PROVERBS 7:1-9: PART 2

With all of the general considerations in Part 1 of this subject in mind, we can now proceed to a comparison of some English translations and paraphrases to show those cases where there is a difference of opinion as to how the original Hebrew text should be rendered.

Proverbs 7:1

The Message purposely departs from the Hebrew by stating that these words are addressed to “dear friend” rather than “my son.” The intent there seems to be an attempt to further universalize these words, a move which is probably not needed for most readers.

Proverbs 7:2

I have already discussed this verse at some length above. But there is one additional item to point out. The reason given for following the teacher's instructions is so that you can “live.” This does not apply to physical life, but as The Message clarifies, to living “well.”

Proverbs 7:3

The two commands given here come originally from Deuteronomy 6:4-8. They were meant to be taken figuratively to denote that the reader should keep reminders of God's instructions close to one at all times, but orthodox Jews took this literally and would wear phlacteries (small leather boxes with portions of Scripture inside) tied to their forehead and around their arm during morning prayers. This is the sort of background that some study Bibles choose to include in footnotes to the text.

Proverbs 7:4

“Sister” in this verse does not refer to some sort of kinship, but instead is a general form of endearment such as one sees in Song of Songs 4:9-12; 5:1. (Washington) NRSV translates it as “intimate friend.” The Living Bible goes further by saying “Love wisdom like a sweetheart.” Finally, “Gemser and Ringgren urge that 'sister' is a form of address equivalent to 'bride' or 'wife', and that Wisdom is to be seen in this verse as the rival of the strange woman...” ((McKane)

In addition, some translators chose to capitalize the words “wisdom” and “insight” since these two abstract concepts are being treated as personal beings using the common literary technique called anthropomorphism.

Proverbs 7:5

Washington also explains that the Hebrew words describing the woman literally as “strange” and “alien” really mean, respectively, “loose” and “adulteress.” Thus, you can find all of these possible translations in various versions.

As to her words, RSV calls it “smooth;” while NEB labels it “seductive;” and JB says “wheedling.”

Proverbs 7:6

It turns out that there is even some uncertainty as to who is looking out the window. McKane explains that the standard Hebrew text makes it clear that it is either the wisdom teacher or Wisdom herself who is looking out the window. However, Bostrom goes with some of the Greek Septuagint manuscripts which omit the last part of v. 6 in order to propose that it is the loose woman herself who is looking out her window. McKane explains the various problems associated with adopting that sort of interpretation.

Proverbs 7:7

The young man in question is described as being “simple” or “without sense” or “void of understanding.” Variations on this wording may be found in different translations. But the important point that needs expressing in a translation is explained by Walls: “This is illustrative of the fact that one who is simple in the negative sense without formed ideas of good and evil is in peril of becoming a fool and a reprobate if he remains uninstructed.” Without that sort of explanation, it is all too easy to think that the author is speaking of one who has a low IQ rather than a person who is naive and inexperienced in the ways of the world.

Proverbs 7:8-9

As I briefly alluded to earlier, there are various ways the time(s) of day can be rendered in translations depending on how many different time indications are felt to be conveyed. Is it four, two, or only one? For example, Scott notes that the last phrase in this verse reads literally in Hebrew “at the sleep of night and darkness.” But a literal rendering of that into English would make little sense.

Wakely feels that the four terms, with only a small change in the Hebrew, denote the same time period, so that the reading should be as in NEB: “in the twilight, as the day faded, at dusk as the night grew dark.” Waltke agrees with this assessment and states authoritatively, “These temporal designations are synonyms, not temporally progressive to each other, for the short period of evening dusk during which the rest of the narrative transpires.”

Others see a considerable amount of time transpiring here, and thus the young man is said to have “spent the time from twilight to midnight walking the streets around her dwelling (Walls) or just walking randomly to and fro, a rather unlikely occurrence.

Waltke attaches another warning to the translator in that it should not be suggested that the youth is purposely heading toward her house. “He is not a downright immoral fellow on the way to her house...intentionally because she has to find him and seduce him, but a dimwit who needs some powerful persuasion to get him in to bed with the unchaste wife.” However, there are other scholars who take the position that he knows exactly where to go and is only stalling for time until the streets get dark enough that no one can observe his actions. See Job 24:15 for a possible parallel to this idea.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that no one translation or paraphrase is able to capture fully all the richness sometimes buried in the Hebrew text. But it is that fact which encourages me to keep investigating what different Bible experts have to say. It also serves to keep me humble and from the danger of thinking that I have mastered all that God has placed in His Word. I actually take comfort in the fact that I will never be able to exhaust all the hidden riches in the Bible.

By contrast, I actually knew a very sincere and intelligent Christian lawyer through both work and church associations who explained to me that he would carefully study one short Bible passage at a time until he felt that he had totally captured its meaning. Then he could file that knowledge away in his mind and go on to the next passage. By that method he really felt that during his lifetime, he would be able to completely understand the whole Bible and have nothing more to learn from it. I attribute this man's approach in no small part to being a by-product of his legal training and the general mindset of the particular church he was attending