Lady Wisdom/Lady Folly

            This introduction to Proverbs 1-9 is from the NIV Study Bible, and I think it’s helpful to understand how the book is framed.

            “The first nine chapters contain a series of discourses that contrast the way and benefits of wisdom with the way of ht fool. Except for the sections where personified wisdom speaks (1:20; 8:1; 9:1), each discourse begins with ‘my son’ or ‘my sons.’

            “A key feature in the introductory discourses of Proverbs is the personification of both wisdom and folly as women, each of whom (by appeals and warnings on the part of Lady Wisdom, by enticements on the part of Lady Folly) seeks to persuade ‘simple’ youths to follow her ways. These discourses are strikingly organized. Beginning (1:8-33) and ending (chs. 8-9) with direct enticements and appeals, the main body of the discourses is made up of two nicely balanced sections, one devoted to the commendation of wisdom (chs. 2-4) and the other to warnings against folly (chs. 5-7). In these discourses the young man is depicted as being enticed to folly by men who try to get ahead in the world by exploiting others (1:10-19) and by women who seek sexual pleasure outside the bond of marriage (ch. 5; 6:20-25; ch. 7). In the social structures of that day, these were the two great temptations for young men. The second especially functions here as illustrative and emblematic of the appeal of Lady Folly.”

One thing I would add to this description is that the enticement of sex is not simply for pleasure. Just as a man would have been tempted to cheat to get ahead, so too a woman would be tempted to use the one thing in her power (in a patriarchal age) to get ahead. It’s not just sex for pleasure; it’s sex as a tool to get ahead in the world, to find security in it. Either way, the contrast is the same: there is the way of wisdom, working carefully, diligently, and righteously to achieve happiness, balance, and success in life. And there is the way of folly, using whatever means and shortcuts are at hand to achieve those same goal,