Proverbs 9:3 - Exposition

She hath sent forth her maidens, as in Matthew 22:3 , to call them that were bidden to the feast. The Septuagint has τοὺς ἑαυτῆς δούλους , "her servants," but the Authorized Version is correct, and feminine attendants are in strict harmony with the rest of the apologue. By them are represented the apostles and preachers and ministers, who go forth to win souls for Christ. St. Gregory sees in their being called "maidens" an intimation that they are in themselves weak and abject, and are only useful and honoured as being the mouthpiece of their Lord ('Moral.,' 33.33). She crieth upon the highest places of the city, where her voice could best be heard, as in Proverbs 8:2 ; Matthew 10:27 . She is not satisfied with delegating her message to others; she delivers it herself. Septuagint, "calling with a loud proclamation to the cup ( ἐπὶ κρατῆρα );" Vulgate, Misit ancillas suas ut vocarent ad arcem et ad moenia civitatis, "She has sent her handmaids to invite to the citadel, and to the wails of the town." On which rendering St. Gregory comments, "In that while they tell of the interior life, they lift us up to the high walls of the city above, which same walls, surely, except any be humble, they do not ascend" ('Moral.,' 17:43).