a dress (as put on) · noun, common masculine singular construct
harlot
ז֝וֹנָ֗הzo.Nah
H2181
to commit adultery (usually of the female · verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
subtil
וּנְצֻ֥רַתu.ne.Tzu.rat
H5341
to guard · conjunction + verb, qal passive participle, feminine singular construct
heart
לֵֽבLev
H3820
the heart · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Isaiah 3:16-24 Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing…
2 Corinthians 11:2-3 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
1 Timothy 2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pea…
2 Kings 9:30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.
Jeremiah 4:30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, th…
Genesis 38:14-15 And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the w…
2 Kings 9:22 And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy moth…
Isaiah 23:16 Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 7:6-23
Solomon here, to enforce the caution he had given against the sin of whoredom, tells a story of a young man that was ruined to all intents and purposes by the enticements of an adulterous woman. Such a story as this would serve the lewd profane poets of our age to make a play of, and the harlot with them would be a heroine; nothing would be so entertaining to the audience, nor give them so much diversion, as her arts of beguiling the young gentleman and drawing in the country squire; her conquests would be celebrated as the triumphs of wit and love, and the comedy would conclude very pleasantly; and every young man that saw it acted would covet to be so picked up. Thus fools make a mock at s…
attire--that of harlots was sometimes peculiar.
subtile--or, "wary," "cunning."
John Gill on Proverbs 7:10
And, behold, there met him a woman,.... A married woman, and an adulteress, as the following account of her shows; as soon as ever she discerned the young man before described, who she knew, by his air, walk, and dress, was a fit person for her turn, she at once set out from her house, or the corner where she stood, and met him; she did not wait till he came up and made his suit to her, but she went out, and first attacked him; wherefore the word "behold" is prefixed as a note of admiration at the impudence of the woman, and as a note of attention to observe the consequence of this affair. This woman represents the woman on a scarlet-coloured beast, the mother of harlots, who, though she pre…
Finally, the young man devoid of understanding sees his waiting rewarded: like meets like.
10 And, lo, a woman coming to meet him,
In the attire of an harlot and of subtle heart.
11 Boisterous is she, and ungovernable;
Her feet have no rest in her own house.
12 At one time before her door, at another in the street,
And again at every corner she places herself on the watch.
"Pro 7:12 (Hitzig) expresses what is wont to be, instead of a single event, Pro 7:11, viz., the custom of a street harlot. But she who is spoken of is not such an one; lurking is not applicable to her (cf. Job 31:9), and, Pro 7:11, it is not meant that she is thus inclined." But Hitzig's rendering of Pro 7:11, "she was boi…
The Church Fathers
And behold, a woman meets him in the attire of a harlot, etc. These all clearly relate to the literal sense of harlotry; however, heretical doctrine attempts to deceive anyone it finds careless and foolish. It indeed appears in harlot's attire, because it shines with unclean eloquence. It is prepared to capture souls, for it spiritually kills whomever it can associate with it.
With a provocative movement of a prostitute, with a disrupted gait through delights, with wandering eyes, and with playful darting of her eyelids, she captures the precious souls of young men (for the eye of a prostitute is a snare of a sinner), and with doubtful perception, she accosts anyone passing by in the corner of her house, with charming words, causing the hearts of young men to flutter, restless at home, wandering in the streets, prodigal with kisses, cheap in modesty, rich in attire, painted cheeks. For indeed, since it cannot possess true beauty of nature, it entices with the appearance of affected beauty through false dyes, not truth. Adorned with a company of vices and surrounded by a chorus of wickedness, the leader of crimes attacks the wall of the human mind with such contrivances of words: 'Peace offering is to me; today I fulfill my vows.' For this reason, I have advanced to meet you, desiring to find your face. I have woven my bed with fine linen and spread carpets from Egypt. I have spread my bed with saffron, and my house with cinnamon. Come, let us enjoy friendship until dawn; come, and let us wrestle with desire. For through the mouth of Solomon we see this form of harlot expressed. For what is more similar to harlotry than secular pleasure, which enters through the window of its house, tempting the eyes with its first enticements; and it quickly penetrates if you, looking out into the street, namely the public ways of those passing by, do not direct the gaze of your mind to the internal mysteries of the law. She certainly is the one who, like a kind of bed woven with stronger ties, has entangled us in the bonds of a community, so that whoever reclines on it is bound; and she covers the surface of her body with the veil of shameful deceit, to seduce the minds of young men in the absence of her husband, that is, by disregarding the law. For the law is absent for those who commit sins, for if it were present, they would not commit them; and therefore it says: For my husband is not at home: he has taken the longest journey, with a bundle of money received in his hand. What shall I say this is, except perhaps because the rich think there is nothing that does not yield to their money, and they want the law to be for sale in their favor? Pleasure spreads its own scents, because it does not have the scent of Christ, it displays treasures,…
Harlot (Prostitute) · Machinations of — Machinations of
Hypocrisy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Ignorance · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Lasciviousness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Temptation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Woman · Frequently: Subtle and deceitful — Frequently: Subtle and deceitful
Young Men · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
The woman, seductively dressed, looks good on the outside but inside is full of trouble.
Rashi on Proverbs 7:10
And behold a woman As its apparent meaning. Another explanation: One of the enticers.
the nakedness of a harlot Heb. שית, as in (II Sam. 10:4): “their buttocks (שתותיהם),” i.e., the nakedness of a harlot.
with her heart besieged Heb. ונצרת לב. As a besieged city is surrounded by bulwarks, so is this one’s heart surrounded by lewdness and foolishness.
