Discovery BoxProverbs 4:6 
Context4:6 Do not forsake wisdom, 1 and she will protect you;
love her, and she will guard you.
Proverbs 4:8
Context4:8 Esteem her highly 2 and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.
Proverbs 7:11
Context7:11 (She is loud and rebellious,
she 3 does not remain 4 at home –
Proverbs 7:13
Context7:13 So she grabbed him and kissed him,
and with a bold expression 5 she said to him,
Proverbs 7:21
Context7:21 She persuaded him 6 with persuasive words; 7
with her smooth talk 8 she compelled him. 9
Proverbs 7:26
Context7:26 for she has brought down 10 many fatally wounded,
and all those she has slain are many. 11
Proverbs 31:13-14
Context31:13 She obtains 12 wool and flax,
and she is pleased to work with her hands. 13
31:14 She is like 14 the merchant ships; 15
she brings her food from afar.
Proverbs 31:16
Context31:16 She considers 16 a field and buys it;
from her own income 17 she plants a vineyard.
Proverbs 31:25
Context1 tn Heb “her”; the 3rd person feminine singular referent is personified “wisdom,” which has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn The verb is the Pilpel imperative from סָלַל (salal, “to lift up; to cast up”). So the imperative means “exalt her; esteem her highly; prize her.”
3 tn Heb “her feet.” This is a synecdoche, a part for the whole; the point is that she never stays home, but is out and about all the time.
4 tn Heb “dwell” or “settle”; NAB “her feet cannot rest.”
5 tn Heb “she makes bold her face.” The Hiphil perfect of עָזַז (’azar, “to be strong”) means she has an impudent face (cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV), a bold or brazen expression (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).
6 tn Heb “she turned him aside.” This expression means that she persuaded him. This section now begins the description of the capitulation, for the flattering speech is finished.
7 sn The term לֶקַח (leqakh) was used earlier in Proverbs for wise instruction; now it is used ironically for enticement to sin (see D. W. Thomas, “Textual and Philological Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 280-92).
8 tn Heb “smooth of her lips”; cf. NAB “smooth lips”; NASB “flattering lips.” The term “lips” is a metonymy of cause representing what she says.
9 tn The verb means “to impel; to thrust; to banish,” but in this stem in this context “to compel; to force” into some action. The imperfect tense has the nuance of progressive imperfect to parallel the characteristic perfect of the first colon.
10 tn Heb “she has caused to fall.”
11 tn Heb “numerous” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT) or “countless.”
12 tn The first word of the fourth line begins with דּ (dalet) the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The verb דָרַשׁ (darash) means “to seek; to inquire; to investigate.” The idea is that she looks for the wool and flax to do her work, but the whole verse assumes she has obtained it. This verb also occurs in the hymn of Ps 111, which says in v. 2 that “the works of the
13 tn Heb “and she works in the pleasure of her hands.” The noun חֵפֶץ (khefets) means “delight; pleasure.” BDB suggests it means here “that in which one takes pleasure,” i.e., a business, and translates the line “in the business of her hands” (BDB 343 s.v. 4). But that translation reduces the emphasis on pleasure and could have easily been expressed in other ways. Here it is part of the construct relationship. The “hands” are the metonymy of cause, representing all her skills and activities in making things. It is also a genitive of specification, making “pleasure” the modifier of “her hands/her working.” She does her work with pleasure. Tg. Prov 31:13 has, “she works with her hands in accordance with her pleasure.”
14 tn The first word of the fifth line begins with ה (he), the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
15 sn The point of the simile is that she goes wherever she needs to go, near and far, to gather in all the food for the needs and the likes of the family. The line captures the vision and the industry of this woman.
16 tn The first word of the seventh line begins with ז (zayin), the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
sn The word “considers” means “to plan carefully” in accordance with her purposes. The word is often used in the book of Proverbs for devising evil; but here it is used positively of the woman’s wise investment.
17 tn Heb “from the fruit of her hands.” The expression employs two figures. “Hands” is a metonymy of cause, indicating the work she does. “Fruit” is a hypocatastasis, an implied comparison meaning what she produces, the income she earns. She is able to plant a vineyard from her income.
18 sn The idea of clothing and being clothed is a favorite figure in Hebrew. It makes a comparison between wearing clothes and having strength and honor. Just as clothes immediately indicate something of the nature and circumstances of the person, so do these virtues.
19 tn The first word of the sixteenth line begins with ע (ayin), the sixteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
20 sn This word appears in Ps 111:3 which says that the
21 sn Here “laugh” is either a metonymy of adjunct or effect. The point is that she is confident for the future because of all her industry and planning.
22 tn Heb “day.” This word is a metonymy of subject meaning any events that take place on the day or in the time to come.
