Amsal 7:10-17

7:10 Suddenly ¹  a woman came out to meet him!

She was dressed like a prostitute ²  and with secret intent. ³ 

7:11 (She is loud and rebellious,

she ⁴  does not remain ⁵  at home –

7:12 at one time outside, at another ⁶  in the wide plazas,

and by every corner she lies in wait.)

7:13 So she grabbed him and kissed him,

and with a bold expression ⁷  she said to him,

7:14 “I have ⁸  fresh meat at home; ⁹ 

today I have fulfilled my vows!

7:15 That is why I came out to meet you,

to look for you, ¹⁰  and I found you!

7:16 I have spread my bed with elegant coverings, ¹¹ 

with richly colored fabric ¹²  from Egypt.

7:17 I have perfumed my bed

with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.

[7:10]  ¹ tn The particle וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh) introduces a dramatic sense of the immediate to the narrative; it has a deictic force, “and look! – there was a woman,” or “all of a sudden this woman….”

[7:10]  ² tn Heb “with the garment of a prostitute.” The noun שִׁית (shith, “garment”) is an adverbial accusative specifying the appearance of the woman. The words “she was” are supplied in the translation to make a complete English sentence.

[7:10]  ³ tn Heb “kept secret of heart”; cf. ASV, NRSV “wily of heart.” The verbal form is the passive participle from נָצַר (natsar) in construct. C. H. Toy lists the suggestions of the commentators: false, malicious, secret, subtle, excited, hypocritical (Proverbs [ICC], 149). The LXX has “causes the hearts of the young men to fly away.” The verb means “to guard; to watch; to keep”; to be guarded of heart means to be wily, to have secret intent – she has locked up her plans and gives nothing away (e.g., Isaiah 48:6 as well). Interestingly enough, this contrasts with her attire which gives everything away.

[7:11]  ⁴ 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.

[7:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “dwell” or “settle”; NAB “her feet cannot rest.”

[7:12]  ⁶ tn The repetition of the noun “time, step,” usually translated “now, this time,” signifies here “at one time…at another time” (BDB 822 s.v. פַּעַם 3.e).

[7:13]  ⁷ 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).

[7:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “with me.”

[7:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “I have peace offerings.” The peace offerings refer to the meat left over from the votive offering made at the sanctuary (e.g., Lev 7:11-21). Apparently the sacrificial worship meant as little to this woman spiritually as does Christmas to modern hypocrites who follow in her pattern. By expressing that she has peace offerings, she could be saying nothing more than that she has fresh meat for a meal at home, or that she was ceremonially clean, perhaps after her period. At any rate, it is all probably a ruse for winning a customer.

[7:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “to look diligently for your face.”

[7:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “with spreads.” The sentence begins with the cognate accusative: “with spreads I have spread my bed.” The construction enhances the idea – she has covered her bed.

[7:16]  ¹² tn The feminine noun means “dark-hued stuffs” (BDB 310 s.v. חֲטֻבוֹת). The form is a passive participle from a supposed root II חָטַב (khatav), which in Arabic means to be of a turbid, dusky color mixed with yellowish red. Its Aramaic cognate means “variegated”; cf. NAB “with brocaded cloths of Egyptian linen.” BDB’s translation of this colon is unsatifactory: “with dark hued stuffs of yarn from Egypt.”