09_The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15

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12. Lecture 10: !e Unchaste Wife’s Seductive Tactics (7:1–27) 1 My son, keep my sayings,

and my commands store up with you;1 2 keep my commands and live,

and my teaching as the apple of your eye;2 3 bind them upon your fingers;

write them on the tablet of your heart; 4 say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

and call out to insight, “You are my3 relative”; 4 1

!e LXX adds between vv. 1 and 2, “my son, fear the Lord

and thou shalt be strong, and beside him fear no other” (cf. 3:7, 9; 14:26). !e addition is out of keeping with the context, which aims to fasten the son to the father’s teaching against the adulteress’s smooth words (Toy, Proverbs, p. 144). 2 Lit. “eyes.” !e LXX achieves numerical agreement by

reading “pupils.” 3

For the gapping of the pronominal suffix in the B verset see

M. Dahood, !e Anchor Bible: Psalms III: 101–150 (Garden Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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5 to keep you from the unfaithful wife,

from the unchaste wife who causes her words to be smooth. 6 For standing at5 the window of my6 house, 5 !e preposition calls for an elided verb (IBHS, p. 224, P.

11.4d). 6 !e

LXX and Syr. read 3rd sing. for all pronouns, including

verbs, in vv. 6–7, making the “unfaithful wife” the subject, not the father. However, it is difficult to understand how, if she is looking out of the window, she can also lie in wait for her victim on the street and in the plazas of the city (vv. 12–13). Toy (Proverbs, p. 146) says, “If she is indoors in vv. 6–9, we should expect to have in v. 10: she went forth and met him; the woman appears to be introduced as a new personage in v. 10.” Plöger (Sprüche, p. 77) says that the I-report narrative in the Hebrew text is much more vivid. But Albright et al. (“Some Canaanite-Phoenician Sources of Hebrew Wisdom,” in WIANE, p. 10) implicitly defends the LXX by noting the LXX’s proximity to the ancient Near Eastern fertility cults. Astarte, the love goddess in the Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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through the opening I looked down. 7 And I saw among the gullible,

I gave heed7 among the sons to a youth who lacked sense. 8 He was passing through the street beside her

corner;8 he was taking strides on the way to her house, 9 at dusk,9 in the evening of the day,10

with the approach11 of night and darkness. 7

A pseudo-cohortative (IBHS, p. 576, P. 34.5.3) and an inter-

nal Hiphil (i.e., cause himself to get understanding; IBHS, pp. 439–40, P. 27.2f). 8 Normally the form is pinnātāh, not pinnāh. !e

LXX reads

pinnâ “a corner.” 9

!e LXX “and speaking” is a guess for this hap. leg. (so L.

Adams, “Lexical Equivalence in LXX Proverbs 1–9: A Study in Translation Technique” [M.C.S. thesis, Regent College, 1992], p. 165). 10 Fichtner (BHS) gratuitously emends the hap. leg. to an inf.

cons., “when the day became evening” (cf. Judg. 19:9). Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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10 And look! a woman comes out12 to face13 him

in the garb of a harlot and with a cunning14 heart. 11 She is unruly and defiant; 15

her feet do not se"le down in her house; 12 now in the street, now in the squares, 12 See n. 5. !e verb is supplied in v. 15. 13

!ough liqrāʾtô could be an inf. of II qārāʾ (“to meet him,”

BDB, pp. 896–97, s.v. II qārāʾ), the form is be"er taken as a frozen preposition of that form, meaning “opposite, over against,” glossed here by “to face” (HALOT, 3:1,131, s.v. II qrʾ). 14

Lit. “and guarded of.” !e ancient versions mistakenly

interpreted neṣurat as referring to the reaction that she seeks to produce in those whom she wants to entice. !e LXX reads, “causes the hearts of young men to flu"er”; Vulg., “ready to capture hearts”; Syr. and Targ., “bewilders the hearts of the young.” 15

G. R. Driver (“Problems in ‘Proverbs,’ ” ZAW 50 [1932]

141–42) argues on the basis of an Akkadian cognate that sōrāret means “restless,” or “fickle.” !is notion fits the context, but so does the normal Hebrew meaning. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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and beside every corner she lies in wait. 13 And she grabbed him and kissed him;

she hardened her face and said to him: 14 “I owed 16 a fellowship sacrifice;17

today I fulfilled my vows. 15 !erefore, I came out to face you,

to seek your face diligently, and I found you! 16 I have provided my couch with coverlets,

embroidered stuff,18 the linen19 of Egypt. 16 Lit. “are upon [i.e., of a duty upon] me” (BDB, p. 753, s.v.

ʿal). 17

G. Gerleman (TLOT, 3:1,346, s.v. šlm) thinks that the pl.

“refers to the individual sacrificial portions presented (i.e., a pl. of composition, IBHS, p. 119, P. 7.4.1b). 18

Probably the fem. pl. Qal pass. ptcp. form is a substantive,

“embroidery, embroidered stuff ” (HALOT, 1:307, II ḥṭb), a pa#ern that is frequently pl. (IBHS, p. 88, P. 5.3d). !e Masoretic disjunctive accent inhibits taking it as a cons. with ʾēṭûn (= “embroidered linen”). Lexicons commonly think of a double root ḥṭb, one meaning “cut or gather wood,” the Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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17 I have perfumed20 my bed

with myrrh, lign-aloes,21 and cinnamon. 18 Come, let us drink our fill22 with making love23

until morning; let us enjoy each other24 with love;25 20

HALOT (2:682, s.v. II nûp) distinguishes between I nûp (“to

move to and fro”) and II nûp (“to spray [with perfume]”), but BDB (p. 631, s.v. I nûp) does not. !ough II nûp is a hap. leg. in the Qal, I nûp in the Qal is intransitive and its meaning is unsuitable to rain and snow in Ps. 68:10[11]; Sir. 43:17. G. R. Driver (“Problems in ‘Proverbs,’ ” 142) thinks that II nûp may be a by-form of npp (“to sprinkle”). 21 !e LXX renders ʾ ahālîm “my house,” having read ʾoholî

“my tent.” 22

Although the form could be imperfect, it is be#er taken as

cohortative a$er the imperative (IBHS, p. 577, P. 34.6a), which is confirmed by the parallel cohortative ntʿlsh. 23

Dōdîm is always pl. with the meaning “sensual love, the

pleasure of love.” !e abstract pl. may signify a repeated series of actions (IBHS, p. 121, P. 7.4.2c). Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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19 for my husband is not at home;26

he went on a distant27 journey. 20 He took in his hand a purse filled with silver;

he will come home at full moon.28 21 She turned him aside with her immense29 26 Lit. “in the house.” 27 Lit. “from a distance” (see 15:29), signifying that the

source or origin of the journey is far off (cf. Isa. 22:3; 23:7). 28

L mistakenly has hakkēseʾ instead of hakkeseʾ. Note the

assonance with hakkesep in verset A. !is meaning “full moon” of the problematic leyôm (see 16:4; 21:31) hakkēseʾ (only elsewhere in Ps. 81:4[5]) was already known in the ancient versions and was recently established by recognition of an Akkadian cognate (B. Kedar-Kopfstein, “Glossen zur traditionellen biblischen Philologie,” ZAH 2 [1989] 208–9). 29

Since leqaḥ can refer to persuasiveness, there is no need to

emend berōb to berōk (with the so#ness). Fox (Proverbs 1–9, p. 249) supports this emendation by Tur-Sinai from a text-critical point of view: “the graphic difference (b/k) is minuscule in many scripts,” but that is not true when they are final letBruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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persuasiveness; with the blandishments of her lips she routed him. 22 He went a"er her suddenly,30

as an ox enters31 a slaughterhouse,32 30

!e LXX reads kepphōtheis “cajoled.” G. B. Caird (“Towards

a Lexicon of the Septuagint. II,” JSS 20 [1969] 21–22) emends the MT to read kpth, “like a fool,” arguing that the LXX reflects the translator’s a"empt to render kpth by a homophone. More probably the LXX interpreted ptʾm as some form of pth (“foolishness/fool”) (so Baumgartner, Étude critique, p. 75; McKane, Proverbs, 340; Fichtner [BHS]) or had a

different

Vorlage,

such

as

npth

(“be

simple/deceived/enticed”; so Toy, Proverbs, p. 159). 31

!e LXX reads agetai (“is led”), on which basis Fichtner

(BHS) emends to yûbaʾ. But the MT’s active voice cogently presents the ox as voluntarily entering the slaughterhouse and matches the par. act. voices in vv. 22b and 23a. 32 L mistakenly reads ṭābaḥ instead of tebaḥ. “Slaughtering”

a$er “enters” is probably a metonymy of adjunct for place, “slaughterhouse.” Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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and as a stag stepping into a noose33 23 until an arrow splits open his liver; 33

