In the previous chapter, Wisdom has called aloud in the streets, pleading for the populace to listen to her.
Proverbs 9:1-2, Wisdom's marvelous palace
Wisdom has built her house;
she has hewn out its seven pillars.
She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine;
she has also set her table.
Wisdom prepares a banqueting table for her guests. (Her house has seven pillars -- once again we see the Hebrew symbolism in 7.)
Proverbs 9:3-6, Wisdom's banquet and invitation
She has sent out her maids,
and she calls from the highest point of the city.
"Let all who are simple come in here!"
she says to those who lack judgment.
"Come, eat my food
and drink the wine I have mixed.
Leave your simple ways and you will live;
walk in the way of understanding.
The invitation given to the crowds is to come, leave their simple ways, and feast on her understanding, imbibe her knowledge and judgment.
Proverbs 9:7-9, Reactions to wise advice
"Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult;
whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse.
Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you;
rebuke a wise man and he will love you.
Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still;
teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.
The proverb detours to give advice about the reactions of others to instructions. The wise listen and learn; the mocker gets angry and rewards wise words with abuse.
As in Proverbs 4:7, there is a cyclical process to wisdom: the seekers of wisdom become wise and therefore more ardent seekers, becoming even wiser still.
Proverbs 9:10-12, Wisdom begins and ends with YHWH
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
For through me your days will be many,
and years will be added to your life.
If you are wise, your wisdom will reward you;
if you are a mocker, you alone will suffer."
As stated before, the source of Wisdom and her knowledge comes from the Creator, the One who both made wisdom and with it created the universe.
Proverbs 9:13-17, Folly also calls out
The woman Folly is loud;
she is undisciplined and without knowledge.
She sits at the door of her house,
on a seat at the highest point of the city,
calling out to those who pass by,
who go straight on their way.
"Let all who are simple come in here!"
she says to those who lack judgment.
"Stolen water is sweet;
food eaten in secret is delicious!"
Just as Wisdom is personified as a woman, so too is Folly. Among the many invitations of Folly are the strengths of stolen, illicit pleasures. Kidner says that the motto of the wise is verse 10 ("The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom...") but the motto of the foolish and sophisticated is verse 17 ("Stolen waters...".)
Folly also calls out to the simple and those that lack judgment. But in this case, they are her intimates and lovers -- she has no desire to change them!
Proverbs 9:18, Path into the depths
But little do they know that the dead are there,
that her guests are in the depths of the grave.
Unlike the mansion belonging to Wisdom, there is no description of Folly's home. Indeed Folly's invitations are summarized as leading to the grave, just as did the path of the adulteress.
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