write them upon the table of thine heart fix them in thy mind and affection. See Poole "Pro 3:3" .

Poole: Pro 7:4

When other foolish young men seek wanton mistresses, whom they frequently call

sisters or

kinswomen let wisdom be thy mistress; acquaint and delight thyself with her, and let her have the command of thy heart, and the conduct of thy life.

Poole: Pro 7:5

This privilege Solomon doth so oft inculcate, either because he found in himself the great power and besotting nature of lustful inclinations: or because he observed these vices to abound more in his time, in which peace and prosperity made way for luxury and uncleanness.

Poole: Pro 7:6

This is either an historical relation, or rather a parabolical representation of that which frequently happened.

Poole: Pro 7:7

Whose strength and heat made him most subject to lustful impressions, and who wanted judgment and experience as well as grace to keep him from such courses.

Poole: Pro 7:8

Passing through the street idle and careless.

Near her corner near the corner of the street in which her house stood; such places being most convenient for that wicked purpose, as giving opportunity either for the discovery of passengers in several streets, or for the escape of such as might be in danger of being taken in her house. Compare Pro 7:12 .

He went the way to her house not with intention to act gross filthiness with her, as may be gathered from the following passages, but to gratify his curiosity, and to understand the manner of such persons, and to please himself with the sight of her, or discourse of her.

Poole: Pro 7:9

In the evening when the day labour being ended, he was at leisure for any thing; and when such strumpets used to walk abroad for prey.

In the black and dark night when it begun to be black and dark.

Poole: Pro 7:10

With the attire of an harlot with a habit and carriage agreeable to her quality and design.

Subtle or wary , or reserved , as she showed in her following discourse; wherein she proposeth all things which might invite him, and conceals whatsoever might discourage him.

Poole: Pro 7:11

Loud or clamorous , or full of talk, which served her design.

Stubborn rebellious against God, and against her husband, and incorrigible by all admonitions of ministers or friends.

Her feet abide not in her house she minds not her business, which lies at home, but gives up herself wholly to idleness and pleasure, which she seeks abroad with other men.

Poole: Pro 7:12

Without standing or waiting without or nigh the door of her house.

In the streets in places of resort.

At every corner at the corners of the streets, where she might either conceal or discover herself, as she saw fit.

Poole: Pro 7:14

I have paid my peace-offerings which I had vowed; whereby she signifies, either,

1. That she was no common harlot, but one of good repute for religion. Or rather,

2. That she had plentiful and excellent provisions at her house for his entertainment. For the peace-offerings were to be of the best flesh, Lev 22:21 , and a considerable part of these offerings fell to the offerers’ share, wherewith they used to feast themselves and their friends; see Lev 2:3 , &c.; Lev 7:31 , &c.; Lev 19:6 , &c.; Lev 22:30 , &c.; whereas the burnt-offerings where wholly consumed, and the flesh of the sin-offerings and trespass-offerings belonged to the priest.

Poole: Pro 7:15

Diligently to seek thy face as not being able to take any pleasure in my feast without thy company.

I have found thee by a happy providence of God complying with my desires.

Poole: Pro 7:16

She designs to inflame his lust by the mention of the bed, and by its ornaments and perfumes.

Poole: Pro 7:19

The goodman whom she doth not call her husband, lest the mention of that name should awaken his conscience or discretion.

Poole: Pro 7:20

He hath taken a bag of money with him which is an evidence that he designs to go far, and to stay a considerable time.

And will come home at the day appointed so that we need not fear any surprisal.

Poole: Pro 7:21

With her much fair speech which implies that her alluring words were more effectual with him than her impudent kisses, which possibly had a little alienated his mind from her.

She caused him to yield whereby he signifies that no provocation to sin is a sufficient excuse for sin.

She forced him she prevailed over him; which argues that there was some reluctancy in his judgment or conscience against it.

Poole: Pro 7:22

Straightway without delay and consideration.

As an ox to the slaughter either being drawn and driven to it; or going to it securely, as if it were going to a good pasture.

As a fool to the correction of the stocks or, which is more agreeable to the order of the words in the Hebrew text, as one in fetters , or bound with fetters, to the correction of a fool , i.e. to receive such correction or punishment as belongs to fools; which may imply either,

1. That he hath no more sense of the shame and mischief which he is bringing upon himself than a fool. Or,

2. That he can no more resist the temptation, nor avoid the danger, than a man fast tied with chains or fetters can free himself, although his be a moral and voluntary, and not a natural impotency.

Poole: Pro 7:23

His liver i.e. his vital parts, whereof the liver is one. Till his life be lost, as it is explained in the next clause.

Knoweth not which may be referred either to a foolish and inconsiderate young man; or to the silly bird to which he is compared, which comes to the same thing.

Poole: Pro 7:25

Decline to her ways either to the paths which lead to her house, or to her manner of living.

Poole: Pro 7:26

Strong men men that excel others, either,

1. In bodily strength, upon which they presume, which yet is wasted, and by degrees ruined, by these courses. Or,

2. In wisdom, and fortitude, and resolution; whereby he implies how much more necessary it is for a weak and foolish young man to use all possible care and diligence to avoid this mischief.

Poole: Pro 7:27

To hell or; to the grave ; for the word is used in both senses; and this sense seems better to agree both with the foregoing and following words. Although, without repentance, hell will certainly be their portion, and their first death will be followed by the second.

Haydock: Pro 7:5

Thine. But another's, ver. 19. Give thy heart to wisdom, that it may be guarded against impure love.

Haydock: Pro 7:6

Lattice. No glass was used, on account of the great heat. (Calmet)

Haydock: Pro 7:7

Ones. Not in age, but prudence. (Menochius)

Haydock: Pro 7:10

Attire. Covered with a veil, (Genesis xxxviii. 15.) though different from that of honest women. (Calmet) ---

The wanton are commonly the most gaudy; nullarum fere pretiosior cultus est quam quarum pudor vilis est. (St. Cyprian, de Habitu.) ---

Prepared, &c. Hebrew, "guarded," (Calmet) or "subtle of heart." (Protestants) "who makes the hearts of youths take flight." (Septuagint) (Canticle of Canticles vi. 4.) (Haydock)

Haydock: Pro 7:11

Not....quiet. Is not in Hebrew. (Calmet) ---

"She is loud and stubborn, her feet abide not in her house." (Protestants) (Haydock) ---

Chaste women are guarded in their speech, and keep at home. (Menochius)

Haydock: Pro 7:14

Prosperity. Or thy welfare, (Cornelius a Lapide; Tirinus) so great is my love for thee. (Menochius) ---

Vows. And therefore I have a feast prepared. People might carry home the greatest part of the victim to eat, if they were clean, Leviticus vii. 29. (Calmet)

Haydock: Pro 7:16

Cords. For greater ease, instead of boards, (Menochius) or the curtains are hung with precious cords from Egypt. (Calmet)

Haydock: Pro 7:17

Aloes. Of Syria, (John xix. 39.) different from ours, Numbers xxxiv. 6. (Calmet)

Haydock: Pro 7:18

Inebriated. Protestants, "take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves." (Haydock) ---

This passion is a sort of intoxication. (Menochius)

Haydock: Pro 7:19

My. Literally, "the man." (Haydock) ---

She speaks thus out of contempt. (Calmet)

Haydock: Pro 7:20

The day. Septuagint, "after many days." Hebrew, "at the day concealed," or when the people will dwell under tents, (Chaldean; Calmet) or "at the new moon," when it does not appear. (Piscator) ---

He will not return for a long time, so that we need apprehend no danger from him. (Menochius)

Haydock: Pro 7:22

Lamb. Protestants, "fool to the correction of the stocks," (Haydock) or "like a shackle ( abs. ) for the chastisement of a fool." (Mont.[Montanus?]) ---

Interpreters have read different words. (Calmet) ---

Sinners who have given way to temptations, are as inconsiderate as oxen, or birds which hasten to their own ruin. (Worthington)

Haydock: Pro 7:26

Her. Solomon gave a melancholy proof of this, as well as David, and Amnon. (Calmet)

Haydock: Pro 7:27

Death. There can be no precaution too great, chap. ii. 18. (Calmet)

Gill: Pro 7:2

Keep my commandments and live,.... Not the commandments of the law only, but the commandments of Christ; and even the doctrines of Christ are so called, as faith in him, and love to the saints, 1Jo 3:23; which is the way to live comfortably, peaceably, pleasantly, and honourably;

and my law as the apple of thine eye; the doctrine of Christ, the law of the Lord, that goes out of Zion; which should be as dear to men as the apple of their eye, and as carefully preserved, that the least injury is not done to it; it should be kept inviolate.

Gill: Pro 7:3

Bind them upon thy fingers,.... Let the above words and doctrines be as ready and familiar as if they were at the fingers' ends; or let them be always fresh in memory, as a piece of thread is tied about the fingers, to put in mind of anything to be done; or let them be as rings upon the fingers, both memorial and ornamental: or put into practice the things taught and commanded; the fingers being the instruments of action, and especially of doing things nicely and accurately;

write them upon the table of thine heart; that they may be strong in the memory, deep in the affection, and abiding in the understanding and will; see Pro 3:3.

Gill: Pro 7:4

Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister,.... Intimately acquainted, greatly beloved, and highly delighted in: this may be understood both of the Gospel, the wisdom of God in a mystery, which men should be conversant with, be strongly affected to, and take delight and pleasure in; and of Christ, the essential Wisdom of God, and who stands in the relation of a brother to his people, and should be respected as such;

and call understanding thy kinswoman; or "kinsman" ^a; such Christ is in our nature, our "goel", our near kinsman, partaker of the same flesh and blood, and therefore is not ashamed to call us brethren, nor should we be ashamed to call him kinsman: moreover, his Word and Gospel, and the understanding of it, should be familiar to us; it should be well "known" ^b by us, as the word used signifies, and dwell richly in us.

Gill: Pro 7:5

That they may keep thee from the strange woman,.... Nothing has a greater tendency than Christ and his Gospel, and an intimate acquaintance with them, and a retention of them, to keep from all sin, from all fleshly lusts, from the sin of uncleanness; and also from all the errors, heresies, idolatry, superstition, and will worship, of the whore of Rome; a stranger to God and true godliness, to Christ and his truths, the Spirit and his operations;

from the stranger which flattereth with her words; See Gill on Pro 2:16; see Gill on Pro 5:3, and see Gill on Pro 6:24.

Gill: Pro 7:6

For at the window of my house,.... This is either an historical account of a matter of fact known to Solomon, or a parable made by him, setting forth the cunning artifices of an harlot, the folly and weakness of a young man ensnared, and the ruin he is brought into by her. As Solomon was a public magistrate, he is here represented as a private observer of the behaviour of his subjects, as sitting in his palace at a window, at the small windows of it, as the Targum, where he could see and not be seen himself; near to which was an harlot's house; for they generally get about the courts of princes, where they make their prey;

I looked through my casement; or "lattice" ^c; the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions: understand this of the harlot looking out of the window of her house and through the casement, when she spied a young man, as follows; but this agrees not with the Hebrew text, which carries it to Solomon; though a greater than he may be designed, the omniscient God, who looks through the windows and lattice of heaven, and beholds all the actions of the children of men; those that are most private, and done in the dark; and Christ the Son of God, whose "eyes are like unto aflame of fire", to look through all the darkness of Popery, represented by the Thyatirian church state; into all the intrigues of the Romish harlot, and behold all the follies of those that commit fornication with her, Rev 2:18.

Gill: Pro 7:7

And beheld among the simple ones,.... Such as are easily persuaded and drawn into sin; simple and foolish in things moral and spiritual, and not arrived to any ripeness of understanding in things natural and civil; have seen but little of the world, and know less of religion, and are easily imposed upon and carried away with the company they keep; such simple foolish creatures are the followers of antichrist; see 2Ti 3:6;

I discerned among the youths; or "children" ^d; at least in understanding, the children Jezebel, Rev 2:23;

a young man void of understanding; or "wanting a heart" ^e; to know and fear the Lord, and not in the way to learn and improve; but in company like himself, and so in a fair way to continue foolish and simple, and destitute of the true understanding of things, and exposed to the snares delusions of such that lie in wait to deceive.

Gill: Pro 7:8

Passing through the street near her corner,.... The house of the harlot that stood in a corner to take in persons that came both ways; to come near which is dangerous; this was putting himself in the way of temptation; or the corner of the street where she stood to pick up young men; it could be with no good design to walk the streets in the night, and to go where harlots haunt, and where they dwell or stand; or, however, it was exposing himself to danger, and, had he took the wise man's advice, would not have done it, Pro 5:8; we should abstain from all appearance of evil, and from everything that leads to sin; and as to immorality and uncleanness, so to false doctrine and false worship; the synagogues of Satan and Popish chapels should be avoided;

and he went the way to her house; that led directly to her house, which shows a bad intention; and if his design was not to commit fornication, yet to gratify his lusts by looks, dalliances, and impure discourse with her; and hither he went in a set, stately manner, as the word ^f signifies; with an air pleasing to the harlot, as a beau and fop of the town; and by which air and gait he was known by her to be a proper person to attack.

Gill: Pro 7:9

In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night. Which is the usual time adulterers take to commit their works of darkness in, by which they think to conceal them; they being such as they themselves do not care should be seen and known, Job 24:15; their works will not bear the sun and daylight, therefore they take the twilight and when the sun is set; and choose the night, and not light nights neither, but the blackest and darkest nights, as fittest for their purpose; most likely to meet with harlots, and less liable to be seen by their neighbours; but always to be seen by the omniscient God, with whom the darkness and the light are both alike. Perhaps these several words may express the time from the young man's first setting out to his drawing nigh to the harlot's house, and his being attacked and ensnared by her; when he first set out from his own or his father's house, it was "twilight", the sun was declining; by that time he had got good part of his way the sun set, and then it was "evening"; and when he came near the harlot's house it was "black and dark night": and this may represent the gradual and progressive growth of Popery; there was first a "twilight", a decline of the purity of Gospel light and knowledge, and then the sun of the Gospel set, which brought on an "evening", and issued in the gross "darkness" of Popery, represented by the Thyatirian church state, as before observed; since that, the "morning star" of the Reformation has appeared, but this is become obscure, we are in a twilight again; it is neither day nor night with us as yet, but a dark black night is hastening on; and it is easy to observe how many, like this foolish young man, are marching on in a stately manner to the harlot's house, or are verging to Popery, whether they design it or not.

Gill: Pro 7:10

And, behold, there met him a woman,.... A married woman, and an adulteress, as the following account of her shows; as soon as ever she discerned the young man before described, who she knew, by his air, walk, and dress, was a fit person for her turn, she at once set out from her house, or the corner where she stood, and met him; she did not wait till he came up and made his suit to her, but she went out, and first attacked him; wherefore the word "behold" is prefixed as a note of admiration at the impudence of the woman, and as a note of attention to observe the consequence of this affair. This woman represents the woman on a scarlet-coloured beast, the mother of harlots, who, though she pretends to be the spouse of Christ, is an arrant whore, Rev 17:3;

with the attire of a harlot; not with her face veiled, as Tamar was, Gen 38:14; for though that might be the sign of a harlot in the daytime, yet not in the night, as this was; rather with showy gaudy garments, such as the Athenian whores wore, or short ones, as the Romans; the word signifies one fitted to her body, neat and well shaped, to recommend her: so the woman, the whore of Rome, is said to be arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls; signifying the outward pomp and splendour of the Romish religion, designed to captivate weak and unwary minds; see Gill on Rev 17:4;

and subtle of heart; mistress of all artful and intriguing methods to seduce and ensnare ^g; or, "reserved of heart" ^h, cautious and wary what she said, told everything that was encouraging, but kept back what was discouraging; or she kept her own heart to herself, while she stole the hearts of others; so the Targum renders it,

"which takes away the hearts of young men;''

and to the same purpose are the versions of the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic: the subtlety of the popes, priests, jesuits, and other emissaries of Rome, to deceive the hearts of the simple, is well known; the coming of antichrist was after the working of Satan, with all deceivableness of unrighteousness, 2Th 2:9.

Gill: Pro 7:11

She is loud and stubborn,.... "Loud"; not that her voice may be heard, and so be found by those that seek her in the dark, as Aben Ezra interprets it; but rather clamorous, noisy, and talkative, when she has got her gallant with her; pouring out foolish and unchaste words to allure and entice him; unless it is to be understood of her bawling and scolding, when within doors, at her husband, in order to get him out, and be rid of him; to whom she is "stubborn" or "rebellious", as the Targum, breaking covenant with him, and disobeying his commands; and departing from him, declining out of the way, as Jarchi; speaking rebellion, as Aben Ezra: all which agree with the whore of Rome, who is rebellious against Christ, whose spouse she professes to be; is perfidious to him, disobedient to his commandments; is gone out of the way of his truths and ordinances, and publishes and encourages everything that is contrary thereunto; as well as has a mouth speaking blasphemies, Rev 13:5;

her feet abide not in her house; to attend the business of it; but site is gadding abroad to seek her lovers, and bring them in; it is the character of good women that they are keepers at home, but it is the sign of a harlot to gad abroad, which is enlarged upon in Pro 7:11.

Gill: Pro 7:12

Now is she without,.... The word for whore is sometimes rendered in the Targum ⁱ one that goes abroad, or without her house; sitting or standing at the door of it, in an idle posture, and in order to invite her lovers in; and if she can get none this way, or quickly, grows impatient: she is

now in the streets; takes her walks abroad in the streets of the city, to see who she can light of, to pick up and bring home;

and lieth in wait at every corner; of the street, where more ways meet, sometimes at one corner, and sometimes at another, that she may take all that comes; sometimes she is "without" in the fields, and in the country, to see what she can meet with there; and sometimes in the "streets" of the city, and in the populous places of it, in the markets, and courts, and in every private corner, trying all ways to gain lovers, and satisfy her lust ^k: all which may represent the diligence and industry, art and cunning, of the Romish emissaries to gain proselytes to their idolatrous worship, who everywhere lie in wait to deceive.

Gill: Pro 7:13

So she caught him, and kissed him,.... The young man that went near her corner where she was plying, or in the way to her house, where she was sitting, or standing, waiting and watching for such an opportunity, for such a person, as a prey to fasten on; and no sooner she saw him, and come up to him, but, without any ceremony or address, she laid hold upon him, as the word ^l signifies, threw her arms about his neck, and embraced him in them; and, what is unusual for women to do, kissed him, in order to stir up wanton affections and impure desires in him;

and with an impudent face; or, "and she strengthened her face" ^m; rubbed her forehead, put on a brasen face, a whore's front; see Jer 3:3. And

said unto him; accosted him in the following manner, without shame or blushing.

Gill: Pro 7:14

I have peace offerings with me,.... Meaning at her house. These peace offerings were of the eucharistic kind; they were offered by way of thanksgiving for favours received; the greatest part of which, all excepting the fat on the kidneys, the rump of the sheep, the breast and right shoulder, which were the priest's, were returned to the offerers to feast upon with their friends, and were to be eaten the same day, Lev 7:11. This she said to show that she was no common strumpet, or that prostituted herself for gain; that she was a sufficient housewife, had a considerable affluence of life, her substance greatly increased, for which she had made her thank offering that day; that she wanted nothing of him but his company, and the enjoyment of him; and that she had good cheer to regale him with. She was properly קדשה, "a holy" religious harlot, as the word sometimes signifies; and such is the church of Rome, which makes great pretensions to devotion and religion, yet is the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth, Rev 17:5;

this day have I paid my vows; not on account of the young man, and for his health, and for meeting with him; for those vows were not now made to be paid, but were made and paid already: but her vows of peace offerings and thanksgivings, which, as she had promised, she had performed. Under this point may be reckoned the vows of virginity and celibacy, through a show of which the most shocking iniquities are committed by the members of the church of Rome.

Gill: Pro 7:15

Therefore came I forth to meet thee,.... Having so much good cheer at home, and none to eat of it with her; and having so fond and affectionate a regard to this young man, as she pretended; he being the only person in her thoughts, whom she hoped to meet with, and whose company she desired, and his only; though, had she met any other, she would have said the same things to them. Aben Ezra, upon Pro 7:14, says, she told him lies; probably that might be true; but this was no doubt a lie; and it is no unusual thing for the whore of Rome to speak lies in hypocrisy, 1Ti 4:2;

diligently to seek thy face; which of all faces she desired to see, being most lovely to her; with the comeliness of which she was exceedingly taken and ravished, and got up betimes in the morning, as the word ⁿ signifies, even before day, to seek for him;

and I have found thee; which she speaks with a rapture and ecstasy of joy; blessing herself on this happy occasion, that she should come out so opportunely, and find him so quickly; intimating, that it was a kind providence, and that the thing was of God: so conversions to the antichristian church, which are the artifice of hell, are ascribed to the divine Being.

