Albert Barnes Commentary Proverbs 7

The harlot adulteress of an Eastern city is contrasted with the true feminine ideal of the Wisdom who is to be the sister and kinswoman (Proverbs 7:4) of the young man as he goes on his way through life. See (Proverbs 8:0) in the introduction.

Casement - The latticed opening of an Eastern house, overlooking the street .

Simple - In the bad sense of the word (Proverbs 1:22 note); “open” to all impressions of evil, empty-headed and empty-hearted; lounging near the house of ill-repute, not yet deliberately purposing to sin, but placing himself in the way of it at a time when the pure in heart would seek their home. There is a certain symbolic meaning in the picture of the gathering gloom (Proverbs 7:9). Night is falling over the young man’s life as the shadows deepen.

Loud and stubborn - Both words describe the half-animal signs of a vicious nature. Compare Hosea 4:16.

This pretense of a religious feast gives us an insight into some strange features of popular religion under the monarchy of Judah. The harlot uses the technical term (Leviticus 3:1) for the “peace-offerings,” and makes them the starting point for her sin. They have to be eaten on the same day that they are offered (Leviticus 7:15–16), and she invites her victim to the feast.

The one who speaks is a “foreigner” who, with an appearance of conformity to the religion of Israel, still retains her old views (see note on Proverbs 2:16). To her, a feast day is nothing but a time of self-indulgence, which she may invite another to share with her. If we assume, as is probable, that these harlots of Jerusalem were mainly of Phoenician origin, the connection of their worship with their sin would be merely the continuation of their original cultus.