Proverbs 7 in MT and LXX: Form and Content

Proverbs 7 MT and LXX 155
Verse 14
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What a paradox: she is clean and free to whore! We recall that the author of
the David-Bathsheba story made sure to specify that %
“she had just purified herself after her period” before they performed
adultery (2 Sam 11:4). 61 V. 15 says it all: she has paid her dues and is
therefore available and ready for him. She may be tempting him with a
festive meal, but that is all there is to it. In spite of the sacrifices and vows
mentioned here, there is nothing in the entire speech that would suggest a
cult scene, let alone a cult prostitute or foreign cult habits. 62 The author may
be using terms from other contexts or hint at other scenes, 63 without
importing their actual meaning. Our scene is set in the streets, with no holy
places involved. It is a matter between a man away on a business trip, his
loose wife searching for adventure, and a naive lad who is about to fall into
the trap set for him.
The form of the verb seems to indicate that the woman has already
paid her vows. 64 The Greek, however, is in the present: “I have a peaceoffering;
today I pay my vows.” If it is not a narrative-present, it would
61 As Fox, Proverbs, 246, puts it: “people may be punctilious in ritual and taboo
while shabby in ethics.”
62 As advocated by Boström, Proverbiastudien, e.g., 103–104.
63 Such as suggested by Hos 4:14 B .+ *#