Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 6:26
For by means of a whorish woman [a man is brought] to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
26. the adulteress ] Lit. a man’s wife. It is the same woman who is contemplated in both clauses of the verse, a married woman, who has become a “whorish woman.”
will hunt ] Rather, hunteth, R.V. Not only substance ( Pro 6:31) but life itself ( Pro 6:34-35) may be the forfeit, and a more precious substance than bodily life also. “Every sin is the precursor of spiritual bankruptcy; it is setting one’s hand to a bill, which when it comes in must break the wealthiest signatory.” Horton, p. 75.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The two forms of evil bring, each of them, their own penalty. By the one a man is brought to such poverty as to beg for a piece of bread (compare 1Sa 2:36): by the other and more deadly sin he incurs a peril which may affect his life. The second clause is very abrupt and emphatic in the original; but as for a mans wife; she hunts for the precious life.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 26. By means of a whorish woman] In following lewd women, a man is soon reduced to poverty and disease. The Septuagint gives this a strange turn: , . “For the price or hire of a whore is about one loaf.” So many were they in the land, that they hired themselves out for a bare subsistence. The Vulgate, Syriac, and Arabic, give the same sense. The old MS. Bible has it thus: The price forsothe of a strumpet is unneth oon lof: the woman forsothe taketh the precious liif of a man. The sense of which is, and probably the sense of the Hebrew too, While the man hires the whore for a single loaf of bread; the woman thus hired taketh his precious life. She extracts his energy, and poisons his constitution. In the first clause ishshah zonah is plainly a prostitute; but should we render esheth, in the second clause, an adulteress? I think not. The versions in general join esheth ish, together, which, thus connected, signify no more than the wife of a man; and out of this we have made adulteress, and Coverdale a married woman. I do not think that the Old MS. Bible gives a good sense; and it requires a good deal of paraphrase to extract the common meaning from the text. Though the following verses seem to countenance the common interpretation, yet they may contain a complete sense of themselves; but, taken in either way, the sense is good, though the construction is a little violent.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
To a piece of bread; to extreme poverty, so as to want and be forced to beg his bread. Hunt for the precious life; to take away a mans life; either by consuming his body and spirits, and so shortening his days; or more directly and strictly, when she hath any great provocation to it, or any prospect of considerable advantage by it. Or, for the precious soul, which she corrupteth and destroyeth. But I prefer the former sense.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
26. The supplied words give abetter sense than the old version: “The price of a whore is apiece of bread.”
adulteress(CompareMargin), which the parallel and context (Pr6:29-35) sustain. Of similar results of this sin, compare Pr5:9-12.
will huntalluding tothe snares spread by harlots (compare Pr7:6-8).
precious lifemorevaluable than all else.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For by means of a whorish woman [a man is brought] to a piece of bread,…. To be glad of one, and to beg for one, for the least morsel; it is expressive of the extreme poverty and want which harlots bring men to, who strip them of all their substance, and then send them going to get their bread as they can; thus the prodigal, having spent his substance with harlots, was so reduced as to desire the husks which swine ate, Lu 15:13; so spiritual fornication or idolatry leaves men without bread for their souls, brings them into spiritual poverty, and even to desperation and death;
and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life; or “soul” n; not content with his precious substance, his jewels, his gold and silver; having stripped him of his goods and livelihood, though some think that is here intended; she lays snares for him, and draws him into those evils which bring him into the hands of her husband, who avenges himself by slaying the adulterer; or into the hands of the civil magistrate, by whom this sin of adultery was punished with death; nay, is the occasion of the ruin of his precious and immortal soul to all eternity: the precious souls of men are part of the wares of antichrist, Re 18:13.
n “animam”, Pagninus, Montanus, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
26. This verse is difficult because of the supposed ellipsis, and is variously rendered by the versions and critics. The ellipsis indicated by the italics renders the meaning doubtful. The meaning most approved is, that licentiousness leads to starvation, even to a last morsel of bread. There is no verb in the first member of the verse, and one must be supposed, it is possible that , tatsudh, in the latter clause, rendered will hunt, (better, lies in wait, or, lays snares,) or some verb of similar meaning, is implied in the first clause. The sense thus might be, that while the harlot lies in wait for bread she also lays snares for the precious life. Some eminent authorities refer the terms to two different classes of evil women the harlot and the adulteress. By the one the man is brought to poverty, by the other into peril of his life.
Adulteress The Hebrew denotes, the woman of a man, and is hence rendered adulteress. But this meaning is not certain. The Septuagint has , meaning, a woman of men, that is, of more than one man a common woman. The Hebrew ish, like our word man, is often used in the plural sense, each one, every one, or any one. If this be the sense of the words they would only be another term for ishshah zonah, a harlot, in the preceding clause, and both predicates, the hunting for bread and the hunting for the life, would apply to the same kind of vile person, namely, a lewd woman, married or single. But Miller renders thus: “For after a woman selling herself as low as for a loaf of bread, and she a man’s wife, a precious soul will hunt.” Conant, however, thus: “For a harlot is but a round (loaf) of bread, but the married woman hunts for the precious life.” Round or loaf means her hire. The law punished adultery with death. Lev 20:10; Deu 22:22; Eze 16:40; Joh 8:5.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Pro 6:26 For by means of a whorish woman [a man is brought] to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.
Ver. 26. For by means of a whorish woman. ] See Trapp on “ Pro 5:10 “ These creatures know no other language but that of the horse leech’s daughter, Give, give, and may fitly be compared to the ravens of Arabia, that, fully gorged, have a tunable, sweet record, but empty, screech horribly; or to carrion crows, that flock to a dead carcase, not to defend it, but to devour it; and no sooner have they bared the bones but they are gone. Thus dame Alice Peirce, King Edward III’s concubine, served him while he lived; all was here as she would; and when this king lay dying, she packed away what she could snatch, even to the rings on his fingers, and so left him. a
“ Corpus, opes, animum, famam, vim, lumina, scortum
Debilitat, perdit, necat, aufert, cripit, orbat.”
Will hunt for the precious life.
a Daniel’s Chronicle.
b Mantuan.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the . . . life = the soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
by: Pro 5:10, Pro 29:3, Pro 29:8, Luk 15:13-15, Luk 15:30
a piece: 1Sa 2:36
the adulteress: Heb. the woman of a man, or, a man’s wife, hunt. Gen 39:14, Eze 13:8
Reciprocal: Gen 39:10 – as she spake Jdg 14:15 – Entice Jdg 16:6 – General 2Ki 1:14 – let my life Pro 2:18 – General Pro 9:18 – the dead