!e text is uncertain. !e MT may mean “as in an ankle

chain being led to the discipline of a fool” (cf. NASB), but “discipline of a fool” as a metonymy for the death of a fool would be exceptional. !e LXX (similarly Syr. and Targ.) reads “as a dog to bonds (reading môsēd, not mûsar) and as a hart (reading keʾayyāl, not ʾ ewîl).” !e Vulg. has “as a lamb playing wanton and ignorant he is being led like a fool to bonds.” Neither “dogs” nor “lamb” is textually satisfying. Baumgartner (Étude critique, p. 79) and Toy (Proverbs, p. 159) think that the LXX read kklb, not keʿekes, but Adams (“Lexical Equivalences in LXX Proverbs 1–9,” p. 166) and Delitzsch (Proverbs, p. 169) believe that the translator is guessing at a hap. leg. G. R. Driver (“Problems in ‘Proverbs,’ ” p. 143; cf. Fichtner [BHS]) originally proposed wekaʿakos ʾel-mosēr ʾayyāl (“as a hart is tied to a cord”) associating ʿks with Arab. ʿakasa “to tie (a camel) with a rope.” Later, Driver (“Hebrew Notes,” VT 1 (1951) 241; cf. BHS and McKane, Proverbs, p. 221) emended the text similarly (ukeʿakkes ʾel-môsēr ʾayyāl) but Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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as a bird hastens into a trap. And he does not know [he acts] against34 his own life. 24 So now, sons,35 listen to me;

pay a"ention to the words of my mouth. 25 Do not let your heart turn aside into her ways;

do not go astray into36 her paths. 26 For she has toppled many37 slain [victims], 34 !e preposition demands a verb (IBHS, p. 224, P. 11.4.3d). 35 !e LXX smooths the text by consistently using sing. “my

son.” 36 Fox

(Proverbs 1–9, p. 250) glosses the phrase tāʿâ be “stray …

not upon her paths” (i.e., as one wandering and lost in that area because that is its meaning in its three other uses [Gen. 21:14; 37:15; Ps. 107:4]). However, this is not a ptcp., as in Gen. 37:15, and it is the only instance of the phrase in the imperfect tense. !e imperfect of tāʿâ probably represents a nascent situation (i.e., “do not go astray/begin to stray in her ways”), which S. R. Driver thought was the essential use of the prefix conjugation (IBHS, p. 503, P. 31.2c). Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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even the powerful, all those killed by her. 27 Her house38 presents the ways to the grave,

descending to the chambers of death. !is is the fourth and climactic lecture to safeguard the son against the unchaste wife (cf. 2:16–19; 5:1–23; 38

!e disagreement in number between the singular bētāh

(“her house”) and the pl. darkê (“her ways”) is difficult. O. Loretz (“Ugaritische und hebräische Lexikographie (III),” UF 14 [1982] 141–48) argues that in Prov. 7:27 and 2:18 the original readings were ntybwtyh and nybth. Among other arguments he regards 7:26 as a gloss and notes the parallelism drkyh//ntybwtyh in the versets of 7:25. According to him (see also BHS) the text was purposely changed to byth under the influence of Prov. 5:8; 7:8; 9:14. !e MT, however, can be resolved by supplying a sensible verb in this nominal clause, such as “presents” (bietet; Plöger, Sprüche, p. 74), “symbolizes” (bedeuten, E. Kautzsch, cited by Loretz, “Ugaritische und

hebräische

Lexikographie,”

p.

143,

n.

14),

or

“conceals” (birgt; V. Hamp, cited by Loretz, “Ugaritische und hebräische Lexikographie”). Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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6:20–33) and the last lecture (see pp. 10-11). Chapter 5 deals primarily with the financial and social loss from being seduced into adultery and recommends marriage as a practical anodyne to the human sex drive. 6:20–35, while also showing the dangers of adultery, focuses on the cuckold. !e lecture in ch. 7 aims to expose the unfaithful wife’s seductive tactics. It forms an inclusio with the first (2:16–19) through the verbal similarities of their introductions (cf. 2:16 and 7:5) and of their conclusions (cf. 2:18–19 and 7:26–27). Its abstract statements about the dire consequences of adultery (7:22–23, 26–27) assume the specific punishments presented in the second and third lessons (5:9–14; 6:32–35). In his last lecture the father graphically portrays the unchaste wife’s danger in a gripping autobiographical narrative of her seduction of a gullible dimwit, though it is most probably an artistic fictional autobiography, for it is unlikely that he actually heard the harlot proposition the youth in poetry. Nevertheless, his Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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detailed eyewitness report of her brash and lewd seduction is so engaging and plausible that they seem authentic. He counters her enticing images of dining on savory meats, of smelling rare spices, and of lovemaking on a lush bed with just as memorable images of an ox and stag going to the slaughter and of a bird darting into a trap. At the end of the lecture he exposes the lush as an Amazon in league with death, the lecture’s climactic final word. Since it is a narrative, the interpreter must bring to bear on the text the poetics appropriate to interpret narrative theology (see p. 47-48). !e lecture’s structure suggests the father’s urgency to protect his son. His call to listen (7:1–5, 24–27) frames the father’s characterization of the unfaithful wife who embodies all that is against true Israel’s world-and-life view (vv. 6–23). As in his depiction of the criminals in 1:10–19, he faces the challenge of making his son feel her seduction, yet in such a way that she becomes u"erly repugnant to him. He does so Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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by framing her seductive speech (7:14–20) with his negative characterization of the vixen (vv. 6–13) and the horrid consequences for her prey. She is a defiant, noisy, and brash huntress seeking prey on the streets of the city that leads her victims to the grave. Tragically, the gullible dimwit who refused to listen to the wise (1:20–33) obeys her. !e father’s introductory command calls for his son’s a"ention (7:1–4), first plainly (vv. 1–2) and then figuratively (vv. 3–4). !e main body, the lesson, presents the argument in the form of a dramatic, autobiographical narrative (7:6–23; cf. 4:1–9). In it the father characterizes her dress, cunning motives, essential nature (“turbulent,” “rebellious,” “never staying at home”) and aggressive actions (grabbing, kissing, etc.). Above all, he pays a"ention to her speech, which rivals the father’s, in her a"empt to lure the son away from his inherited wisdom by her glimmering possibilities. By contrast, the gullible youth is characterized only by the short epithet “who lacked sense.” !e Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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father’s conclusion admonishes the son to stay clear of the adulteress (vv. 24–27), including an address and a call to resolute obedience (vv. 24–25) with renewed argumentation (vv. 26–27). !e janus verse between the introduction and the body, like the janus in the other three lectures, states that his aim is to protect his son against the smooth (ḥālāq) tongue of the strange woman (2:16; 5:2–3; 6:24; 7:5). Note the symmetry between the four lines devoted to the introduction and conclusion (vv. 1–4, 24–27). !ere are also four verses for each part of the introduction to the narrative (vv. 6–9, 10–13), balanced by four full lines for its conclusion (vv. 21–23, as emended), framing seven (the number of completion) full lines devoted to the speech itself (vv. 14–20). Note, too, the use of the root ʾmr (“to say”) in vv. 5 and 13bβ. !is concluding lecture functions as a janus, looking back to the preceding lectures against the unfaithful wife, and being paired with Woman Wisdom’s great address in ch. 8. It, too, describes her geography, Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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her character, and her speech. “Although very different in style and content, these poems of the strange woman and of personified wisdom form a diptych. Chapter 8, with its strong mythic overtones, is wri#en largely in the symbolic register; chapter 7 largely in the realistic.”39 !ey are also linked formally by uniquely having concluding speeches resembling the introduction to the lectures (cf. 7:24–27; 8:32–36), both being addressed to “my sons.” !is pairing of the unfaithful wife with personified Wisdom prepares the way for the confrontation of personified Wisdom with the foolish woman in ch. 9. !e unfaithful wife, however, may function as well as a symbolic representation of a seductive worldview foreign to true Israel, God’s son (see p. 125).

a. Introduction: Address and Admonition to Hear the Father’s Lecture (7:1–5) 39 C. Newsom, “Woman and the Discourse of Patriarchal

