Proverbs 7:20
in Proverbs 7He took with him a bag of money and will not return till the moon is full.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
He hath taken a bag of money with him; He will come home at the full moon.
KJV
He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.
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This verse in Proverbs 7
Commentary
8 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
I have decked my bed with coverings
on Proverbs 7:16-20
Her speech turns to what the senses enjoy, “colored linen from Egypt” and a bed perfumed “with myrrh, with aloes, and with cinnamon”. Her closing argument is logistics, sold as calculated safety: “my husband is not at home,” and he “will not return till the moon is full”.
This site's exposition
till the moon is full
The Hebrew names a fixed day, and Clarke reports the Vulgate read it as the full moon, the Targum as the day of the assembly. Clarke takes the husband for a traveling merchant with his bag of money. She knows the calendar.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaEXPOSITION ON PROVERBS, FRAGMENT 7:20 · Written before 253.
proposed
In these words, "after many days he will return home," Paul (who in the spirit perceived the plan of the divine economy) refers to the last enemy which is to be destroyed, that is, death. That enemy is the man of wickedness that Solomon will describe as one who took in his hand "a bag of money," that is, humanity. When [humanity] sins again and again, it allows itself to disregard the fear of God. It [only] becomes distressed when the human race is brought to the point of trials.
The Medieval Church2 voices
He has taken a purse of money with him. He took with him the glory of the resurrection and the honor of immortality, by which He might gladden and enrich the citizens of that homeland.
He will return to his house on the day of the full moon. When the Church of His elect has completed its number, He will return for judgment.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
He hath taken a bag of money with him,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
He hath taken - Literally, “The money bag he hath taken in his hand.” He is gone a journey of itinerant merchandising. This seems to be what is intended. And will come home at the day appointed - ליום הכסא leyom hakkase, the time fixed for a return from such a journey. The Vulgate says, “at the full moon.” The Targum, “the day of the assembly.” In other words, He will return by the approaching festival.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| צְֽרוֹר־ | tzeror- | [the] bag of | H6872 → | |
| הַ֭כֶּסֶף | hakesef | <the> money | H3701 → | 403 times |
| לָקַ֣ח | lakach | he has taken | H3947 → | 966 times |
| בְּיָד֑וֹ | beyado | in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| לְי֥וֹם | leyom | to [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַ֝כֵּ֗סֶא | hakese' | the full moon | H3677 → | |
| יָבֹ֥א | yavo' | he will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בֵיתֽוֹ׃ | veito | house his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
צְֽרוֹר־[the] bag of
tzeror-H6872 →
הַ֭כֶּסֶף<the> money
hakesefH3701 →403 times
לָקַ֣חhe has taken
lakachH3947 →966 times
בְּיָד֑וֹin hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 times
לְי֥וֹםto [the] day of
leyomH3117 →2304 times
הַ֝כֵּ֗סֶאthe full moon
hakese'H3677 →
יָבֹ֥אhe will come
yavo'H935 →2568 times
בֵיתֽוֹ׃house his
veitoH1004 →2046 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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
2 Chronicles 2:4Behold, I am about to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God to dedicate to Him for burning fragrant incense before Him, for displaying the showbread continuously, and for making…
it leads to
- Exodus 30:7
And Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning when he tends the lamps.
- Exodus 25:30
And place the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.
- 2 Chronicles 2:1
Now Solomon purposed to build a house for the Name of the LORD and a royal palace for himself.
- 1 Kings 8:18
But the LORD said to my father David, ‘Since it was in your heart to build a house for My Name, you have done well to have this in your heart.
- Leviticus 23:1–17
Then the LORD said to Moses,
- Exodus 30:7
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Cain and Abel; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Origen of Alexandria, EXPOSITION ON PROVERBS, FRAGMENT 7:20.