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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
7:1-27 Tenth Paternal Appeal: Keep Away from Temptations to Adultery. The appeal begins with the plea for the son to take the father's wise instruction to heart in order to keep himself away from the adulteress (vv. 1-5). The main section is a narrative about a man who willingly allows himself to be entrapped by the adulteress (vv. 6-23). The final verses appeal to the sons (plural, v. 24) to learn the point of the narrative: wisdom includes keeping off paths that one knows will lead to temptation, paths on which many have walked naively to their own ruin (vv. 24-26). This is the third paternal warning about adultery (see 5:1-23; 6:20-35).
7:4 Sister in ancient texts sometimes refers to one's wife as a dear companion, as in Song 5:1. Thus, the idea may be that one should bind himself to Wisdom and not the adulteress.
7:6-9 The father begins an account, based on something he has observed through his own window. The man is simple (see Introduction: Character Types in Proverbs) and young. As 6:20-35 expands on the consequences of adultery described in 5:9-14, this appeal plays out the way in which the reckless stumble into adultery by putting themselves in the wrong place (passing . . . near her corner, taking the road to her house) at the wrong time (twilight, evening, time of night and darkness) in contrast to the clear instruction of 5:8 to "keep your way from her, and do not go near the door of her house."
7:11-12 The woman is described in terms somewhat like Wisdom, who cried aloud in the streets and markets (see 1:20-21), but the implication is that her actions (loud, wayward, in the street, in the market) embody a deceptive heart and are those of the woman Folly (see 9:13-18).
7:13-20 The woman uses whatever she can as part of her appeal. She puts the young man off his guard: Israelite culture apparently discouraged the romantic kiss in public (see note on Song 8:1), and this bold face (Prov. 7:13) would set the man back; she flatters him into thinking he is someone special (to meet you, to seek you eagerly, v. 15); she promises sensual delights (vv. 16-18) and security from discovery (her husband will not be back anytime soon, vv. 19-20). The sacrifices (v. 14) are probably "peace offerings" (see ESV footnote). The implication is that she has a supply of meat at home (a luxury item; cf. 17:1). This is a stark example of a disconnect between her religious practice (the peace offering was intended to foster communion with God) and the path of her life--a disconnect that the prophets so often condemn (see note on Isa. 1:10-20).
7:22-23 Once again the foolish path is described as a trap (slaughter, caught fast, snare) that ends in destruction (cf. 1:17-19; 5:22; 6:2, 5).
7:24-25 The father now expands his audience to include all his sons. The narrative of the fool and the trap are meant to instill in the sons the good sense to keep far from such ways or paths. Such caution, stemming from the father's commandments being written on the heart (v. 4), is the means by which wisdom will keep them from the forbidden woman or the adulteress (v. 5).
7:26-27 The image of many a victim . . . a mighty throng having fallen to her advances, as if she were a warrior, is given as further grounds for staying away, and warns the sons against the foolish pride of presuming they would be different. Although the woman invites the fool to her bed (v. 17) in her home (v. 19) for immediate pleasure, the nature of the path to her house will entangle him in a way that, in the end, leads to the chambers of death. In mentioning Sheol, the text is indicating that the consequences go beyond this life (cf. 23:13-14): life and death in Proverbs commonly correspond to a right relationship to God and estrangement from him, continuing beyond the grave (cf. 12:28).