Gill: Pro 7:16

I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry,.... Made use of by the ancients ^o for bed clothes: beautiful ornaments, as Gersom; and precious garments, as Jarchi. She had adorned her bed with curtains and clothes, very delightful to the eye, and inviting; and had well corded it, as some interpret it, with cords of fine linen, and all to allure her lovers; she soon discovered her lustful inclinations, what her heart was upon, and says this, and more, to fire the young man's lust, and cause him to follow her: so the church of Rome adorns her places of worship in the most pompous manner; which are the beds in which she commits adultery, Rev 2:22; and also her images to strike the minds of people, and draw them into her idolatrous worship;

with carved works; perhaps the bed's head, tester, and posts, were all carved, and cut out of cedar wood and others, as Gersom observes; though some think: this refers to the variety of work in tapestry, which look like incisions and carvings, or the network, and agnet holes made therein: this may be very well applied to the carved work, and carved images, set up in the Romish churches;

with fine linen of Egypt; the sheets, pillows, and bolsters, made thereof, and so soft to lie upon; which was reckoned the best and finest, though not the strongest. Pliny says ^p, of the linen of Egypt, that it had less strength and firmness in it (it being so fine); but bore the best price, and was the most gainful and profitable. The word used is not what is elsewhere met with, even when the linen of Egypt is mentioned, and indeed is nowhere else used: the Targum renders it, an Egyptian covering; and so most of the Oriental versions interpret it of bed coverings of tapestry painted, brought out of Egypt. The word is used in the Chaldee language for cords; and may here signify threads of linen twisted together, or linen cords, with which the harlot's bed was corded, and looked beautiful. Pliny ^q says, there were four sorts of linen in Egypt; Tanitic, Pelusiac, Butic, and Tenterytic; so called from the names and provinces where they were cultivated; and perhaps the Etun of Egypt may be the Tanitic: the fine linen, called "byssus", was brought out of India into Egypt; and is said to grow upon a tree as high as the poplar, and its leaves like a willow ^r. Egypt is very properly made mention of in this account; it being one of the names of the city of Rome, of the great city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, and equal to both for lust and luxury, Rev 11:8.

Gill: Pro 7:17

I have perfumed my bed,.... As she had made it entertaining to the senses of seeing and feeling, it being showy and gaudy, soft and easy; so to the sense of smelling; and all to provoke lust, and draw into her embraces; by censing it with incense, as Donesh in Jarchi; or by sprinkling ^s a liquor, made of the following spices, on the head, posts, and sides of the bed, to remove all ill scents, and make it more acceptable; so the Targum, Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, and all the Oriental versions, render it, "I sprinkled my bed": or, it may be, by suffumigation, which women are said to use with their garments and bed clothes ^t. Even this the harlot did,

with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon; all odorous, and of a sweet smell: Horace ^u speaks of the anointed beds of such persons; and of the above spices ointments were made, with which the harlot's bed might be perfumed. Cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, are reckoned among the wares of Babylon, or the church of Rome, Rev 18:13.

Gill: Pro 7:18

Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning,.... Taking him by the hand, and pulling him along, she says, "come"; let us not stand here in the streets, but let us go within, and after supper to bed; and there enjoy ourselves, till "inebriated" with love, as the word ^w signifies: so the poet ^x speaks of "ebrios ocellos", "eyes drunk", that is, with love; and so continue till the morning light, the night being the fittest season for those works of darkness: this expresses the insatiableness of her lust;

let us solace ourselves with loves; mutual love, not lawful, but criminal; more properly lusts; denoting the abundance of it, and the pleasure promised in it, which is very short lived, and bitterness in the end.

Gill: Pro 7:19

For the good man is not at home,.... Or, "for the man is not in his house" ^y. She does not say, "my man", or "my husband"; though the Septuagint. Syriac, and Arabic versions so render it; lest this should throw some difficulty in the young man's way, or remind herself of her conjugal obligation; but "the man", by way of contempt, as disowning him for her husband, or, however, having no regard for him in comparison of others: and this she says to encourage the young man to go with her; since her husband was gone, and show as alone, and mistress of the house;

he is gone a long journey; or, "a way afar off" ^z; into a distant country, and therefore need not fears return of him that night; she was prepared to answer all objections. The good man of the house may be understood of Christ, who is gone into a far country, to heaven, to take a kingdom to himself, and return, Luk 19:12; and in the mean while the church of Rome, who professes herself the true church and spouse of Christ, is committing fornication with the kings of the earth; and has set up another in his room and stead, whom she calls Christ's vicar on earth; and flatters herself and her lovers with impunity, from his distance from her, and his vicar having a right to do as he pleases.

Gill: Pro 7:20

He hath taken a bag of money with him,.... Or, "in his hand" ^a; either for merchandise, as Gersom; or for defraying: the charges of his journey; and both suppose length of time: if for merchandise, it required time to purchase goods, and see them packed up and sent away; or if for his journey, since it was not a few pieces of money he put in his pocket to defray expenses, but a bag of it he carried in his hand, it shows that he should be out a considerable time;

and will come home at the day appointed; and not before: Aben Ezra interprets it, at the beginning of the month, at the new moon, when the moon is covered ^b, which Horace ^c calls "tricessima sabbata": but rather it is to be understood of the full moon, as Aquila and the Vulgate Latin version render it; when it is light all night, and so a proper time for travelling home again. Gersom takes it to mean the beginning of the year, when the holy blessed God, parabolically speaking, sits upon a throne to judge the world in righteousness: the Targum calls it the day of the congregation; some fixed festival day, when the congregation meets together; and at such a festival, or appointed time, this good man had fixed for his return, and when, and not before, he would. This she says to remove all fears from the young man of being surprised and caught by her husband. There is an appointed time for Christ's second coming, when he will certainly come, and not before; and which is supposed to be at a great distance of time: and therefore wicked men and seducers, and such as the apostate church of Rome make use of to encourage themselves in their wickedness, in hopes of impunity, put the evil day far away from them; but in the appointed time Christ will come, and call his servants to an account, good and bad.

Gill: Pro 7:21

With her much fair speech she caused him to yield,.... Or, "to decline" from the right way: or, "inclined him" ^d; his ear to listen to her, and his heart to go after her and along with her. This she did, by using a great many words, by her prolixity, and by some taking and striking expressions; lewd women are generally very talkative ^e. It may be rendered, "by her much doctrine" ^f, as the word is in Pro 4:2; so Jezebel calls herself a prophetess, and sets up for a teacher of men; and, by her false doctrine, deceives some that are called the servants of Christ to commit fornication, and eat things sacrificed to idols, Rev 2:20;

with the flattering of her lips she forced him; to go along with her, not against his will, but with it: though at first there was some reluctance, conscience rose up and opposed; but her words, which were smoother than oil, found a way into his heart, and prevailed upon him to yield to her entreaties; he could no longer withstand her attacks, but surrendered to her; her charming voice, and flattering lips, had more effect upon him than her kisses; notwithstanding these he was reluctant, but could stand it out no longer against her alluring words and soothing language. With this compare the deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish through antichrist, 2Th 2:10.

Gill: Pro 7:22

He goeth after her straightway,.... Or "suddenly" ^g; and inconsiderately, giving himself no time to think of what would be the sad consequences of it;

as an ox goeth to the slaughter; as senseless and stupid as that; and as ignorant of the issue as that is, led by the butcher, as if it was going to a pasture, when it is going to the slaughter house. So such persons as are ensnared by harlots; they follow them in a view of pleasure, but it ends in ruin; if not in the loss of bodily life, by the revengeful husband or civil magistrate; yet in the destruction of their immortal souls;

or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; a drunken besotted fool, who, while he is leading to the stocks, is insensible whither he is going; but when he has been there awhile, and is come out of his drunken fit, then he is sensible of his punishment and his shame. Or, "as the stocks are for the correction of a fool" ^h: or, as a man goes to "the stocks, to the correction of a fool" ⁱ; so the young man went after the harlot: or, as "one fettered" ^k, goes thither, bound hand and foot; he cannot help himself, nor avoid the shame. It denotes both the power of sin, there is no withstanding its allurements and blandishments, when once given way to, and the shame that attends or follows it. The Targum is,

"as a dog to a chain;''

and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions.

Gill: Pro 7:23

Till a dart strike through his liver,.... The fountain of blood, and so of life; which, being pierced through and poured out, is certain death, Lam 2:11; the meaning is, till he is slain either by the hand of God, or by the civil magistrate, or by the jealous husband; and be thrust through by him, as Zimri and Cozbi were by Phinehas. The "liver" may be particularly mentioned, not only for the reason before given, but because it is the seat of lust ^l; so he is stricken in the part where his lust begins, where he has been smitten by Cupid's darts: or this dart through the liver may denote some disease, infecting the blood through sinful lust. The Targum is,

"as an hart into whose liver an arrow flies;''

or is wounded by an arrow in the liver, as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions: and so the meaning is, that this young man went as swiftly after the harlot as a hart does when it is wounded;

as a bird hasteth to the snare; it has its eye upon the bait, and flies swiftly to that, insensible of the snare that is laid for it;

and knoweth not that it is for his life; the bird knows not that the snare is set for its life, as Jarchi; or the fool knows not that it is for his soul; that it shall die, which hates correction, as Aben Ezra. The man that goes after the harlot knows not, or does not consider, that it is to the destruction of his precious and immortal soul; so the Targum,

"he knows not that it tends to the death of his soul;''

and to the same sense the Syriac and Arabic versions; the second death, which adulterers and idolaters shall have their part in, Rev 21:8. The souls of men, and the ruin of them, are what the whore of Rome deals in, Rev 18:13; she goes into perdition, into the bottomless pit, herself, and carries all her worshippers with her, Rev 17:8.

Gill: Pro 7:24

Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children,.... The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, read, in the singular number, "my son", in the same manner as the chapter begins; but it is in the plural number in the Hebrew text; and so read the Targum and Syriac version, "children", the children of Solomon; not only those of his own body, but all such that put themselves under his instruction, or were willing to take his advice: it may be extended to all the children of men, for all are interested herein; especially such who profess to be the children of God and of Christ, the followers of wisdom. This is the epilogue, or application of the above story. Since this is the case, that young men are in danger of being ensnared and brought to ruin by this harlot, therefore take the advice of the wisest of men, even of Wisdom herself;

and attend to the words of my mouth; the doctrines of Christ; the best preservative from the allurements of the whore of Rome.

Gill: Pro 7:25

Let not thine heart decline to her ways,.... Or turn not aside from the right way, the path of truth and holiness, to those of the whorish woman, that lead to ruin and destruction; do not so much as think of going out of the one into the other; let there not be the least wandering thought, affection, or disposition of the mind thereunto; stop and check the first motion of the heart, which leads to a compliance with her, and seems to be directed to her ways, or to betray any love and liking of them;

go not astray in her paths; for whoever walks in her paths goes astray from God and his law; from Christ and his Gospel; and from the true church of God; and from the right paths of faith, duty and worship.

Gill: Pro 7:26

For she hath cast down many wounded,.... Wounded in their name, character, and reputation; in their bodies by diseases; and in their souls by guilt, shame, and horror, through a compliance with her sinful lusts: these she "cast down" from the honours they were possessed of, from the health they enjoyed, and from the peace and tranquillity of mind they formerly felt within them. And not a single person, as the young man instanced in, or a few only, but "many"; great multitudes, hundreds and thousands, and those not weak, and foolish, and inconstant, as he might be thought to be; but such as were "great" ^m and mighty, as the word also signifies; men of great riches, and wisdom, and courage; as soldiers ⁿ, mighty men of war, such as wound and kill others; which seems the true sense of the word here used: and therefore none ought to trust in themselves, nor trust themselves in her company, nor in the least decline to her ways; and especially such as are weak and unskilful, and ignorant of her devices, as the "children" here addressed;

yea, many strong men have been slain by her; men famous for martial exploits, as Samson and others, have been overcome by her: some of great fortitude of mind have not been able to withstand her, she has prevailed over them; and others of robust constitutions have been weakened by diseases, contracted through incontinency with her; and some have suffered death by her means, either from her husband, or her gallants, or the civil magistrate: and of these there have been "innumerable" instances; so the word ^o for "strong men" sometimes signifies; and so it is here rendered in the Septuagint and Arabic versions, "and innumerable are they whom she has slain". All the world have wondered after the whore of Rome; kings of the earth and mighty men have committed fornication with her; high and low, rich and poor, have been ruined by her; thousands have gone to hell by her means; and some of the sycophants of Rome have even said, that if the pope of Rome should send thousands to hell, of which they seem themselves to be conscious, no one should say to him, What dost thou?

Gill: Pro 7:27

Her house is the way to hell,.... Or "ways" ^p; the broad highway to it; either to the grave, as "sheol" often signifies; or to hell itself, the place of the damned: to go into her house, and commit wickedness with her, is to take a step to destruction, a large stride towards hell; and, if grace prevent not, will bring a man thither. Who would go into such a house, and much less dwell there, which is the very suburbs of hell?

going down to the chambers of death; to enter her chamber, to step into her bed, howsoever decked and adorned, entertaining and inviting it is, not only leads to the chambers of the grave, as the Targum; but to the lowest and innermost parts of hell; the apartments of the second death, the lot of all unclean and idolatrous persons, without repentance and faith. The Phoenicians called Pluto, the god of hell, by the name of Moth ^q, a word similar to this used here; and so those chambers are no other than the chambers of hell. Plautus ^r also calls the gate of a whore's house the gate of hell; which agrees with the first clause of the verse.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Pro 7:2

¹ tc Before v. 2 the LXX inserts: “My son, fear the Lord and you will be strong, and besides him, fear no other.” Although this addition has the precedent of 3:7 and 9 and harmonizes with 14:26, it does not fit here; the advice is to listen to the teacher.

² tn The construction of an imperative with the vav (ו) of sequence after another imperative denotes a logical sequence of purpose or result: “that you may live,” or “and you will live.”

³ tn The term “obey” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied for the sake of clarity and smoothness. Some English versions, in light of the second line of v. 1, supply “guard” (e.g., NIV, NCV, NLT).

⁴ tn Heb “the little man in your eye.” Traditionally this Hebrew idiom is translated into English as “the apple of your eye” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV); a more contemporary rendering would be “as your most prized possession.” The word for “man” has the diminutive ending on it. It refers to the pupil, where the object focused on – a man – is reflected in miniature. The point is that the teaching must be the central focus of the disciple’s vision and attention.

NET Notes: Pro 7:3

¹ tn Heb “fingers” (so KJV and many other English versions). In light of Deut 6:8, “fingers” appears to be a metonymy for the lower part of the arm.

² sn This is an allusion to Deut 6:8. Binding the teachings on the fingers and writing them on the tablets here are implied comparisons for preserving the teaching in memory so that it can be recalled and used with ease.

NET Notes: Pro 7:4

¹ sn The metaphor is meant to signify that the disciple will be closely related to and familiar with wisdom and understanding, as close as to a sibling. Wisdom will be personified in the next two chapters, and so referring to it as a sister in this chapter certainly prepares for that personification.

NET Notes: Pro 7:5

¹ tn The infinitive construct with the preposition shows the purpose of associating closely with wisdom: Wisdom will obviate temptations, the greatest being the sexual urge.

² tn Heb “strange” (so KJV, ASV).

³ tn Heb “strange woman.” This can be interpreted as a “wayward wife” (so NIV) or an “unfaithful wife” (so NCV). As discussed earlier, the designations “strange woman” and “foreign woman” could refer to Israelites who stood outside the community in their lawlessness and loose morals – an adulteress or wayward woman. H. Ringgren and W. Zimmerli, however, suggest that she is also a promoter of a pagan cult, but that is not entirely convincing (Spruche/Prediger [ATD], 19).

⁴ tn The term “you” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.

⁵ tn Heb “she makes smooth her words.” This expression means “she flatters with her words.”

NET Notes: Pro 7:7

¹ tn Heb “sons.”

² tn Heb “lad” or “youth.”

³ tn Heb “heart.”

sn This young man who lacked wisdom is one of the simpletons, lacking keen judgment, one void of common sense (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT) or understanding (cf. KJV, ASV). He is young, inexperienced, featherbrained (so D. Kidner, Proverbs [TOTC], 75).

NET Notes: Pro 7:8

¹ tn The verb צָעַד (tsa’ad) means “to step; to march.” It suggests that the youth was intentionally making his way to her house. The verb is the imperfect tense; it stresses continual action parallel to the active participle that began the verse, but within a context that is past time.

² tn Heb “way of her house.” This expression uses an adverbial accusative of location, telling where he was marching along. The term “house” is the genitive of location, giving the goal.

NET Notes: Pro 7:9

¹ tn Heb “in the evening of the day.”

² tn Heb “in the middle of the night, and dark”; KJV “in the black and dark night”; NRSV “at the time of night and darkness.”

NET Notes: Pro 7:10

¹ tn The particle וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) introduces a dramatic sense of the immediate to the narrative; it has a deictic force, “and look! – there was a woman,” or “all of a sudden this woman….”

² tn Heb “with the garment of a prostitute.” The noun שִׁית (shith, “garment”) is an adverbial accusative specifying the appearance of the woman. The words “she was” are supplied in the translation to make a complete English sentence.

³ tn Heb “kept secret of heart”; cf. ASV, NRSV “wily of heart.” The verbal form is the passive participle from נָצַר (natsar) in construct. C. H. Toy lists the suggestions of the commentators: false, malicious, secret, subtle, excited, hypocritical (Proverbs [ICC], 149). The LXX has “causes the hearts of the young men to fly away.” The verb means “to guard; to watch; to keep”; to be guarded of heart means to be wily, to have secret intent – she has locked up her plans and gives nothing away (e.g., Isaiah 48:6 as well). Interestingly enough, this contrasts with her attire which gives everything away.

NET Notes: Pro 7:11

¹ tn Heb “her feet.” This is a synecdoche, a part for the whole; the point is that she never stays home, but is out and about all the time.

² tn Heb “dwell” or “settle”; NAB “her feet cannot rest.”

NET Notes: Pro 7:12

¹ tn The repetition of the noun “time, step,” usually translated “now, this time,” signifies here “at one time…at another time” (BDB 822 s.v. פַּעַם 3.e).

NET Notes: Pro 7:13

¹ tn Heb “she makes bold her face.” The Hiphil perfect of עָזַז (’azar, “to be strong”) means she has an impudent face (cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV), a bold or brazen expression (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).

NET Notes: Pro 7:14

¹ tn Heb “with me.”

² tn Heb “I have peace offerings.” The peace offerings refer to the meat left over from the votive offering made at the sanctuary (e.g., Lev 7:11-21). Apparently the sacrificial worship meant as little to this woman spiritually as does Christmas to modern hypocrites who follow in her pattern. By expressing that she has peace offerings, she could be saying nothing more than that she has fresh meat for a meal at home, or that she was ceremonially clean, perhaps after her period. At any rate, it is all probably a ruse for winning a customer.

NET Notes: Pro 7:15

¹ tn Heb “to look diligently for your face.”

NET Notes: Pro 7:16

¹ tn Heb “with spreads.” The sentence begins with the cognate accusative: “with spreads I have spread my bed.” The construction enhances the idea – she has covered her bed.

² tn The feminine noun means “dark-hued stuffs” (BDB 310 s.v. חֲטֻבוֹת). The form is a passive participle from a supposed root II חָטַב (khatav), which in Arabic means to be of a turbid, dusky color mixed with yellowish red. Its Aramaic cognate means “variegated”; cf. NAB “with brocaded cloths of Egyptian linen.” BDB’s translation of this colon is unsatifactory: “with dark hued stuffs of yarn from Egypt.”

NET Notes: Pro 7:18

¹ tn The form נִרְוֶה (nirveh) is the plural cohortative; following the imperative “come” the form expresses the hortatory “let’s.” The verb means “to be saturated; to drink one’s fill,” and can at times mean “to be intoxicated with.”

² tn Heb “loves.” The word דּוֹד (dod) means physical love or lovemaking. It is found frequently in the Song of Solomon for the loved one, the beloved. Here the form (literally, “loves”) is used in reference to multiple acts of sexual intercourse, as the phrase “until morning” suggests.

³ tn The form is the Hitpael cohortative of עָלַס (’alas), which means “to rejoice.” Cf. NIV “let’s enjoy ourselves.”

⁴ tn Heb “with love.”

NET Notes: Pro 7:19

¹ tn Heb “the man.” The LXX interpreted it as “my husband,” taking the article to be used as a possessive. Many English versions do the same.

² tn Heb “in his house.”

NET Notes: Pro 7:20

¹ tn Heb “in his hand.”

² tn Heb “he will come back at.”

³ tn Heb “new moon.” Judging from the fact that the husband took a purse of money and was staying away until the next full moon, the woman implies that they would be safe in their escapade. If v. 9 and v. 20 are any clue, he could be gone for about two weeks – until the moon is full again.

NET Notes: Pro 7:21

¹ tn Heb “she turned him aside.” This expression means that she persuaded him. This section now begins the description of the capitulation, for the flattering speech is finished.

