The Application of Wisdom: Teachings About Women (Part 1)

Notes on Proverbs

Since much of the book of Proverbs is directed toward the wise man’s son, Solomon spends a lot of time discussing women. He warns his son about certain women that are to be avoided. He also gives instruction about the blessings of a good wife and discusses her character so that she might be identified.

Warnings About the Adulteress

Though much of the book of Proverbs contains brief instructions on a broad range of topics, there are several lengthy sections dealing with the dangers of the adulteress. This alone should serve as a warning to us about the severe threat that immoral women pose to godly men. So the wise man earnestly pleads with his son to not follow after the adulteress.

My son, give attention to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understanding; that you may observe discretion and your lips may reserve knowledge. For the lips of an adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold of Sheol. She does not ponder the path of life; her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

Now then, my sons, listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house, or you will give your vigor to others and your years to the cruel one; and strangers will be filled with your strength and your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien; and you groan at your final end, when your flesh and your body are consumed; and you say, ‘How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to my instructors! I was almost in utter ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation” (5:1-14).

My son, give attention to my wisdom…” (5:1-2). Solomon begins this section with yet another call for his son to hear instruction. These warnings are worthless if one does not pay attention to them.

For the lips of an adulteress drip honey and smoother than oil is her speech; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword” (5:3-4). The first way Solomon mentions in which the adulteress tempts men is through her words. Through her speech, she makes herself appealing and available. This will be discussed further in a later passage (7:13-21). However, anything can seem good and appealing if we ignore the consequences. Though the adulteress uses words to make both herself and the act of fornication seem attractive, the end result is “bitter as wormwood.” As Solomon says later: “The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit; he who is cursed of the Lord will fall into it” (22:14).

Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold of Sheol” (5:5). Because of her sinful ways, she is headed toward destruction. Those who follow after her will find themselves with the same fate (cf. 7:26-27).

She does not ponder the path of life; her ways are unstable, she does not know it” (5:6). The New American Standard translates this as though the adulteress does not “ponder the path of life.” However, the King James Version reads: “Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life,” implying that the young man being warned by his father should not forget to “ponder the path of life.” In either case, the point for the young man to whom this is written is that he should consider the adulteress and the instability of her ways and not follow after her.

Now then, my sons, listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house” (5:7-8). Though Solomon began this section addressing his “son” (5:1), he now addresses “my sons” (5:7), implying that this instruction was not just for one particular person in a unique set of circumstances. The problem he addresses is common enough that all can learn from his instruction here. So he warns the young men to keep “far from her and do not go near the door of her house” (5:8). It is foolish for one to put himself in a difficult situation unnecessarily. If temptation can be avoided by keeping far away from the temptress, then this ought to be done. One should not see how close he can get to sin or temptation. As much as is in his power, he should stay far away from it.

Or you will give your vigor to others and your years to the cruel one; and strangers will be filled with your strength and your hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien; and you will groan at your final end, when your flesh and your body are consumed” (5:9-11). In these verses, Solomon mentions three ways in which the adulteress causes harm to those who go after her. First, there are personal consequences (5:9) as one gives away his “vigor” or “honour” (KJV). The point is that one’s reputation is ruined by his association with the adulteress. His years will go “to the cruel one” because of the future hardships he will have to endure because of his choices. Second, there are financial consequences (5:10) as “strangers will be filled with [his] strength and [his] hard-earned goods will go to the house of an alien” (cf. 6:26; 29:3). Third, there are physical consequences (5:11) as his “flesh and…body are consumed,” referring to the negative effects and disease that are often associated with sexual promiscuity. Though sexual sin often seems appealing at the beginning, Solomon affirms that one who follows after the adulteress “will groan at [his] final end.”

And you say, ‘How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to my instructors! I was almost in utter ruin in the midst of the assembly and congregation’” (5:12-14). One who follows after the adulteress will have to live with the guilt and regret of his sin. Solomon points out that it is not for lack of instruction that one falls prey to the temptress. Wise counsel will always advise one to avoid the adulteress. So for one to engage in this sin, he must hate instruction, spurn reproof, and not listen to those who try to guide him in the paths of wisdom. Once he comes to his senses, he will have to deal with the consequences of his sin, the guilt associated with his actions, and the mental anguish of knowing that all of this could have been completely avoided if he had just listened to his counselors. We would do well to learn from instructions like this, rather than having to make the same mistakes ourselves.

