I'd like to think of a bible as a God-inspired book, a book that carries the good and sacred news. Having paged it for some time, it never ceases to amaze me how explicit it can put the sensitive scriptures at times. I'm no really an analyst when it comes into matters of the God's word, but I couldn't hold myself back when it mentioned the phrase "Lips of a seductive woman."
Certainly every dude, or at least most of us as guys, would like to know what the bible got to say about this fascinating limb of a woman, especially the seductive woman. Well, to your surprise the scripture does mention that the lips of a seductive woman are as sweet as honey. Personally I can't agree any less. I mean, we all want a piece of that honeycomb at one point or another. A typical dude will always seek to suck all the juices on those lips dripping limitless honey. The wisest and richest King Solomon might have witnessed some crazy romance in his lifetime to scribble such explicit proverbs.
Having mentioned how juicy the lips of a seductive woman are, it didn't surprise me when King Solo mentioned that even "her speech is as smooth as oil." Sounds like a typical girl you've met, isn't? Probably your ex or even yourself my sister, LOL… Kidding. Jokes aside, but we've all met a chick of this calibre, they’re not hard to find, not soooo hard to get, but extreme to keep, or even to please on a long-term basis. Personally I haven't had much luck (if I can put it that way) when it comes to them, but I must confess I've desired such women, even lusted after them.
You see, romance really does make the world go round, or at least the mind. It has got some of us moving from one relationship to the next, while some of us have chosen to remain single, so we can chow whatever get into our plate. It doesn’t astonish me that some people think romance/sexual performance is the key factor that can keep a relationship going. I mean, how often you have heard a woman saying "Coz I satisfy you, why you are doing this to me?" This is caused by the belief that sexual satisfaction is all man are looking for, pity this isn’t the truth.
The turn around in this scripture is on the mention that, indeed, though her lips are as sweet as honey, her speech smooth as oil, but her steps could possibly lead to death. I hope King Solo was not meaning the cat walk here (Joking). Well... we all love women or at least I do. Further readings of the scripture could confirm that indeed it's not wrong to love women; beautiful, sexy or even seductive women. It's just the way we do it.
A wise man once said that God use sex to drive men into marriage. So I guess every man should have that one woman in her life to satisfy all her "dirty" desires, and that woman is called wife. Yes we all love playing around, it's fun, silly, and to some extent it’s childish. But at some stage each one of us would have to man up, do the right thing, have that one, and I mean one, special someone you'll call wife, or husband.
We can't chase after those seductive lips forever. Otherwise if you still chasing them, good luck, I hope it won't be too late when you start looking for a way out. My advice is; Be smart, read scriptures, and tell wrong from right. If by any chance I have wronged anyone through this post, God have mercy on me.
This Proverbs' 'strange' or 'foreign' or 'estranged' woman is likely a married prostitute, estranged from/to her husband, yet still living in the same house with him (Prov 2:17, 5:9:10, 7:8-12, 27, possibly 9:13,17-18). If she's not that, she's like a 'serial adulteress'. Prov 6:24-26 is evidence she is flattering and might be a prostitute due to the mention of her beauty and seductive eyelids. The words 'give', 'honour', 'years', 'wealth' and 'labours' in
ReplyDeleteProv 5:9-10 sound like they are about a prostitute.
The two main terms for this 'strange' or 'foreign' or 'estranged' woman in Hebrew Proverbs are zarah/ishah zarah (can mean estranged wife, who can have sex with many men), and nokariyah (can mean foreign woman, and a foreign woman in ancient Israel was likely often a prostitute).
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Prov 7:5,8 ('the street near her corner'),10 ('attire of an harlot'),12 ('in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner'),16 ('Egypt'; foreign aspect),19 ('the man'/'my man'/'my husband'; likely married), 25-27 (7:26, 'She hath cast down many wounded, and many strong men have been slain by her'; has many victims/partners/lovers) are the best verses showing what she is about. Prov 2:19 (Hebrew/'LXX': 'all'/'not'), 'they', 7:26 ('many', 'many'), possibly
ReplyDelete9:18 ('the dead', 'her guests') and possibly 6:26 in the 'LXX' (plural word: lives/souls) are evidences she has many victims/partners/lovers. She is likely married, Prov 2:17, 5:9-10, 6:26,29,32-35, 7:19, 9:17 are evidences of this. ('stolen water is sweet' likely refers to adultery. A wife's sexuality is
referred to as water in Prov 5:15. Bread of secrets or 'hidden bread is pleasant' can also refer to adultery, as Potiphar's wife may be referred to as 'the bread' Potiphar knew, while he gave everything else into the hand of Joseph, Gen 39:6). This 'strange' or 'foreign' or 'estranged' woman in Proverbs apparently isn't directly called a prostitute because the professional or unmarried prostitute is mentioned in Prov 6:26, 7:10, 23:27 (first part), 29:3 (plural), and this 'foreign woman' apparently has a foreign aspect (Prov 7:16) and is likely married, and is likely a married prostitute or serial
adulteress in simple terms. I'd call her an estranged wife prostitute.
