Proverbs 9:11 is a promise and a transition in a chapter that compares and contrasts Wisdom and Folly. Please allow me to explain. Verses 10-12 are the shift from Wisdom to Folly; #10 informs you of Wisdom’s benefits and #12 introduces the results when you choose to not fear the Lord and that leads to Folly.

¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

¹¹ For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased.

¹² If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it. (KJV)

Proverbs 9:10 Hebrew Text Analysis (biblehub.com)  Use the blue arrows to go through all of the verses. A few minutes researching wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and wise will be worth your time. The Strong’s numbers are hotlinks to a short definition. Wise and wisdom are related terms.

With individual text analysis, section headings, and chapter and verse numbers it is hard to remember that is not how Solomon’s treatise on wisdom and folly was written; there were none of those things in his original work. Proverbs 1:7 introduces the letter with almost the same statement as 9:10. Take a moment and reflect on those verses, and note where they are in Solomon’s “nine chapters” master class on Wisdom and Folly. It is easy to believe that you are to go from knowledge to wisdom as you read the lessons and move into the fear of the Lord. I personally believe that this section, like the rest of Proverbs, was the result of collecting, studying, and carefully reflecting before he wrote anything. He did the time and work, but the Spirit directed the outcome. The Book took a long time to reach its final form, see 25:1.

In the big picture, I see the two Trees in the Garden of Eden. Solomon is presenting knowledge to us about good and evil, but Life is where we should be going. There are many things in these verses and some live and work very close to each other as they call out to us; choose the righteous one.

The Woman Wisdom

Is there a spiritual person in Heaven named Wisdom? My guess, Sophias are there; Chochmahs I am not so sure about (not a top-ten name for girls or boys). On that topic, my body is weary because of binah.

I decided to discuss Her personification with the same respect I have given Daughter Zion and the Bride of Christ. God’s Girls are important to Him. Proverbs begins with women and ends by talking about a woman. Why would the Spirit use women as the metaphor for wisdom? Women carry babies to birth and nurture children. Men, we are to follow Father God’s example in caring for our wife and children. (I would bet Adam thought about that missing rib when he took a breath. He gave up something from his side to have Eve by his side.) Malachi 2:15 is clear on the fact that the Father wants Godly offspring; read verses 13 – 16. Ponder that thought as you see the devil and “the woke” attack the family and women.

This calling, desire, and responsibility from God is seen in the vignette of 9:1-6 and Her advice in verses 7 – 9. Proverbs 9:11 is her promise to us of life if you listen to her, she wants to look out for you.

Wisdom’s house in 9:1 caught my attention. I pondered those seven pillars and the seven spirits of God, I hoped to draw a brilliant statement comparing the two, but it did not happen. There are many ideas about what those pillars are, but as I looked at my clock, I realized they could hold up a round building. Six pillars will evenly space to support the walls and you put the seventh one in the middle to hold the roof. I wrote about the seven spirits of God and identified them with Isaiah 11:1-4. The first word in that list is chokmah (wisdom) and the second one is binah. Number six is the fear of the Lord. James 3:17 is a great list of what wisdom is, but there are eight things.

• pure
• peace-loving
• gentle
• reasonable
• full of mercy and good fruits. Most translators list these separately, making it a total of eight.
• impartial
• free of hypocrisy

1 Corinthians 1:24 and 30 identifies Jesus as the wisdom that comes from God. Verse 30 lists righteousness, holiness, and redemption as the wisdom from God that is in the God-Man, Jesus. (I am sure that there is more to come on this topic, but I need to get back on track.)

Folly’s vignette is verses 13 – 18. Like any good lie, Folly mimics Wisdom and does some of the things she does. Compare their advertising techniques and how they want to feed the people who come to them. Please notice both are in the “highest” part of the city. Now, contrast everything else, especially their messages.

It is not unusual for Solomon and Lady Wisdom to be compared to non-Hebrew deities and other countries’ wisemen. True wisdom belongs to God, so if Solomon repeated true wisdom that is fine with me.

Woman Wisdom: Bible | Jewish Women’s Archive (jwa.org) You need to read the whole article and not cherry-pick lines from it. It is one of the better articles I have read that compares Wisdom to pagan goddesses, I believe they are for Woman Wisdom, but many are not.

Mother Nature or Father God is something a Christian should think about. I will stick with Father God, but remember that Satan fell to earth and does have some power down here. Come, Lord Jesus.

Long Life

David’s greeting for Nabal was “have a long life” in 1 Samuel 25:6. Nabal’s greed and foolishness brought about his early death.

Solmon did not pray for a long life in 2 Chronicles 1:11 and 1 Kings 3:11 but for wisdom to rule God’s people.

Psalm 91, by Moses, starts with “he who dwells with the Most High” and ends with God giving him long life and salvation.

Hezekiah prayer for God to remember the things he had done and was given fifteen more years.

Wisdom, fear of the Lord, and long life appear in Proverbs 3:2 and 16, 4:10, and 10:27.

Paul in Titus 1: 1-3 talks of eternal life that had been promised: “a long time ago”. Faith, truth, hope, and knowledge came from Paul’s preaching because of his revelation and commission from God the Father and Jesus. I still wonder what it would have been like if Adam and Eve had eaten from the Tree of Life.