* * *

…to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

Do not desire her beauty in your heart, nor let her capture you with her eyelids. For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, and an adulteress hunts precious life.

Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; whoever touches her will not go unpunished. Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry; but when he is found, he must repay sevenfold; he must give all the substance of his house. The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; he who would destroy himself does it. Wounds and disgrace he will find, and his reproach will not be blotted out. For jealousy enrages a man, and he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not accept any ransom, nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts” (6:24-35).

To keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress” (6:24). Prior to this verse, Solomon issued another call for his son to “observe the commandment of your father and…the teaching of your mother” (6:20). This instruction is designed to “keep [one] from the evil woman.”

Do not desire her beauty in your heart, nor let her capture you with her eyelids” (6:25). The first thing that one would notice about this woman is the way that she looks. No transgression is committed by merely seeing a woman. Instead, Solomon warns: “Lust not after her beauty in thine heart” (KJV). Jesus later warned: “Everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). When one lusts after a woman, thereby committing adultery with her in his heart, it makes it that much easier to commit the actual act of adultery when the opportunity presents itself. So the wise man warns that one should not focus on the adulteress and lust after her. He then warns about one receiving the attention of the adulteress (“nor let her capture you with her eyelids”). With a look she is able to capture the attention of her victim and extend an implicit invitation for him to act upon the lust that is in his heart.

For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread, and an adulteress hunts for the precious life” (6:26). One being “reduced to a loaf of bread” refers to the financial hardship that comes to one who goes after the adulteress, as he is unable to afford other food. Other passages also warn about this (5:10; 29:3). But Solomon also warns here that the “adulteress hunts for the precious life.” She is actively trying to find someone to seduce, rather than being caught herself, unwittingly, in a compromising situation.

Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; whoever touches her will not go unpunished” (6:27-29). Some take Solomon’s analogy of one taking “fire in his bosom” and apply it to one lusting after a woman. Lust is certainly condemned in this context (6:25), but this verse is making a different point. Taking fire in one’s bosom and walking on hot coals are not referring to lust, but to the actual act of adultery (“the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife”). Solomon’s point is that committing adultery produces some unavoidable and destructive consequences.

Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he is hungry; but when he is found, he must repay sevenfold; he must give all the substance of his house” (6:30-31). These verses are not condoning theft under certain circumstances (hunger). Rather, Solomon points out that although theft is always wrong, man is often sympathetic toward one who steals solely for the purpose of feeding himself or his family. But even though one might be sympathetic, the thief must still make restitution for his crime.

The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense; he who would destroy himself does it” (6:32). Contrary to the thief stealing in order to feed himself who might find sympathy on account of his circumstances, “the one who commits adultery…is lacking sense.” There is no excuse for this and it only leads to trouble. This is explained further in the following verses.

Wounds and disgrace he will find, and his reproach will not be blotted out. For jealousy enrages a man, and he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not accept any ransom, nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts” (6:33-35). Though one may be willing to forgive a hungry thief who makes restitution, there will be no such forgiveness for the adulterer. The rage of a jealous husband will be directed without mercy toward the one who gave into the temptress. No ransom can be paid that will make restitution for what has been done. There will be no excuses that could ever justify one’s actions. Instead, the one who follows after the adulteress will have to suffer wounds (threats of physical harm, or actual physical harm, against him from those who were wronged by him), disgrace (his reputation will be ruined), and reproach that will not be blotted out (people will continue to remember and hold a grudge against him for what he has done).

* * *

My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live, and my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call understanding your intimate friend; that they may keep you from an adulteress, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.

For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice, and I saw among the naive, and discerned among the youths a young man lacking sense, passing through the street near her corner; and he takes the way to her house, in the twilight, in the evening, in the middle of the night and in the darkness. And behold, a woman comes out to meet him, dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart. She is boisterous and rebellious, her feet do not remain at home; she is now in the streets, now in the squares, and lurks by every corner.

So she seizes him and kisses him and with a brazen face she says to him: ‘I was due to offer peace offerings; today I have paid my vows. Therefore I have come out to meet you, to seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you. I have spread my couch with coverings, with colored linens of Egypt. I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with caresses. For my husband is not at home, he has gone on a long journey; he has taken a bag of money with him, at the full moon he will come home.’ With many persuasions she entices him; with her flattering lips she seduces him. Suddenly he follows her as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool, until an arrow pierces through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, so he does not know that it will cost him his life.

Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, and pay attention to the words of my mouth. Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths. For many are the victims she has cast down, and numerous are all her slain. Her house is the way to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death” (7:1-27).

My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you. […] That they may keep you from an adulteress, from the foreigner who flatters with her words” (7:1-5). Yet again, we have a father issuing a warning to his son about the dangers of the adulteress (cf. 5:1-2; 6:20-24). Certain instructions are often repeated for emphasis. This is certainly a topic that the wise man wanted to impress upon his son.

For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice, and I saw among the naive, and discerned among the youths a young man lacking sense” (7:6-7). The dangers that one may allow himself to experience in his naivete are often observable to others. The wise man talks about being able to see how a young man was getting himself dangerously close to temptation. Yet the young man was oblivious to the trouble that was coming because he was “lacking sense.” In other words, he had closed his mind to wisdom and was foolishly putting himself in a position to be severely tempted. We need to have enough sense and awareness to avoid temptation whenever possible.

Passing through the street near her corner; and he takes the way to her house, in the twilight, in the evening, in the middle of the night and in the darkness” (7:8-9). This young man foolishly put himself in a dangerous situation. He found himself in the wrong place (“near her corner; [on] the way to her house”) at the wrong time (“in the twilight…evening…middle of the night…darkness”), not by chance, but by choice.

And behold, a woman comes to meet him, dressed as a harlot and cunning of heart” (7:10). We already noticed how the adulteress is actively trying to capture one in sin – “An adulteress hunts for the precious life” (6:26). Here, after the naive young man foolishly takes the way past her house, she seizes the opportunity and goes out to meet him. The first thing he will notice about this woman is her clothing. She wears “the attire of an harlot” (KJV), which will only add fuel to the fire of any lustful thoughts he may have. This is deliberate on her part, as she is “cunning of heart.” But what any woman ought to remember is that if she goes out “dressed as a harlot,” wearing clothing that invites lust, she has complicity in the sin of one who lusts after her, regardless of whether or not her intention was to seduce him (as was the intention of the harlot).

She is boisterous and rebellious, her feet do not remain at home; she is now in the streets, now in the squares, and lurks by every corner” (7:11-12). This woman is the opposite of the quiet and submissive wife that was later commended by the apostle Paul (1 Timothy 2:11). The adulteress is “boisterous and rebellious” instead. Solomon says, “Her feet do not remain at home” because she is uninterested in the domestic role which God gave to women (Genesis 2:18; Titus 2:4-5).

So she seizes him and kisses him and with a brazen face she says to him: ‘I was due to offer peace offerings; today I have paid my vows. Therefore I have come out to meet you, to seek your presence earnestly, and I have found you. I have spread my couch with coverings, with colored linens of Egypt. I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon’” (7:13-17). Solomon warns that the adulteress will do everything she can do to make the act of adultery convenient. Already she has been described as coming out to the young man, rather than waiting for him to come to her (7:10). She dresses as a harlot in order to incite lust in his heart (7:10). She is wild and rebellious, suggesting that she is interested in fulfilling any worldly and sensual desire she may have, rather than submitting to the will of God (7:11). She is already out in the streets and the squares (7:11-12). Then in these verses, she initiates the affair when she “seizes him and kisses him” (7:13). Her statement about peace offerings suggests that, in her mind, she has fulfilled any religious obligation she may have had, thus freeing her time now to do as she pleased (7:14). She makes this young man feel wanted by stating that she sought him earnestly, while also implying that she was ready for the affair without any persuasions from him (7:15). She even prepared the place for their sexual encounter ahead of time (7:16-17). Any roadblock that might delay the affair, thus giving him more time to realize the terrible mistake he was about to make and flee from her, she does whatever she can to remove it.

‘Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with caresses’” (7:18). Her offer is appealing to many – to satisfy sexual desires without any long-term commitment. Her invitation is just “until morning.” It is all about fulfilling one’s desire without any sense of responsibility.

‘For my husband is not at home, he has gone on a long journey; he has taken a bag of money with him, at the full moon he will come home’” (7:19-20). One of the dangers of committing adultery with another man’s wife is having to later deal with her jealous husband (see comments on 6:33-35). Yet she convinces the young man that no one will catch them – not even her husband as he has “gone on a long journey” and will not be home anytime soon. Of course, even if one’s fellow man does not find out, God still knows (cf. Genesis 39:7-10). But in the heat of the moment, one who is being tempted often forgets God. So the promise of not being caught by man becomes very enticing.

