Proverbs 2:16

GOD'S MAN IS DELIVERED FROM HARLOTRY

"To deliver thee from the strange woman,

Even from the foreigner that flattereth with her words;

That forsaketh the friend of her youth,

And forgetteth the covenant of her God:

For her house inclineth unto death,

And her paths unto the dead;

None that go unto her return again,

Neither do they attain unto the paths of life:"

"To deliver thee from the strange woman" (Proverbs 2:16). Who is this strange woman? According to Cook, "She is none other than a foreigner";[17] but the mention of her having forgotten "the covenant of her God," identifies her as an Israelite who had been in covenant relationship with the Lord. Others have identified her as a religious prostitute attached to some pagan shrine; but the simple truth appears to be that. "The strange woman here is any meretricious person who indulges in illicit sex."[18]

(This is the first of several warnings against adultery in the book of Proverbs; others are in Proverbs 5:3-23; 6:20-35; 7:1-27; 9:13-18). The thing that amazes this writer is that the author of these instructions was himself the most fantastic violator of these warnings ever known.

"Some Jewish commentators personify the strange woman here and make her a symbol of some form of foreign philosophy; but, very probably, the reference is to literal vice."[19]

The use of the word "stranger" (or strange woman) in Proverbs is not to be understood in its ordinary meaning. Ruth called herself a stranger (Ruth 2:10); but, "In Proverbs, these words are euphemisms for harlot."[20]

"That forsaketh the friend of her youth" (Proverbs 2:17). Most scholars agree that these words refer to the woman's husband.[21]

"Her house inclineth unto death" (Proverbs 2:18). "Men come away from every unlawful indulgence other than they go - weaker and worse in soul. Alas for the morrow of incontinence, of whatever kind it is! The soul is injured; self-respect is slain; his force is diminished; he is on the incline that slopes to death; and one step nearer to it than ever before. `Her house inclineth unto death'!"[22]

"Adultery is a house slanted toward the death of the spirit; and Divine wisdom is essential for deliverance from its temptation and torment."[23]