Chapter Seven

1–6. Introductory exhortation to keep God’s commandments and to gain wisdom in general, as a bulwark against seduction by an adulterous wife. 6–9. The image of a foolish youth. 10–20. The harlot entices the foolish youth with caresses and cunning promises. 21–23. The consequences of seduction. 24–27. The concluding exhortation.

“Proverbs 7. Prov. 7:1a. —[My son! Revere the Lord, and you will be strengthened, and fear none other besides Him.]” Proverbs 7:2. Keep my commandments and live, and my teaching as the apple of your eye. Proverbs 7:3. Bind them on your fingers, write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 7:4. Say to wisdom: “You are my sister!” and call understanding your confidant, Proverbs 7:5. So that they guard you from another’s wife, from the stranger, who softens her words. The general introduction to the subsequent exhortation against the seductions of an adulterous wife has much in common in both content and form with the former similar introductory remarks of the Wise One (Prov 1:8); more particularly, compare v. 2 with Prov 4:4; v. 3 with Prov 3:3). In the text of the LXX and Slavonic at the beginning of v. 2 there is an addition: ύιέ, τίμα τόν Κύριον, καί ὶσχύσεις, πλὴν δέ αύτοῦ μὴ φοβοῦ ἄλλον, “My son, revere the Lord, and you will be strengthened! But besides Him, fear none other.” Although these words do not occur in other translations, and at first glance seem to somewhat interrupt the flow of speech, yet, given the analogous passages in the Book of Proverbs (Prov 1:7), it is possible that these words were in the Hebrew original that the LXX had. The instruction in v. 4 — to call wisdom sister and understanding a relative (kinsman) — is characteristic both generally for the Semitic way of representing relations between persons and things (for example, Job 17:14); but especially for the Old Testament teaching about wisdom (cf. Wis 8:2; Sir 15:2): wisdom should become a beloved friend of the one who seeks it, an object of his love and desire. The purpose of wisdom is undoubtedly the good ordering of all human life, but here (v. 5) only one of the purposes and one manifestation of wisdom is indicated: wisdom makes it possible for a devotee of it to resist the seductions of an adulterous wife.

Proverbs 7:6. Behold, once I looked out the window of my house, through my lattice, Proverbs 7:7. And I saw among the simple ones, I noticed among the young men a foolish youth, Proverbs 7:8. Crossing the square near her corner, and going along the road to her house, Proverbs 7:9. In twilight, in the evening, in the dark of night and darkness. Contrary to the rules of wisdom, the conduct of the foolish youth is entirely different: he does not at all follow the rules prescribed by wisdom — to keep his path far from the adulterous wife and not to approach the door of her house (Prov 5:8), or — to banish from his heart every lustful infatuation with the beautiful outward appearance of the harlot (Prov 6:5); on the contrary, he deliberately heads toward her house (Prov 7:8), apparently filled with lust for her and criminal intentions, the gratification of which is facilitated by the chance of an apparently foreseen meeting (v. 9 seems to indicate that the youth was actively seeking an adventure) with the adulterous woman, whose seductive methods are now depicted, vv. 10–20.

Proverbs 7:10. And behold — a woman meets him, dressed as a harlot, with a cunning heart, Proverbs 7:11. She is loud and restless; her feet do not stay in her house: Proverbs 7:12. Sometimes in the street, sometimes in the squares, and at every corner she lays traps. Proverbs 7:13. She seized him, kissed him, and with a shameless face said to him: Proverbs 7:14. “I have a sacrifice of peace offering with me: today I have fulfilled my vows; Proverbs 7:15. That is why I came out to meet you, to seek you, and — I have found you; Proverbs 7:16. I have spread my bed with coverings, with colored fabrics from Egypt; Proverbs 7:17. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloe, and cinnamon; Proverbs 7:18. Come, let us revel in tender caresses until morning, let us delight ourselves in love, Proverbs 7:19. Because my husband is not at home: he has gone on a distant journey; Proverbs 7:20. He took a purse of silver with him; he will come home on the day of the full moon. If in (Prov 5) the blessings of love with one lawful wife were set against disorderly adultery: if in (Prov 6:20-35) teachings were given chiefly to suppress internal unclean heart movements, as the root and beginning of the sin of unchastity, then here, Chapter 10–20, a detailed, concrete depiction is given of seductions coming from without toward violation of the seventh commandment of the Decalogue, and above all a detailed portrayal of the very guilty party of men’s falls — the adulterous wife. The extraordinarily concrete image of her disturbed both Hebrew and Christian interpreters of the Book of Proverbs, of whom the first even tended, in view of this, to exclude the Book of Proverbs from the canon, and some ancient Christian interpreters tried to explain the image of the harlot (Prov 7:1) in an allegorical sense — foolishness, impiety, in contrast to the image depicted in (Prov 8-9) of God’s Wisdom. But although one cannot deny the possibility of this allegorical understanding, yet the immediate literal understanding of the passage under consideration is entirely consistent with the divine inspiration of the Book of Proverbs, for the purpose of the picture in vv. 10–20 of Chapter VII is instructive: the Wise One, by means of this concrete image, desires to arouse in his student an aversion to the seductions of adultery and inspire steadfastness in chastity. The adulterous woman appears on the street dressed as a harlot, with a covering (LXX: εῖδος ἔχουσα πορνικόν, Vulg.: omatu meretricio, v. 10), so as not to be taken for a married woman (cf. Gen 38:14 ff.; Explanatory Bible, Vol. I, p. 216). Shamelessness, deceitfulness, and cunning are revealed in all the actions and gestures of the woman (vv. 11–13); especially in her words. Wishing to give her invitation an innocent appearance, she presents as the reason for her invitation (v. 14) a religious celebration — the offering of a sacrifice of peace offering, which was always accompanied by a feast (Lev. 7 ff.). Then, enticing the youth into her snares, she speaks (vv. 15–18) about the luxurious surroundings of the impending feast and carnal pleasures, and overcomes any last hesitation of the youth by mentioning the long absence of her husband from home (vv. 19–20).

Proverbs 7:21. With many flattering words she seduced him, with the softness of her lips she overcame him. Proverbs 7:22. At once he went after her, like an ox goes to the slaughter, [and like a dog — on a leash,] and like a deer — to an arrow, Proverbs 7:23. Until an arrow pierces his liver; like a bird hurrying into a snare, and does not know that it is — to his ruin. The cunning speech of the harlot, well calculated for the yielding nature of man’s sensuality, especially that of a youth, is crowned with success; after some hesitation the youth helplessly surrenders into the hands of his destroyer and gives himself to animal pleasures that ruin both body and soul.

Proverbs 7:24. So now, children, listen to me, and pay attention to the words of my mouth. Proverbs 7:25. Let not your heart turn away on her path, do not wander on her ways, Proverbs 7:26. For she has struck down many wounded, and those she has killed are very strong; Proverbs 7:27. Her house — ways to the grave, descending to the chambers of death. All the more persuasive, therefore, are the concluding exhortations to avoid every kind of adultery in general, the final results of which are always the same: temporal and eternal ruin.