Discovery BoxProverbs 8:2-3 
Context8:2 At the top 1 of the elevated places along the way,
at the intersection 2 of the paths she takes her stand;
8:3 beside the gates opening into 3 the city,
at the entrance of the doorways she cries out: 4
Proverbs 8:34
Context8:34 Blessed is the one 5 who listens to me,
watching 6 at my doors day by day,
1 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.
2 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).
3 tn Heb “at the mouth of.”
4 tn The cry is a very loud ringing cry that could not be missed. The term רָנַן (ranan) means “to give a ringing cry.” It is often only a shrill sound that might come with a victory in battle, but its use in the psalms for praise shows that it also can have clear verbal content, as it does here. For wisdom to stand in the street and give such a ringing cry would mean that it could be heard by all. It was a proclamation.
5 tn Heb “the man.”
6 tn The form לִשְׁקֹד (lishqod) is the infinitive construct serving epexegetically in the sentence. It explains how the person will listen to wisdom.
7 tn Heb “keeping” or “guarding.”
8 tn Heb “at the posts of my doors” (so KJV, ASV).