Wisdom,” pp. 142–60. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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!e typical introduction, using stock vocabulary and calling the son to heed the parental instruction, marks off this lecture from the preceding.40 1 !e address and admonition, my son (b enî; see 1:8) keep (šemōr; see 2:20; 3:26; 4:4) my sayings (ʾamārāy; see 2:1), which is matched emphatically by the synonymous parallel, and my commands (ûmiṣwôtay) store up with you (tiṣpōn; see 2:1b), stand sharply opposed to the unchaste wife’s words (7:5, 13; cf. v. 26). !is typical introduction aims at the adoption by the succeeding generations of the teaching that the conditions for life are “freedom within form, love within limits, and life within law.”41 2 Verset 2a matches 4:4bα. !e unique, immediate repetitions of keep (semōr, v. 1a) and of my commands 40 Pace H. Ringgren and W. Zimmerli, Sprüche/Prediger:

übersetzt und erklärt (Gö#ingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1962), pp. 32–35. 41 R. Van Leeuwen, Proverbs, p. 86. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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(miṣwôtay, 7:1b) create a staircase parallelism that emphasizes the importance of the parental precepts. And live (see p. 104-107) grounds the command to memorize and obey his teaching in the short affirmation that the son’s precious life is at stake (6:26b). !e promise of abundant life by following the father contrasts starkly with the threat of eternal death from following the unfaithful wife (v. 27; cf. 2:16–17). A#er twice repeating that his “words” are in fact mandatory “commands,” he now equates them with the catechetical my teaching (tôrātî; see 1:8). To highlight the incomparable preciousness of his teaching he orders the son to protect it as the apple (ʾîšôn, i.e., pupil) of your eye (ʿêneykā; see 4:25).42 !is most delicate and yet most precious member of the human anatomy (cf. 3:14–26; 8:11; 31:10) is essential for illumination and 42

Etymologically ʾîšôn means “the li$le person” reflected in

the eye, the smallest picture of what is seen in the pupil of the observer. !e same is true of Lat. pupillus, whence Eng. “pupil” (IBHS, p. 92, P. 5.7b). Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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guidance—without it there is only darkness (cf. Deut. 32:10; cf. “apple, daughter, of the eye” in Ps. 17:8; cf. Zech. 2:12; Ma". 6:22, 23)—and so epitomizes what needs the most diligent protection. 3 To achieve this constant a"ention, the father employs the metaphor, bind them upon your fingers (qošrēm ʿal-ʾeṣbʿōteykā; cf. “bind them on your neck” in 3:3c; 6:21), which may be a reference to pu"ing on prayer bands (Tephillin = phylacteries) (Ma". 23:5; Josephus, Ant. 4.8.13), though it is uncertain how old this practice is (cf. Deut. 6:8, 11:18).43 !e phylactery is also strapped around the middle finger. Since one cannot bind verbal commands to the fingers, the possible practice functions as a figure for memorizing the commands and constantly recalling them. Since the hands are always visible, the admonishing metaphor (cf. 3:3; 6:21) may signify keeping the father’s teaching always visible for others to see as well as being a con43 So Plöger, Sprüche, p. 76; pace Toy, Proverbs, p. 145. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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stant reminder to oneself.44 !e father escalates this command depicting the memorization and constant recall of his teaching and commands by the figure of the external fingers to the command pertaining to the inward heart, write them on the tablet of your heart (see p. 90-92). Couroyer proposes a literal interpretation of the admonition because prophetic revelations were probably wri"en on actual tablets (cf. Isa. 30:8 and Hab. 2:2). Likewise, in ancient Egypt, classic texts were wri"en on wooden tablets and were to be memorized by heart. !ese wooden tablets were 0.12 by 0.75 m. and were provided with holes for ropes and used by schoolchildren, even as chalkboards were used in the recent past. He suggests that this exterior tablet with the sage’s teaching, worn above the heart, became a 44

Gemser (Sprüche, p. 35) mistakenly thinks that, in addition

to guiding the individual, it also guarded him as an amulet to defend against evil influences. He appeals to Egyptian sources and overlooks the Old Testament’s teaching against magic. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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means of internalizing the instruction. He must admit, however, that Egyptian graphic representations do not furnish examples of this practice. Moreover, he confounds the chest with the heart.45 While his study helps to explain the figure, a more natural interpretation equates the tablet with the heart itself, as in Jer. 17:1; 31:33.46 !us the expression is also a metaphor for memorization and permanent retention of the father’s commands and teaching (cf. Isa. 30:8). Most importantly, however, the figure connotes their indelible impression on one’s character. As they are assimilated as a way of life within a person’s governing center, that person’s character changes and develops so that one keeps them from within (2:2; 4:23; cf. Jer. 31:31–34). Christian theologians substitute “regeneration” for this metaphor (cf. John 3:1–16). 45 B. Couroyer, “La table"e du coeur,” RB 90 (1983) 416–34,

esp. 426–28. 46 “Heart” is a gen. of association (i.e., “tablet which is

your heart,” IBHS, p. 153, P. 5.3.h). Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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4 !e impersonal metaphor of writing the teaching is now replaced by the very personal metaphor of marrying it as the worthiest object of pure, sincere love. By this action one may avoid the temptation to illicit lust. Say in speech-act theory is performative (e.g., marriage is effected by the statement, “I will take this person to be my wife/husband”) and probably entails a marriage commitment to wisdom (see p. 76-77), another inchoate personification of wisdom within the lectures (cf. 6:22). “You are my sister” expresses at the least an acceptance of wisdom as one’s dear family and probably is the language of love to designate the groom’s commitment to his bride (Song 4:9, 10, 12; 5:1, 2; Sir. 15:2; cf. Job 17:14) for whom he le# his father and mother (Gen. 2:23–24; cf. Tob. 7:16). Likewise in Eighteenth Dynasty Egyptian material (ca. 1500–1300

B.C.),

“sister” is a term of endearment for

one’s beloved.47 !e chiastic parallel of the outer 47 T. L. !ompson, !e Historicity of the Patriarchal Narratives

(BZAW 33; Berlin: de Gruyter, 1974), pp. 246–48. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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frame, and call out to insight (see 2:3), intensifies “say” and adds to wisdom the notion of intellectual discernment and interpretation (see 1:2). You are my relative (or family, see n. 4), the chiastic parallel to “you are my sister,” underscores that the son commits himself to an intimate and confidential relationship to this idealized figure of the parental teaching, as to a member of his family. !e metaphor should not be made to walk on all fours so that wisdom and the son are thought to stand on equal social footing. In the next lecture wisdom calls for the son’s obedience (8:32–36). His commitment to wisdom in an endearing relationship will protect him from the dangerous enticements of the unrestrained wife. 5 To keep you (lišmorekā) syntactically links the janus with 7:1–4, and the pun on šāmar “to keep” (i.e., “to observe carefully” and “to protect”; see 2:8) forms an inclusio with 7:1–2 around the introduction. !e infinitive plus from the unfaithful wife and, in chiastic synonymous parallelism, from the unchaste wife links Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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this lecture to the programmatic lecture in 2:16–19. Who causes her words to be smooth (see 2:16b) puts a sharper focus on the transition to the lesson that features her smooth speech.

b. Lesson: !e Unchaste Wife’s Seductive Tactics (7:6–23) !e lesson has three parts: (1) the encounter as observed by the father (7:6–13); (2) the woman’s smooth talk (vv. 14–20); and (3) the father’s concluding statement about its deadly effectiveness as the gullible submits to her (vv. 21–23). (1) Encounter: !e Father’s Observations (7:6–13) !e encounter consists of the se#ing for the encounter (vv. 6–9), and the father’s characterization of her (vv. 10–13). 6–9 !e father paints the se#ing through his scenic depiction (vv. 6–7) of the gullible en route to the adulteress’s house (v. 8) at the onset of night (v. 9). Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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6 For explains why the lecture is necessary. At the window refers to an opening in the wall of a house for light and air. To judge from Egyptian and Syrian pictures of fortresses and houses, it was about 50 cm. square. It symbolizes the father’s distantiation from her world and his looking down on it from a different world-and-life view (cf. Gen. 26:8–10; Josh. 2:13–21; Judg. 5:26–30; 1 Sam. 19:11–12; 2 Sam. 6:16; 2 K. 9:30, 33; Prov. 7:6).48 Of my house (bêtî) contrasts the father 48