² sn The term לֶקַח (leqakh) was used earlier in Proverbs for wise instruction; now it is used ironically for enticement to sin (see D. W. Thomas, “Textual and Philological Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 280-92).

³ tn Heb “smooth of her lips”; cf. NAB “smooth lips”; NASB “flattering lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause representing what she says.

⁴ tn The verb means “to impel; to thrust; to banish,” but in this stem in this context “to compel; to force” into some action. The imperfect tense has the nuance of progressive imperfect to parallel the characteristic perfect of the first colon.

NET Notes: Pro 7:22

¹ tn The participle with “suddenly” gives a more vivid picture, almost as if to say “there he goes.”

² tn The present translation follows R. B. Y. Scott (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes [AB], 64). This third colon of the verse would usually be rendered, “fetters to the chastening of a fool” (KJV, ASV, and NASB are all similar). But there is no support that עֶכֶס (’ekhes) means “fetters.” It appears in Isaiah 3:16 as “anklets.” The parallelism here suggests that some animal imagery is required. Thus the ancient versions have “as a dog to the bonds.”

NET Notes: Pro 7:23

¹ sn The figure of an arrow piercing the liver (an implied comparison) may refer to the pangs of a guilty conscience that the guilty must reap along with the spiritual and physical ruin that follows (see on these expressions H. W. Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament).

² tn The expression that it is “for/about/over his life” means that it could cost him his life (e.g., Num 16:38). Alternatively, the line could refer to moral corruption and social disgrace rather than physical death – but this would not rule out physical death too.

NET Notes: Pro 7:24

¹ tn The literal translation “sons” works well here in view of the warning. Cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “children.”

² tn Heb “the words of my mouth.”

NET Notes: Pro 7:26

¹ tn Heb “she has caused to fall.”

² tn Heb “numerous” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT) or “countless.”

NET Notes: Pro 7:27

¹ tn The noun “Sheol” in parallelism to “the chambers of death” probably means the grave. The noun is a genitive of location, indicating the goal of the road(s). Her house is not the grave; it is, however, the sure way to it.

sn Her house is the way to the grave. The young man’s life is not destroyed in one instant; it is taken from him gradually as he enters into a course of life that will leave him as another victim of the wages of sin. The point of the warning is to prevent such a course from starting. Sin can certainly be forgiven, but the more involvement in this matter the greater the alienation from the healthy community.

² tn The Qal active participle modifies “ways” to Sheol. The “road,” as it were, descends to the place of death.

³ tn “Chambers” is a hypocatastasis, comparing the place of death or the grave with a bedroom in the house. It plays on the subtlety of the temptation. Cf. NLT “Her bedroom is the den of death.”

Geneva Bible: Pro 7:2

Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the ^{( a )} apple of thy eye.

^{( a )} By this diversity of words, he means that nothing should be so dear to us as the word of God, nor that we look on anything more nor mind anything so much.

Geneva Bible: Pro 7:6

^{( b )} For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,

^{( b )} Solomon uses this parable to declare their folly, who allow themselves to be abused by harlots.

Geneva Bible: Pro 7:9

In the twilight, in the evening, in the ^{( c )} black and dark night:

^{( c )} He shows that there was almost no one so impudent that they were not afraid to be seen, their consciences accusing them and causing them to seek the night to cover their filthiness.

Geneva Bible: Pro 7:11

(She ^{( d )} [is] loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:

^{( d )} He describes certain conditions, which are peculiar to harlots.

Geneva Bible: Pro 7:14

[I have] ^{( e )} peace offerings with me; this ^{( f )} day have I paid my vows.

^{( e )} Because in peace offerings a portion is returned to them that offered, she shows him that she has meat at home to make good cheer with or else she would use some cloak of holiness till she had gotten him in her snares.

^{( f )} Which declares that harlots outwardly will seem holy and religious: both because they may better deceive others, and also thinking to observe ceremonies and offerings to make satisfaction for their sins.

Geneva Bible: Pro 7:22

He goeth after her quickly, as an ^{( g )} ox goeth to the slaughter, or ^{( h )} as a fool to the correction of the stocks;

^{( g )} Which thinking he goes to the pasture goes willingly to his own destruction.

^{( h )} Who goes cheerfully, not knowing that he will be chastised.

Geneva Bible: Pro 7:26

For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many ^{( i )} strong [men] have been slain by her.

^{( i )} Neither wit nor strength can deliver them who fall into the hands of the harlot.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Pro 7:1-27

1 Solomon persuades to a sincere and kind familiarity with wisdom.

6 In an example of his own experience, he shews,

10 the cunning of a harlot;

22 and the desperate simplicity of a young wanton.

24 He dehorteth from such wickedness.

MHCC: Pro 7:1-5

We must lay up God's commandments safely. Not only, Keep them, and you shall live; but, Keep them as those that cannot live without them. Those that blame strict and careful walking as needless and too precise, consider not that the law is to be kept as the apple of the eye; indeed the law in the heart is the eye of the soul. Let the word of God dwell in us, and so be written where it will be always at hand to be read. Thus we shall be kept from the fatal effects of our own passions, and the snares of Satan. Let God's word confirm our dread of sin, and resolutions against it.

MHCC: Pro 7:6-27

Here is an affecting example of the danger of youthful lusts. It is a history or a parable of the most instructive kind. Will any one dare to venture on temptations that lead to impurity, after Solomon has set before his eyes in so lively and plain a manner, the danger of even going near them? Then is he as the man who would dance on the edge of a lofty rock, when he has just seen another fall headlong from the same place. The misery of self-ruined sinners began in disregard to God's blessed commands. We ought daily to pray that we may be kept from running into temptation, else we invite the enemies of our souls to spread snares for us. Ever avoid the neighbourhood of vice. Beware of sins which are said to be pleasant sins. They are the more dangerous, because they most easily gain the heart, and close it against repentance. Do nothing till thou hast well considered the end of it. Were a man to live as long as Methuselah, and to spend all his days in the highest delights sin can offer, one hour of the anguish and tribulation that must follow, would far outweigh them.

Matthew Henry: Pro 7:1-5

These verses are an introduction to his warning against fleshly lusts, much the same with that, Pro 6:20, etc., and ending (Pro 7:5) as that did (Pro 6:24), To keep thee from the strange woman; that is it he aims at; only there he had said, Keep thy father's commandment, here (which comes all to one), Keep my commandments, for he speaks to us as unto sons. He speaks in God's name; for it is God's commandments that we are to keep, his words, his law. The word of God must be to us, 1. As that which we are most careful of. We must keep it as our treasure; we must lay up God's commandments with us, lay them up safely, that we may not be robbed of them by the wicked one, Pro 7:1. We must keep it as our life: Keep my commandments and live (Pro 7:2), not only, "Keep them, and you shall live;"but, "Keep them as you would your life, as those that cannot live without them."It would be death to a good man to be deprived of the word of God, for by it he lives, and not by bread alone. 2. As that which we are most tender of: Keep my law as the apple of thy eye. A little thing offends the eye, and therefore nature has so well guarded it. We pray, with David, that God would keep us as the apple of his eye (Psa 17:8), that our lives and comforts may be precious in his sight; and they shall be so (Zec 2:8) if we be in like manner tender of his law and afraid of the least violation of it. Those who reproach strict and circumspect walking, as needless preciseness, consider not that the law is to be kept as the apple of the eye, for indeed it is the apple of our eye; the law is light; the law in the heart is the eye of the soul. 3. As that which we are proud of and would be ever mindful of (Pro 7:3): " Bind them upon thy fingers; let them be precious to thee; look upon them as an ornament, as a diamond-ring, as the signet on thy right hand; wear them continually as thy wedding-ring, the badge of thy espousals to God. Look upon the word of God as putting an honour upon thee, as an ensign of thy dignity. Bind them on thy fingers, that they may be constant memorandums to thee of thy duty, that thou mayest have them always in view, as that which is graven upon the palms of thy hands. "4. As that which we are fond of and are ever thinking of: Write them upon the table of thy heart, as the names of the friends we dearly love, we say, are written in our hearts. let the word of God dwell richly in us, and be written there where it will be always at hand to be read. Where sin was written (Jer 17:1) let the word of God be written. It is the matter of a promise (Heb 8:10, I will write my law in their hearts ), which makes the precept practicable and easy. 5. As that which we are intimately acquainted and conversant with (Pro 7:4): " Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister, whom I dearly love and take delight in; and call understanding thy kinswoman, to whom thou art nearly allied, and for whom thou hast a pure affection; call her thy friend, whom thou courtest."We must make the word of God familiar to us, consult it, and consult its honour, and take a pleasure in conversing with it. 6. As that which we make use of for our defence and armour, to keep us from the strange woman, from sin, that flattering but destroying thing, that adulteress; particularly from the sin of uncleanness, Pro 7:5. Let the word of God confirm our dread of that sin and our resolutions against it; let it discover to us its fallacies and suggest to us answers to all its flatteries.

Matthew Henry: Pro 7:6-23

Solomon here, to enforce the caution he had given against the sin of whoredom, tells a story of a young man that was ruined to all intents and purposes by the enticements of an adulterous woman. Such a story as this would serve the lewd profane poets of our age to make a play of, and the harlot with them would be a heroine; nothing would be so entertaining to the audience, nor give them so much diversion, as her arts of beguiling the young gentleman and drawing in the country squire; her conquests would be celebrated as the triumphs of wit and love, and the comedy would conclude very pleasantly; and every young man that saw it acted would covet to be so picked up. Thus fools make a mock at sin. But Solomon here relates it, and all wise and good men read it, as a very melancholy story. The impudence of the adulterous woman is very justly looked upon, by all that have any sparks of virtue in them, with the highest indignation, and the easiness of the young man with the tenderest compassion; and the story concludes with sad reflections, enough to make all that read and hear it afraid of the snares of fleshly lusts and careful to keep at the utmost distance from them. It is supposed to be a parable, or imagined case, but I doubt it was too true, and, which is worse, that notwithstanding the warning it gives of the fatal consequences of such wicked courses it is still too often true, and the agents for hell are still playing the same game and with similar success.

Solomon was a magistrate, and, as such, inspected the manners of his subjects, looked often through his casement, that he might see with his own eyes, and made remarks upon those who little thought his eye was upon them, that he might know the better how to make the sword he bore a terror to evil-doers. But here he writes as a minister, a prophet, who is by office a watchman, to give warning of the approach of the enemies, and especially where they lie in ambush, that we may not be ignorant of Satan's devices, but may know where to double our guard. This Solomon does here, where we may observe the account he gives,

I. Of the person tempted, and how he laid himself open to the temptation, and therefore must thank himself if it end in his destruction. 1. He was a young man, Pro 7:7. Fleshly lusts are called youthful lusts (2Ti 2:22), not to extenuate them as tricks of youth, and therefore excusable, but rather to aggravate them, as robbing God of the first and best of our time, and, by debauching the mind when it is tender, laying a foundation for a bad life ever after, and to intimate that young people ought in a special manner to fortify their resolutions against this sin. 2. He was a young man void of understanding, that went abroad into the world, not principled as he ought to have been with wisdom and the fear of God, and so ventured to sea without ballast, without pilot, cord, or compass; he knew not how to depart from evil, which is the best understanding, Job 28:28. Those become an easy prey to Satan who, when they have arrived to the stature of men, have scarcely the understanding of children. 3. He kept bad company. He was a young man among the youths, a silly young man among the simple ones. If, being conscious of his own weakness, he had associated with those that were older and wiser than himself, there would have been hopes of him. Christ, at twelve years old, conversed with the doctors, to set young people an example of this. But, if those that are simple choose such for their companions as are like themselves, simple they will still be, and hardened in their simplicity. 4. He was sauntering, and had nothing to do, but passed through the street as one that knew not how to dispose of himself. One of the sins of filthy Sodom was abundance of idleness, Eze 16:49. He went in a starched stately manner, so (it is said) the word signifies. He appeared to be a nice formal fop, the top of whose accomplishments was to dress well and walk with a good air; fit game for that bird of prey to fly at. 5. He was a night-walker, that hated and scorned the business that is to be done by day-light, from which the evening calls men in to their repose; and, having fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, he begins to move in the twilight in the evening, Pro 7:9. And he chooses the black and dark night as fittest for his purpose, not the moonlight nights, when he might be discovered. 6. He steered his course towards the house of one that he thought would entertain him, and that he might be merry with; he went near her corner, the way to her house (Pro 7:8), contrary to Solomon's advice (Pro 5:8), Come not night the door of her house. Perhaps he did not know it was the way to an infamous house, but, however, it was a way that he had no business in; and when we have nothing to do the devil will quickly find us something to do. We must take heed, not only of idle days, but of idle evenings, lest they prove inlets to temptation.

II. Of the person tempting, not a common prostitute, for she was a married wife (Pro 7:19), and, for aught that appears, lived in reputation among her neighbours, not suspected of any such wickedness, and yet, in the twilight of the evening, when her husband was abroad, abominably impudent. She is here described, 1. By her dress. She had the attire of a harlot (Pro 7:10), gaudy and flaunting, to set her off as a beauty; perhaps she was painted as Jezebel, and went with her neck and breasts bare, loose, and en deshabille. The purity of the heart will show itself in the modesty of the dress, which becomes women professing godliness. 2. By her craft and management. She is subtle of heart, mistress of all the arts of wheedling, and knowing how by all her caresses to serve her own base purposes. 3. By her temper and carriage. She is loud and stubborn, talkative and self-willed, noisy and troublesome, wilful and headstrong, all tongue, and will have her saying, right or wrong, impatient of check and control, and cannot bear to be counselled, much less reproved, by husband or parents, ministers or friends. She is a daughter of Belial, that will endure no yoke. 4. By her place, not her own house; she hates the confinement and employment of that; her feet abide not there any longer than needs must. She is all for gadding abroad, changing place and company. Now is she without in the country, under pretence of taking the air, now in the streets of the city, under pretence of seeing how the market goes. She is here, and there, and every where but where she should be. She lies in wait at every corner, to pick up such as she can make a prey of. Virtue is a penance to those to whom home is a prison.

III. Of the temptation itself and the management of it. She met the young spark. Perhaps she knew him; however she knew by his fashions that he was such a one as she wished for; so she caught him about the neck and kissed him, contrary to all the rules of modesty (Pro 7:13), and waited not for his compliments or courtship, but with an impudent face invited him not only to her house, but to her bed.

1. She courted him to sup with her (Pro 7:14, Pro 7:15): I have peace-offerings with me. Hereby she gives him to understand, (1.) Her prosperity, that she was compassed about with so many blessings that she had occasion to offer peace-offerings, in token of joy and thankfulness; she was before-hand in the world, so that he needed not fear having his pocket picked. (2.) Her profession of piety. She had been today at the temple, and was as well respected there as any that worshipped in the courts of the Lord. She had paid her vows, and, as she thought, made all even with God Almighty, and therefore might venture upon a new score of sins. Note, The external performances of religion, if they do not harden men against sin, harden them in it, and embolden carnal hearts to venture upon it, in hopes that when they come to count and discount with God he will be found as much in debt to them for their peace-offerings and their vows as they to him for their sins. But it is sad that a show of piety should become the shelter of iniquity (which really doubles the shame of it, and makes it more exceedingly sinful) and that men should baffle their consciences with those very things that should startle them. The Pharisees made long prayers, that they might the more plausibly carry on their covetous and mischievous provisions. The greatest part of the flesh of the peace-offerings was by the law returned back to the offerers, to feast upon with their friends, which (if they were peace-offerings of thanksgiving) was to be all eaten the same day and none of it left until the morning, Lev 7:15. This law of charity and generosity is abused to be a colour for gluttony and excess: "Come,"says she, "come home with me, for I have good cheer enough, and only want good company to help me off with it."It was a pity that the peace-offerings should thus become, in a bad sense, sin-offerings, and that what was designed for the honour of God should become the food and fuel of a base lust. But this is not all. (4.) To strengthen the temptation, [1.] She pretends to have a very great affection for him above any man: " Therefore, because I have a good supper upon the table, I came forth to meet thee, for no friend in the world shall be so welcome to it as thou shalt, Pro 7:15. Thou art he whom I came on purpose to seek, to seek diligently, came myself, and would not send a servant."Surely he cannot deny her his company when she put such a value upon it, and would take all this pains to obtain the favour of it. Sinners take pains to do mischief, and are as the roaring lion himself; they go about seeking to devour, and yet pretend they are seeking to oblige. [2.] She would have it thought that Providence itself countenanced her choice of him for her companion; for how quickly had she found him whom she sought!

2. She courted him to lie with her. They will sit down to eat and drink, and then rise up to play, to play the wanton, and there is a bed ready for them, where he shall find that which will be in all respects agreeable to him. To please his eye, it is decked with coverings of tapestry and carved works, exquisitely fine; he never saw the like. To please his touch, the sheets are not of home-spun cloth; they are far-fetched and dear bought; they are of fine linen of Egypt, Pro 7:16. To gratify his smell, it is perfumed with the sweetest scents, Pro 7:17. Come, therefore, and let us take our fill of love, Pro 7:18. Of love, does she say? Of lust she means, brutish lust; but it is a pity that the name of love should be thus abused. True love is from heaven; this is from hell. How can those pretend to solace themselves and love one another who are really ruining themselves and one another?

3. She anticipated the objection which he might make of the danger of it. Is she not another man's wife, and what if her husband should catch them in adultery, in the very act? he will make them pay dearly for their sport, and where will the solace of their love be then? "Never fear,"says she, "the good man is not at home "(Pro 7:19); she does not call him her husband, for she forsakes the guide of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; but "the good man of the house, whom I am weary of."Thus Potiphar's wife, when she spoke of her husband, would not call him so, but he, Gen 39:14. It is therefore with good reason taken notice of, to Sarah's praise, that she spoke respectfully of her husband, calling him lord. She pleases herself with this that he is not at home, and therefore she is melancholy if she have not some company, and therefore whatever company she has she may be free with them, for she is from under his eye, and he shall never know. But will he not return quickly? No: "he has gone a long journey, and cannot return on a sudden; he appointed the day of his return, and he never comes home sooner than he says he will. He has taken a bag of money with him, either,"(1.) "To trade with, to buy goods with and he will not return till he has laid it all out. It is a pity that an honest industrious man should be thus abused, and advantage taken of his absence, when it is upon business, for the good of his family."Or, (2.) "To spend and revel with."Whether justly or not, she insinuates that he was a bad husband; so she would represent him, because she was resolved to be a bad wife, and must have that for an excuse; it is often groundlessly suggested, but is never a sufficient excuse. "He follows his pleasures, and wastes his estate abroad"(says she), "and why should not I do the same at home?"

IV. Of the success of the temptation. Promising the young man every thing that was pleasant, and impunity in the enjoyment, she gained her point, Pro 7:21. It should seem, the youth, though very simple, had no ill design, else a word, a beck, a wink, would have served, and there would have been no need of all this harangue; but though he did not intend any such thing, nay, had something in his conscience that opposed it, yet with her much fair speech she caused him to yield. His corruptions at length triumphed over his convictions, and his resolutions were not strong enough to hold out against such artful attacks as these, but with the flattery of her lips she forced him; he could not stop his ear against such a charmer, but surrendered himself her captive. Wisdom's maidens, who plead her cause, and have reason on their side, and true and divine pleasures to invite men to, have a deaf ear turned to them, and with all their rhetoric cannot compel men to come in, but such is the dominion of sin in the hearts of men that its allurements soon prevail by falsehood and flattery. With what pity does Solomon here look upon this foolish young man, when he sees him follow the adulterous woman! (1.) He gives him up for gone; alas! he is undone. he goes to the slaughter (for houses of uncleanness are slaughter-houses to precious souls); a dart will presently strike through his liver; going without his breast-plate, he will receive his death's wound, Pro 7:23. It is his life, his precious life, that is thus irrecoverably thrown away, he is perfectly lost to all good; his conscience is debauched; a door is opened to all other vices, and this will certainly end in his endless damnation. (2.) That which makes his case the more piteous is that he is not himself aware of his misery and danger; he goes blindfold, nay, he goes laughing to his ruin. The ox thinks he is led to the pasture when he is led to the slaughter; the fool (that is, the drunkard, for, of all sinners, drunkards are the greatest fools) is led to the correction of the stocks, and is not sensible of the shame of it, but goes to it as if he were going to a play. The bird that hastes to the snare looks only at the bait, and promises herself a good bit from that, and considers not that it is for her life. Thus this unthinking unwary young man dreams of nothing but the pleasures he shall have in the embraces of the harlot, while really he is running headlong upon his ruin. Though Solomon does not here tell us that he put the law in execution against this base harlot, yet we have no reason to think but that he did, he was himself so affected with the mischief she did and had such an indignation at it.

