Proverbs 8:2
in Proverbs 8On the heights overlooking the road, at the crossroads she takes her stand.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
On the top of high places by the way, Where the paths meet, she standeth;
KJV
She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths.
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This verse in Proverbs 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseIn the places of the paths - בית נתיבת נצבה beith nethiboth nitstsabah, “The constituted house of the paths.” Does not this mean the house of public worship? the tabernacle or temple, which stands a center to the surrounding villages, the paths from all the parts leading to and terminating at it? In such a place, where the holy word of God is read or preached, there in a particular manner does wisdom cry, and understanding lift up her voice.
This site's exposition
Doth not wisdom cry
on Proverbs 8:1-5
Against the strange woman of chapter 7, who waits in the twilight for one young man, wisdom cries in the top of high places, at the gates, at the entry of the city, to everyone: unto you, O men, I call. The contrast is the chapter's frame and the bench draws it: sin whispers privately and wisdom shouts publicly, so no one perishes for want of an invitation. Her audience is named without flattery, the simple and the fools, the very ones chapter 7 watched walk into the trap.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
On the heights and lofty places above the way, etc. He taught the disciples together with the crowds on the mountain, but also often preached to those who met him on the ways, and healed those who needed to be cured. Also, at the very …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The redeemer is the eternal Word and wisdom, the Logos. He is the Wisdom that speaks to the children of men in the former part of the chapter. All divine revelation passes through his hand, and centres in him; but of him as the personal Wisdom, the second person in the Godhead, in the judgment of many of the ancients, Solomon here speaks,
): She stands in the top of high places; it was from the top of Mount Sinai that the law was given, and Christ expounded it in a sermon upon the mount.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
High place - Where she may be best seen and heard. Paths - Where many paths meet, where there is a great concourse, and where travelers may need direction.
She standeth in the top of high places,....
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The full enumeration of localities points to the publicity and openness of Wisdom’s teaching (see Pro 1:20 note), as contrasted with the stealth and secrecy and darkness which shroud the harlot’s enticements Pro 7:9.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Will not wisdom call out Does not the Torah announce for you the things mentioned below in this section?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּרֹאשׁ־ | berosh- | at [the] top of | H7218 → | 599 times |
| מְרוֹמִ֥ים | meromim | [the] heights | H4791 → | 54 times |
| עֲלֵי־ | ʾalei- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| דָ֑רֶךְ | darekh | [the] way | H1870 → | 707 times |
| בֵּ֖ית | beit | between | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| נְתִיב֣וֹת | netivot | [the] pathways | H5410 → | 26 times |
| נִצָּֽבָה׃ | nitzavah | she stations herself | H5324 → |
בְּרֹאשׁ־at [the] top of
berosh-H7218 →599 times
מְרוֹמִ֥ים[the] heights
meromimH4791 →54 times
עֲלֵי־on
ʾalei-H5921 →5755 times
דָ֑רֶךְ[the] way
darekhH1870 →707 times
בֵּ֖יתbetween
beitH1004 →2046 times
נְתִיב֣וֹת[the] pathways
netivotH5410 →26 times
נִצָּֽבָה׃she stations herself
nitzavahH5324 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 9:3She has sent out her maidservants; she calls out from the heights of the city.
it leads to
- Proverbs 9:14
She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city,
- Proverbs 8:1–3
Does not wisdom call out, and understanding raise her voice?
- Matthew 22:3–4
He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come.
- Psalms 68:11
The Lord gives the command; a great company of women proclaim it:
- Proverbs 1:20–23
Wisdom calls out in the street, she lifts her voice in the square;
- Proverbs 9:14
Through
Proverbs 9:14She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city,
it leads to
- Proverbs 9:3
She has sent out her maidservants; she calls out from the heights of the city.
- Proverbs 7:10–12
Then a woman came out to meet him, with the attire of a harlot and cunning of heart.
- Proverbs 9:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.