Gen. 8:6; 2 K. 13:17; and Zeph. 2:14 use the singular ḥln,

but make no mention of looking down or passing “through” the window. R. H. O’Connell (“Proverbs 7:16–17: A Case of Fatal Deception in a ‘Woman and the Window’ Type-Scene,” VT 41 [1991] 235–41) is not convincing that the seven occurrences of ḥlwn in the Bible involve either explicit sexual a#raction in their scenes, as in Gen. 26:8 and Prov. 7:6, or, as in the other cases, a potential for sexual a#raction that is frustrated by menacing circumstances and “there is some character’s use of deception and an ominous threat of death lurking in the background” (ibid., p. 236). A. Brenner and F. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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at home with the woman in the street. An Israelite house as known from archaeology matches the scenic depiction. It typically consisted of one or two stories, with the upper story of the domestic domain set aside for living and light storage and the lower story the economic domain for stabling and/or for storage and tools. Only the ground plan of the lower story is known; it typically had three or four rooms. During the period of the monarchy, the entry was in the center of the front wall, leading into a courtyard floored with beaten earth.49 !rough (beʿad “at a distance from” > “through”) the opening is a synonym for “winvan Dijk-Hemmes (On Gendering Texts: Female and Male Voices in the Hebrew Bible [Leiden, New York, Koln: E. J. Brill, 1993], p. 57) deconstruct the text, arguing that the speaker is the mother who sits uncomfortably with the other negative mothers in the window. !eir thesis lacks explicit textual evidence and reflects their own modern, historical conditioning. 49 J. Holladay Jr. in ABD, 3:308–9, s.v. “House,” “Israelite.” Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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dow.” Elisha’s command to “open the window” (2 K. 13:17) seems to presume a wooden la"ice or shu"er50 through which the father could see without being seen. I looked down (from above, nišqāptî; see Gen. 26:8)51 presumes a two-story house and forms the transition to the rest of the lecture, which is given in a vivid first-person report. !e lower story of an Israelite house lacked windows as a precaution against the#. Although fictional, his narrative illustrates that Israel’s sages found inspiration in observing and cogently reflecting on the world around them (cf. Introduction, pp. 54-55). 7 !e father now explicates the street scene below him from which he will draw his lesson. And I saw (wāʾēreʾ; see 6:6) among the gullible (see p. 111) refers to the young men who refused to make commitments to 50 G. W. Plaut (Proverbs, p. 100) notes that glass windows

came into use in Roman imperial times. 51 HALOT, 4:1,645, s.v. šqp. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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wisdom before entering the city and so are easy prey to the wicked (cf. 1:20). I gave heed (ʾābînâ; see 1:2b) means that he used his senses along with intellectual discernment and interpretation to get understanding (cf. 24:32). Among the sons, a parallel to the gullible, connotes the intimate relationship they should have had with their fathers (cf. 1:8; 4:3) and connotes the failed transition from one generation to the next. !e observed, inexperienced, gullible youth (1:4), on the threshold of maturity, is about to betray that relationship and to squander the family’s heritage. Furthermore, he lacked sense (hasar-lēb; see p. 91). 8 He was passing [see 4:15] through the street (baššûq, a rare poetic word for a city street) beside her corner, where her house was located, not where the street walker stands (v. 12).52 !e gullible here exhibits his fundamental flaw; he is dull and incautious, unaware of the danger of making his way through the darken52 Pace Gemser, Sprüche, p. 34, n. 8a. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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ing streets in her domain. He was taking strides (yiṣʿād) normally signifies “feierehrlich einherschreiten” (“to walk along ceremoniously [in a solemn, dignified way]),”53 “to march,”54 suggesting pomposity in his carriage. He is not a downright immoral fellow on the way (derek; see 1:15) to her house (bêtâ; see 7:6) intentionally because she has to find him and seduce him, but a dimwit who needs some powerful persuasion to get him into bed with the unchaste wife.55 Lacking a firm commitment to the right way (cf. vv. 1–4), he also lacked the sense not to put himself into moral jeopardy by straying into her path (see v. 25). 9 His folly is compounded by straying into the wrong place at the wrong time. He hugs the shadows 53 HALOT, 3:1,040, s.v. ṣaʿad. 54 HALOT2, p. 809, s.v.,

ṣaʿad.

55 So Cohen, Proverbs, p. 40; Cox, Proverbs, p. 144; Aitken,

Proverbs, p. 75, contra Delitzsch, Proverbs, p. 159 and Ross, Proverbs, p. 939. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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of the femme fatale during the short period of time between dusk and full darkness. Every phrase or word in v. 9 in this scenic depiction pertains to darkness. !e foreign wife arrives at twilight, with the onset of night and darkness. In the phrase at dusk (benešep), nešep etymologically means “to blow,” referring to the time when the wind accompanies the onset of evening darkness. At this time the stars are already visible (Job 3:9), ambushers (2 K. 7:6) and adulterers (Job 24:15) move about without being recognized, and one easily stumbles in rough terrain (Isa. 59:10; Jer. 13:16). Since nešep can designate either morning or evening twilight (cf. Job 7:4), the appositive in the evening of the day (beʿereb yôm), the time of “sunset,” removes the ambiguity. !e third appositive, with the approach (b eʾîšôn; see n. 11) of night and darkness (laylâ waʾapēlâ; see 4:19; cf. Job 24:15; Song 3:1–4; 5:2–8), further clarifies the time. !ese temporal designations are synonyms, not temporally progressive to each other, for the short period of evening dusk during which the rest Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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of the narrative transpires. !e darkness symbolizes the moral darkness of the strange woman and at the same time the dark fate that is now “approaching” her victim. Shakespeare in his descriptive scene of Tarquin’s rape of Lucrece writes: !is said, he [Tarquin] set his foot upon the light, For light and lust are deadly enemies; Shame folded up in blind concealing night. When most unseen, then most doth tyrannize. 10–13 !e father now characterizes her approach and dress as a harlot (v. 10), her inward disposition as turbulent and rebellious (v. 11), her habitat of hunting prey on the streets and plazas (v. 12), and her brash tactics (v. 13) so that his son will be forewarned, and so forearmed.56 56

S. C. Jones (“Woman’s Pedagogy: A Comparison of

Proverbs VII and 4Q184” [paper presented to Bruce K. Waltke, 2001], pp. 9–13) argues that the text is loaded with double entendre. !e alternative interpretations falsify her Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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10 With a presentative exclamation, and look (wehinnēh), the father vividly and with immediacy words and expose their latent deadliness by warlike imagery. (1) ʿrb (v. 13), glossed “lurk,” normally means “lies in ambush” (see 1:11, 18). (2) “to face” (liqrāʾtô, vv. 10, 15a) literally means “contrary to, opposite,” and Holladay notes that it is usually used with a verb of motion in the context of war and renders it “against” (cf. Gen. 32:7; Num. 20:18, 20). (3) In this bellicose environment heḥezîqâ (= “grabbed”) can have the more precise meaning “rape,” “violate” (F. Hesse, TDOT, 4:304, s.v. ḥzq.) (4) “Find” (māṣāʾ) can mean “to obtain, achieve” with reference to booty as in war (cf. Num. 31:50, cf. Holladay, s.v. qrʾ II). (5) Šḥr, glossed “seek,” can be taken from šhr III, which in Akkadian means “cast a spell,” “charm”; its participial form means “charmer” (W. von Soden, ed., Akkadisches Handwörterbuch, [Wiesbaden: O"o Harrassowitz, 1972], 2:1,009, #1, d). Likewise Arab. šaḥara means “to bewitch, enchant, fascinate.” In short, “with speech smoother than bu"er, but with a heart set on war; with words that were so#er than oil, but in fact were drawn Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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brings his audience into the scene to see with their own eyes of imagination the sudden appearance of a woman (ʾiššâ; see 2:16). He foreshadowed her in vv. 5 and 8, but now he dramatically puts her on the stage, characterizing her by her bold approach in a titillating harlot’s dress, the hidden designs she harbors in her heart, and her brazen, confrontational kiss. She knows her victim and so boldly comes out to face him (liqrāʾtô) in the garb (šît, a rare word found only elsewhere in Ps. 73:6) of a harlot (zônâ; see 6:26; not qedēšâ “sacred prostitute”). Like Tamar, she probably dons a harlot’s outfit, which may have included a veil (cf. Gen. 38:14), not only to seduce her victim but to mask from the public her true identity as the wife of a wealthy merchant. Perdue suggests that she wears more specifically the garb of a sacral priestess or a devotee of a fertility cult to support her claim that she offered sacrifices and swords” (Ps. 55:21[22]) the brazen vixen kills the dullard who has been charmed from hearing her true speech because he cannot discern her true character. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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was in need of a male partner at her communion meal (7:14–15).57 Beatrice Brooks, without carefully distinguishing between secular and sacred prostitution—the dividing line between them was fluid (cf. Jer. 3:2; Amos 2:7–8)—described them thus: !ey arrayed themselves elaborately and flashily with scarlet garments and much jewelry and cosmetics (Jer 4:30; Ezek 23:40).… Possibly they sang to a"ract a"ention (Isa 23:16), and had a special mark on the forehead (Jer 3:3).… !ey were found by the wayside (Tamar [Gen 38:19], Ezek 16:25 and Prov 7:12), “on every high hill and under every green tree” (Jer 2:20), by the shrines (Ezek 16:23), and at the threshing floor (Hos 9:1).58 57