Matthew Henry: Pro 7:24-27

We have here the application of the foregoing story: " Hearken to me therefore, and not to such seducers (Pro 7:24); give ear to a father, and not to an enemy."1. "Take good counsel when it is given you. Let not thy heart decline to her ways (Pro 7:25); never leave the paths of virtue, though strait and narrow, solitary and up-hill, for the way of the adulteress, though green, and broad, and crowded with company. Do not only keep thy feet from those ways, but let not so much as thy heart incline to them; never harbour a disposition this way, nor think otherwise than with abhorrence of such wicked practices as these. Let reason, and conscience, and the fear of God ruling in the heart, check the inclinations of the sensual appetite. If thou goest in her paths, in any of the paths that lead to this sin, thou goest astray, thou art out of the right way, the safe way; therefore take heed, go not astray, lest thou wander endlessly."2. "Take fair warning when it is given you."(1.) "Look back, and see what mischief this sin has done. The adulteress has been the ruin not of here and there one, but she has cast down many wounded. "Thousands have been undone, now and for ever, by this sin; and those not only the weak and simple youths, such as he was of whom he had now spoken, but many strong men have been slain by her, Pro 7:26. Herein, perhaps, he has an eye especially to Samson, who was slain by this sin, and perhaps to David too, who by this sin entailed a sword upon his house, though so far the Lord took it away that he himself should not die. These were men not only of great bodily strength, but of eminent wisdom and courage, and yet their fleshly lusts prevailed over them. Howl, fir-trees, if the cedars be shaken. Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (2.) "Look forward with an eye of faith, and see what will be in the end of it,"Pro 7:27. Her house, though richly decked and furnished, and called a house of pleasure, is the way to hell; and her chambers are the stair-case that goes down to the chambers of death and everlasting darkness. The cup of fornication must shortly be exchanged for the cup of trembling; and the flames of lust, if not quenched by repentance and mortification, will burn to the lowest hell. Therefore stand in awe and sin not.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 7:1-3

The introduction first counsels in general to a true appreciation of these well-considered life-rules of wisdom.

1 My son, keep my words,

And treasure up my commandments with thee.

2 Keep my commandments, and thou shalt live;

And my instruction as the apple of thine eye.

3 Wind them about thy fingers,

Write them on the tablet of thy heart.

The lxx has after Pro 7:1 another distich; but it here disturbs the connection. Regarding צפן , vid ., at Pro 2:1; אתּך refers, as there, to the sphere of one's own character, and that subjectively. Regarding the imper . וחיה , which must here be translated according to its sense as a conclusion, because it comes in between the objects governed by שׁמר , vid ., at Pro 4:4. There וחיה is punctuated with Silluk ; here, according to Kimchi ( Michlol 125a), with Segol - Athnach , וחיה , as in the Cod. Erfurt. 2 and 3, and in the editions of Athias and Clodius, so that the word belongs to the class פתחין באתנח (with short instead of long vowel by the pausal accent): no reason for this is to be perceived, especially as (Pro 4:4) the Tsere (ê from aj ) which is characteristic of the imper. remains unchanged. Regarding אישׁון העין , Arab. insân el -'ain , the little man of the eye, i.e. , the apple of the eye, named from the miniature portrait of him who looks into it being reflected from it, vid ., at Psa 17:8; the ending ôn is here diminutive, like Syr. achuno , little brother, b^e runo , little son, and the like. On Pro 7:3, vid ., at Pro 6:21; Pro 3:3. The תפילין שׁל יד

(Note: תפילין , prayer-fillets, phylacteries.)

were wound seven times round the left arm and seven times round the middle finger. The writing on the table of the heart may be regarded as referring to Deu 6:9 (the Mezuzoth ).

(Note: = the door-posts, afterwards used by the Jews to denote the passages of Scripture written on the door-posts.)

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 7:4-5

The subject-matter of this earnest warning are the admonitions of the teacher of wisdom, and through him of Wisdom herself, who in contrast to the world and its lust is the worthiest object of love, and deserves to be loved with the purest, sincerest love:

4 Say to wisdom: "Thou art my sister!"

And call understanding "Friend;"

5 That they may keep thee from the strange woman,

From the stranger who useth smooth words.

The childlike, sisterly, and friendly relationship serves also to picture forth and designate the intimate confidential relationship to natures and things which are not flesh and blood. If in Arabic the poor is called the brother of poverty, the trustworthy the brother of trustworthiness, and abu , um ( אם ), achu , ucht , are used in manifold ways as the expression for the interchangeable relation between two ideas; so (as also, notwithstanding Ewald, §273b, in many Hebr. proper names) that has there become national, which here, as at Job 17:14; Job 30:29, mediated by the connection of the thoughts, only first appears as a poetic venture. The figurative words of Pro 7:4 not merely lead us to think of wisdom as a personal existence of a higher order, but by this representation it is itself brought so near, that אם easily substitutes itself, Pro 2:3, in the place of אם . אחתי of Solomon's address to the bride brought home is in its connection compared with Book of Wisdom 8:2. While the ôth of אחות by no means arises from abstr. ûth , but achôth is derived from achajath , מודע (as Rth 2:1, cf. מודעת , Pro 3:2), here by Mugrash מודע , properly means acquaintance, and then the person known, but not in the superficial sense in which this word and the Arab. ma'arfat are used ( e.g. , in the Arabic phrase quoted by Fleischer, kanna aṣḥaab ṣarna m'aaraf - nous étions amis, nous en sommes plus que de simples connaissances ), but in the sense of familiar, confidential alliance. The infin . לשׁמרך does not need for its explanation some intermediate thought to be introduced: quod eo conducet tibi ut (Mich.), but connects itself immediately as the purpose: bind wisdom to thyself and thyself to wisdom thus closely that thou mayest therewith guard thyself. As for the rest, vid ., Pro 2:16; this verse repeats itself here with the variation of one word.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 7:6-7

How necessary it is for the youth to guard himself by the help of wisdom against the enticements of the wanton woman, the author now shows by a reference to his own observation.

6 For through the window of my house,

From behind the lattice I looked out;

7 Then saw I among the simple ones,

Discerned among the young people, a youth devoid of understanding.

כּי refers indeed to the immediately following clause, yet it actually opens up the whole following exemplification. The connection with Pro 7:5 would be closer if instead of the extended Semitic construction it were said: nam quum ...prospicerem vidi , etc. חלּון (from חלל , to bore through) is properly a place where the wall is bored through. אשׁנב .hguor (from שׁנב = Arab. shaniba , to be agreeable, cool, fresh) is the window-lattice or lattice-window, i.e. , lattice for drawing down and raising up, which keeps off the rays of the sun. נשׁקף signifies primarily to make oneself long in order to see, to stretch up or out the neck and the head, καραδοκεῖν , Arab. atall , atal'a , and tatall'a of things, imminere , to overtop, to project, to jut in; cf. Arab. askaf of the ostrich, long and bent, with respect to the neck stretching it up, sakaf , abstr . crooked length. And בּעד is thus used, as in Arab. duna , but not b'ad , is used: so placed, that one in relation to the other obstructs the avenue to another person or thing: "I looked forth from behind the lattice-window, i.e. , with respect to the persons or things in the room, standing before the lattice-window, and thus looking out into the open air"(Fleischer). That it was far in the night, as we learn at Pro 7:9, does not contradict this looking out; for apart from the moon, and especially the lighting of the streets, there were star-lit nights, and to see what the narrator saw there was no night of Egyptian darkness. But because it was night 6a is not to be translated: I looked about among those devoid of experience (thus e.g. , Löwenstein); but he saw among these, observed among the youths, who thus late amused themselves without, a young man whose want of understanding was manifest from what further happened. Bertheau: that I might see, is syntactically impossible. The meaning of וארא is not determined by the אבינה following, but conversely אבינה stands under the operation of ו (= אבינה , Neh 13:7), characterizing the historic aorist. Regarding פּתי , vid ., at Pro 1:4. בּנים is the masc. of בּנות , Arab. benât in the meaning maiden. בבּנים has in correct texts, according to the rules of the accents, the ב raphatum .

(Note: Regarding the Targ. of Pro 7:6-7, vid ., Perles, Etymologische Studien , 1871, p. 9.)

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 7:8-9

Now follows, whither he saw the young fop [steplang7 Laffen ] then go in the darkness.

8 Going up and down the street near her corner,

And he walked along the way to her house,

9 In the twilight, when the day declined,

In the midst of the night and deep darkness.

We may interpret עבר as appos.: juvenem amentem, ambulantem , or as the predicate accus.: vidi juvenem ... ambulantem ; for that one may so express himself in Hebrew (cf. e.g. , Isa 6:1; Dan 8:7), Hitzig unwarrantably denies. The passing over of the part. into the finite, 8b, is like Pro 2:14, Pro 2:17, and that of the inf . Pro 1:27; Pro 2:8. שׁוּק , Arab. suk (dimin. suweiḳa , to separate, from sikkat , street, alley), still means, as in former times, a broad street, a principal street, as well as an open place, a market-place where business is transacted, or according to its etymon: where cattle are driven for sale. On the street he went backwards and forwards, yet so that he kept near to her corner ( i.e. , of the woman whom he waited for), i.e. , he never withdrew himself far from the corner of her house, and always again returned to it. The corner is named, because from that place he could always cast a look over the front of the house to see whether she whom he waited for showed herself. Regarding פּנּהּ for פּנּתהּ , vid ., at Psa 27:5 : a primary form פּן has never been in use; פּנּים , Zec 14:10, is plur. of פּנּהּ . אצל (from אצל , Arab. wasl , to bind) is, as a substantive, the side (as the place where one thing connects itself with another), and thus as a preposition it means (like juxta from jungere ) beside, Ital. allato . דּרכו is the object. accus., for thus are construed verbs eundi ( e.g. , Hab 3:12, Num. 30:17, cf. Pro 21:22).

Pro 7:9

The designations of time give the impression of progress to a climax; for Hitzig unwarrantably denies that נשׁף means the twilight; the Talmud, Berachoth 3b, correctly distinguishes תרי נשׁפי two twilights, the evening and the morning twilight. But the idea is not limited to this narrow sense, and does not need this, since the root-word נשׁף ( vid ., at Isa 40:24) permits the extension of the idea to the whole of the cool half (evening and night) of the entire day; cf. the parallel of the adulterer who veils himself by the darkness of the night and by a mask on his countenance, Job 24:15 with Jer 13:16. However, the first group of synonyms, בּנשׁף בּערב יום (with the Cod. Frankf . 1294, to be thus punctuated), as against the second, appears to denote an earlier period of the second half of the day; for if one reads, with Hitzig, בּערב יום (after Jdg 19:9), the meaning remains the same as with בּערב יום , viz., advesperascente die (Jerome), for ערב = Arab. gharab , means to go away, and particularly to go under, of the sun, and thus to become evening. He saw the youth in the twilight, as the day had declined ( κέκλικεν , Luk 24:29), going backwards and forwards; and when the darkness of night had reached its middle, or its highest point, he was still in his lurking-place. אישׁון לילה , apple of the eye of the night, is, like the Pers. dili scheb , heart of the night, the poetic designation of the middle of the night. Gusset incorrectly: crepusculum in quo sicut in oculi pupilla est nigredo sublustris et quasi mistura lucis ac tenebrarum . אישׁון is, as elsewhere לב , particularly the middle; the application to the night was specially suitable, since the apple of the eye is the black part in the white of the eye (Hitzig). It is to be translated according to the accus., in pupilla noctis et caligine (not caliginis ); and this was probably the meaning of the poet, for a ב is obviously to be supplied to ואפלה .

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 7:10-12

Finally, the young man devoid of understanding sees his waiting rewarded: like meets like.

10 And, lo, a woman coming to meet him,

In the attire of an harlot and of subtle heart.

11 Boisterous is she, and ungovernable;

Her feet have no rest in her own house.

12 At one time before her door, at another in the street,

And again at every corner she places herself on the watch.

"Pro 7:12 (Hitzig) expresses what is wont to be, instead of a single event, Pro 7:11, viz., the custom of a street harlot. But she who is spoken of is not such an one; lurking is not applicable to her (cf. Job 31:9), and, Pro 7:11, it is not meant that she is thus inclined."But Hitzig's rendering of Pro 7:11, "she was boisterous ... in her house her feet had no rest,"is inaccurate, since neither היאו nor שׁכנוּ is used. Thus in Pro 7:11 and Pro 7:12 the poet gives a characteristic of the woman, introduced by הנּהו into the frame of his picture, which goes beyond that which then presented itself to his eyes. We must with Pro 7:12 reject also Pro 7:11; and even that would not be a radical improvement, since that characteristic lying behind the evident, that which was then evident begins with וּנצרת לב (and subtle in heart). We must thus suppose that the woman was not unknown to the observer here describing her. He describes her first as she then appeared. שׁית Hitzig regards as equivalent to שׁוית , similitude (from שׁוה ), and why? Because שׁית does not mean "to lay against,"but "to place."But Exo 33:4 shows the contrary, and justifies the meaning attire, which the word also has in Psa 73:6. Meîri less suitably compares 2Ki 9:30, but rightly explains תקון (dressing, ornament), and remarks that שׁית elliptical is equivalent to בּשׁית . It is not the nominative (Bertheau), but the accusative, as תבנית , Psa 144:12, Ewald, §279d. How Hitzig reaches the translation of ונצרת לב by "and an arrow in her heart"( et saucia corde )

(Note: Virgil's Aeneid , iv. 1.)

one can only understand by reading his commentary. The usage of the language, Pro 4:23, he remarks, among other things, would stamp her as a virtuous person. As if a phrase like נצר לב could be used both sensu bono and sensu malo ! One can guard his heart when he protects it carefully against moral danger, or also when he purposely conceals that which is in it. The part . נצוּר signifies, Isa 1:8, besieged (blockaded), Eze 16:12, protected, guarded, and Isa 48:6; Isa 65:4, concealed, hidden. Ewald, §187b, refers these three significations in the two passages in Isaiah and in the passage before us to צרר , Niph . נצר (as נגל ); but (1) one would then more surely take צוּר (cf. נמּול , נבכים ) as the verbal stem; (2) one reaches the idea of the concealed (the hidden) easier from that of the preserved than from that of the confined. As one says in Lat. homo occultus, tectus, abstrusus , in the sense of κρυψίνους , so it is said of that woman נצרת לב , not so much in the sense of retenta cor, h.e. quae quod in corde haberet non pandebat , Fr. retenue (Cocc.), as in the sense of custodita cor, quae intentionem cordis mentemque suam callide novit premere (Mich.): she is of a hidden mind, of a concealed nature; for she feigns fidelity to her husband and flatters her paramours as her only beloved, while in truth she loves none, and each of them is to her only a means to an end, viz., to the indulgence of her worldly sensual desire. For, as the author further describes here, she is המיּה (fem. of המה = המי , as Pro 1:21; Isa 22:2), tumultuosa , externally as internally impetuous, because full of intermingling lust and deceit ( opp . ἡσύχιος , 1Pe 3:4; 1Ti 2:11), and סררת , self-willed, not minding the law of duty, of discretion, or of modesty (from סרר , Arab. sharr , pervicacem, malum esse ). She is the very opposite of the noiseless activity and the gentle modesty of a true house-wife, rude, stubborn, and also vagrant like a beast in its season (Hos 4:14): in domo ipsius residere nequeunt pedes ejus ; thus not οἰκουρός or οἰκουργός (Tit 2:5), far removed from the genuine woman - like εἴσω ἥσυχον μένειν δόμων

(Note: Eurip. Herac .) - a radt , as they call such a one in Arab. (Wünsche on Hos 12:1)

or as she is called in Aram. נפקת בּרא .

Pro 7:12

This verse shows how she conducts herself when she wanders abroad. It is no common street-walker who is designated (no "steplang7 Husterin ,"Arab. ḳaḥbt , after which also the female demon-name (Arab.) se'alâ is explained), but that licentious married wife, who, no better than such a strumpet when she wanders abroad, hunts after lovers. The alternating פּעם (properly a stroke) Fleischer compares with the Arab. synonyms, marrt , a going over, karrt , a going back, una volta, una fiata, une fois (Orelli, Synon. der Zeit und Ewigkeit , p. 51). Regarding חוּץ , vid ., at Pro 5:16 : it is the free space without, before the house-door, or also before the gate of the city; the parallelism speaks here and at Pro 1:20 more in favour of the former signification.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 7:13

After this digression the poet returns to the subject, and further describes the event as observed by himself.

And she laid hold on him and kissed him;

Put on a bold brow and said to him.

The verb נשׁק is here, after its primary signification, connected with the dat.: osculum fixit ei . Thus also Gen 27:26 is construed, and the Dagesh in לּו is, as there, Dag. forte conj ., after the law for which the national grammarians have coined the technical name אתי מרחיק ( veniens e longinquo , "coming out of the distance," i.e. , the attraction of a word following by one accented on the penult .). The penult .-accenting of נשׁקה is the consequence of the retrogression of the accent ( נסוג אחור ), which, here where the word from the first had the penult , only with Metheg , and thus with a half a tone, brings with it the dageshing of the לו following, as the original penultima-accenting of והחזיקה does of the בו which follows it, for the reading בּו by Löwenstein is contrary to the laws of punctuation of the Textus receptus under consideration here.

(Note: Vid ., Baer's Torath Emeth , p. 29f., and Psalmen-Commentar under Psa 52:5.)

As בו and לו have received the doubling Dagesh , so on the other hand, according to Ewald, §193b, it has disappeared from העזה (written with Raphe according to Kimchi, Michlol 145a). And as נשׁקה has the tone thrown back, so the proper pausal ותּאמר is accented on the ult., but without attracting the לו following by dageshing, which is the case only when the first of the two words terminates in the sound of ā (āh ). העז פניו is said of one who shows firmness of hardness of countenance (Arab. slabt alwajh ), i.e. , one who shows shamelessness, or, as we say, an iron forehead (Fl.).

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 7:14-15

She laid hold on him and kissed him, both of which actions were shameless, and then, assuming the passivity and modesty befitting the woman, and disregarding morality and the law, she said to the youth:

14 "To bring peace-offerings was binding upon me,

To-day have I redeemed my vows.

15 Therefore am I come out to meet thee,

To seek thy face, and have found thee."

We have translated זבחי שׁלמים "peace-offerings,"proceeding on the principle that שׁלם (sing. only Amo 5:22, and on the Phoenician altar at Marseilles) denotes contracting friendship with one (from שׁלם , to hold friendly relationship), and then the gifts having this in view; for the idea of this kind of offering is the attestation and confirmation of communion with God. But in view of the derivatives שׁלמנים and שׁלּוּם , it is perhaps more appropriate to combine שׁלם with שׁלּם , to discharge perfectly, and to translate it thank-payment-offering, or with v. Hofmann, a due-offering, where not directly thank-offering; for the proper eucharistic offering, which is the expression of thanks on a particular occasion, is removed from the species of the Shelamim by the addition of the words על־תּודה (Lev 7:12-25). The characteristic of the Shelamim is the division of the flesh of the sacrifice between Jahve and His priests on the one side, and the person (or persons) bringing it on the other side: only one part of the flesh of the sacrifice was Jahve's, consumed by fire (Lev 3:16); the priests received one part; those who brought the offering received back another part as it were from the altar of God, that they might eat it with holy joy along with their household. So here the adulteress says that there was binding upon her, in consequence of a vow she had taken, the duty of presenting peace-offerings, or offerings that were due; to-day (she reckons the day in the sense of the dies civilis from night to night) she has performed her duties, and the שׁלמי נדר have yielded much to her that she might therewith regale him, her true lover; for with על־כּן she means to say that even the prospect of the gay festival which she can prepare for him moved her thus to meet him. This address of the woman affords us a glimpse into the history of the customs of those times. The Shelamim meals degenerated in the same manner as our steplang7 Kirmsen .

(Note: steplang7 Kirmse = anniversary of the dedication of a church, village fête.)

Secularization lies doubly near to merrymaking when the law sanctions this, and it can conceal itself behind the mask of piety. Regarding שׁחר , a more exact word for בּקּשׁ , vid ., at Pro 1:28. To seek the countenance of one is equivalent to to seek his person, himself, but yet not without reference to the wished-for look [ aspectus ] of the person.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 7:16-18

Thus she found him, and described to him the enjoyment which awaited him in eating and drinking, then in the pleasures of love.

16 "My bed have I spread with cushions,

Variegated coverlets, Egyptian linen;

17 I have sprinkled my couch

With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

18 Come then, we will intoxicate ourselves with love till the morning,

And will satisfy ourselves in love."

