A Virtuous Woman- The Strange Woman part two

Now that we've met the strange woman, let's look into all the times she's mentioned in the bible.

The strange woman:

This term is mentioned 9 times in 9 verses

It is first mentioned in Judges 11:2-

(starting in verse 1) Now Jepthah the Gileadite was a mighty

man of valour, and he was the son of an

harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah

And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his

wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out

Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt

not inherit in our father's house; for thou

art the son of a strange woman.

Strange woman= Harlot

Word study: Harlot
Mentioned 42 times in 40 verses.
This word is interesting- it's not commonly used today like 'whore' is. 'Harlot' is found many times before the word 'whore' appears and God uses 'harlot' more than 'whore'. I will note that words containing 'whore'- whoredom, whoredoms, whores- combined mentions are more than 'harlot'.
First mentioned: Genesis 34:31-

And they said, Should he deal with our

sister as with an harlot?

This is actually an interesting story.

Jacob has a daughter named Dinah. She goes into the city one day and attracts Shechem, a prince of the city. He rapes her, falls in love with her, then asks his father to get her for him 'to wife'.

Jacob and his sons find out and aren't happy. Shechem's father tries to pacify them and make a deal to 'make marriages' between their family and the people of the town.

And the sons of Jacob answered

Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully,

and said, because he had defiled Dinah

their sister:

And they said unto them, we cannot do

this thing, to give our sister to one that is

uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:

But in this will we consent unto you: if

ye will be as we be, that every male of you

be circumcised;

Genesis 34:13-15

So the men of the city all get circumcised and while they are recuperating Jacob's two sons Simeon and Levi 'came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.' They then wasted the city, taking the women and little ones as slaves, hoarding the wealth of the land and animals of the field for themselves.

Jacob is not happy about that at all and the verse above is Simeon's and Levi's response to their father's father's anger.

Harlot= defiled

Second mention: Genesis 38:15

When Judah saw her, he thought her to

be an harlot; because she had covered her

face.

And he turned unto her by the way, and

said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto

thee; (for he knew not that she was his

daughter in law.) And she said, what wilt

thou give me, that thou mayest come in

unto me?

This story gives us a definite example of what a harlot is: a woman who makes a living by selling her body. It is shameful- why else would she cover her face: Genesis 38:24

And it came to pass about three months

after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar

thy daughter in law hath played the harlot;

and also, behold, she is with child by

whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth,

and let her be burnt.

Being a harlot meant death

In conclusion: the first time the strange woman is mentioned, she is known as a harlot- a shameful, defiling trade worthy of death.

The next mention of the strange woman is analyzed in detail in my previous post found here

Third mention is in Proverbs chapter 5:

Proverbs 5:1-3

My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow

thine ear to my understanding:

That thou mayest regard discretion, and

that thy lips may keep knowledge.

For the lips of a strange woman drop as

an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother

than oil:

In case you haven't noticed, God keeps telling us to listen. He tells us over and over again to listen to his wisdom. It must be important.

God does not just put things in His bible to mess with us. He uses the exact perfect words in perfect sequence to give us the perfect way of doing things.

It is not a joke.

So He says to attend unto His wisdom- attend means to listen. If you look at all the times 'attend' is mentioned, you'll find that it is always in context of hearing. Think about it though, it's not just listening, it's being present. Have you ever, while reading, got to the end of a page and realize you haven't the faintest idea what you just read? I do that a lot. I get lost in my own thoughts while my eyes keep reading. God wants our attention- all of it.

Then He tells us to bow our ears to His understanding- bowing is a sign of humbleness and submission.    Submit to God's understanding, accept that when you disagree with it, you are wrong and need to make a change.

If you attend and bow you will regard discretion. I've looked at all the mentions of regard and I finally came up with a biblical definition: give place or give importance.
God is saying here that by listening and submitting to wisdom and understanding we will give importance to discretion and our lips 'may keep knowledge'.
That's an interesting thought- our lips keep things. That explains why we just blurt out things we have no business saying. Be careful what your lips keep.

Back to the strange woman: we already know that wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and discretion keep us from this woman. God contrasts the lips of those who heed him with the lips of a strange woman- they drop as an honeycomb.
Her lips are sticky. If you're not careful you get caught in them. She uses flattery, remember?
He goes on- her mouth is smoother than oil.
Oil is hard to wash off. Most things wash out with water but honey and oil- you need hot water and soap to get those off. The other thing about oil- it does not just wash out of clothing. (I rub chalk on the spot and wash as usual but do not tumble dry) My point is, unless you take special steps to get the oil stain out, it's not coming out.
This woman knows what to say and how to say it.

The interesting thing about the words God has chosen is that they are body parts. He does not say why she does these things- they appear to be in her flesh. When we say things, what is saying them? I tell my husband that I love him- I am speaking from the heart. My tongue, lips, and mouth are the vessels I use to convey this to my husband, but my words originate from my heart.
When talking about those who heed Him, God says if we attend, bow, and regard, our flesh will follow by keeping knowledge. The lack of these things in the strange woman result in flattery and all manner of evil kept in her lips.

