Discovery BoxProverbs 3:15 
Context3:15 She is more precious than rubies,
and none of the things 1 you desire 2 can compare 3 with her. 4
Proverbs 5:3
Context5:3 For the lips 5 of the adulterous woman drip honey,
and her seductive words 6 are smoother than olive oil,
Proverbs 5:6
Context5:6 Lest 7 she should make level the path leading to life, 8
her paths are unstable 9 but she does not know it. 10
Proverbs 7:5
Context7:5 so that they may keep you 11 from the adulterous 12 woman,
from the loose woman 13 who flatters you 14 with her words. 15
Proverbs 8:2
Context8:2 At the top 16 of the elevated places along the way,
at the intersection 17 of the paths she takes her stand;
Proverbs 9:3
Context9:3 She has sent out her female servants;
she calls out on the highest places 18 of the city.
Proverbs 9:14-15
Context9:14 So she sits at the door of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,
9:15 calling out 19 to those who are passing by her 20 in the way, 21
who go straight 22 on their way.
Proverbs 9:18
Context9:18 But they do not realize 23 that the dead 24 are there,
that her guests are in the depths of the grave. 25
Proverbs 31:23
Context31:23 Her husband is well-known 26 in the city gate 27
when he sits with the elders 28 of the land.
1 tn Heb “all of your desires cannot compare with her.”
2 tn Heb “your desires.” The 2nd person masculine singular suffix on the noun probably functions as subjective genitive.
3 tn The imperfect tense verb יָסַד (yasad, “to establish be like; to resemble”) has a potential nuance here: “can be compared with.”
4 tn Heb “All of your desires do not compare with her.”
5 sn “Lips” is a metonymy of cause, referring to her words. Dripping honey is an implied comparison between the product and her words, which are flattering and smooth (cf. Song 4:11). See M. Dahood, “Honey That Drips. Notes on Proverbs 5:2-3,” Bib 54 (1973): 65-66.
6 tn Heb “her palate.” The word חֵךְ (khekh, “palate; roof of the mouth; gums”) is a metonymy of cause (= organ of speech) for what is said (= her seductive speech). The present translation clarifies this metonymy with the phrase “her seductive words.”
7 tn The particle פֶּן (pen) means “lest” (probably from “for the aversion of”). It occurs this once, unusually, preceding the principal clause (BDB 814 s.v.). It means that some action has been taken to avert or avoid what follows. She avoids the path of life, albeit ignorantly.
8 tn Heb “the path of life.” The noun חַיִּים (khayyim, “of life”) functions as a genitive of direction (“leading to”).
9 sn The verb נוּעַ (nua’) means “to quiver; to wave; to waver; to tremble”; cf. KJV “her ways are moveable”; NAB “her paths will ramble”; NLT “She staggers down a crooked trail.” The ways of the adulterous woman are unstable (BDB 631 s.v.).
10 sn The sadder part of the description is that this woman does not know how unstable her life is, or how uneven. However, Thomas suggests that it means, “she is not tranquil.” See D. W. Thomas, “A Note on לא תדע in Proverbs v 6,” JTS 37 (1936): 59.
11 tn The infinitive construct with the preposition shows the purpose of associating closely with wisdom: Wisdom will obviate temptations, the greatest being the sexual urge.
12 tn Heb “strange” (so KJV, ASV).
13 tn Heb “strange woman.” This can be interpreted as a “wayward wife” (so NIV) or an “unfaithful wife” (so NCV). As discussed earlier, the designations “strange woman” and “foreign woman” could refer to Israelites who stood outside the community in their lawlessness and loose morals – an adulteress or wayward woman. H. Ringgren and W. Zimmerli, however, suggest that she is also a promoter of a pagan cult, but that is not entirely convincing (Spruche/Prediger [ATD], 19).
14 tn The term “you” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.
15 tn Heb “she makes smooth her words.” This expression means “she flatters with her words.”
16 tn Heb “head.” The word רֹאשׁ (ro’sh, “head”) refers to the highest area or most important place in the elevated area. The contrast with chapter 7 is striking. There the wayward woman lurked at the corners in the street at night; here wisdom is at the highest point in the open places in view of all.
17 tn Heb “at the house of the paths.” The “house” is not literal here, but refers to where the paths meet (cf. ASV, NIV), that is, the “crossroads” (so NAB, NRSV, NLT).
18 tn The text uses two synonymous terms in construct to express the superlative degree.
19 tn The infinitive construct “calling out” functions epexegetically in the sentence, explaining how the previous action was accomplished.
20 tn The term “her” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
21 tn The noun is a genitive of location after the construct participle. Its parallel word is also an adverbial accusative of location.
22 tn The participle modifies the participle in the first colon. To describe the passers-by in this context as those “who go straight” means that they are quiet and unwary.
23 tn Heb “he does not know.”
24 sn The “dead” are the Rephaim, the “shades” or dead persons who lead a shadowy existence in Sheol (e.g., Prov 2:18-19; Job 3:13-19; Ps 88:5; Isa 14:9-11). This approximates an “as-if” motif of wisdom literature: The ones ensnared in folly are as good as in Hell. See also Ptah-hotep’s sayings (ANET 412-414).
25 tc The LXX adds to the end of v. 18: “But turn away, linger not in the place, neither set your eye on her: for thus will you go through alien water; but abstain from alien water, drink not from an alien fountain, that you may live long, that years of life may be added to you.”
sn The text has “in the depths of Sheol” (בְּעִמְקֵי שְׁאוֹל, bÿ’imqe shÿ’ol). The parallelism stresses that those who turn to this way of life are ignorant and doomed. It may signal a literal death lying ahead in the not too distant future, but it is more likely an analogy. The point is that the life of folly, a life of undisciplined, immoral, riotous living, runs counter to God’s appeal for wisdom and leads to ruin. That is the broad way that leads to destruction.
26 tn The first word of the fourteenth line begins with נ (nun), the fourteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The form is the Niphal participle of יָדַע (yada’); it means that her husband is “known.” The point is that he is a prominent person, respected in the community.
27 tn Heb “gate”; the term “city” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
sn The “gate” was the area inside the entrance to the city, usually made with rooms at each side of the main street where there would be seats for the elders. This was the place of assembly for the elders who had judicial responsibilities.
28 tn The construction uses the infinitive construct with the preposition and a pronominal suffix that serves as the subject (subjective genitive) to form a temporal clause. The fact that he “sits with the elders” means he is one of the elders; he sits as a judge among the people.