L. Perdue, Wisdom and Cult: A Critical Analysis of the View

of the Cult in the Wisdom Literatures of Israel and the Ancient Near East (Missoula, Mont.: Scholars, 1977), p. 149. 58 B. Brooks, “Fertility Cult Functionaries in the OT,” JBL

(1941) 236–37. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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Her bold a"ire matches her bold approach, for a harlot knows no shame (30:20). Her outward dress, which seems to promise her victim her body, conceals her secret intention to use him to gratify her own lusts. !e father, who is observant of her dress, is also the insightful sage of her intent. Neṣurat (cunning) literally means “guarded” (see 2:8, 11), but here it has the unique connotation “cra#y,” “cunning,” “wily” with heart (lēb; see 2:2).59 To the insightful sage her shameless outfit betrays her hidden intentions, but to the morally stupid it is a camouflage.60 She aims only to indulge her sensual lusts. She feigns fidelity to her wealthy husband when he is at home but fla"ers her paramour as her only beloved while he is away. In truth she uses both and loves none. !is steely wife knows full well that the hardfisted cuckold will take from her victim everything he owns should they be caught and that his society will strip him of all dignity 59 HALOT, 2:718; so also G. R. Driver, “Hebrew Notes,” 250. 60 Plöger, Sprüche, p. 78. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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and respect (5:7–14; 6:33–35). She has no fear for herself, however. If Potiphar’s wife could make brilliant Joseph look guilty, how much more can this sly vixen make the brainless hulk look guilty should they be caught.61 In sum, she “rapes” dull men by clever deceit. 11 In a parenthetical aside within the narrative description, the sage by his powers of keen observation and cogent reflection exposes two more characteristics of the unrestrained wife’s inner disposition (v. 11a). She is unruly (hōmîyâ) denotes the confused mixture of loud noise and ceaseless movement. G. R. Driver calls a"ention to an Arabic cognate, “wandered to and fro.”62 To the notion of ceaseless movement, Baumann adds noise. “In many passages [using hāmâ and its derivatives] … it is possible to speak simply of ‘tumult.’ !e combination of visual and auditory effects is especially clear in the approaching thunder61 Delitzsch, Proverbs, p. 161. 62 G. R. Driver, “Problems in ‘Proverbs,’ ” 142. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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shower (1 Kgs. 18:4) and the rumbling chariot-wheels (Jer. 47:3), as well as the general confusion of a military camp, especially at the moment of a"ack and panic (1 Sam. 14:16, 19; 2 Sam. 18:29; cf. Isa. 31:4; Ezek. 1:24).”63 Here it sums up the noisy movements of this street woman. Her disposition and behavior are the exact opposite of those of the peaceful woman, which wisdom values (cf. 1 Pet. 3:1–6). And she is defiant (wesōrāret) indicates her rebellion against propriety for a life of profligacy. !e original meaning of the verbal root can still be recognized in the imagery of the stubborn cow (Hos. 4:16); she chafes at restraint and revolts against the rules of proper society. !e original Greek “idiot” referred to a private person in his private capacity. !e restlessness and rebellion of this shameless woman are verified by the observation that her feet or legs (see ragleyhā, 5:5) do not se$le down (lōʾ-yiškenû; see 1:33) in her house (bebêtāh), even though the night is approaching. “She has a house, but 63 A. Baumann, TDOT, 3:415,

s.v. hamāh.

Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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not a home; she is a woman without roots in her family and community who can only live at fever temperature and whose wanderlust is the index of her homelessness and her alienation from authentic social experience” (contrast Tit. 2:5).64 When she is in her house, she behaves lewdly so that it becomes a transfer station on the way to death (see 2:18; 7:27). She is anything but the religious woman she makes herself out to be. 12 Verset 12a further develops her turbulent, restless, and boisterous disposition. If the gullible youth had only observed and reflected on her ubiquitous prowling, her argument that she sought him out would have been ludicrous to him (v. 15). Unfortunately, he is neither observant nor reflective. She lurks at every favorable spot to meet her john, now (paʿam) in the street (baḥûṣ; see 1:20), now (paʿam) in the squares (bārḥōbôt; see 1:20), as a lustful woman on the prowl, 64 McKane, Proverbs, p. 336. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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not as a godly wife building her home. Paʿam also means “foot” and may connote “a foot in the street, a foot in the plazas.” Fox comments: “In other words, her feet are all over town. !is could be a double entendre

reinforced

by

the

previous

verse.”65

Although she is wealthy (cf. 7:16–20) and is no common strumpet, she behaves like one. As v. 12a gives concrete expression to her tumult (see v. 11a), v. 12b documents her rebellion against proper society: she lies in wait [or ambush, teʾerōb; see 1:11, 18; 12:6] beside (ʾēṣel) every corner (kol-pinnâ; see 7:8). Her predatory quality is picked up and expanded in the conclusion of the narrative (vv. 22–23). She chooses the noisy streets and squares, especially the corners where the streets meet, because most people congregate here, giving her greater opportunity to find prey. !e corner by her house is insufficient to provide her with the sufficient game. !e simpleton strayed into territory unfamiliar to him but home ground to her. 65 Fox, Proverbs, p. 245. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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13 !is verse picks up the narrative of v. 10 with the conjunctive and (we), linking as “she stepped forward opposite to him” with she grabbed him (heḥezîqâ bô; see 3:18) as interrelated or overlapping, not sequential situations.66 Her direct and bold acts reveal her tyrannical resolve to conquer her victim. And kissed him (wenāšeqâ-lô), presumably on the lips (see 24:26), is presented as another conjunctive, not sequential, impropriety (see Song 8:1). She hardened her face (hēʿēzâ pānîm) means, according to A. S. van der Woude, “dreistes und schämloses Verhalten”67 (i.e., she became impudent, cheeky, brazen, and shameless in behavior; cf. Deut. 28:50; Eccl. 8:1, 2a; Ezek. 3:7–9; Jer. 3:3; Sir. 8:16). To this D. Garre" adds that this means that she told a bold-faced lie.68 And said to him 66 IBHS, p. 653, P. 39.2.5a. 67 A. S. van der Woude, THAT, 2:254, 68

s.v. ʿzz.

D. Garre", “Votive Prostitution Again: A Comparison of

Proverbs 7:13–14 and 21:28–29,” JBL 109 (1990) 681–82. Garre" notes that 21:28 pertains to a false witness and that Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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(wa"ōʾmar lô) resumes the narrative and forms a transition to her speech in vv. 14–20. According to Brenner and Van Dijk-Hemmes, her approach of grabbing and kissing him and her brazen, seductive speech are the female counterpart of male rape. !e male overpowers the female through brute force; the female, through seduction.69 (2) Seduction: !e Unchaste Wife’s Smooth Speech (7:14–20) Her seduction takes place in two escalating phases. First she puts an embroidery of serious intention over her lustful restlessness and rebelliousness (vv. 14–17), 21:29a, which he links with it, is the only other passage in which Hiphil ʿzz (“to be strong”) occurs in connection with pānîm (“face”). Following Q and LXX against K, Targ, and Vulg., Garre" interprets 21:29b to mean that the righteous man sees through the bold-faced lies of the wicked man. 69 A. Brenner and F. van Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Text, p.

59. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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and then she propositions the gullible, arguing that they have nothing to fear (vv. 18–20). 14–17 She veils her intentions by appearing in need of a sexual partner for religious reasons (v. 14), by idolizing the brainless youth (v. 15), and by having lavishly prepared for him her erotic boudoir for a night of lovemaking (vv. 16–17). 14 She presents herself not as the strumpet she is but as part of an orderly society, and she exhibits her impudence by covering her lust with a religious motivation. I owed a fellowship sacrifice (zibhê šelāmîm ʿālāy; see n. 16), a specific kind of zebaḥ “sacrifice,” refers to a sacrifice practiced by the Canaanites and Israelites that aimed to bind together the deity and communicants by a meal in which the deity, priestly officials, worshiper, and guests share (Lev. 17:11–21; 1 Sam. 9:11–13; and Jer. 7:21). A#er the deity “devoured” the fat and intestines and certain pieces were presented to the cultic officials, the worshiper and invited guests Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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ate the remainder at home.70 “Fellowship sacrifice,” if this is indeed the precise meaning of š elāmîm, adds dramatic irony to the narrative, for this woman knows nothing of community and true fellowship. Presumably, she would have presented herself as a devotee of a foreign cult because prostitution and adultery were both prohibited within the cult of Yahweh. A specific type of fellowship sacrifice was the votive sacrifice, a petitioner’s promise to offer a sacrifice if the deity grants the petition (cf. 31:2). !is cheeky woman, in every way deceitful, now claims, today (ḥayyôm) I fulfilled (šillamtî, i.e., repaid) my vows (nedārāy), the plural referring perhaps to a number of accumulated vows. In that culture her statement would have been understood to mean, “I have food at home from my sacrifices.” !e Preacher warns, “When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it.” He goes on to speak of messengers sent from the temple to demand payment (cf. Eccl. 5:4–6; cf. also Deut. 70 Perdue, Wisdom and Cult, p. 149. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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23:21–23[22–24]; Prov. 20:25). According to Mosaic law, and presumably Canaanite religious practices, the meal that fulfilled the vow had to be eaten on the day the sacrifice took place and/or on the following day, since whatever remained following that time became defiled and could not be eaten (Lev. 7:16–18). Presuming her connection with the Canaanite fertility cult, the communal meal would also have involved her need for a male partner for sexual intercourse. Fertility rites in Canaanite religion followed communion sacrifices (Exod. 32:1–6; Num. 25:1–2). !e invitation to have sex with her was also an invitation to participate in fertility religion.71 But is she telling the truth? Garre" argues that she is not. If “she became brazen” means “told a bold-face lie,” then that “interpretation involves a rejection of the position of G. Boström, W. McKane, G. von Rad, and R. B. Y. Sco" that the woman has taken a vow to Aphrodite and must fulfill it with a sexual encounter.” Even if Garre" has overextended 71 Perdue, Wisdom and Cult, p. 150. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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the meaning of hēʿēzâ pānîm, her speech is so full of falsehoods and double entendres that it cannot be taken at face value. !e father characterized the sly vixen’s speech as “smooth” (v. 5) and her dress as part of her cunning camouflage. He also characterized her as rebellious, not religious. She lies about how she came to face the young man (vv. 11–13, 15) and perhaps about her husband, for the gullible youth is caught (vv. 19–23). Why should she be believed about her religious devotion? Yet she is so smooth that she even charms the commentators away from their normal skepticism into swallowing her line, hook, line, and sinker. !e father already interpreted her character as restless and rebellious, without mentioning anything about religion (vv. 11–12). McKane is right, however, when he says that she is particularly dangerous because she gives so much and asks for nothing.72

72 McKane, Proverbs, p. 339. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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15 !erefore (ʿal-kēn) presumes on the audience’s part a familiarity with the fertility cult described above. Her statement, I came out (yāṣāʾtî) to face you (liqrāʾtekā) matches the father’s observation (v. 10). In another dramatic irony besides her professed religiosity (cf. v. 12), the honey-tongued seductress fla"ers the youth, telling him that she came out to seek … diligently (lesahēr; see 1:28) your face (pāneykā), an idiom meaning to make a request and connoting that his a"ractive features singled him out to be the honored invitee for this special occasion. In fact he is the right one because he looks brainless. She climactically and cunningly exalts, and I found you (waʾemṣāʾkā; see 3:13), just you, you good-looking hunk of a man. !is apparent, though perhaps dramatically ironic, idolization of her victim—she chose him, not anybody else, sought him out diligently, and now personally invites him to her lavish home (cf. 9:3, 15, 18)—conceals her concupiscence. Both Woman Wisdom and the foolish woman and their respective lovers seek to find each Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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other (cf. 1:28; 2:4; 3:13; 8:17, 35). 16 Having fla"ered his ego, she now further stimulates his sexual appetites by a sensual vision of the luxurious couch she prepared beforehand for the feast and lovemaking. I have provided (rābadtî) and coverlets (marbaddîm) are both rare words but are now a"ested in the Ugaritic texts (ca. 1400

B.C.)

with the expected

sense, “to provide (a bed) with covers.” !ey were used to make the bed so# (cf. 31:22). !e noun in the phrase my couch (or divan;73 ʿarśî) occurs eight times in poetry, once in prose (Deut. 3:11), and three times in parallel in miṭṭâʾ (Ps. 6:6[7]; Amos 3:12; 6:4). It was definitely used for reclining in sleep (Ps. 132:3) and possibly, since no distinction can be made between miṭṭâʾ and ʿereś in Amos 3:12; 6:4, for reclining during a meal. In a large bas-relief from Assyria, King Ashurbanipal is seen reclining on a pillowed dining couch as he raises a bowl of wine to his lips. Plaut explains that 73 HALOT, 2:889,

s.v. ʿereś.

Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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the old custom of leaning toward the le" side when drinking the wine at the Seder meal goes back to the ancient posture of eating; the free man reclined on the couch during his meal.74 In v. 16b she moves from the sensual appeal of the bed’s comfort to its aesthetic appeal. As a clarifying parallel to “coverlets” she adds, embroidered stuff (ḥaṭubôt, a hap. leg.; see n. 18). !e linen (ʾēṭûn, a hap. leg.) of Egypt (miṣrāyim) refers to linen of red color, a luxury commodity exported by ancient Egypt (cf. 31:22).75 !e Egyptian loanword was called “royal linen.”76 D. Edwards notes about garments: “Color was o"en a sign of status, as was the quality of the garment; thus dyeing was an important industry, as evidenced by the large number of dyeing establishments found throughout ancient Israel. Espe74 Plaut, Proverbs, p. 103. 75

HALOT, 1:37, s.v. ʾēṭûn; R. B. O’Connell, “Proverbs

8:17–18: A Case of Fatal Deception in a ‘Woman and the Window’ Type-Scene,” VT 41 (1991) 239, n. 6l. 76 F. C. Fensham, NBD, p. 702, s.v.

“linen.”

Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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cially significant was the purple dye industry …” (see 31:22).77 17

She now stimulates him with aphrodisiac

smells; all three names for perfumes in this verse are also found in Song 4:14 as odiferous images of sexual love. To perfect the bed’s preparation she says, I perfumed (naptî) my bed (miškābî) with precious, aromatic spices, assuming the audience knows how beds are perfumed. Her bed (lit. “a place for lying down” [cf. 22:27]) may be a synonym for “couch” but now more clearly a place for making love (Gen. 49:4; Isa. 57:7, 8). !e bed consisted of a frame placed on four legs and was covered to the extent that cushions and blankets could be laid on it. Only the rich owned furniture in the ancient orient.78 !e fragrances also contribute to the luxurious se"ing.79 Verset B names the perfumes. 77 D. R. Edwards, ABD, 2:235, s.v.

“Dress and

Ornamentation.” 78 Meinhold, Sprüche, p. 128. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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Myrrh (mōr) is a fragrant gum-resin, used in both solid and liquid forms, manufactured by tapping south Arabian or African balsam trees (Commiphora myrrha or Commiphora kataf). Myrrh was also pulverized into a fine powder and placed in a sachet worn between a woman’s breasts (Song 1:13). Lign-aloes (ʾahālîm) is a precious spice from the southeast Asian and north Indian eaglewood tree (Aquillaria agallochum). In the Bible it always occurs with myrrh (Song 4:14). Cinnamon (qinnāmôn) is obtained from the bark of the cinnamon tree, especially the Cinnamomum zeylanicum, native to Sri Lanka and the Indian coast. !e bark was 79

!e identification of the fragrances is based on the discus-

sion in O’Connell, “Proverbs 7:16–17,” pp. 237–38. O’Connell, however, is not convincing that the adornments of the temptress’s bed, including the fragrances, are deceptive or ominous nuances of death so that “the fool of Prov. vii is lured by the woman’s choice wording in vv. 16–17, all the time oblivious to her intention to prepare his burial (cf. vv. 22–3).” Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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peeled off, and from it light, flowing oil was gained, or the bark was dried and traded in the form of bars. !ese perfumes had to be obtained from merchants who had traveled great distances, and they were prized and displayed as part of a king’s treasury (2 K. 20:13). Only kings and the very wealthy could afford to use them lavishly (Ps. 45:7–8[8–9]; Song 3:6–7). !e merchant’s wife was willing to spend all this to gratify her fervid sexual passion. Her bu#ered-up lover could not ignore such an investment and opportunity, she implicitly argues. Perhaps the gullible, on his part, also gave evidence of some wealth to a#ract her to him, if in fact her boudoir was as expensively decorated as she advertises. 18–20 She now makes her proposition: the voluptuous sensual gain explains her investment (7:18), and they have nothing to fear (vv. 19–20). 18 !e interjection come (lekâ; see 6:3) calls for immediate action, let us drink our fill (nirweh; see 5:19). Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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HALOT renders rwh in the Niphal “sich laben” (“refresh/regale/restore oneself, to partake of refreshments”), but it offers no convincing reason to overthrow the total lexical data for the meaning “to be saturated.”80 !e woman’s breasts drench her lover in 5:19, and the idiom “to drink love,” probably related to the metaphors “to drink water” for coitus and “well water” for the vagina (see 5:15–18; 9:17), occurs in Song 5:1 with the verb šth “to drink”: šetû wešikrû dôdîm (“drink your fill, lovers”).81 In the Bible the plural dôdîm (with love) always refers to a sexual relationship, and in the Song of Solomon it has a strong erotic meaning. In Akkadian the plural is also constantly used in this erotic sense.82 Until [or as far as, ʿadhabbōqer] the morning when the sun rises entails that she anticipates slowly passing the night while enjoying every form and delight of lovemaking. Let us enjoy 80 Cf.

