Proverbs7

The father admonishes his son to embrace wisdom and keep his commandments, thereby guarding against the allure of the "strange woman." He recounts observing a naive youth who, despite warnings, is enticed by a harlot's flattering words and promises of illicit pleasure. The chapter concludes with a solemn caution that her path leads to destruction and death for those who yield to her temptations.

Hold Fast to Wisdom

My son, keep my words. Lay up my commandments within you.

Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye.

Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart.

Tell wisdom, “You are my sister.” Call understanding your relative,

that they may keep you from the strange woman, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.

The Observation of the Simple Youth

For at the window of my house, I looked out through my lattice.

I saw among the simple ones. I discerned among the youths a young man void of understanding,

passing through the street near her corner, he went the way to her house,

in the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the middle of the night and in the darkness.

Behold, there a woman met him with the attire of a prostitute, and with crafty intent.

She is loud and defiant. Her feet don’t stay in her house.

Now she is in the streets, now in the squares, and lurking at every corner.

So she caught him, and kissed him. With an impudent face she said to him:

“Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me. This day I have paid my vows.

Therefore I came out to meet you, to diligently seek your face, and I have found you.

I have spread my couch with carpets of tapestry, with striped cloths of the yarn of Egypt.

I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

Come, let’s take our fill of loving until the morning. Let’s solace ourselves with loving.

For my husband isn’t at home. He has gone on a long journey.

He has taken a bag of money with him. He will come home at the full moon.”

With persuasive words, she led him astray. With the flattering of her lips, she seduced him.

He followed her immediately, as an ox goes to the slaughter, as a fool stepping into a noose.

Until an arrow strikes through his liver, as a bird hurries to the snare, and doesn’t know that it will cost his life.

Final Warning Against Immorality

Now therefore, sons, listen to me. Pay attention to the words of my mouth.

Don’t let your heart turn to her ways. Don’t go astray in her paths,

for she has thrown down many wounded. Yes, all her slain are a mighty army.

Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the rooms of death.

Study Notes for Proverbs 7

Verse 1

Proverbs 7 continues the father's urgent appeal from chapters 1–6, framing moral instruction as the key to a flourishing life.

Verse 2

“Keep my commandments, and live” connects obedience directly to the covenant promise of life (Deuteronomy 30:19–20). To guard the law 'as the apple of thine eye' means protecting it with the utmost vigilance.

Verse 3

Binding the law on the fingers and heart are metaphors for complete internalization and constant remembrance, ensuring that the commands are always present in action and motivation.

Verse 5

The 'strange woman' (Hebrew: *zarah*) is typically an outsider or an adulteress who threatens the stability of the family and the covenant community through illicit sex.

Verse 6

The teacher shifts from direct command to a vivid, cautionary narrative, illustrating how moral failure occurs through a series of small, avoidable steps.

Verse 7

The youth is 'void of understanding' (*ḥăsar-lēḇ*), indicating a lack of moral discernment and practical wisdom, making him highly susceptible to temptation.

Verse 9

The description of the time—twilight and darkness—symbolizes the secrecy and moral obscurity that sin requires, highlighting the deliberate nature of the youth's approach.

Verse 10

The woman is described by her 'attire of an harlot' and her 'subtil of heart,' indicating that her external appearance is provocative and her internal motivation is deceitful and calculated.

Verse 12

Her restless, public behavior contrasts sharply with the ideal of the virtuous wife found elsewhere in Proverbs; she is actively seeking prey rather than managing her home.

Verse 14

She manipulates religious piety by claiming to have just offered peace offerings (*shelamim*). This implies she is pious, and also that she has plenty of sacrificial meat for a celebratory feast, lending a veneer of respectability to the encounter.

Verse 16

The luxurious description of the bed appeals directly to the youth’s sensual desires, creating a fantasy of comfort and illicit pleasure.

Verse 21

The power of temptation is centered on 'fair speech' and 'flattering,' emphasizing that sin often succeeds through calculated lies and persuasive appeals rather than through force.

Verse 22

The imagery of the ox going to slaughter illustrates the victim's blindness and the inevitability of ruin once the path of sin is embraced.

Verse 23

The 'dart strike through his liver' is a graphic image of fatal judgment. The liver was believed by ancient Hebrews to be the seat of life and deep emotion, signifying ultimate death.

Verse 24

The teacher concludes the narrative with an immediate call for attention, applying the lesson directly to the audience.

Verse 26

This verse warns that the danger is universal; even 'many strong men' (those confident in their control or standing) have been brought down by sexual sin, demonstrating its destructive reach.

Verse 27

The house of the adulteress is explicitly equated with 'Sheol' and the 'chambers of death,' underscoring the theological point that this sin leads ultimately to spiritual and physical destruction.

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Proverbs7

Hold Fast to Wisdom

The Observation of the Simple Youth

Final Warning Against Immorality

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