An 'Abundance of Persuasiveness'

A young man thus meets a loose woman with a crafty plan.  How this must have caught the attention of Solomon!  He relates:  "She has grabbed hold of him and given him a kiss.  She has put on a bold face, and she  begins to say to him: 'Communion sacrifices were incumbent upon me.   Today I have paid my vows.  This is why I have come  out to meet you, to look for your face, that I may find you.'" -Proverbs 7:13-15.

The lips of this woman are smooth.  Putting on a bold face, she utters her words confidently. Everything she says is carefully calculated to seduce the young man.  By stating that she made communion sacrifices that very day paid her vows, she makes a display of righteousness, hinting that  she is not lacking spirituality.  Communion sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem consisted of meat, flour, oil, and wine.  (Leviticus 19:5, 6;  22:21; Numbers  15:8-10)  Since the offerer could take part of the communion sacrifice for himself and his family, she thus suggests that there is plenty to eat and drink at her house.  The implication is clear:  The young man would have  a good time there.  She has come out of her house specifically to look for him.  How touching-if anyone could swallow such a story.  "It is true she was out looking  for someone," says one Bible scholar, "but did she really come looking just for this one special fellow?  Only a fool-perhaps this one-would believe her."

After making herself appealing  by the sight of her attire, by the sound of her flattering words, by the touch of her embrace, and by the taste of her lips, the seductress enlists the sense of smell.  She says: "With coverlets I have bedecked my divan, with many-colored things, linen of Egypt.  I have besprinkled by bed with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon."  (Proverbs  7:16, 17)  She has aesthetically prepared her bed with colorful linen from Egypt and perfumed it with choice fragrances of myrrh, aloes and cinnamon.

Do come, let us drink our fill of live until the morning,"  She continues, "do let us enjoy each other with love expressions."  The invitation is to something much more than a pleasant dinner for two.  Her promise is that of enjoying sexual intimacy.  To the young man, the appeal is adventurous and exciting!  As further inducement, she adds:  "For the husband in not in his house; he has gone traveling on a way of some distance. A bag of money he has taken in his hand.  On the day of the full moon he will come to his house."  (Proverbs 7:18-20)   They would be perfectly safe, she assures him, for her husband is away on a business trip and is not expected back for some time.  How talented she is a beguiling a young person!   "She has misled him by the abundance of her persuasiveness.  By the smoothness of her lips she seduces him."  (Proverbs 7:21)  It would take a man of Joseph's caliber to resist an  appeal this enticing.  (Genesis 39:9, 12)  Does this young man measure up?

Next time: 'Like a Bull to the Slaughter'

The Watchtower, 2000