Reading for January 13th

Read Proverbs 2.1-22. In 2.1-22: Seek wisdom and the Lord will keep you safe. The form is an acrostic poem of twenty-two lines (the number of consonants in the Hebrew alphabet). The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet ("aleph") dominates the first half (vv. 1-11; "aleph"is the initial letter in vv. 1, 3, 4, 5, and 9). The middle letter of the Hebrew aplphabet ("lamed") dominates the second half (vv. 12-22: "lamed" is the initial letter on 12, 16, and 20). The main point of the poem is that if you seek wisdom with all your strength, the Lord will give you, and wisdom will safegaurd you from wicked men and seductive womenwitht he result that you can walk on the blessed path. Wisdom willbe given to anyone who earnestly seeks it. However, one cannot directly take it; it must be given as a gift. In verses 16-19: The loose women ... the adultress. Loose is literally "foreign." The figure of the dangerous and seductive woman appears again in 5.1-6; 6.20-35; 7.1-27; 9.13-18. Elsewhere in the Bible, a "foreign woman" can be a woman outside the community who is forbidden as a marriage partner, a prostitude or a woman otherwise dangerous to a man. Proverbs' focus is not on her sexuality but also on her seductive and deceitful speech. Comments or Questions..