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Proverbs

About this book
Chapter 9

1 Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out its seven pillars. 2 She has prepared her meat, she has mixed her wine; she also has arranged her table. 3 She has sent out her female servants; she calls out on the highest places of the city. 4 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here.” To those who lack understanding, she has said, 5 “Come, eat some of my food, and drink some of the wine I have mixed.⁠ 6 Abandon your foolish ways so that you may live, and proceed in the way of understanding.” 7 Whoever corrects a mocker is asking for insult; whoever reproves a wicked person receives abuse.⁠ 8 Do not reprove a mocker, or he will hate you; reprove a wise person, and he will love you. 9 Give instruction to a wise person, and he will become wiser still; teach a righteous person, and he will add to his learning. 10 The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord, and acknowledging the Holy One is understanding. 11 For because of me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life. 12 If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage, but if you have mocked, you alone must bear it. 13 The woman called Folly is brash; she is naive and does not know anything. 14 And she has sat down at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, 15 calling out to those who are passing by her in the way, who go straight on their way. 16 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here, ”To those who lack understanding she has said, 17 “Stolen waters are sweet, and food obtained in secret is pleasant!” 18 But they do not realize that the Rephaim50 are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare KTU 1.114:2 and Proverbs 9:5

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

In the Ugaritic text KTU, the god El hosts a feast and commands the gods to eat and drink until satisfied. Proverbs 9 follows this pattern, with personified Wisdom preparing a banquet and inviting guests to come eat and drink.

Passages

KTU 1.114:2

Ancient Near East, Ugaritic · Cuneiform Texts from Ugarit
In his house El gave a feast of game, the produce of the hunt in the midst of his palace. He cried: To the carving, gods! Eat, O gods, and drink! Drink wine until satiety, foaming wine until intoxication! Yarih arched his back like a dog; he gathered up crumbs beneath the tables. Any god who recognized him threw him meat from the joint.
1350–1185 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in KTU

Proverbs 9:5

Hebrew Bible
3 She has sent out her female servants; she calls out on the highest places of the city. 4 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here.” To those who lack understanding, she has said, 5 “Come, eat some of my food, and drink some of the wine I have mixed. 6 Abandon your foolish ways so that you may live, and proceed in the way of understanding.” 7 Whoever corrects a mocker is asking for insult; whoever reproves a wicked person receives abuse.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Proverbs

References

“… the welcome to eat and drink rich foods, wine, and milk, can be seen as an inclusio with paradise imagery at the end of the pericope. God’s salvation brings fullness and plenty. But if one reads more widely in the Deutero-Isaiah tradition and in the Israelite tradition as a whole, 55:12 can be perceived to invoke the banquet motif of the victory-enthronement pattern. A similar invitation to eat and drink is offered by Woman Wisdom in Proverbs 9:5. A figure closely associated with creation in Proverbs 8, God’s “master-builder,” a virtual divine consort, Woman Wisdom existed before there were depths, before mountains were dug out. She builds her house (9:1) and prepares a feast in another biblical example of the victory-enthronement pattern. …”
Susan Niditch, Oral World and Written Word: Ancient Israelite Literature, LAI (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1996), 60.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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KTU 1.114:2 and Proverbs 9:5

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