The noun ערשׂ , from ערשׂ , = Arab. 'arash , aedificare, fabricari , signifies generally the wooden frame; thus not so much the bed within as the erected bed-place (cf. Arab. 'arsh , throne, and 'arysh , arbour). This bedstead she had richly and beautifully cushioned, that it might be soft and agreeable. רבד , from רב , signifies to lay on or apply closely, thus either vincire (whence the name of the necklace, Gen 41:42) or sternere (different from רפד , Job 17:13, which acquires the meaning sternere from the root-meaning to raise up from under, sublevare ), whence מרבדּים , cushions, pillows, stragulae . Böttcher punctuates מרבדּים incorrectly; the ב remains aspirated, and the connection of the syllables is looser than in מרבּה , Ewald, §88d. The צטבות beginning the second half-verse is in no case an adjective to מרבדים , in every case only appos., probably an independent conception; not derived from חטב (cogn. חצב ), to hew wood (whence Arab. ḥaṭab , fire-wood), according to which Kimchi, and with him the Graec. Venet. ( περιξύστοις ), understands it of the carefully polished bed-poles or bed-boards, but from חטב = Arab. khaṭeba , to be streaked, of diverse colours ( vid ., under Psa 144:12), whence the Syriac machṭabto , a figured (striped, checkered) garment. Hitzig finds the idea of coloured or variegated here unsuitable, but without justice; for the pleasantness of a bed is augmented not only by its softness, but also by the impression which its costliness makes on the eye. The following אטוּן מצרים stands in an appositional relation to חטבות , as when one says in Arabic taub -un dı̂bâg '-un , a garment brocade = of brocade. אטוּן (after the Syr. for אטוּן , as אמוּן ) signifies in the Targum the cord ( e.g. , Jer 38:6), like the Arab. ṭunub , Syr. ( e.g. , Isa 54:2) tûnob ; the root is טן , not in the sense of to bind, to wind (Deitr.), but in the sense of to stretch; the thread or cord is named from the extension in regard to length, and אטון is thus thread-work, whether in weaving or spinning.

(Note: Hence perhaps the Greek ὀθόνη , which Fick in his Vergl. Wörterbuch connects with the Arab. verb-root vadh , to bind, wind, clothe, but not without making thereto interrogation marks.)

The fame of Egyptian manufactures is still expressed in the Spanish steplang10 aclabtea , fine linen cloth, which is equivalent to the modern Arabic el -ḳobṭı̂je (ḳibṭije ); they had there particularly also an intimate acquaintance with the dye stuffs found in the plants and fossils of the country (Klemm's Culturgeschichte , v. 308-310).

Pro 7:17-18

These verses remind us of expressions in the Canticles. There, at Pro 4:14, are found the three names for spicery as here, and one sees that מר אהלים are not to be connected genitively: there are three things, accented as in the title-verse Pro 1:3. The myrrh, מר ( Balsamodendron myrrha ), belongs, like the frankincense, to the species of the Amyris , which is an exotic in Palestine not less than with us; the aromatic quality in them does not arise from the flowers or leaves, so that Son 1:13 leads us to think of a bunch of myrrh, but from the resin oozing through the bark ( Gummi myrrhae or merely myrrha ), consisting of bright glossy red or golden-yellow grains more or less transparent. אהלים (used by Balaam, Num 24:6) is the Semitic Old-Indian name of the aloë, agaru or aguru ; the aromatic quality is in the wood of the Aquilaria agallocha , especially its root ( agallochum or lignum aloes ) dried in the earth - in more modern use and commerce the inspissated juice of its leaves. קנּמון is κιννάμωμον (like מר , a Semitic word

(Note: Myrrh has its name מר from the bitterness of its taste, and קנם appears to be a secondary formation from קנה , whence קנה , reed; cf. the names of the cinnamon, cannella , Fr. cannelle . Cinnamum ( κίνναμον ) is only a shorter form for cinnamomum . Pliny, Hist. Nat . xii. 19 (42), uses both forms indiscriminately.)

that had come to the Greeks through the Phoenicians), the cinnamon, i.e. , the inner rind of the Laurus cinnamomum . The myrrh is native to Arabia; the aloë, as its name denotes, is Indian; the cinnamon in like manner came through Indian travellers from the east coast of Africa and Ceylon (Taprobane). All these three spices are drugs, i.e. , are dry apothecaries' wares; but we are not on that account to conclude that she perfumed (Hitzig) her bed with spices, viz., burnt in a censer, an operation which, according to Son 3:6, would rather be designated קטּרתּי . The verb נוּף (only here as Kal ) signifies to lift oneself up ( vid ., under Psa 48:13), and transitively to raise and swing hither and thither (= חניף ); here with a double accusative, to besprinkle anything out of a vessel moved hither and thither. According to this sense, we must think of the three aromas as essences in the state of solution; cf. Exo 30:22-33; Est 2:12. Hitzig's question, "Who would sprinkle bed-sheets with perfumed and thus impure water?"betrays little knowledge of the means by which even at the present day clean linen is made fragrant. The expression רוה דּודים sounds like שׁכר דודים , Son 5:1, although there דודים is probably the voc., and not, as here, the accus.; רוה is the Kal of רוּה , Pro 5:19, and signifies to drink something copiously in full draughts. The verbal form עלס for עלץ is found besides only in Job 20:18; Job 39:13; the Hithpa . signifies to enjoy oneself greatly, perhaps (since the Hithpa . is sometimes used reciprocally, vid ., under Gen 2:25) with the idea of reciprocity (Targ. חר לצד ). We read bo^o habim with Chateph - Kametz after Ben-Asher ( vid ., Kimchi's Lex.); the punctuation בּאהבים is that of Ben-Naphtali.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 7:19-20

The adulteress now deprives the youth of all fear; the circumstances under which her invitation is given are as favourable as possible.

19 "For the man is not at home,

He has gone on a long journey.

20 He has taken the purse with him:

He will not return home till the day of the full moon."

It is true that the article stands in האישׁ , Arab. alm'ar -fat , i.e. , serves to define the word: the man, to whom here κατ ̓ ̓ξοχήν and alone reference can be made, viz., the husband of the adulteress (Fl.); but on the other side it is characteristic that she does not say אישׁי (as e.g. , Gen 29:32), but ignores the relation of love and duty in which she is placed to him, and speaks of him as one standing at a distance from her (Aben-Ezra). Erroneously Vogel reads בּבּית after the Targ. instead of בּביתו . We say in Hebr. אינו בביתו , il n'est pas chez soi , as we say לקח בּידו , il a pris avec soi (cf. Jer 38:10). מרחוק Hitzig seeks to connect with the verb, which, after Isa 17:13; Isa 22:3, is possible; for the Hebr. מרחוק ( ממּרחק ), far off, has frequently the meaning from afar, for the measure of length is determined not from the point of departure outward, but from the end, as e.g. , Homer, Il . ii. 456; ἕκαθεν δέ τε φαίνεται αὐγή , from afar the gleam is seen, i.e. , shines hither from the distance. Similarly we say in French, il vient du coté du nord , he comes from the north, as well as il va du coté du nord , he goes northwards. But as we do not say: he has gone on a journey far off, but: on a distant journey, so here מרחוק is virtually an adj. ( vid ., under Isa 5:26) equivalent to רחוקה (Num 9:10): a journey which is distant = such as from it he has a long way back. Michaelis has well remarked here: ut timorem ei penitus adimat, veluti per gradus incedit . He has undertaken a journey to a remote point, but yet more: he has taken money with him, has thus business to detain him; and still further: he has even determined the distant time of his return. צרור־הכּסף .nruter (thus to be written after Ben-Asher, vid ., Baer's Torath Emeth , p. 41) is the purse (from צרר , to bind together), not one of many, but that which is his own. The terminus precedes 20b to emphasize the lateness; vid ., on כּסא under Psa 81:4. Graec. Venet. τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ καιροῦ , after Kimchi and others, who derive כסא ( כסה ) from the root כס , to reckon, and regard it as denoting only a definite time. But the two passages require a special idea; and the Syr. ḳêso , which in 1Ki 12:32; 2Ch 7:10, designates the time from the 15th day of the month, shows that the word denotes not, according to the Talmud, the new moon (or the new year's day), when the moon's disk begins to cover itself, i.e. , to fill ( יתכסה ), but the full moon, when it is covered, i.e. , filled; so that thus the time of the night-scene here described is not that of the last quarter of the moon (Ewald), in which it rises at midnight, but that of the new moon (Hitzig), when the night is without moonlight. Since the derivation of the word from כסא ( כסה ), to cover, gives the satisfactory idea of the covering or filling of the moon's disk, we do not seek after any other; Dietrich fixes on the root-idea of roundness, and Hitzig of vision ( כסא = סכה , שׂכה , vid ., on the contrary, under Psa 143:9). The ל is that of time at which, in which, about which, anything is done; it is more indefinite than בּ would be. He will not return for some fourteen days.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 7:21

The result: -

21 She beguiled him by the fulness of her talking,

By the smoothness of her lips she drew him away.

Here is a climax. First she brought him to yield, overcoming the resistance of his mind to the last point (cf. 1Ki 11:3); then drove him, or, as we say, hurried him wholly away, viz., from the right path or conduct (cf. Deu 13:6, Deu 13:11). With הטּתּוּ (= הטּתהוּ ) as the chief factum , the past imperf. is interchanged, 21b. Regarding לקח , see above, p. 56. Here is the rhetoric of sin (Zöckler); and perhaps the לקח of 20a has suggested this antiphrastic לקח to the author (Hitzig), as חלק (the inverted לקח , formed like שׁפל , which is the abstr . of שׁפל as that is of חלק ) and תּדּיחנּוּ are reciprocally conditioned, for the idea of the slippery (Psa 73:18) connects itself with חלק .

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 7:22-23

What followed: -

22 So he goes after her at once

As an ox which goeth to the slaughter-house,

And as one bereft of reason to the restraint of fetters,

23 As a bird hastens to the net,

Without knowing that his life is at stake -

Till the arrow pierces his liver.

The part. הולך (thus to be accentuated according to the rule in Baer's Torath Emeth , p. 25, with Mercha to the tone-syllable and Mahpach to the preceding open syllable) preserves the idea of the fool's going after her. פּתאם (suddenly) fixes the point, when he all at once resolves to betake himself to the rendezvous in the house of the adulteress, now a κεπφωθείς , as the lxx translates, i.e. , as we say, a simpleton who has gone on the lime-twig. He follows her as an ox goes to the slaughter-house, unconscious that he is going thither to be slaughtered; the lxx ungrammatically destroying the attributive clause: ὥσπερ δὲ βοῦς ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἄγεται . The difficulties in וּכעכס (thus punctuated, after Kimchi, with a double Segol , and not וכעכס , as is frequently the case) multiply, and it is not to be reconciled with the traditional text. The ox appears to require another beast as a side-piece; and accordingly the lxx, Syr., and Targ. find in עכס a dog (to which from אויל they also pick out איּל , a stag), Jerome a lamb ( et quasi agnus כבשׂ ), Rashi a venomous serpent (perhaps after ἔχις ?), Löwenstein and Malbim a rattlesnake ( נחשׁ מצלצל after עכּס ); but all this is mere conjecture. Symmachus' σκιρτῶν ( ἐπὶ δεσμῶν ἄφρων ) is without support, and, like the favourite rendering of Schelling, et sicut saliens in vinculum cervus ( איל ), is unsuitable on account of the unsemitic position of the words. The noun עכס , plur. עכסים , signifies, Isa 3:18, an anklet as a female ornament (whence Isa 3:16 the denom. עכּס , to make a tinkling of the anklets). In itself the word only means the fetter, compes , from עכס , Arab. 'akas , 'akash , contrahere, constringere ( vid ., Fleischer under Isa 59:5); and that it can also be used of any kind of means of checking free movement, the Arab. 'ikâs , as the name of a cord with which the camel is made fast by the head and forefeet, shows. With this signification the interpretation is: et velut pedicâ (= וכבעכס ) implicatus ad castigationem stulti , he follows her as if (bound) with a fetter to the punishment of the fool, i.e. , of himself (Michaelis, Fleischer, and others). Otherwise Luther, who first translated "in a fetter,"but afterwards (supplying ל , not ב ): "and as if to fetters, where one corrects fools."But the ellipsis is harsh, and the parallelism leads us to expect a living being in the place of עכס . Now since, according to Gesenius, עכס , fetter, can be equivalent to a fettered one neither at Isa 17:5; Isa 21:17, nor Pro 23:28 (according to which עכס must at least have an active personal signification), we transpose the nouns of the clause and write וכאויל אל־מוּסר עכס , he follows her as a fool ( Psychol . p. 292) to correction (restraint) with fetters; or if אויל is to be understood not so much physically as morally, and refers to self-destroying conduct (Psa 107:7): as a madman, i.e. , a criminal, to chains. The one figure denotes the fate into which he rushes, like a beast devoid of reason, as the loss of life; and the other denotes the fate to which he permits himself to be led by that woman, like a criminal by the officer, as the loss of freedom and of honour.

Pro 7:23

The confusion into which the text has fallen is continued in this verse. For the figure of the deadly arrow connects itself neither with that of the ox which goes to the slaughter-house, nor with that of the madman who is put in chains: the former is not killed by being shot; and with the latter, the object is to render him harmless, not to put him to death. The lxx therefore converts אויל into איל , a stag, and connects the shooting with an arrow with this: ἢ ὡς ἔλαφος τοξεύματι πεπληγὼς εἰς τὸ ἧπαρ . But we need no encroachment on the text itself, only a correct placing of its members. The three thoughts, Pro 7:23, reach a right conclusion and issue, if with כּמהר צפּור אל־פּח (here Mercha - mahpach ) a new departure is begun with a comparison: he follows her with eager desires, like as a bird hastens to the snare ( vid ., regarding פח , a snare, and מוקשׁ , a noose, under Isa 8:15). What then follows is a continuation of 22a. The subject is again the youth, whose way is compared to that of an ox going to the slaughter, of a culprit in chains, and of a fool; and he knows not ( non novit , as Pro 4:19; Pro 9:18, and according to the sense, non curat , Pro 3:6; Pro 5:6) that it is done at the risk of his life ( בנפשׁו as 1Ki 2:23; Num 17:3), that his life is the price with which this kind of love is bought ( הוּא , neut ., as not merely Ecc 2:1 and the like, but also e.g. , Lev 10:3; Est 9:1) - that does not concern him till ( עד = עד אשׁר or עד כי ) the arrow breaks or pierces through ( פּלּח as Job 16:13) his liver, i.e. , till he receives the death-wound, from which, if not immediately, yet at length he certainly dies. Elsewhere the part of the body struck with a deadly wound is called the reins or loins (Job, etc.), or the gall-bladder (Job 20:25); here the liver, which is called כּבד , Arab. kebid , perhaps as the organ in which sorrowful and painful affections make themselves felt (cf. Aeschylus, Agam . 801: δῆγμα λύπης ἐφ ̓ ἧπαρ προσικνεῖται ), especially the latter, because the passion of sensual love, according to the idea of the ancients, reflected itself in the liver. He who is love-sick has jecur ulcerosum (Horace, Od . i. 25. 15); he is diseased in his liver ( Psychol . p. 268). But the arrow is not here the arrow of love which makes love-sick, but the arrow of death, which slays him who is ensnared in sinful love. The befooled youth continues the disreputable relation into which he has entered till it terminates in adultery and in lingering disease upon his body, remorse in his soul, and dishonour to his name, speedily ending in inevitable ruin both spiritually and temporally.

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 7:24-25

With ועתּה , as at Pro 5:7, the author now brings his narrative to a close, adding the exhortation deduced from it:

24 And now, ye children, give ear unto me,

And observe the words of my mouth!

25 Let not thine heart incline to her ways,

And stray not in her paths.

The verb שׂטה (whence jēst , like jēt , Pro 4:15, with long ē from i ) the author uses also of departure from a wicked way (Pro 4:15); but here, where the portraiture of a faithless wife (a סוטה ) is presented, the word used in the law of jealousy, Num 5, for the trespass of an אשׁת אישׁ is specially appropriate. שׂטה is interchanged with תּעה (cf. Gen 21:14): wander not on her paths, which would be the consequence of straying on them. Theodotion: καὶ μὴ πλανηθῇς ἐν ἀτραποῖς αὐτῆς , with καί , as also Syr., Targ., and Jerome. The Masora reckons this verse to the 25 which have אל at the beginning and ואל at the middle of each clause ( vid ., Baer in the Luth. Zeitschrift , 1865, p. 587); the text of Norzi has therefore correctly ואל , which is found also in good MSS ( e.g. , the Erfurt, 2 and 3).

Keil-Delitzsch: Pro 7:26-27

The admonition, having its motive in that which goes before, is now founded on the emphatic finale:

26 For many are the slain whom she hath caused to fall,

And many are her slain.

27 A multiplicity of ways to help is her house,

Going down to the chambers of death.

The translation "for many slain has she laid low"(Syr., Targ., Jerome, Luther) is also syntactically possible; for רבּים can be placed before its substantive after the manner of the demonstratives and numerals ( e.g. , Neh 9:28, cf. אחד , Son 4:9), and the accentuation which requires two servants (the usual two Munachs ) to the Athnach appears indeed thus to construe it. It is otherwise if רבים here meant magni (thus e.g. , Ralbag, and recently Bertheau), and not multi; but רבים and עצמים stand elsewhere in connection with each other in the signification many and numerous, Psa 35:18; Joe 2:2; Mic 4:3. "Her slain"are those slain by her; the part. pass. is connected with the genitive of the actor, e.g. , Pro 9:18; cf. (Arab.) ḳatyl âlmḥabbt , of one whom love kills (Fl.). With Pro 7:27 cf. Pro 2:18; Pro 9:18. In 27a, בּיתהּ is not equivalent to בביתה after Pro 8:2, also not elliptical and equivalent to דרכי ביתה ; the former is unnecessary, the latter is in no case established by Psa 45:7; Ezr 10:13, nor by Deu 8:15; 2Ki 23:17 (see, on the other hand, Philippi's Status Constructus , pp. 87-93). Rightly Hitzig has: her house forms a multiplicity of ways to hell, in so far as adultery leads by a diversity of ways to hell. Similarly the subject and the predicate vary in number, Pro 16:25; Psa 110:3; Job 26:13; Dan 9:23, and frequently. If one is once in her house, he may go in this or in that way, but surely his path is to destruction: it consists of many steps to hell, such as lead down ( דרך , fem. Isa 37:34, masc. Isa 30:21) to the extreme depths of death (cf. Job 9:9, "chambers of the south"= its remotest regions veiling themselves in the invisible); for חדר (Arab. khiddr ) is the part of the tent or the house removed farthest back, and the most private (Fl.). These חדרי־מות , cf. עמקי שׁאול , Pro 9:18, approach to the conception of גּיהנּם , which is afterwards distinguished from שאול .

Constable: Pro 1:1--9:18

I. DISCOURSES ON WISDOM chs. 1--9

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. 1-9 and definitely 10:1-22:16) and those that unknown sages produced (22:17-24:34). Next come proverbs of Solomon that King Hezekiah's men compiled (chs. 25-29), those that Agur spoke and or wrote (ch. 30), and finally those that King Lemuel spoke and or wrote (ch. 31).

"We're living in the information age,' but we certainly aren't living in the age of wisdom.' Many people who are wizards with their computers seem to be amateurs when it comes to making a success out of their lives. Computers can store data and obey signals, but they can't give us the ability to use that knowledge wisely. What's needed today is wisdom.

"The Book of Proverbs is about godly wisdom, how to get it and how to use it. It's about priorities and principles, not get-rich-quick schemes or success formulas. It tells you, not how to make a living, but how to be skillful in the lost art of making a life."¹¹

Since the sum total of human information now doubles approximately every year and a half, T. S. Eliot's questions are more apropos today than when he wrote them:

"Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?"¹²

Constable: Pro 1:8--8:1

B. Instruction for Young People 1:8-7:27

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 derives from the idea that parents are primarily responsible for moral instruction (Prov 4:3-4; Deut 6:7)."²⁸

The frequent recurrence of the phrase "my son" in this part of Proverbs indicates that the instruction specially suited a young person. This person's life lay in front of him, and he faced major decisions that would set the course of his life from then on. Though the whole Book of Proverbs gives help to youths, chapters 1-7 can be of particular benefit to them.

Various individuals have proposed suggestions concerning how we should understand the phrase "my son." The best explanation I have seen is that the instruction that follows was originally the type of counsel a courtier father gave his son or sons in his home. This seems to have been a traditional form of ancient Near Eastern education, especially among the ruling classes.

In Egypt, for example, "The authors of the [wisdom] teachings' do not present themselves as priests and prophets. They appear as aged officials at the end of active and successful careers, desirous to let their children profit by their experience."²⁹

This instruction did not replace a formal education but supplemented it.³⁰

Earlier Akkadian officials evidently practiced the same custom.

"The advice given in the section My son' can have had relevance for very few people. . . . This suggests that we are to construe the text as being in the form of admonitions of some worthy to his son who will succeed him as vizier to the ruler."³¹

Other evidence exists that it was common throughout the ancient Near East for high officials to pass on this special instruction to their heirs. In Proverbs we have the record of what Solomon told his son Rehoboam.

". . . the Book of Proverbs has a definite masculine focus because in the ancient Jewish society daughters usually weren't educated for the affairs of life. Most of them were kept secluded and prepared for marriage and motherhood. For the most part, when you read man' in Proverbs, interpret it generically and read person,' whether male or female. Proverbs isn't a sexist book, but it was written in the context of a strongly male-oriented society."³²

In the teaching that follows there is advice for many situations a king would encounter and have to deal with effectively. These matters included the administration of justice, leadership, behavior, as well as urban and agricultural concerns. Consequently there seems to be no reason to take these references to "my son" as anything other than what they appear at face value to be (cf. Gen. 18:19; Exod. 12:24; Deut. 4:9-11).