Word study: Honeycomb
Mentioned 9 times in 9 verses
First mentioned: 1 Samuel 14:27

But Jonathan heard not when his father

charged the people with the oath:

wherefore he put forth the end of the rod

that was in his hand, and dipped it in an

honeycomb, and put his hand to his

mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.

Honeycombs are a good thing. 

More to be desired are they than gold,

yea than much fine gold: sweeter also

than honey and the honeycomb

Psalm 19:10

Honeycombs are separate from honey. God's Word is the only thing on this earth that is sweeter than honey and the honeycomb

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb,

sweet to the soul, and health to the bones

Proverbs 16:24

This verse explains why Jonathan was enlightened by the honeycomb in 1 Samuel- honeycombs are not only sweet but healthy.

Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the 

honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:

Song of Solomon 4:11

Now that verse is interesting.

I haven't studied the Song Of Solomon nor listened to anyone go over it in detail. From what I gather it is a book about Christ and His bride- the church.

This is a good woman- without spot (Song of Solomon 4:7)- and her lips are described exactly as a strange woman's are.

So it is possible to be sweet without using flattery. 

The strange woman uses good things to her own advantage. 

Word study: Smoother
Mentioned 2 times in 2 verses
First mention: Psalm 55:21

The words of his mouth were smoother

than butter, but war was in his heart: his

words were softer than oil, yet were they

drawn swords.

A person with smooth words is not to be trusted. 

The second mention of this word is in our text.

Word study: Smooth

Mentioned 6 times in 6 verses

First mention: Genesis 27:11

And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother,

behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, 

and I am a smooth man:

A few verses down is the second mention: Genesis 27:16

And she put the skins of the kids of the

goats upon his hands, and upon the

smooth of his neck:

The first time this word is used in the bible, Rebekah is scheming to promote her favourite son. The first time it is used it is used for deceit.

This word is bad.

And he took his staff in his hand, and

chose him five smooth stones out of the

brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag

which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling

was in his hand: and he drew near to the

Philistine.

1 Samuel 17:40

The third time smooth is used, it is used to kill. Sure it's the enemy of the Lord that is dead, but God makes a point of telling us that a smooth stone killed Goliath.

Which say to the seers, See not; and to the

prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things,

speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

Isaiah 30:10

Smooth is associated with deceit. Instead of 'right things', they wanted 'smooth things'.

Among the smooth stones of the stream is

thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to

them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou

hast offered a meat offering. Should I 

receive comfort in these?

Isaiah 57:6

The people were worshipping smooth stones and making offerings to them.
The last mention:

As it is written in the book of the words of

Esaias the prophet, saying, the voice of one

crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the

way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled, and every

mountain and hill shall be brought low;

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways shall be made smooth;

And all flesh shall see the salvation of

God.

Luke 3:4-6

This is the only positive mention of smooth. The only thing I can note is that this is God's doing.

Note these verses:

That which is crooked cannot be made straight:

Ecclesiastes 1:15a

Consider the work of God: for who can

make that straight, which he hath made

crooked?

Ecclesiastes 7:13

The verse in Luke references Isaiah 40:4-

Every valley shall be exalted, and every

mountain and hill shall be made low: and

the crooked shall be made straight, and the

rough places plain:

Taking both verses into account- God flattens, straightens, and smoothes everything out. Likely the way the earth was before the flood.

From what we've read, the words smooth and smoother are associated with deceit, lies, and death. The positive mention is when God comes back and fixes everything Himself.

Word study: oil

Mentioned 202 times in 187 verses

First mentioned: Genesis 28:16-18-

And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and

he said, Surely the Lord is in this place;

and I knew it not.

And he was afraid, and said, How

dreadful is this place! this is none other

but the house of God, and this is the gate

of heaven.

And Jacob rose up early in the morning,

and took the stone that he had put for his

pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and

poured oil upon the top of it.

Oil is clearly a good thing. I would hazard a guess that the majority of the mentions have to to with anointing (like in the first mention), sacrificing, and offering. It is also used in lamps for light (Exodus 39:27) and baking (Exodus 29:2).
Oil is associated with wealth:

There is treasure to be desired and oil

in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish

man spendeth it up.

Proverbs 21:20

I will not delve deep into the word 'oil'- just as far as our study takes us.

The words of his mouth were smoother 

than butter, but war was in his heart: his

words were softer than oil, yet were they

drawn swords.

Psalm 55:21

In conclusion: oil is soft, smooth, and rich people have lots.

Back to the verse we are studying:

For the lips of a strange woman drop as

an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother

than oil:

Proverbs 5:3

Based on our knowledge of oil I'd say this woman knows what to say: she's a charmer. She'll pull you in with her rich, smooth words.

There is a lot here. For me it taught me a lot about the bible. Since starting this I've paid closer attention to how God uses body parts in the bible. I've also been very interested in honeycombs and how healthy they are.

In all seriousness, though, what is our motivation for saying something? Are we using our words to gain an advantage or being sincere?
Do you know a man ensnared by a strange woman? Can you see right though her honey sweet words but he is blinded to it?

Faithful are the wounds of a friend;

but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Proverbs 27:6

Remember, Judas kissed Jesus while he was betraying him. Real friends tell the truth, no matter how horrible, because they are faithful.

What a difference between a faithful friend and a strange woman.

Stay tuned for part three!