Proverbs 2:18

For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. FOR HER HOUSE INCLINETH UNTO DEATH, AND HER PATHS UNTO THE DEAD - (.) The "for" expresses the greatness of the "deliverance" (), as indicated by the greatness of the danger. It is not without good reason that I warn thee to seek wisdom, "to deliver thee from the strange woman," "for her house inclineth unto death." The Hebrew for house is masculine, and "inclineth" is feminine; therefore the translation is literally, 'She (that is, her house) inclineth unto death.' "The dead" - Hebrew, Rephaim, the dead: the manes elsewhere, or ghosts and giants. On the connection of these ideas, see Remarks, . "Her house," with its 'tapestry-covered bed' ...

10-22 If we are truly wise, we shall be careful to avoid all evil company and evil practices. When wisdom has dominion over us, then it not only fills the head, but enters into the heart, and will preserve, both against corruptions within and temptations without. The ways of sin are ways of darkness, uncomfortable and unsafe: what fools are those who leave the plain, pleasant, lightsome paths of uprightness, to walk in such ways! They take pleasure in sin; both in committing it, and in seeing others commit it. Every wise man will shun such company. True wisdom will also preserve from those who lead to fleshly lusts, which defile the body, that living temple, and war against the soul. These are evils which excite the sorrow of every serious mind, and cause every reflecting parent to look upon his children with anxiety, lest they should be entangled in such fatal snares. Let the suffering...

Verse Proverbs 2:18. _FOR HER HOUSE INCLINETH UNTO DEATH_] It is generally in _by_ and _secret places_ that such women establish themselves. They go out of the _high road_ to get a residence; and every step that is taken towards their house is a step towards _death_. The path of sin is the path of ruin: the path of duty is the way of safety. For _her paths_ incline _unto the dead_, רפאים repheim, the _inhabitants of the invisible world_. The woman who abandons herself to prostitution soon _contracts_, and generally _communicates_, that _disease_, which, above all others, signs the speediest and most effectual _passport_ to the _invisible world_. Therefore it is said,...

The house of the adulteress is as Hades, the realm of death, haunted by the spectral shadows of the dead (Rephaim, see the Psalms 88:10 note), who have perished there....

EXPOSITION PROVERBS 2:1 3. _Third admonitory discourse, pointing out the benefits which arise from a sincere, earnest, and persevering search after Wisdom. _This discourse divides itself into three parts. (1) Proverbs 2:1 : a statement of the conditions which, if fulfilled, result in the highest knowledge of Jehovah—the fear of Jehovah and the knowledge of God, who is the Source of wisdom and the Protection and Ensurer of safety to the righteous. (2) Proverbs 2:10 : the negatively beneficial results of Wisdom, in delivery from the paths of evil, from destructive lusts and passions, from the temptations of wicked men and wicked

FOR HER HOUSE INCLINETH UNTO DEATH,.... Bends, verges, and points that way; it lies in the way to death, and brings unto it, and sinks into it as into a ditch; or all that are in her house, that are familiar with her, live and dwell with her, and commit wickedness with her; these incline or are liable to lose, and do lose, their name, character, and reputation, which is a death upon them; and bring diseases upon their bodies, which issue in corporeal death; or are in danger of dying by the hand of the injured husband, or the civil magistrate; and also are exposed unto eternal death: or "she inclines to death, which is her house" x, so Aben Ezra and Kimchi; and to which the Targum agrees, "for in the pit of death is her house:'' that is, the house she at last comes to and must dwell in, and all that are ensnared by her; see Proverbs 5:5; and the second death will be th

CHAPTER 2 _ 1. The pursuit of wisdom and its results (Proverbs 2:1)_ 2. Preservation from the evil man and the strange woman (Proverbs 2:10) 3. The path of the righteous (Proverbs 2:20) Proverbs 2:1 This second chapter of divine instructions begins with an exhortation to pursue after Wisdom. The sayings of Wisdom, that is the Word of the Lord, must be received, laid up, the ear must incline to hear them, the heart must be applied to understanding. In verse 3 mention is made of prayer. There must be crying after knowledge and for understanding and that must be followed by seeking and searching. If the

THIRD DISCOURSE. The wise man praises Wisdom, describing the blessings of obedience to her. The deeper religious element in wisdom appears, the fundamental conception of Hebrew prophecy, that the knowledge of God is the supreme good. PROVERBS 2:1. If the young man hearkens to wisdom, prizes it above all other gain, he will acquire the true knowledge of God. Yahweh alone gives wisdom, and He gives it only to the upright. PROVERBS 2:5. The phrase knowledge of God occurs in the OT only here and in Hos. Also Elohim only occurs elsewhere in Pr. in Proverbs 2:17; Proverbs 3:4;...

HOUSE. Put by Figure of speech _Metonymy_ (of Adjunct), App-6, for household. THE DEAD. Hebrew Rephaim, who have no resurrection. Compare Isaiah 26:14 ("deceased"), Isaiah 26:19 ("the dead"); and see App-25. This shows that. Canaanite woman is referred to here....

_her house_&c. It is a steep descent, ending in death. The rendering of R.V. marg., _she sinketh down unto death_ WHICH IS _her house_, is less forcible and impairs the parallelism. _the dead_ Lit. THE REPHAIM. The Rephaim were among the Aborigines of Canaan (Genesis 14:5; Genesis 15:20) and were people of giant stature (Deuteronomy 2:11; Deuteronomy 2:20-21, R.V.). They may have come to be identified in the popular mind in the dim retrospect of the past, with the shadowy spectres that loomed large in Sheol ...