In some parts of the ancient world the mother shared the duty of instructing the son with the father (cf. 1:8; 4:3; 6:20; 31:1, 26).³³

"Here the father and mother are placed on exactly the same footing as teachers of their children. . . . The phraseology of these sentences corresponds almost exactly to that of their Egyptian counterparts . . . and this throws into greater relief the one feature which is entirely unique in them: the mention of the mother. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that this feature is an example of the adaptation of the Egyptian tradition to the peculiar situation in which the Israelite instructions were composed: a domestic situation in which the father and mother together shared the responsibility for the education of the child."³⁴

Archaeologists have found most of the documents that contain extrabiblical instruction of the "my son" type in excavated scribal schools. This suggests that even though the teaching took place in the home the teachers preserved their instructions in writing with a view to sharing them with people outside the family circle. This means that what we have in Proverbs is not atypical. Probably when Solomon recorded his counsel to his son he adapted it to a more general reading audience, namely, all the people of Israel. Eventually all people profited from it.

Constable: Pro 6:20--8:1

7. Further warnings against adultery 6:20-7:27

This extended warning against one of life's most destructive practices is classic.

Constable: Pro 7:1-27

The lure of adultery ch. 7

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 most sensitive part (cf. Deut. 32:10).

Verses 6-9 describe the victim of temptation as one who has not adopted Solomon's council. He or she is "naive" (v. 7), foolish innocently or deliberately.

Verses 10-12 picture the huntress on the prowl for sensual gratification preying on anyone foolish enough to encourage her.

"Woe to the marriage whose partners cannot find values in their home and must constantly seek outside stimulation!"⁸²

Verses 13-21 show her tactics: sensual assault (v. 13), justification of her intent (v. 14), flattery (v. 15), visualization of delight (vv. 16-17), proposition (v. 18), and reassurance of safety (vv. 19-20). We should probably favor the marginal reading of verse 14: "Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me." The idea is that she had made a peace offering and had some of the food that was her portion of the offering at her house where she needed to eat it. Some peace offerings followed the end of a vow (votive offerings). This seems to have been the case here. This woman appears to be indulging herself after a period of self-sacrifice, as some people who fast during Lent do at the end of that season. It is quite clear that this woman knew exactly what she wanted.

Verses 22-23 portray the kill. Evidently the youth hesitated but then "suddenly" (v. 22) yielded. Sin leads to death (cf. James 1:15) so Solomon looked at the result of the youth's action, not its immediate effect.

In the epilogue to this story (vv. 24-27) Solomon advised a three-fold defense against this temptation. First, guard your heart (v. 25a). We are in danger when we begin to desire and long for an adulterous affair. Fantasizing such an affair is one symptom that we are in this danger. Second, guard your body (v. 25b). Do not go near or stay near someone who may want an adulterous affair. Third, guard your future (vv. 26-27). Remember the consequences of having an adulterous affair before you get involved.

"A man's life is not destroyed in one instant; it is taken from him gradually as he enters into a course of life that will leave him as another victim of the wages of sin."⁸³

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Proverbs (Book Introduction)

THE NATURE AND USE OF PROVERBS.--A proverb is a pithy sentence, concisely expressing some well-established truth susceptible of various illustrations and applications. The word is of Latin derivation, literally meaning for a word, speech, or discourse; that is, one expression for many. The Hebrew word for "proverb" (mashal) means a "comparison." Many suppose it was used, because the form or matter of the proverb, or both, involved the idea of comparison. Most of the proverbs are in couplets or triplets, or some modifications of them, the members of which correspond in structure and length, as if arranged to be compared one with another. They illustrate the varieties of parallelism, a distinguishing feature of Hebrew poetry. Compare Introduction to Poetical Books. Many also clearly involve the idea of comparison in the sentiments expressed (compare Pro 12:1-10; Pro 25:10-15; Pro 26:1-9). Sometimes, however, the designed omission of one member of the comparison, exercising the reader's sagacity or study for its supply, presents the proverb as a "riddle" or "dark saying" (compare Pro. 30:15-33; Pro 1:6; Psa 49:4). The sententious form of expression, which thus became a marked feature of the proverbial style, was also adopted for continuous discourse, even when not always preserving traces of comparison, either in form or matter (compare Pro. 1:1-9:18). In Eze 17:1; Eze 24:3, we find the same word properly translated "parable," to designate an illustrative discourse. Then the Greek translators have used a word, parabola ("parable"), which the gospel writers (except John) employ for our Lord's discourses of the same character, and which also seems to involve the idea of comparison, though that may not be its primary meaning. It might seem, therefore, that the proverbial and parabolic styles of writing were originally and essentially the same. The proverb is a "concentrated parable, and the parable an extension of the proverb by a full illustration." The proverb is thus the moral or theme of a parable, which sometimes precedes it, as in Mat 19:30 (compare Pro 20:1); or succeeds it, as in Mat. 22:1-16; Luk 15:1-10. The style being poetical, and adapted to the expression of a high order of poetical sentiment, such as prophecy, we find the same term used to designate such compositions (compare Num 23:7; Mic 2:4; Hab 2:6).

Though the Hebrews used the same term for proverb and parable, the Greek employs two, though the sacred writers have not always appeared to recognize a distinction. The term for proverb is, paroimia, which the Greek translators employ for the title of this book, evidently with special reference to the later definition of a proverb, as a trite, sententious form of speech, which appears to be the best meaning of the term. John uses the same term to designate our Saviour's instructions, in view of their characteristic obscurity (compare Pro 16:25-29, Greek), and even for his illustrative discourses (Pro 10:6), whose sense was not at once obvious to all his hearers. This form of instruction was well adapted to aid the learner. The parallel structure of sentences, the repetition, contrast, or comparison of thought, were all calculated to facilitate the efforts of memory; and precepts of practical wisdom which, extended into logical discourses, might have failed to make abiding impressions by reason of their length or complicated character, were thus compressed into pithy, and, for the most part, very plain statements. Such a mode of instruction has distinguished the written or traditional literature of all nations, and was, and still is, peculiarly current in the East.

In this book, however, we are supplied with a proverbial wisdom commended by the seal of divine inspiration. God has condescended to become our teacher on the practical affairs belonging to all the relations of life. He has adapted His instruction to the plain and unlettered, and presented, in this striking and impressive method, the great principles of duty to Him and to our fellow men. To the prime motive of all right conduct, the fear of God, are added all lawful and subordinate incentives, such as honor, interest, love, fear, and natural affection. Besides the terror excited by an apprehension of God's justly provoked judgments, we are warned against evil-doing by the exhibition of the inevitable temporal results of impiety, injustice, profligacy, idleness, laziness, indolence, drunkenness, and debauchery. To the rewards of true piety which follow in eternity, are promised the peace, security, love, and approbation of the good, and the comforts of a clear conscience, which render this life truly happy.

INSPIRATION AND AUTHORSHIP.--With no important exception, Jewish and Christian writers have received this book as the inspired production of Solomon. It is the first book of the Bible prefaced by the name of the author. The New Testament abounds with citations from the Proverbs. Its intrinsic excellence commends it to us as the production of a higher authority than the apocryphal writings, such as Wisdom or Ecclesiasticus. Solomon lived five hundred years before the "seven wise men" of Greece, and seven hundred before the age of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. It is thus very evident, whatever theory of his sources of knowledge be adopted, that he did not draw upon any heathen repositories with which we are acquainted. It is far more probable, that by the various migrations, captivities, and dispersions of the Jews, heathen philosophers drew from this inspired fountain many of those streams which continue to refresh mankind amid the otherwise barren and parched deserts of profane literature.

As, however, the Psalms are ascribed to David, because he was the leading author, so the ascription of this book to Solomon is entirely consistent with the titles of the thirtieth and thirty-first chapters, which assign those chapters to Agur and Lemuel respectively. Of these persons we know nothing. This is not the place for discussing the various speculations respecting them. By a slight change of reading some propose to translate Pro 30:1 : "The words of Agur, the son of her who was obeyed Massa," that is, "the queen of Massa"; and Pro 31:1 : "The words of Lemuel, king of Massa"; but to this the earliest versions are contradictory, and nothing other than the strongest exegetical necessity ought to be allowed to justify a departure from a well-established reading and version when nothing useful to our knowledge is gained. It is better to confess ignorance than indulge in useless conjectures.

It is probable that out of the "three thousand proverbs" (1Ki 4:32) which Solomon spoke, he selected and edited Pro. 1:1-24:34 during his life. Pro. 25:1-29:27 were also of his production, and copied out in the days of Hezekiah, by his "men," perhaps the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah. Such a work was evidently in the spirit of this pious monarch, who set his heart so fully on a reformation of God's worship. Learned men have endeavored to establish the theory that Solomon himself was only a collector; or that the other parts of the book, as these chapters, were also selections by later hands; but the reasons adduced to maintain these views have never appeared so satisfactory as to change the usual opinions on the subject, which have the sanction of the most ancient and reliable authorities.

DIVISIONS OF THE BOOK.--Such a work is, of course, not susceptible of any logical analysis. There are, however, some well-defined marks of division, so that very generally the book is divided into five or six parts.

1. The first contains nine chapters, in which are discussed and enforced by illustration, admonition, and encouragement the principles and blessings of wisdom, and the pernicious schemes and practices of sinful persons. These chapters are introductory. With few specimens of the proper proverb, they are distinguished by its conciseness and terseness. The sentences follow very strictly the form of parallelism, and generally of the synonymous species, only forty of the synthetic and four (Pro 3:32-35) of the antithetic appearing. The style is ornate, the figures bolder and fuller, and the illustrations more striking and extended.

2. The antithetic and synthetic parallelism to the exclusion of the synonymous distinguish Pro. 10:1-22:16, and the verses are entirely unconnected, each containing a complete sense in itself.

3. Pro. 22:16-24:34 present a series of admonitions as if addressed to a pupil, and generally each topic occupies two or more verses.

4. Pro. 25:1-29:27 are entitled to be regarded as a distinct portion, for the reason given above as to its origin. The style is very much mixed; of the peculiarities, compare parts two and three.

5. Pro. 30:1-33 is peculiar not only for its authorship, but as a specimen of the kind of proverb which has been described as "dark sayings" or "riddles."

6. To a few pregnant but concise admonitions, suitable for a king, is added a most inimitable portraiture of female character. In both parts five and six the distinctive peculiarity of the original proverbial style gives place to the modifications already mentioned as marking a later composition, though both retain the concise and nervous method of stating truth, equally valuable for its deep impression and permanent retention by the memory.

TSK: Proverbs (Book Introduction)

The wisdom of all ages, from the highest antiquity, has chosen to compress and communicate its lessons in short, compendious sentences, and in poetic language, which were readily conceived and easily retained, and circulated in society as useful principles, to be unfolded as occasion required. Indeed, such short maxims, comprehending much instruction in a few words, and carrying their own evidence with them, are admirably adapted to direct the conduct, without overburdening the memory, or perplexing the mind with abstract reasonings; and hence there are, in all countries and in all languages, old proverbs, or common sayings, which have great authority and influence on the opinions and actions of mankind. Such maxims, however, want their proper basis, the sanction of a Divine Original; and being generally the mere result of worldly prudence, are often calculated to impose on the judgment, and to mislead those who are directed by them. But the proverbs in this book not only are far more ancient than any others extant in the world, and infinitely surpass all the ethical sayings of the ancient sages; but have also received a Divine imprimatur, and are infallible rules to direct our conduct in every circumstance of human life. They are so justly founded on the principles of human nature, and so adapted to the permanent interests of man, that they agree with the manners of every age; and are adapted to every period, condition, or rank in life, however varied in its complexion or diversified by circumstance. Kings and subjects, rich and poor, wise and foolish, old and young, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, masters and servants, may here learn their respective duties, and read lessons of instruction for the regulation of their conduct in their various circumstances; while the most powerful motives, derived from honour, interest, love, fear, natural affection, and piety, are exhibited to inspire an ardent love of wisdom and virtue, and the greatest detestation of ignorance and vice. These maxims are laid down so clearly, copiously, impressively, and in such variety, that every man who wishes to be instructed may take what he chooses, and, among multitudes, those which he likes best. " He is wise," say St. Basil, " not only who hath arrived at a complete habit of wisdom, but who hath made some progress towards it; nay, who doth as yet but love it, or desire it, and listen to it. Such as these, by reading this book, shall be made wiser; for they shall be instructed in much divine, and in no less human learning....It bridles the injurious tongue, corrects the wanton eye, and ties the unjust hand in chains. It persecutes sloth, chastises all absurd desires, teaches prudence, raises man’s courage, and represents temperance and chastity after such a fashion that one cannot but have them in veneration."

TSK: Proverbs 7 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Pro 7:1, Solomon persuades to a sincere and kind familiarity with wisdom; Pro 7:6, In an example of his own experience, he shews, Pro 7:10, the cunning of a harlot; Pro 7:22, and the desperate simplicity of a young wanton; Pro 7:24, He dehorteth from such wickedness.

Poole: Proverbs 7 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 7

Solomon again persuadeth to keep his laws, and delight in wisdom, Pro 7:1-5 . A young man void of understanding is insnared by a harlot, Pro 7:6-9 . A description of a harlot, Pro 7:10,11 , from her practice, Pro 7:12,13 . Of her subtlety, Pro 7:14-20 ; by which she gained compliance to her desire, Pro 7:21,22 . The danger of it, set forth under the similitude of a bird, Pro 7:23 . He craveth their attention, Pro 7:24 ; and dehorteth from uncleanness, Pro 7:25-27 .

MHCC: Proverbs (Book Introduction)

The subject of this book may be thus stated by an enlargement on the opening verses. 1. The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel. 2. Which treat of the knowledge of wisdom, of piety towards God, of instruction and moral discipline, of the understanding wise and prudent counsels. 3. Which treat of the attainment of instruction in wisdom, which wisdom is to be shown in the conduct of life, and consists in righteousness with regard to our fellow-creatures. 4. Which treat of the giving to the simple sagacity to discover what is right, by supplying them with just principles, and correct views of virtue and vice; and to the young man knowledge, so that he need not err through ignorance; and discretion, so that by pondering well these precepts, he may not err through obstinacy. Take the proverbs of other nations, and we shall find great numbers founded upon selfishness, cunning, pride, injustice, national contempt, and animosities. The principles of the Proverbs of Solomon are piety, charity, justice, benevolence, and true prudence. Their universal purity proves that they are the word of God.

MHCC: Proverbs 7 (Chapter Introduction)

(Pro 7:1-5) Invitations to learn wisdom.

(v. 6-27) The arts of seducers, with warnings against them.

Matthew Henry: Proverbs (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of The Proverbs

We have now before us, I. A new author, or penman rather, or pen (if you will) made use of by the Holy Ghost for making known the mind of God to us, writing as moved by the finger of God (so the Spirit of God is called), and that is Solomon; through his hand came this book of Scripture and the two that follow it, Ecclesiastes and Canticles, a sermon and a song. Some think he wrote Canticles when he was very young, Proverbs in the midst of his days, and Ecclesiastes when he was old. In the title of his song he only writes himself Solomon, perhaps because he wrote it before his accession to the throne, being filled with the Holy Ghost when he was young. In the title of his Proverbs he writes himself the son of David, king of Israel, for then he ruled over all Israel. In the title of his Ecclesiastes he writes himself the son of David, king of Jerusalem, because then perhaps his influence had grown less upon the distant tribes, and he confined himself very much in Jerusalem. Concerning this author we may observe, 1. That he was a king, and a king's son. The penmen of scripture, hitherto, were most of them men of the first rank in the world, as Moses and Joshua, Samuel and David, and now Solomon; but, after him, the inspired writers were generally poor prophets, men of no figure in the world, because that dispensation was approaching in the which God would choose the weak and foolish things of the world to confound the wise and mighty and the poor should be employed to evangelize. Solomon was a very rich king, and his dominions were very large, a king of the first magnitude, and yet he addicted himself to the study of divine things, and was a prophet and a prophet's son. It is no disparagement to the greatest princes and potentates in the world to instruct those about them in religion and the laws of it. 2. That he was one whom God endued with extraordinary measures of wisdom and knowledge, in answer to his prayers at his accession to the throne. His prayer was exemplary: Give me a wise and an understanding heart; the answer to it was encouraging: he had what he desired and all other things were added to him. Now here we find what good use he made of the wisdom God gave him; he not only governed himself and his kingdom with it, but he gave rules of wisdom to others also, and transmitted them to posterity. Thus must we trade with the talents with which we are entrusted, according as they are. 3. That he was one who had his faults, and in his latter end turned aside from those good ways of God which in this book he had directed others in. We have the story of it 1 Kings 11, and a sad story it is, that the penman of such a book as this should apostatize as he did. Tell it not in Gath. But let those who are most eminently useful take warning by this not to be proud or secure; and let us all learn not to think the worse of good instructions though we have them from those who do not themselves altogether live up to them.

II. A new way of writing, in which divine wisdom is taught us by Proverbs, or short sentences, which contain their whole design within themselves and are not connected with one another. We have had divine laws, histories, and songs, and how divine proverbs; such various methods has Infinite Wisdom used for our instruction, that, no stone being left unturned to do us good, we may be inexcusable if we perish in our folly. Teaching by proverbs was, 1. An ancient way of teaching. It was the most ancient way among the Greeks; each of the seven wise men of Greece had some one saying that he valued himself upon, and that made him famous. These sentences were inscribed on pillars, and had in great veneration as that which was said to come down from heaven. A coelo descendit, Gnōthi seauton - Know thyself is a precept which came down from heaven. 2. It was a plain and easy way of teaching, which cost neither the teachers nor the learners much pains, nor put their understandings nor their memories to the stretch. Long periods, and arguments far-fetched, must be laboured both by him that frames them and by him that would understand them, while a proverb, which carries both its sense and its evidence in a little compass, is quickly apprehended and subscribed to, and is easily retained. Both David's devotions and Solomon's instructions are sententious, which may recommend that way of expression to those who minister about holy things, both in praying and preaching. 3. It was a very profitable way of teaching, and served admirably well to answer the end. The word Mashal, here used for a proverb, comes from a word that signifies to rule or have dominion, because of the commanding power and influence which wise and weighty sayings have upon the children of men; he that teaches by them dominatur in concionibus - rules his auditory. It is easy to observe how the world is governed by proverbs. As saith the proverb of the ancients (1Sa 24:13), or (as we commonly express it) As the old saying is, goes very far with most men in forming their notions and fixing their resolves. Much of the wisdom of the ancients has been handed down to posterity by proverbs; and some think we may judge of the temper and character of a nation by the complexion of its vulgar proverbs. Proverbs in conversation are like axious in philosophy, maxims in law, and postulata in the mathematics, which nobody disputes, but every one endeavours to expound so as to have them on his side. Yet there are many corrupt proverbs, which tend to debauch men's minds and harden them in sin. The devil has his proverbs, and the world and the flesh have their proverbs, which reflect reproach on God and religion (as Eze 12:22; Eze 18:2), to guard us against the corrupt influences of which God has his proverbs, which are all wise and good, and tend to make us so. These proverbs of Solomon were not merely a collection of the wise sayings that had been formerly delivered, as some have imagined, but were the dictates of the Spirit of God in Solomon. The very first of them (Pro 1:7) agrees with what God said to man in the beginning (Job 28:28, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom ); so that though Solomon was great, and his name may serve as much as any man's to recommend his writings, yet, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. It is God, by Solomon, that here speaks to us: I say, to us; for these proverbs were written for our learning, and, when Solomon speaks to his son, the exhortation is said to speak to us as unto children, Heb 12:5. And, as we have no book so useful to us in our devotions as David's psalms, so have we none so serviceable to us, for the right ordering of our conversations, as Solomon's proverbs, which as David says of the commandments, are exceedingly broad, containing, in a little compass, a complete body of divine ethics, politics, and economics, exposing every vice, recommending every virtue, and suggesting rules for the government of ourselves in every relation and condition, and every turn of the conversation. The learned bishop Hall has drawn up a system of moral philosophy out of Solomon's Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. The first nine chapters of this book are reckoned as a preface, by way of exhortation to the study and practice of wisdom's rules, and caution against those things that would hinder therein. We have then the first volume of Solomon's proverbs (ch. 10-24); after that a second volume (ch. 25-29); and then Agur's prophecy (ch. 30), and Lemuel's (ch. 31). The scope of all is one and the same, to direct us so to order our conversation aright as that in the end we may see the salvation of the Lord. The best comment on these rules is to be ruled by them.