With her many persuasions she entices him; with her flattering lips she seduces him. Suddenly he follows her as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool, until an arrow pierces through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, so he does not know that it will cost him his life” (7:21-23). After all that she does to seduce him, “Suddenly he follows her” (7:22). Suddenly his will-power gives way to the lust of his heart. Solomon makes no specific mention of the affair after the young man decides to engage in it. It is implied, of course. But it is significant that the time in which they would “drink [their] fill of love until morning” on her bed “sprinkled…with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon” (7:17-18) is completely skipped over in the text. Instead, Solomon goes straight to the consequences of these actions – slaughter, discipline, and a snare. Once sin has been committed and the negative consequences start to take affect, the “passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25) are suddenly no longer worth mentioning.

Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, and pay attention to the words of my mouth. Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths. For many are the victims she has cast down, and numerous are all her slain. Her house is the way of Sheol, descending to the chambers of death” (7:24-27). The harlot can make adultery convenient, enticing, and seemingly without consequences. But there is no escaping God’s judgment. Many have become victims to her. The end result of their sin is death.

* * *

The woman of folly is boisterous, she is naive and knows nothing. She sits at the doorway of her house, on a seat by the high places of the city, calling to those who pass by, who are making their paths straight: ‘Whoever is naive, let him turn in here,’ and to him who lacks understanding she says, ‘Stolen water is sweet; and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.’ But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol” (9:13-18).

The woman of folly is boisterous, she is naive and knows nothing” (9:13). The “woman of folly” here is the adulteress that had been discussed previously. Solomon points out again that she is “boisterous,” rather than possessing the quiet spirit that women ought to have [see comments on 7:11]. She is also “naive,” proving by her actions that she knows nothing of God’s wisdom (or if she does know of it, she at least does not understand the importance of it since she is rejecting it), nor of the consequences that will come upon her for her actions.

She sits at the doorway of her house, on a seat by the high places of the city, calling to those who pass by, who are making their paths straight: ‘Whoever is naive, let him turn in here’” (9:14-16). Earlier in this chapter, Wisdom offered the same invitation as the adulteress: “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here!” (9:4; cf. 1:22-23; 8:5-6). One of the reasons why the book of Proverbs was written was “to give prudence to the naive” (1:4). Such prudence will lead one away from the adulteress. So she must make her appeal to these same naive persons so that she might catch them before they acquire the wisdom that comes from above. Yet she also addresses those “who are making their paths straight” (9:15). One may be following the path of righteousness and still give in to the temptress. But in order for this to happen, he must forget the words of wisdom and the consequences for wickedness. Sadly, this happens all too often. Therefore, even those who are walking straight must guard themselves from the temptations of the adulteress, lest he forget the severity of her sin and, eventually, follows her into sin.

And to him who lacks understanding she says, ‘Stolen water is sweet; and bread eaten in secret is pleasant’” (9:16-17). Besides the pleasure that one might normally experience from sexual relations, the adulteress tries to make the affair with her seem even more appealing than legitimate sexual relations. She does this by claiming that those things which are stolen and secret are sweet and pleasant. Many desire the excitement that comes from being involved in a forbidden affair; so the adulteress makes this appeal. Yet all of this ignores the consequences that Solomon points out in the next verse.

But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol” (9:18). Every appeal of the adulteress is meant to focus on temporary pleasures. They ignore everything that pertains to the future – particularly man’s eternal fate after this life. But Solomon ends with this sober reminder: those who give in to the temptations of the adulteress will only have death and destruction to which they can look forward.

* * *

For a harlot is a deep pit and an adulterous woman is a narrow well. Surely she lurks as a robber, and increases the faithless among men” (23:27-28).

As Solomon has already pointed out, the adulteress is a trap that ensnares men (6:26). She convinces them to reject the invitation offered by divine wisdom (9:4) in favor of the temporary pleasures which she offers (9:16-17).

This is the way of an adulteress woman: she eats and wipes her mouth, and says, ‘I have done no wrong’” (30:20).

This woman has departed so far from the will of God that she feels no remorse for her actions. She has become callous in her conscience and believes that she is not doing anything wrong.

A man who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but he who keeps company with harlots wastes his wealth” (29:3).

Besides the more obvious consequences of adultery, Solomon reminds us again of the fact that association with harlots causes one to squander his money (cf. 5:10; 6:26). So aside from sexual immorality, one who follows after the adulteress is also guilty of failing to exercise good stewardship over the blessings he has received from God.


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