Proverbs 7:10
in Proverbs 7Then a woman came out to meet him, with the attire of a harlot and cunning of heart.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And, behold, there met him a woman With the attire of a harlot, and wily of heart.
KJV
And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.
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This verse in Proverbs 7
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWith a provocative movement of a prostitute, with a disrupted gait through delights, with wandering eyes, and with playful darting of her eyelids, she captures the precious souls of young men (for the eye of a prostitute is a snare of a sinner), and with doubtful perception, she accosts anyone passing by in the corner of her house, with charming words, causing the hearts of young men to flutter, restless at home, wandering in the streets, prodigal with kisses, cheap in modesty, rich in attire, painted cheeks.
This site's exposition
with the attire of a harlot
on Proverbs 7:10-15
Her “attire of a harlot and cunning of heart” are named together. Her speech opens with religious cover: “I have made my peace offerings; today I have paid my vows”. A peace offering left meat the worshipper could eat and share, so piety itself becomes the pretext for the meeting.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And behold, a woman meets him in the attire of a harlot, etc. These all clearly relate to the literal sense of harlotry; however, heretical doctrine attempts to deceive anyone it finds careless and foolish. It indeed appears in harlot's attire, because it shines with …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And, behold, there met him a woman,....
She is all for gadding abroad, changing place and company. Now is she without in the country, under pretence of taking the air, now in the streets of the city, under pretence of seeing how the market goes. She is here, and there, and every where but where she should be.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A woman with the attire of a harlot - It appears that sitting in some open place, and covering the face, or having a veil of a peculiar kind on, was the evidence of a harlot, Gen 38:14, Gen 38:15-19. No doubt, in Solomon’s time, they had other distinctions. In all other countries, and in all times. the show of their countenance did testify against them; they declared their sin as Sodom; they hid it not.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
attire--that of harlots was sometimes peculiar. subtile--or, "wary," "cunning." 11, 12. loud--or, "noisy," "bustling." stubborn--not submissive. without . . . streets, . . . corner--(Compare 1Ti 5:13;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And behold a woman As its apparent meaning. Another explanation: One of the enticers.
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. 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִנֵּ֣ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אִ֭שָּׁה | ʾishah | a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| לִקְרָאת֑וֹ | likrato | to meet him | H7122 → | 139 times |
| שִׁ֥ית | shit | [the] garment of | H7897 → | |
| ז֝וֹנָ֗ה | zonah | a prostitute | H2181 → | 94 times |
| וּנְצֻ֥רַת | unetzurat | and guarded of | H5341 → | 63 times |
| לֵֽב׃ | lev | heart | H3820 → | 595 times |
וְהִנֵּ֣הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
אִ֭שָּׁהa woman
ʾishahH802 →781 times
לִקְרָאת֑וֹto meet him
likratoH7122 →139 times
שִׁ֥ית[the] garment of
shitH7897 →
ז֝וֹנָ֗הa prostitute
zonahH2181 →94 times
וּנְצֻ֥רַתand guarded of
unetzuratH5341 →63 times
לֵֽב׃heart
levH3820 →595 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
1 Timothy 2:9Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,
it leads to
- 1 Peter 3:3–5
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes,
- Jeremiah 4:30
And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain;…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Titus 2:3–5
Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good.
- Psalms 149:4
For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He adorns the afflicted with salvation.
- Isaiah 3:16
The LORD also says: “Because the daughters of Zion are haughty—walking with heads held high and wanton eyes, prancing and skipping as they go, jingling the bracelets on their ankles—
- 1 Peter 3:3–5
Through
2 Kings 9:30Now when Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 23:40
Furthermore, you sisters sent messengers for men who came from afar; and behold, when they arrived, you bathed for them, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with jewelry.
- Ezekiel 23:40
Through
Jeremiah 4:30And you, O devastated one, what will you do, though you dress yourself in scarlet, though you adorn yourself with gold jewelry, though you enlarge your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain;…
it leads to
- Lamentations 1:2
She weeps aloud in the night, with tears upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.
- 2 Kings 9:30
Now when Jehu arrived in Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it. So she painted her eyes, adorned her head, and looked down from a window.
- Lamentations 1:2
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Cain and Abel; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.