Topical Index of Proverbs

Twenty chapters of the book of Proverbs (beginning with ch. 10 and ending with ch. 29), consisting mostly of entire sentences in each verse, could not well be reduced to proper heads, and the contents of them gathered; I have therefore here put the contents of all these chapters together, which perhaps may be of some use to those who desire to see at once all that is said of any one head in these chapters. Some of the verses, perhaps, I have not put under the same heads that another would have put them under, but the most of them fall (I hope) naturally enough to the places I have assigned them.

1. Of the comfort, or grief, parents have in their children, according as they are wise or foolish, godly or ungodly, Pro 10:1; Pro 15:20; Pro 17:21, Pro 17:25; Pro 19:13, Pro 19:26; Pro 23:15, Pro 23:16, Pro 23:24, Pro 23:25; Pro 27:11; Pro 29:3

2. Of the world's insufficiency, and religion's sufficiency, to make us happy (Pro 10:2, Pro 10:3; Pro 11:4) and the preference to be therefore given to the gains of virtue above those of this world, Pro 15:16, Pro 15:17; Pro 16:8, Pro 16:16; Pro 17:1; Pro 19:1; Pro 28:6, Pro 28:11

3. Of slothfulness and diligence, Pro 10:4, Pro 10:26; Pro 12:11, Pro 12:24, Pro 12:27; Pro 13:4, Pro 13:23; Pro 15:19; Pro 16:26; Pro 18:9; Pro 19:15, Pro 19:24; Pro 20:4, Pro 20:13; Pro 21:5, Pro 21:25, Pro 21:26; Pro 22:13, Pro 22:29; Pro 24:30-34; Pro 26:13-16; Pro 27:18, Pro 27:23, Pro 27:27; Pro 28:19. Particularly the improving or neglecting opportunities, Pro 6:6; Pro 10:5

4. The happiness of the righteous, and the misery of the wicked, Pro 10:6, Pro 10:9, Pro 10:16, Pro 10:24, Pro 10:25, Pro 10:27-30; Pro 11:3, Pro 11:5-8, Pro 11:18-21, Pro 11:31; Pro 12:2, Pro 12:3, Pro 12:7, Pro 12:13, Pro 12:14, Pro 12:21, Pro 12:26, Pro 12:28; Pro 13:6, Pro 13:9, Pro 13:14 15, 21, 22, 25; Pro 14:11, Pro 14:14, Pro 14:19, Pro 14:32; Pro 15:6, Pro 15:8, Pro 15:9, Pro 15:24, Pro 15:26, Pro 15:29; Pro 20:7; Pro 21:12, Pro 21:15, Pro 21:16, Pro 21:18, Pro 21:21; Pro 22:12; Pro 28:10, Pro 28:18; Pro 29:6

5. Of honour and dishonour, Pro 10:7; Pro 12:8, Pro 12:9; Pro 18:3; Pro 26:1; Pro 27:21. And of vain-glory, Pro 25:14, Pro 25:27; Pro 27:2

6. The wisdom of obedience, and folly of disobedience, Pro 10:8, Pro 10:17; Pro 12:1, Pro 12:15; Pro 13:1, Pro 13:13, Pro 13:18; Pro 15:5, Pro 15:10, Pro 15:12, Pro 15:31, Pro 15:32; Pro 19:16; Pro 28:4, Pro 28:7, Pro 28:9

7. Of mischievousness and usefulness, Pro 10:10, Pro 10:23; Pro 11:9-11, Pro 11:23, Pro 11:27; Pro 12:5, Pro 12:6, Pro 12:12, Pro 12:18, Pro 12:20; Pro 13:2; Pro 14:22; Pro 16:29, Pro 16:30; Pro 17:11; Pro 21:10; Pro 24:8; Pro 26:23, Pro 26:27

8. The praise of wise and good discourse, and the hurt and shame of an ungoverned tongue, Pro 10:11, Pro 10:13, Pro 10:14, Pro 10:20, Pro 10:21, Pro 10:31, Pro 10:32; Pro 11:30; Pro 14:3; Pro 15:2, Pro 15:4, Pro 15:7, Pro 15:23, Pro 15:28; Pro 16:20, Pro 16:23, Pro 16:24; Pro 17:7; Pro 18:4, Pro 18:7, Pro 18:20, Pro 18:21; Pro 20:15; Pro 21:23; Pro 23:9; Pro 24:26; Pro 25:11

9. Of love and hatred, peaceableness and contention, Pro 10:12; Pro 15:17; Pro 17:1, Pro 17:9, Pro 17:14, Pro 17:19; Pro 18:6, Pro 18:17-19; Pro 20:3; Pro 25:8; Pro 26:17, Pro 26:21; Pro 29:9

10. Of the rich and poor, Pro 10:5, Pro 10:22; Pro 11:28; Pro 13:7, Pro 13:8; Pro 14:20, Pro 14:24; Pro 18:11, Pro 18:23; Pro 19:1, Pro 19:4, Pro 19:7, Pro 19:22; Pro 22:2, Pro 22:7; Pro 28:6, Pro 28:11; Pro 29:13

11. Of lying, fraud, and dissimulation, and of truth and sincerity, Pro 10:18; Pro 12:17, Pro 12:19, Pro 12:22; Pro 13:5; Pro 17:4; Pro 20:14, Pro 20:17; Pro 26:18, Pro 26:19, Pro 26:24-26, Pro 26:28

12. Of slandering, Pro 10:18; Pro 16:27; Pro 25:23

13. Of talkativeness and silence, Pro 10:19; Pro 11:12; Pro 12:23; Pro 13:3; Pro 17:27, Pro 17:28; Pro 29:11, Pro 29:20

14. Of justice and injustice, Pro 11:1; Pro 13:16; Pro 16:8, Pro 16:11; Pro 17:15, Pro 17:26; Pro 18:5; Pro 20:10, Pro 20:23; Pro 22:28; Pro 23:10, Pro 23:11; Pro 29:24

15. Of pride and humility, Pro 11:2; Pro 13:10; Pro 15:25, Pro 15:33; Pro 16:5, Pro 16:18, Pro 16:19; Pro 18:12; Pro 21:4; Pro 25:6, Pro 25:7; Pro 28:25; Pro 29:23

16. Of despising and respecting others, Pro 11:12; Pro 14:21

17. Of tale-bearing, Pro 11:13; Pro 16:28; Pro 18:8; Pro 20:19; Pro 26:20, Pro 26:22

18. Of rashness and deliberation, Pro 11:14; Pro 15:22; Pro 18:13; Pro 19:2; Pro 20:5, Pro 20:18; Pro 21:29; Pro 22:3; Pro 25:8-10

19. Of suretiship, Pro 11:15; Pro 17:18; Pro 20:16; Pro 22:26, Pro 22:27; Pro 27:13

20. Of good and bad women, or wives, Pro 11:16, Pro 11:22; Pro 12:4; Pro 14:1; Pro 18:22; Pro 19:13, Pro 19:14; Pro 21:9, Pro 21:19; Pro 25:24; Pro 27:15, Pro 27:16

21. Of mercifulness and unmercifulness, Pro 11:17; Pro 12:10; Pro 14:21; Pro 19:17; Pro 21:13

22. Of charity to the poor, and uncharitableness, Pro 11:24-26; Pro 14:31; Pro 17:5; Pro 22:9, Pro 22:16, Pro 22:22, Pro 22:23; Pro 28:27; Pro 29:7

23. Of covetousness and contentment, Pro 11:29; Pro 15:16, Pro 15:17, Pro 15:27; Pro 23:4, Pro 23:5

24. Of anger and meekness, Pro 12:16; Pro 14:17, Pro 14:29; Pro 15:1, Pro 15:18; Pro 16:32; Pro 17:12, Pro 17:26; Pro 19:11, Pro 19:19; Pro 22:24, Pro 22:25; Pro 25:15, Pro 25:28; Pro 26:21; Pro 29:22

25. Of melancholy and cheerfulness, Pro 12:25; Pro 14:10, Pro 14:13; Pro 15:13, Pro 15:15; Pro 17:22; Pro 18:14; Pro 25:20, Pro 25:25

26. Of hope and expectation, Pro 13:12, Pro 13:19

27. Of prudence and foolishness, Pro 13:16; Pro 14:8, Pro 14:18, Pro 14:33; Pro 15:14, Pro 15:21; Pro 16:21, Pro 16:22; Pro 17:24; Pro 18:2, Pro 18:15; Pro 24:3-7; Pro 7:27; Pro 26:6-11; Pro 28:5

28. Of treachery and fidelity, Pro 13:17; Pro 25:13, Pro 25:19

29. Of good and bad company, Pro 13:20; Pro 14:7; Pro 28:7; Pro 29:3

30. Of the education of children, Pro 13:24; Pro 19:18; Pro 20:11; Pro 22:6, Pro 22:15; Pro 23:12; Pro 14:14; Pro 29:15, Pro 29:17

31. Of the fear of the Lord, Pro 14:2, Pro 14:26, Pro 14:27; Pro 15:16, Pro 15:33; Pro 16:6; Pro 19:23; Pro 22:4; Pro 23:17, Pro 23:18

32. Of true and false witness-bearing, Pro 14:5, Pro 14:25; Pro 19:5, Pro 19:9, Pro 19:28; Pro 21:28; Pro 24:28; Pro 25:18

33. Of scorners, Pro 14:6, Pro 14:9; Pro 21:24; Pro 22:10; Pro 24:9; Pro 29:9

34. Of credulity and caution, Pro 14:15, Pro 14:16; Pro 27:12

35. Of kings and their subjects, Pro 14:28, Pro 14:34, Pro 14:35; Pro 16:10, Pro 16:12-15; Pro 19:6, Pro 19:12; Pro 20:2, Pro 20:8, Pro 20:26, Pro 20:28; Pro 22:11; Pro 24:23-25; Pro 30:2-5; Pro 28:2, Pro 28:3, Pro 28:15, Pro 28:16; Pro 29:5, Pro 29:12, Pro 29:14, Pro 29:26

36. Of envy, especially envying sinners, Pro 14:30; Pro 23:17, Pro 23:18; Pro 24:1, Pro 24:2, Pro 24:19, Pro 24:20; Pro 27:4

37. Of God's omniscience, and his universal providence, Pro 15:3, Pro 15:11; Pro 16:1, Pro 16:4, Pro 16:9, Pro 16:33; Pro 17:3; Pro 19:21; Pro 20:12, Pro 20:24; Pro 21:1, Pro 21:30, Pro 21:31; Pro 29:26

38. Of a good and ill name, Pro 15:30; Pro 22:1

39. Of men's good opinion of themselves, Pro 14:12; Pro 16:2, Pro 16:25; Pro 20:6; Pro 21:2; Pro 26:12; Pro 28:26

40. Of devotion towards God, and dependence on him, Pro 16:3; Pro 18:10; Pro 23:26; Pro 27:1; Pro 28:25; Pro 29:25

41. Of the happiness of God's favour, Pro 16:7; Pro 29:26

42. Excitements to get wisdom, Pro 16:16; Pro 18:1; Pro 19:8, Pro 19:20; Pro 22:17-21; Pro 23:15, Pro 23:16, Pro 23:22-25; Pro 24:13, Pro 24:14; Pro 27:11

43. Cautions against temptations, Pro 16:17; Pro 29:27

44. Of old age and youth, Pro 16:31; Pro 17:6; Pro 20:29

45. Of servants, Pro 17:2; Pro 19:10; Pro 29:19, Pro 29:21

46. Of bribery, Pro 17:8, Pro 17:23; Pro 18:16; Pro 21:14; Pro 28:21

47. Of reproof and correction, Pro 17:10; Pro 19:25, Pro 19:29; Pro 20:30; Pro 21:11; Pro 25:12; Pro 26:3; Pro 27:5, Pro 27:6, Pro 27:22; Pro 28:23; Pro 29:1

48. Of ingratitude, Pro 17:13

49. Of friendship, Pro 17:17; Pro 18:24; Pro 27:9, Pro 27:10, Pro 27:14, Pro 27:17

50. Of sensual pleasures, Pro 21:17; Pro 23:1-3, Pro 23:6-8, Pro 23:19-21; Pro 27:7

51. Of drunkenness, Pro 20:1; Pro 23:23, Pro 23:29-35

52. Of the universal corruption of nature, Pro 20:9

53. Of flattery, Pro 20:19; Pro 26:28; Pro 28:23; Pro 29:5

54. Of undutiful children, Pro 20:20; Pro 28:24

55. Of the short continuance of what is ill-gotten, Pro 20:21; Pro 21:6, Pro 21:7; Pro 22:8; Pro 28:8

56. Of revenge, Pro 20:22; Pro 24:17, Pro 24:18, Pro 24:29

57. Of sacrilege, Pro 20:25

58. Of conscience, Pro 20:27; Pro 27:19

59. Of the preference of moral duties before ceremonial, Pro 15:8; Pro 21:3, Pro 21:27

60. Of prodigality and wastefulness, Pro 21:20

61. The triumphs of wisdom and godliness, Pro 21:22; Pro 24:15, Pro 24:16

62. Of frowardness and tractableness, Pro 22:5

63. Of uncleanness, Pro 22:14; Pro 23:27, Pro 23:28

64. Of fainting in affliction, Pro 24:10

65. Of helping the distressed, Pro 14:11, Pro 14:12

66. Of loyalty to the government, Pro 24:21, Pro 24:22

67. Of forgiving enemies, Pro 25:21, Pro 25:22

68. Of causeless curse, Pro 26:2

69. Of answering fools, Pro 26:4, Pro 26:5

70. Of unsettledness and unsatisfiedness, Pro 27:8, Pro 27:20

71. Of cowardliness and courage, Pro 28:1

72. The people's interest in the character of their rulers, Pro 28:12, Pro 28:28; Pro 29:2, Pro 29:16; Pro 11:10, Pro 11:11

73. The benefit of repentance and holy fear, Pro 28:13, Pro 28:14

74. The punishment of murder, Pro 28:17

75. Of hastening to be rich, Pro 28:20, Pro 28:22

76. The enmity of the wicked against the godly, Pro 29:10, Pro 29:27

77. The necessity of the means of grace, Pro 29:18

Matthew Henry: Proverbs 7 (Chapter Introduction)

The scope of this chapter is, as of several before, to warn young men against the lusts of the flesh. Solomon remembered of what ill consequence it was to his father, perhaps found himself, and perceived his son, addicted to it, or at least had observed how many hopeful young men among his subjects had been ruined by those lusts; and therefore he thought he could never say enough to dissuade men from them, that " every one may possess his vessel in sanctification and honour, and not in the lusts of uncleanness." In this chapter we have, I. A general exhortation to get our minds principled and governed by the world of God, as a sovereign antidote against this sin (Pro 7:1-5). II. A particular representation of the great danger which unwary young men are in of being inveigled into this snare (v. 6-23). III. A serious caution inferred thence, in the close, to take heed of all approaches towards this sin (Pro 7:24-27). We should all pray, " Lord, lead us not into this temptation."

Constable: Proverbs (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

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."

There is some debate about whether 1:1 is the title of the whole book or just the title of the first section (chs. 1-9). The first view has in its favor the fact that the Hebrew Bible took the verse as the title of the book. According to this view the references to Solomon in 1:1 are an indication that he was the primary author of the proverbs in the book.¹

The second view is that 1:1 simply introduces the first major section of the book. The support for this view is that some succeeding sections begin with a similar caption (cf. 10:1; 24:23; 25:1; 30:1; 31:1).²

In either case the book got its title from the proverbs it contains. The whole book is a book of proverbs so the title is appropriate.

"To read straight through a few chapters of Proverbs is like trying to have a conversation with someone who always replies with a one-liner."³

Writer

Proverbs claims to be a compendium of the wise sayings of several different individuals.⁴ Solomon originated some of them (10:1-22:16 and chs. 25-29 definitely, and probably chs. 1-9 as well).⁵ Unnamed wise men (sages) wrote other parts (22:17-24:34 definitely, and possibly chs. 1-9). Hezekiah's men copied some of Solomon's proverbs and added them to this collection (chs. 25-29). Agur and King Lemuel produced chapters 30 and 31 respectively.

We do not know who the sages were who wrote 22:17-24:34 nor do we know the names of the men whom King Hezekiah instructed to compile some of Solomon's sayings. Agur and Lemuel are unknown to us also, though Lemuel seems to have been a non-Israelite monarch.⁶

Some of the proverbs appear to have been copied from, or at least influenced by, earlier Mesopotamian and Egyptian books of wisdom.⁷

". . . whatever the Spirit of God inspired the ancient writers to include became a part of the Word of the Lord. Such inclusions then took on a new and greater meaning when they formed part of Scripture; in a word, they became authoritative and binding, part of the communication of the divine will."⁸

Date

Solomon reigned from 971 to 931 B.C. and Hezekiah from 715 to 686 B.C.⁹ We do not know when the sages, Agur, or Lemuel lived.

The earliest the Book of Proverbs could have been in its final form was in Hezekiah's day, but it may have reached this stage later than that. We have no way to tell.

The contents of the book could have been in existence in Solomon's lifetime though not assembled into the collection we know as the Book of Proverbs.

Message¹⁰

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, sacrifices, or ceremonies. It deals with philosophy primarily. A philosopher is by definition a lover of wisdom. Proverbs is a book that focuses primarily on wisdom, as do Job and Ecclesiastes. In this sense these books are philosophical.

There is a fundamental difference between the philosophy we find in these books and all other philosophy. Other philosophies begin with a question. Hebrew philosophy begins with an affirmation. Its basic affirmation is that God exists. Therefore we can know ultimate truth only by divine revelation.

To many people the Book of Proverbs seems to be a grab bag of wise sayings that lacks any system or order. Nevertheless in a sense this is the most carefully organized of all the books of the Old Testament.

The first verse is its title page. Verses 2-7 are its preface that contains an explanation of the purpose of the book, the method of the Author, and the fundamental affirmation of the book (in v. 7). Then follow three parts of the body of the book. First, there are discourses in defense and application of the fundamental affirmation (1:8--ch. 9). Then we have proverbs Solomon collected and arranged to provide wisdom (chs. 10-24). Next there are additional wise words from Solomon that other people collected after Solomon died (chs. 25-29). An appendix that contains specific words of wisdom by two other sages, Agur and Lemuel, concludes the book (chs. 30-31).

Proverbs is one of the most timeless Old Testament books. The reader needs very little knowledge of ancient Hebrew life and culture to understand and appreciate it. We can understand the contents fairly easily and can apply them directly to modern life.

Let's look first at the fundamental affirmation and then observe how the application of that declaration unfolds in the chapters that follow.

The fundamental affirmation is the deepest insight in Hebrew philosophy (1:7).

There is a presupposition in this statement. It is that God is all wise. We can only find wisdom in God ultimately. This presupposition underlies all of what we read in Job and Ecclesiastes as well as in Proverbs. Furthermore the Hebrews assumed that God expressed His wisdom in all His works and in all His ways. They believed that all natural phenomena revealed God's wisdom. Wherever they looked, they saw God: on land, at sea, in the earth, or in the sky. We can see that viewpoint clearly in Genesis 1:1 (cf. John 14:6).

This fundamental affirmation also contains an inevitable deduction: if wisdom is perfect in God, then wisdom in man consists in the fear of God. A person is wise to the extent that he or she apprehends and fears God. The "fear" of God does not mean a dread that results in hiding from God. It is rather an emotional recognition of God. It is not fear that He may hurt me but fear that I may hurt Him. That is the kind of fear that produces holy character and righteous conduct. Intellectual apprehension of God precedes this emotional recognition, and volitional submission to God's will follows it. When a person comes to this emotional recognition of God he or she comes to the condition for being wise, not that in so doing he or she becomes wise (1:7). We can begin to be wise only when we come into proper relation to God as ultimate Wisdom.

Beginning with 1:8 and continuing to the end of the book, what we have is the application of that affirmation to the various situations and circumstances of life.

I would like to consider what God revealed here in the three spheres of life dealt with in the book: the home, friendship, and the world. In the home, the child must learn wisdom. In friendship, the youth must apply wisdom. In the world, the adult must demonstrate wisdom.

The first sphere is that of the home (1:8-9). God did not teach the responsibility of the father and mother here but took for granted that they would instruct their children. The child needs to hear parental instruction to live in the fear of the Lord. Young children cannot grasp abstract concepts. For them God is incarnate in father and mother. Fathers and mothers reflect the image of God to their children. Both parents are necessary to reveal God to the child fully. Children see some of God's character in the mother's attitudes and actions (cf. Matt. 23:37). They see other aspects of God's character in the father. You do not have to try to teach your young child systematic theology. Just live in the fear of God yourself, and your child will learn what he or she needs to learn about God, for that stage in life, just by observing you. I do not mean to exclude verbal instruction. My point is that young children learn wisdom by observing their parents as well as by listening to them.

The second sphere of life is friendship (1:10-19). The day must come when the child, in the natural process of development, moves out into a wider circle of experience.

Personally I believe the Bible presents two duties that children have to their parents.

When the child's sphere of life is his home, he is to obey his parents. However, that duty does not continue forever. When he moves into the larger sphere of life outside the home, his duty is to honor his parents. This duty does continue forever.

