CHAPTER VII _A farther exhortation to acquire wisdom, in order to be_ _preserved from impure connections_, 1-5. _The character of a harlot, and her conduct towards a youth who_ _fell into her snare_, 6-23. _Solemn exhortations to avoid this evil_, 24-27. NOTES ON CHAP. VII Verse Proverbs 7:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:2. _AS THE APPLE OF THINE EYE._] As the pupil of the eye, which is of such essential necessity to sight, and so easily injured.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:3. _BIND THEM UPON THY FINGERS_] See on Proverbs 3:3.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:4. _THOU_ ART _MY SISTER_] Thou art my dearest friend, and I will treat thee as such.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:5. _THE STRANGE WOMAN_] The _prostitute_, the _adulteress_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:6. _I LOOKED THROUGH MY CASEMENT_] The _casement_ is a small aperture in a large window, or a window opening on hinges. Here it means the _lattice_, for they had no _glass windows_ in the East. And the _latticed_ windows produced a _double_ advantage: 1. Making the apartments suffi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:7. _AMONG THE SIMPLE ONES_] The inexperienced, inconsiderate young men. _A YOUNG MAN VOID OF UNDERSTANDING_] חסר לב _chasar leb_, "destitute of a heart." He had not wisdom to discern the evil intended; nor courage to resist the flatteries of the seducer.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:8. _HE WENT THE WAY TO HER HOUSE._] She appears to have had a corner house sufficiently remarkable; and a way from the main street to it.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:9. _IN THE TWILIGHT, IN THE EVENING_] Some time after sun-setting; before it was _quite dark_. _IN THE BLACK AND DARK NIGHT_] When there were neither _lamps_ nor _moon-shine_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:10. _A WOMAN_ WITH _THE ATTIRE OF A HARLOT_] It appears that sitting in some open place, and covering the face, or having a veil of a peculiar kind on, was the evidence of a harlot, Genesis 38:14; Genesis 38:15-1. No doubt, in Solomon's time, they had other distinctions. In all oth... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:11. _SHE_ IS _LOUD AND STUBBORN_] המיה _homiyah_, she is never _at rest_, always _agitated_; busily employed to gain her end, and this is _to go_ into the _path of error_: סררת sorereth, "turning aside;" preferring any way to the right way. And, therefore, it is added, _her feet abi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:12. _NOW_ IS SHE _WITHOUT_] She is continually exposing herself, and showing by her gait and gestures _what_ she is, and _what_ she _wants_. These two verses are a _parenthesis_, intended to show the character of the woman.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:13. _SO SHE CAUGHT HIM_] Laid _fast hold_ on him, and _kissed_ _him_, to show that she was affectionately attached to him. _AND WITH AN IMPUDENT FACE_] העזה פניה _heezzah paneyha_, "she strengthened her countenance," assumed the most confident look she could; endeavoured to appear... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:14. I HAVE _PEACE-OFFERINGS WITH ME_] More literally, "the sacrifices of the peace-offerings are with me." _Peace-offerings_, _shelamim_, were offerings the spiritual design of which was to make peace between God and man, to make up the _breach_ between them which sin had occasione... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:16. _I HAVE DECKED MY BED_] ערשי _arsi_, "my couch or sofa;" distinguished from משכבי _mishcabi_, "my bed," Proverbs 7:17, _the place to sleep on_, as the other was _the place to recline on_ at _meals_. The _tapestry_, מרבדים marbaddim, mentioned here seems to refer to the covering... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:17. _I HAVE PERFUMED ANY BED WITH MYRRH_] מר _mor_, "aloes," אהלים _ahalim_, and "cinnamon," קנמון _kinnamon_. We have taken our names from the original words; but probably the _ahalim_ may not mean _aloes_, which is no _perfume_; but _sandal wood_, which is very much used in the Ea... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:18. _COME, LET US TAKE OUR FILL OF LOVE_] נרוה דדים _nirveh_ _dodim_, "Let us revel in the breasts;" and then it is added, "Let us solace ourselves with loves," נתעלסה באהבים _nithallesah_ _boohabim_; "let us gratify each other with loves, with the utmost delights." This does not h... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:19. _FOR THE GOOD MAN_] Literally, "For the man is not in his house.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:20. _HE HATH TAKEN_] Literally, "The money bag he hath taken in his hand." He is gone a journey of itinerant merchandising. This seems to be what is intended. AND _WILL COME HOME AT THE DAY APPOINTED._] ליום הכסא _leyom_ _hakkase_, the _time fixed_ for a return from such a journey.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:21. _WITH HER MUCH FAIR SPEECH_] With her blandishments and lascivious talk, she overcame all his scruples, and constrained him to yield.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:22. _AS AN OX GOETH TO THE SLAUGHTER_] The original of this and the following verse has been variously translated. Dr. _Grey_ corrects and translates thus: "He goeth after her straightway, as an OX goeth to the SLAUGHTER; as a DOG to the CHAIN; and as a DEER till the DART strike thr... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:24. _HEARKEN UNTO ME NOW, THEREFORE, O YE CHILDREN_] Ye that are young and inexperienced, seriously consider the example set before your eyes, and take warning at another's expense.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:26. _FOR SHE HATH CAST DOWN MANY WOUNDED: YEA, MANY STRONG_ _MEN HAVE BEEN SLAIN BY HER._] That is, such like women have been the ruin of many. חללים _chalalim_, which we render _wounded_, also signifies _soldiers_ or men of war; and עצמים _atsumim_, which we render _strong men_, ma... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 7:27. _HER HOUSE_ IS _THE WAY TO HELL_] שאול _sheol_, the _pit_, the _grave_, the _place of the dead_, the _eternal_ and _infernal world_. And they who, through such, fall into the _grave_, descend lower, into _the chambers of death_; the place where pleasure is at an end, and _illusi... [ Continue Reading ]