BDB, p. 924, rāwâ; HALOT, 3:1,195, s.v. rwh.

81 Noted by Fox, Proverbs 1–9, p. 248. 82 J. Sanmartin-Ascaso, TDOT, 3:144, s.v. dôdh. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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each other (nitʿal esâ) underscores their reciprocal dependence and emphasizes the pleasure of the experience. With love (boʾohābîm; see 1:22), which here refers only to erotic love (2 Sam. 13:1; Hos. 8:9), parodies the true love that is stronger than death, a flaming fire that many waters cannot quench (Song 8:6–8). !e temptress promises sexual love without erotic restraint, but she refuses to make the fundamental commitment of self to him that is required of true love. Her sort of eroticism leads to complications, even death, and so it must be rejected. “To say physically, ‘I am giving myself to you,’ while emotionally and spiritually holding back from covenanted commitment is in fact to live a lie—a split in the personality which is ultimately stressful and destructive.”83 19 Verses 19–20 are linked by the topic “my husband” and by the phrase “his house.” Her final argu83 Atkinson, Proverbs (Leicester, Eng. and Downers Grove,

Ill.: Inter-Varsity, 1997), p. 77. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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ment aims to remove the uncommi"ed youth’s fear of her husband catching them in adultery (6:34–35). For (kî) is elliptical, for “you have nothing to fear because.” Her enticements are similar to Satan’s. Appealing to Eve’s lust for food, aesthetics, and sense of independent wisdom, Satan throws aside Eve’s reservation not to sin with the promise, “You will not die.” If the unrestrained wife, who is Satan’s seed, is right, then the whole basis of biblical ethics is undermined: deed and consequences are not connected. “!e significance of the seduction of the Strange Woman is that it is carried out in language that separates deed from consequence. In Proverbs 7 … the woman does not seek to convince her prey that adultery is right, but only that they can get away with it because her husband is not at home.”84 She uses both her dress and language to mask reality. She represents my husband by “the man” (hāʾîš), not by “my husband” (ʾîšî; cf. Gen. 29:32, 34; 84 C. V. Camp, “Woman Wisdom as Root Metaphor: A

!eological Consideration,” in TLH, p. 51. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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30:15, 20; Josh. 2:9, 18; 2 Sam. 24:5; 2 K. 4:1) or “my lord” (baʾalî, only in Hos. 2:16[18]), but the point cannot be made that this has a dismissive tone.85 !e Hebrew idiom uses the article where the English idiom prefers the personal pronoun.86 At home glosses the Hebrew “his house” (bêtô), but this idiom also does not necessarily suggest that she is emotionally alienated from him, for in that culture she would not speak of “my house(hold)” (cf. 6:31; 11:29; 15:27; Job 8:15; 20:28; 38:20), even though the father necessarily refers repeatedly to the unfaithful wife’s residence as “her house” (2:18; 5:8; 7:8, 27; 9:14; cf. 9:1 and 14:1; 31:21). Neither husband nor wife is at home in this pagan household; their absences are interrelated. Significantly, she plainly announces that her proposition involves a purely sexual indulgence, not a commitment that would entail divorce and remarriage. Instead, she freely acknowledges that her husband will 85 Pace Fox, Proverbs 1–9, p. 248. 86 IBHS, p. 243, P. 13.5.1e. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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be back in two weeks, entailing that she intends to remain married though unfaithful, leaving the dullard without moral excuse for his dimwi"ed adultery. !e dimwit should have known that she should not be trusted, for her very argument reveals that she is deceitful and unfaithful. Moreover, her speech deconstructs her camouflage as a professional prostitute for sex with a professional that would not incur a husband’s rage. Her proof that he went (hālak) on a distant [or long] journey (b ederek; see 1:15; cf. Num. 9:10) is probably a lie, to judge from the dire consequences that happen to her victim (7:22; cf. 5:9–10). Her motives, according to the father, are due to her lecherous and rebellious nature, not to the cupidity of her pagan household (see 7:11–12). 20 She reinforces the thought that they have nothing to fear by adding to her husband’s physical distance (v. 19) his temporal distance (v. 20). Her vividly concrete statement, he took (lāqaḥ; see 1:3) in his hand (b eyādô; see 1:24) a purse (ṣerôr), signifies that he is Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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away on a business trip. Her qualification filled with silver (hakkesep; see 2:4) connotes that he has much business to transact and so will be gone for a long time. From these statements no deduction can be made about the man’s ethnicity or time, for every nation has traveling businessmen; Israel had them at least as early as Solomon. 87 Her luxurious home supports her argument that he would carry lots of silver. Her claim he will come home (yābōʾ bêtô; lit. “enter his house”) further underscores that she has no intention of giving up her comfortable lifestyle for her onenight stand. !e parasite’s aim in life is to indulge her lusts, not to serve her Creator who gave her life, her community that gives her social structure, or her husband who supports her. At full moon (leyôm hakkēseʾ, lit. on the day of the full moon)88 infers he will be gone for a fortnight, if we may presume that she offered her sacrifice at new moon (v. 14) when the 87 Cf. Gemser, Sprüche, pp. 35–36. 88 HALOT, 2:401, 487, s.v. yôm, keseʾ. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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moonless dusk is particularly dark and obscure (v. 9).89 Boström supports his interpretation that she is truly a sacral prostitute in need of a male accomplice other than her husband by the argument that at new moon the constellation of moon and sun shows a certain affinity to sexual intercourse. Plöger rightly counters, however, that he is overreading the brief textual indications.90 !e vixen’s argument has plausibility in that travelers took advantage of the full moon when travel was less dangerous. She makes no mention, of course, of other witnesses, such as the father, to their infidelity, who might report them to the husband. Should the husband burst in on their tryst, one may assume that she would accuse the youth of rape (cf. Gen. 39:6b–20). (3) Fall: !e Gullible’s Submission (7:21–23) !e father draws his narrative to a conclusion with a 89 Meinhold, Sprüche, p. 129. 90 Plöger, Sprüche, p. 80. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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comment on the deadly effectiveness of her speech. Verse 21 presents her effectiveness; vv. 22–23, its deadly consequence. 21 She turned him aside (hiṭṭatû; see 2:2) is both actual and metaphorical: she turned his lust toward her sensual a#ractions and so turned his body toward her house. With her … persuasiveness glosses liqḥāh, which, if given its normal meaning of “teaching” (1:5; 6:25), would represent her speech as representing a world-and-life view contrary to the father’s. More probably its essential meaning “her taking” denotes “her taking” (i.e., alluring/seductive ways) or “her taking one over,” just as the verb lāqaḥ was used of her seductive eyes.91 Here it refers to “her taking” by her smooth talk (i.e., of being persuasive; cf. 11:30; 16:21, 91

BDB, p. 544, s.v. leqaḥ; HALOT, 2:535, s.v. leqaḥ. To this

meaning D. Winton !omas (“Textual and Philological Notes on Some Passages in Proverbs,” in WIANE, p. 284) adds alluring gestures to her verbal persuasion. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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23). Immense (rōb; see 5:23; 10:19) qualifies her “taking ways” as extensive in quantity. !e inner core of the chiasm, with the smoothness (beḥēleq—note the broken sequence of lqḥh bḥlq) of her lips (śepāteyhā; see 5:3; cf. 6:4) adds another qualifier to her effective speech and forms an inclusio with the introduction (cf. 7:5). !e outer core of the chiasm, she routed him (taddîḥennû, i.e., she forcibly drives or pushes him away)92 signifies that her seduction drove the “pushover” from the way of life into her house, the foyer into death (see 2:18–19). 22 !e father’s “gripping and horrifying pictures”93 of the gullible’s fate aim to force upon the son the stark “reality” that the wages of sin is death. !e summary statements, “she turned him” and “routed him,” are replaced by the vividly dramatic, he went a'er her (hôlēk, a durative participle; “he was going a#er her”). Suddenly (pitʾōm; 3:25; 6:15) fixes the moment of deci92 Cf. L. J. Coppes, TWOT, 2:556,

s.v., nādâ.