When a child enters this second sphere of life, guided at first by parental council but then finally on its own, wisdom gives important instruction (1:10). He should avoid certain friendships. He should beware of people who seek to make friends with him because they have selfish interests and unscrupulous methods. We have many warnings in Proverbs against people who are not true friends. There is no more important stage in a young person's development than when he or she begins to choose companions. Then, and from then on, he or she must follow the wisdom that comes from the fear of the Lord. The youth must submit to the Lord's wisdom, having learned that in the sphere of the home, to succeed in the larger arenas of life. The choice of a mate is one of these companion decisions.

The third sphere of life is the world, symbolized in Proverbs by the street, the gates, and the city (1:20-33; cf. chs. 2-9).

The first word of warning to the youth who leaves home to enter the world on his own is this. Beware of the evil way of those who do not fear the Lord (1:20-32). There is also a gracious promise (1:33). Wisdom does not say withdraw from the world. Wisdom says remember the fate of those who forget God. Wisdom promises that those who live in the fear of the Lord will be quiet and safe even in the turmoil of the world. Do you see how important preparation for living in this sphere of life is? Children must learn to take God into account in the home, and then in their friendships, before they launch out into the world. This instruction is what really prepares them for life.

The series of discourses beginning, "My son," represents the voice of home sounding in the youth's ears who has left home and is living in the world (chs. 2-7). The father tells his son how his father instructed him in wisdom and how this enabled him to live successfully in the world. Then specific warnings follow concerning impurity, laziness, bad companions, and adultery. As the young man climbs toward a higher position in life, wisdom comes to him again with instruction concerning how he can avoid the pitfalls of that stage of his life (ch. 8). The discourses close with a contrast in which Solomon personified wisdom and folly as two women (ch. 9). One is a woman of virtue and beauty, and the other is a woman of vice and ugliness. Solomon contrasted the value and victory of wisdom with the disaster and defeat of folly. He contrasted the wisdom of fearing God with the folly of forgetting God.

I would summarize the message of Proverbs this way. The person who learns the fear of God (an emotional recognition of God) in every sphere of life will be successful, but those who forget God will fail. By an emotional recognition of God I mean taking God into account, being aware of His reality and presence, making decisions in view of His existence and revelation. This is what fearing God means.

The precepts urging a life of wisdom center on 3:1-10. This passage concentrates on that subject. Proverbs 3:5-6 is some of the best advice anyone ever gave.

The practice of wisdom centers on 8:32-36.

The power for living a life of wisdom centers on 1:8 (cf. James 1:5; 3:37; Col. 2:3).

Constable: Proverbs (Outline)

Outline

I. Discourses on wisdom chs. 1-9

A. Introduction to the book 1:1-7

1. The title of the book 1:1

2. The purpose of the book 1:2-6

3. The thesis of the book 1:7

B. Instruction for young people 1:8-7:27

1. Warning against consorting with sinners 1:8-19

2. Wisdom's appeal 1:20-33

3. Wisdom as a treasure chs. 2-3

4. Encouragements to obey these instructions ch. 4

5. Warnings against unfaithfulness in marriage ch. 5

6. Other dangerous temptations 6:1-19

7. Further warnings against adultery 6:20-7:27

C. The value of wisdom and wise conduct chs. 8-9

1. The function of wisdom ch. 8

2. Wisdom and folly contrasted ch. 9

II. Couplets expressing wisdom 10:1-22:16

A. The marks of wise living chs. 10-15

1. Things that produce profit 10:1-14

2. Things of true value 10:15-32

3. Wise living in various contexts 11:1-15

4. Wise investments 11:16-31

5. The value of righteousness 12:1-12

6. Avoiding trouble 12:13-28

7. Fruits of wise living ch. 13

8. Further advice for wise living chs. 14-15

B. How to please God 16:1-22:16

1. Trusting God ch. 16

2. Peacemakers and troublemakers ch. 17

3. Friendship and folly ch. 18

4. Further advice for pleasing God 19:1-22:16

III. Wise sayings 22:17-24:34

A. Thirty sayings of the wise 22:17-24:22

1. The first group 22:17-23:11

2. The second group 23:12-24:22

B. Six more sayings of the wise 24:23-34

IV. Maxims expressing wisdom chs. 25-29

A. Instructive analogies 25:1-27:22

1. Wise and foolish conduct ch. 25

2. Fools and folly ch. 26

3. Virtues and vices 27:1-22

B. A discourse on prudence 27:23-27

C. Instructive contrasts chs. 28-29

V. Two discourses by other wise men chs. 30-31

A. The wisdom of Agur ch. 30

1. The introduction of Agur 30:1

2. Wisdom about God 30:2-9

3. Wisdom about life 30:10-33

B. The wisdom of Lemuel ch. 31

1. The introduction of Lemuel 31:1

2. The wise king 31:2-9

3. The wise woman 31:10-31

Constable: Proverbs

Proverbs

Bibliography

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 Bible Difficulties. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982.

Barr, J. "b'rs--molis: Prov. 11:31 and 1 Pet. 4:18." Journal of Semitic Studies 20 (1975):149-64.

Baxter, J. Sidlow. Explore the Book. 6 vols. London: Marshall, Morgan, and Scott, 1965.

Bouffier, R. J. "The Heart in the Proverbs of Solomon." The Bible Today 52 (1971):249-51.

Bricker, Daniel P. "The Doctrine of the Two Ways' in Proverbs." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 38:4 (December 1995):501-17.

Bridges, Charles. An Exposition of Proverbs. 1846; reprint ed., London: Banner of Truth, 1960.

Brunner, Leah Leila. "King and Commoner in Proverbs and Near Eastern Sources." Dor le Dor 10 (1982):210-19.

Bullock, C. Hassell. An Introduction to the Poetic Books of the Old Testament. Chicago: Moody Press, 1979.

Buzzell, Sid S. "Proverbs." In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, pp. 901-74. Edited by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck. Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications, Victor Books, 1985.

Byargeon, Rick W. "The Structure and Significance of Prov 9:7-12." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40:3 (September 1997):367-75.

Caquot, Andre. "Israelite Perceptions of Wisdom and Strength in the Light of the Ras Shamra Texts." In Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, pp. 25-33. Edited by John G. Gammie, Walter A. Brueggemann, W. Lee Humphreys, and John M. Ward. New York: Union Theological Seminary, 1978.

Cohen, A. Proverbs. London: Soncino Press, 1946.

Collins, John J. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1980.

Constable, Thomas L. "Analysis of Bible Books--Old Testament." Paper submitted for course 685 Analysis of Bible Books--Old Testament. Dallas Theological Seminary, January 1967.

Crenshaw, James L. The Acquisition of Knowledge in Israelite Wisdom Literature." Word & World 7:3 (Sumemr 1987):245-52.

_____. Old Testament Wisdom. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1981.

Dahood, M. "Honey That Drips. Notes on Proverbs 5:2-3." Biblica 54 (1973):65-66.

_____. "To Pawn One's Cloak." Biblica 42 (1961):359-66.

Darby, John Nelson. Synopsis of the Books of the Bible. 5 vols. Revised ed. New York: Loizeaux Brothers Publishers, 1942.

Davies, E. W. "The Meaning of qesem in Prv 16:10." Biblica 61 (1980):554-56.

Delitzsch, Franz. Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon. 2 vols. Translated by M. G. Eason. Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., n.d.

Eliot, T. S. Collected Poems 1909-1962. New York: Harcourt Brace and World, 1963.

Emerton, J. A. "A Note in Proverbs 12:26." Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 76 (1964):191-93.

Frankfort, Henri. Ancient Egyptian Religion. New York: Columbia University Press, 1948; reprint ed. New York: Harper and Row, Harper Torchbooks, 1961.

Gaebelein, Arno C. The Annotated Bible. 4 vols. Reprint ed. Chicago: Moody Press, and New York: Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., 1970.

Glueck, Nelson. Hesed in the Bible. Translated by Alfred Gottschalk. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1967.

Godbey, Allen H. "The Hebrew Masal." American Journal of Semitic Languages 39:2 (January 1923):89-108.

Gordon, Edmund I. Sumerian Proverbs: Glimpses of Everyday Life in Ancient Mesopotamia. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood press, 1969.

Gray, George Buchanan. The Forms of Hebrew Poetry. Library of Biblical Studies series. 1915; reprint ed. New York: KTAV Publishing House, 1972.

Greenstone, Julius H. Proverbs with Commentary. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1950.

Habel, Norman C. "The Symbolism of Wisdom in Proverbs 1-9." Interpretation 26:2 (April 1972):131-57.

Harris, Monford. "Pre-Marital Sexual Experience: A Covenantal Critique." Judaism 19 (1970):134-44.

Harris, R. Laird. "Proverbs." In The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, pp. 553-83. Edited by Charles F. Pfeiffer and Everett F. Harrison. Chicago: Moody Press, 1962.

Hawkins, Tom R. "The Wife of Noble Character in Proverbs 31:10-31." Bibliotheca Sacra 153:609 (January-March 1996):12-23.

Herbert, A. S. "The Parable' (Masal) in the Old Testament." Scottish Journal of Theology 7 (1954):180-96.

Hermission, Hans-Jurgen. "Observations on the Creation Theology in Wisdom." In Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, pp. 43-57. Edited by John G. Gammie, Walter A. Brueggemann, W. Lee Humphreys, and John M. Ward. New York: Union Theological Seminary, 1978.

Hilber, John W. "Old Testament Wisdom and the Integration Debate in Christian Counseling." Bibliotheca Sacra 155:620 (October-December 1998):411-22.

Humphreys, W. Lee. "The Motif of the Wise Courtier in the Book of Proverbs." In Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, pp. 177-90. Edited by John G. Gammie, Walter A. Brueggemann, W. Lee Humphreys, and John M. Ward. New York: Union Theological Seminary, 1978.

Ironside, Harry A. Notes on the Book of Proverbs. New York: Loizeaux Brothers, n.d.

Irwin, William A. "Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?" Journal of Biblical Literature 80 (1961):133-42.

Jensen, Irving L. Proverbs. Everyman's Bible Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1982.

Johnson, A. R. The Vitality of the Individual in the Thought of Ancient Israel. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1949.

Johnson, John E. "An Analysis of Proverbs 1:1-7." Bibliotheca Sacra 144:576 (October-December 1987):419-32.

Kidner, Derek, The Proverbs. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries series. Leicester, Eng.: Tyndale Press, 1964; reprint ed., Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1978.

Lambert, W. G. Babylonian Wisdom Literature. 3rd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1975.

Lange, John Peter, ed. Commentary on the Holy Scriptures. 12 vols. Reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1960. Vol. 4: Psalms--Song of Solomon, by Carl Bernhard Moll and Otto Zockler. Translated and edited by Charles A. Briggs, John Forsyth, James B. Hammond, J. Fred McCurdy, Charles A Aiken, Tayler Lewis, William Wells, and W. Henry Green.

Larsen, Paul E. Wise Up and Live. Bible Commentary for Laymen Series. Ventura, Calif.: Gospel Light Publications, Regal Books, 1974.

Levin, Y. "The Woman of Valor' in Jewish Ritual [Prov. 31:10-31]." Beth Mikra 31 (1985-86):339-47.

Lindenberger, James M. "The Aramaic Proverbs of Ahiqar." Ph.D. dissertation, Johns Hopkins University, 1974.

Long, Thomas G. Preaching and the Literary Forms of the Bible. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989.

Marcus, Ralph. "The Tree of Life in Proverbs." Journal of Biblical Literature 62 (1943):117-20.

McKane, William. Proverbs: A New Approach. Old Testament Library series. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1970.

Morgan, G. Campbell. Living Messages of the Books of the Bible. 2 vols. New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1912.

Murphy, Roland E. "Wisdom--Theses and Mypothesis." In Israelite Wisdom: Theological and Literary Essays in Honor of Samuel Terrien, pp. 35-42. Edited by John G. Gammie, Walter A. Brueggemann, W. Lee Humphreys, and John M. Ward. New York: Union Theological Seminary, 1978.

New Bible Dictionary. Edited by J. D. Douglas. 1962 ed. S.v. "Wisdom Literature," by D. A. Hubbard, pp. 1334-35.

North, F. S. "The Four Insatiables." Vetus Testamentum 15 (1965):281-82.

Oesterley, W. O. E. The Book of Proverbs. London: Methuen and Co., 1929.

Parsons, Greg W. "Guidelines of Understanding and Proclaiming the Book of Proverbs." Bibliotheca Sacra 150:598 (April-June 1993):151-70.

Perdue, Leo G. Wisdom and Cult. Missoula, Mont: Scholars Press, 1977.

Perowne, T. T. The Proverbs. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1916.

Pettinato, Giovanni. "The Royal Archives of Tell Mardikh-Ebla." Biblical Archaeologist 39 (May 1976):44-52.

Plaut, W. Gunther. Book of Proverbs. Jewish Commentary for Bible Readers series. New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1961.

Pritchard, James B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 2nd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1955.

Robinson, Theodore H. The Poetry of the Old Testament. London: Duckworth, 1947.

Ross, Allen P. "Proverbs." In Psalms-Song of Songs. Vol. 5 of The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1991.

Sailhamer, John H. "The Mosaic Law and the Theology of the Pentateuch." Westminster Theological Journal 53 (Fall 1991):241-61.

Sarles, Ken L. "A Theological Evaluation of the Prosperity Gospel." Bibliotheca Sacra 143:572 (October-December 1986):329-52.

Scott, Robert Balgarnie Young. Proverbs--Ecclesiastes. Anchor Bible series. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Co., 1965.

_____. "Wisdom in Creation: The AMON of Proverbs VII 30." Vetus Testamentum 10 (1960):211-23.

Shaw, Jean. Second Cup of Coffee. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.

Simpson, William Kelly, ed. The Literature of Egypt. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1972.

Skehan, Patrick W. Studies in Israelite Poetry and Wisdom. Vol I of The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph series. Washington: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1971.

Snell, Daniel C. "Taking Souls' in Proverbs 11:30." Vetus Testamentum 33 (1983):362-65.

Steinmann, Andrew E. "Proverbs 1-9 as a Solomonic Composition." Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 43:4 (December 2000):659-74.

Stuart, Moses. A Commentary on the Book of Proverbs. Andover, Mass.: Warren F. Draper, 1852.

Story, Cullen I. K. "The Book of Proverbs and Northwest Semitic Literature." Journal of Biblical Literature 64 (1945):319-37.

Swindoll, Charles R. Living Beyond the Daily Grind. 2 vols. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1988. Vol. 1.

Thiele, Edwin R. A Chronology of the Hebrew Kings. Contemporary Evangelical Perspectives series. Reprint ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.

Torcszyner, Harry. "The Riddle in the Bible." Hebrew Union College Annual 1 (1924):125-49.

Toy, Crawford H. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Proverbs. International Critical Commentary series. 1899; reprint ed., Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1970.

Tozer, A. W. The Knowledge of the Holy. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1961.

Trench, Richard Chenevix. On the Lessons in Proverbs. New York: Redfield, 1853.

Trible, Phyllis. "Wisdom Builds a Poem: The Architecture of Proverbs 1:20-33." Journal of Biblical Literature 94 (1975):509-18.

Van Leeuwen, Raymond C. "Proverbs 30:21-23 and the Biblical World Upside Down." Journal of Biblical Literature 105:4 (December 1986):599-610.

von Rad, Gerhard. Wisdom in Israel. New York: Abingdon, 1974.

Waltke, Bruce K. "The Book of Proverbs and Ancient Wisdom Literature." Bibliotheca Sacra 136:543 (July-September 1979):221-38.

_____. "The Book of Proverbs and Old Testament Theology." Bibliotheca Sacra 136:544 (October-December 1979):302-17.

Whybray, Roger Norman. The Book of Proverbs. Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible series. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 1972.

_____. Wisdom in Proverbs. Naperville, Ill.: A. R. Allenson, 1965.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Skillful. Wheaton: Scripture Press, Victor Books, 1995.

Yoder, Sanford Calvin. Poetry of the Old Testament. Scottdale, Pa: Herald Press, 1973.

Young, Edward J. An Introduction to the Old Testament. Revised ed. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1960.

Zuck, Roy B. "A Theology of the Wisdom Books and the Song of Songs." In A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament, pp. 207-55. Edited by Roy B. Zuck. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991.

Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Proverbs (Book Introduction)

THE BOOK OF PROVERBS.

INTRODUCTION.

This book is so called, because it consists of wise and weighty sentences, regulating the morals of men; and directing them to wisdom and virtue. And these sentences are also called Parables, because great truths are often couched in them under certain figures and similitudes. (Challoner) --- Wisdom is introduced speaking in the nine first chapters. Then to chap. xxv. more particular precepts are given. (Worthington) --- Ezechias caused to be collected (Haydock) what comes in the five next chapters, and in the two last. Some other, or rather Solomon himself, under (Worthington) different titles, gives us Agur's and his mother's instructions, and his own commendations of a valiant woman, (Haydock) which is prophetical of the Catholic Church. He also wrote the two next works, besides many other things, which have been lost. This is the first of those five, which are called "sapiential," giving instructions how to direct our lives, by the dictates of sound reason. (Worthington) --- It is the most important of Solomon's works, though collected by different authors. (Calmet) --- T. Paine treats Solomon as a witty jester. But his jests are of a very serious nature, and no one had before heard of his wit. (Watson)

Gill: Proverbs (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS

This book is called, in some printed Hebrew copies, "Sepher Mishle", the Book of Proverbs; the title of it in the Vulgate Latin version is,

"the Book of Proverbs, which the Hebrews call "Misle":''

in the Septuagint version it has the name of the writer, the Proverbs of Solomon; and so in the Syriac version, with the addition of his titles,

"the son of David, king of Israel.''

This and Ecclesiastes are both of them by the Jews ^a called Books of Wisdom: and it is common with the ancient Christian writers ^b to call the book of Proverbs by the names of "Wisdom" and "Panaretos"; names they give also to the apocryphal books of Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon; and therefore this is to be carefully distinguished from them. The author of this book was King Solomon, as the "first" verse, which contains the inscription of it, shows; for he was not a collector of these proverbs, as Grotius is of opinion, but the author of them, at least of the far greater part; and not only the author, but the writer of them: the Jews ^c say that Hezekiah and this men wrote them; it is true indeed the men of Hezekiah copied some, Pro 25:1; but even those were written by Solomon. R. Gedaliah ^d would have it that Isaiah the prophet wrote this book; but without any foundation. At what time it was written is not certain; the Jewish writers generally say ^e it was written by Solomon, as were the books of Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs, in his old age, when near the time of his death; though some think it was written before his fall: and it may be it was not written all at once, but at certain times, when these proverbs occurred unto him and were spoken by him, and as occasion served: however, it is not to he doubted but that they were written under the inspiration of God. The Jews once thought to have made this book of Proverbs an apocryphal one, because of some seeming contradictions in it; but finding that these were capable of a reconciliation, changed their minds, as became them ^f. Among Christians, Theodore of Mopsuest, in the sixth century, denied the divine authority of this book, and attributed it merely to human wisdom; which opinion of his was condemned in the second council at Constantinople: and in later times it has been treated with contempt by the Socinians, and particularly by Father Simon and Le Clerc; but the authority of it is confirmed by the writers of the New Testament, who have cited passages out of it; see Rom 12:20 from Pro 25:21. The book consists of "five" parts; "first", a preface or introduction, which takes up the first "nine" chapters; the "second", the proverbs of Solomon, put together by himself, beginning at the tenth chapter to the twenty-fifth; the "third", the proverbs of Solomon, copied by the men of Hezekiah, beginning at the twenty-fifth chapter to the thirtieth; the "fourth", the words of Agur, the thirtieth chapter, the "fifth", the instruction of Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, the thirty-first chapter.

Gill: Proverbs 7 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO PROVERBS 7

The sum of this chapter is to exhort men to attend to the doctrines and precepts of Wisdom, in order to avoid the adulterous woman; the exhortation to keep them with care, affection, and delight, in order to answer the end, is in Pro 7:1. A story is told, of Solomon's own knowledge, of a young man ensnared and ruined by a lewd woman; it begins Pro 7:6. The young man is described as foolish, and as throwing himself in the way of temptation, Pro 7:7; the harlot that met him is described by her attire, her subtlety, her voice, her inconstancy, her impudence, and pretensions to piety, Pro 7:10. The arguments she made use of to prevail upon him to go with her are taken partly from the elegance of her bed, the softness of it, and its sweet perfume, and satiety of love to be enjoyed in it, Pro 7:15; and partly from the absence of her husband, who was gone a long journey, and had made provision for it for a certain time, Pro 7:19. By which arguments she prevailed upon him to his utter ruin: which is illustrated by the similes of an ox going to the slaughter, a fool to the stocks, and a bird to the snare, Pro 7:21. And the chapter is concluded with an exhortation to hearken to the words of Wisdom, and to avoid the ways and paths of the harlot, by which many and mighty persons have been ruined; they being the direct road to hell and death, Pro 7:24.