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This 'strange' or 'estranged' or 'foreign' woman in Proverbs is likely a married prostitute, in simple terms. In more complex terms, I'd call her an estranged wife prostitute. Less likely, she is a 'serial adulteress'. Prov 7:5,8,10-12,16 (foreign aspect, 'Egypt'),19 (likely married, 'the man' is likely a term of belittlement, similar to Potiphar's wife calling her husband 'he' in Gen 39:14, with no introduction or respect shown; or it is a term for vagueness),25-27 are the best verses showing what this Proverbs 'strange' woman is about. What is one to make of the words 'And the adulteress will hunt for the precious life' (plural in the 'LXX') in Prov 6:26? Likely this 'strange woman' in Proverbs is, at least, committing adultery on a regular basis, with many men. She may be hunting for the precious life/lives as in for it or them, as in hunting for wealth or hunting for men to commit adultery with. What this verse really means is disputed, but it is evidence that this 'strange woman' in Proverbs commits adultery, and in ancient Israel that meant she was married, as it was not adultery for an unmarried woman to have sex with a married man.
ReplyDeleteShe is likely a serial adulteress or a serial adulterous prostitute, in simple, yet basically sufficient terms. This video mentions her being a 'giant adulteress', but the picture (3:30-3:33) looks like an adulterous prostitute, doesn't it?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkvCYCxkqkM
That is likely who she is in Proverbs.
She may be an 'estranged' wife/woman from her husband, and who has sex with many men. One of the main terms for her in Hebrew Proverbs, zarah/ishah zarah can have an 'estranged' meaning to it.
http://biblehub.com/aramaic-plain-english/proverbs/7.htm
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These pastor links used to work, a couple no longer do because the pastor's website no longer exists or has changed.
ReplyDeleteThe pastor I agree with probably the most is this one here, by the name of M. Sean Reynolds, where he says:
Therefore, the “foreign woman” in Proverbs is a seductive adulteress, who is also sometimes a prostitute.
http://www.thewholecounsel.com/proverbs-2214/
Pastor/priest/Bible scholar George Leo Haydock's Catholic commentary (mid 19th century) lists a married 'abandoned woman' (prostitute) as a preferred definition of who she is, citing Antoine Augustin Calmet (a French Benedictine monk of the 17th and 18th centuries who wrote commentaries on the Bible)
http://haydock1859.tripod.com/id1096.html
Here is pastor Bob Yandian who identifies her as a prostitute and claims a verse in Prov 9 shows what she's really like, and implies her serial adulterous side with the words 'He is stealing waters that rightfully belong to another man', and with 'This woman has a long list of successes and they are all lying flat on their backs in the coffin.'
http://www.bobyandian.com/the-strange-woman/
Here is pastor Larry Wood who thinks she is at least some type of prostitute.
http://www.biblenews1.com/babylon/babylon3.html
'For the prostitute is a deep pit,
And the foreign prostitute is a narrow well. (Proverbs 23:27)'
Here is pastor Darrell Mitchell
http://www.netbiblestudy.com/00_cartimages/Proverbs.pdf
Chapter 5 is an exhortation to get acquaintance with and submit to the laws of wisdom. Verses 3-4 give a particular caution against these heathen temple prostitutes and remedies are prescribed against that sin.
the primary scope of this chapter is to relate the symbol of the
adulterous woman of idolatry, that tend to degrade men's minds and manners –- these temple harlots certainly apply!
Here are some videos which I believe are along the lines of who I think she is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW7uDaCimuk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwIFC3rN5-c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hKORDJWBAo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWBXTWChN28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni9GsPEzq5U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NI1_KO5ggQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVnp-i7f5Bw