93 Brenner and Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Text, p. 60. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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sion and implies that the gullible acted without reflection but allowed his glands to do his thinking for him. Editorially, the sage interprets and illustrates the scene by three animal comparisons. !e first simile, as an ox (kešôr) enters (yābôʾ; see v. 22) a slaughterhouse, compares her victim to the physically powerful king of domesticated animals and connotes that the fatuous youth, by following his animal instincts rather than his intellectual and spiritual sensibilities, deprives himself of all his endowed opportunities, strength, and even life. !e ritually pure slaughter (cf. 9:2) of an ox involved sli"ing the neck beneath the jugular, whereby the air tube, esophagus, and the large neck veins are severed; the bleeding led to immediate death.94 !e second simile, and as a stag, intensifies the fatal reality and adds to the bull’s strength the deer’s grace, and stepping into a noose (ûkeʿekes ʾelmûsar ʾayyāl; see n. 33) adds the notion of entrapment, a notion also presented by “she lies in wait” (v. 12). 94 Meinhold, Sprüche, p. 130. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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23 Until (ʿad; see v. 18) an arrow (ḥēṣ) splits open (yepallaḥ) his liver (kebēdô) is best connected semantically with v. 22b as emended (see n. 33). Although the text in vv. 22b and c is difficult, the meaning is clear: the victim meets a fatal end (see vv. 26–27). !e text does not aim to identify who shot the arrow; there is only the fatal effect of shooting into the liver of a deer caught in a noose. !e liver, derived in the Semitic languages from the root “to be heavy,” implies that the organ is full of blood. !e human liver is mentioned elsewhere only in Lam. 2:11, and commonly in Akkadian literature, as the seat of life. Spli$ing open the very core of the animal’s blood supply and vitality led to its instant death. !e third simile, as a bird (ke … ṣippôr; see 6:5) hastens (maher; see 25:8a) into a trap (ʾelpāḥ; see 22:5), adds to the notion of entrapment the speed with which the apostate comes to his fatal destiny. !e implicit notion of the ignorance of the ox and deer is now made explicit. And he does not know (welōʾ-yādaʿ; see 5:6) he (hûʾ) [acts] against his own life Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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(b enapšô; see 1:18). !e sage wraps up the narrative conclusion with this explicit summary. Stupid animals see no connection between traps and death, and morally stupid people see no connection between their sin and death (cf. 1:17–18; Hos. 7:11).

c. Conclusion (7:24–27) !e father draws the lecture to its conclusion with a renewed admonition to stay clear of the adulteress (vv. 24–25), accompanied by renewed argumentation (vv. 26–27). (1) Admonition: Listen to the Father, Not to the Unchaste Wife (7:24–25) !e admonition typically calls for a"entiveness (v. 24) before the particular command (v. 25). 24 Unlike the conclusions to most lectures, this one again emphatically calls for a"entiveness to his teaching, forming an inclusio with vv. 1–5. So now (weʿa$â), sons (bānîm; see 4:1) extends the teaching from the son Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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of v. 1 to the lineage of sons. Listen to me (šimʿû-lî) repeats verbatim the exhortation introducing the lesson of the first full lecture against the unchaste wife (see 5:7). !e emphatic parallel, pay a$ention (wehaqšîbû; see 2:2) to the words of my mouth (leʾimrê-pî; see 4:5), are needed to counteract the foreign woman’s mouth. !e father radically distances his posterity who heed his warning from the gullible (see 1:4). 25 Do not let your heart (libbekā; see p. 90-92) turn aside (ʾal-yēśeṭ; see 4:15) uses śāṭâ as yet another synonym for sûr “turn aside” (see nāṭâ; v. 21) into her ways (ʾel-derākeyhā; see 1:15). !e incomplete metaphor stands for her dark deceptions; restless, irrational, and unrestrained lust; infidelity to her husband; tyranny against society; and calloused indifference to the youth’s fate. !e synonymous parallel, do not go astray (ʾal-tētaʿ, i.e., to leave a point of orientation) into her paths (binetîbôteyhā; see 1:15), emphasizes the prohibition and implies an admonition to adhere to the straight way of the inherited wisdom. Tʿh is used of the Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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wanderings of a lost person (cf. Gen. 21:14) or of staggering in drunken stupor (cf. Isa. 28:7). (2) Motivation: !e Unchaste Wife Is Deadly ( 7:26–27) 26 For introduces the twofold rationale in vv. 26–27 behind the twofold admonitions in the preceding quatrain (vv. 24–25). “!e father’s concluding words in verses 24–27 expose the monstrous, mythic dimension of the strange woman. She is not just a woman who has seduced a simple-minded young man. She is a predator who has slain multitudes. Indeed, her vagina is the gate of Sheol. Her womb, death itself.”95 !ese verses are closely related to the conclusion of the introductory teaching about the strange woman’s house of perdition in 2:18–19 and form an inclusio with them. She has toppled (hippîlâ) summarizes her deceptive and effective tactics (vv. 6–23). Single-handedly she vanquished many (rabbîm) men. Slain ( 95 Newsom, “Woman and Discourse,” pp. 155–56. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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halālîm), literally “to be hollowed out, pierced” (cf. the stag in 7:23), is here a technical military term for “pierced” in ba"le—though it can be used for anyone murdered or executed—and a metonymy for the slain corpses that are stripped and then buried. !is term for a violent, not natural, death frequently occurs, as here, in combination with the root npl (cf. Judg. 9:40; 1 Sam. 3:1). Even the powerful (waʿaṣumîm) refers to men whose aggressive power and/or defensive strength is based on their numerical superiority.96 In spite of their number, they are a herd of bulls led to the slaughter by this one aggressive woman. !e meaning “many” tends toward all (kol); none is excepted from certain death.97 !ose killed by her (harugeyhā; see 1:32) o#en stands in parallel to the “slain.” Hārag originated in the terminology of warfare. !e agentive genitive climactically presents her as the victorious conqueror who vanquished an army of men whom she hunted 96 R. Wakely, NIDOTTE, 3:487–94, s.v. ʾṣm. 97 T. Hartman, TLOT, 3:1,197, s.v. rab. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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down (see 6:26). !e imagery is closely related to the Babylonian Ishtar and the Sumerian Inanna, both of whom have the double function of being goddesses of love and war. 27 !is verse shi"s the imagery from her victory on the ba#lefield to the imagery of her house and ways to represent the finality of their death. Her house (bêtâ; see v. 8), which she represented as a house of lustful pleasure (vv. 16–18), in fact presents the foyer to the ways (darkê; see v. 25; 2:8) leading to the grave (šeôl see p. 116). !e plural connotes that her house is equipped with many wrong ways (i.e., the many aspects of her foolish behavior) and leads to the realm of death lying below; any one of these leads to death.98 !e notion of leading to the grave is now unpacked. !ose lifestyles incarnated in the unchaste wife descend (yōredôt; see 1:12; 5:5) into the chambers (ḥadrê) of death (māwet, see 2:18), the last and climactic word 98 So Meinhold, Sprüche, p. 132. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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of the lecture. Ḥeder “always refers to a room that protects its interior from without, or cannot be observed from without. Its basic semantic component is “inner (or dark) chamber of a solid building.” !e plural envisions the grave divided into several chambers; the worst is the lowest where her victims lie (see 9:18). As there may be a pun with “her lips” between the outer and the inner (5:3), there may also be a correlation between the grave and her body. Elsewhere in Proverbs ḥeder refers to “innermost parts of the body or being” (18:8 = 26:22; 20:27, 30). Price states that “in the Mishnaic and Talmudic literature ḥeder took on the additional connotation of the inner part of the female genitals and in the plural the nuance of the remotest recesses or strict secrecy.”99 Gemser says: “Her bedroom is no ballroom, but a ba"lefield where corpses lie about and from where many are sent to the Netherworld (2:18f; 5:5; 9:18), even to the most inner chambers of the fortress of death, that are destined for 99 J. D. Price, NIDOTTE, 2:28–30, s.v. ḥdr. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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the most disrespected among the dead (Ez 32:23, 27; Is 14:15f. 19f).”100 Although God is not mentioned in this chapter, the other clear expressions of the sage’s world-and-life view show that Solomon assumes that God is the ultimate Agent who sentences the gullible to his death (e.g., 5:21–23).

100 Gemser, Sprüche, p. 45. Bruce K. Waltke, !e Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15, !e New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:30 PM June 8, 2020.

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09_The Book of Proverbs, Chapters 1–15

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