Reading for January 21st

Read Proverbs 7.1-27. In 7.1-27: An example of seduction by words. The tenth and final instruction is also the fourth of the four warnings against the seductive woman (2.16-19, 5.1-23;6.20-35). The preface (vv. 1-5) urges the disciple to become a lover of Wisdom rather than a foolish victim of the lying woman whose typical wiles are narrated. The woman is active and aware, speaking and acting decisively, whereas the youth is passive and naive, led in silence like a lamb to slaughter. The images are darkness and night, animals of sacrifice or the hunt, and death. In verse 4: You are my sister: A designation for the beloved used in love poetry (Song 4.9; 10.12; 5.1, 2). Other love terms are let us take our fill of love (v. 18; see Song 5.1) and the theme of finding and seeking (v. 10-15; see Song 3.1-4). In verse 14: Today I have paid my vows: An ambiivalent statement, which the youth takes as an invitation to a feast of meat offered in fulfillment of a vow, but which the woman intends its the sacrifice of the youth. Comparison with Jephthah's vow (Judg 11.30-31) is illuminating, for Jephthah also sacrifices an unsuspecting victim. In verse 20: He took a bag of money with him: the wife knows from the amount of money her husband took that he will be gone long eoungh for her to dally with the youth. Comments or Questions..