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My Husband Is Gone!

Proverbs 7:19-20 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

¹⁹Because the man[1] is not in his house;
he has gone on the road far off;[2]
²⁰he took a bag of silver[3] in his hand;
at full moon he will come home.”

Because the man is not in his house: This can be rendered “my husband is not at home.” All along the wayward woman has been trying to seduce this young man with her body language and her choice of the right words. So, her choice of saying the man in place of “my man” is just her way of distancing herself from the concept of her having a husband in her continued efforts to encourage the young man. When translations avoid the literal translation because it sounds wooden or peculiar, they also deprive the reader of protentional meaning.

He has gone on the road far off: The literal rendering on the road far off means a long journey. This is her clearly trying to relieve the young man of any fear of their being caught by an enraged husband.

He took a bag of silver in his hand: This would likely have not been minted coins, namely, manufactured coins of specified values using a kind of stamping, but rather he likely took bulk silver, which would have to have been weighed, signaling that the man took lots of money for purchasing purposes, inferring that he will be away for a long time.

At full moon he will come home: Yet, another inference, full moon (kese or keseh), suggests that the man (her husband) was going to be away for a long time. She is basically saying, “he will not be back until the first of the month.” Remember, verse 9 of chapter 7 said, “at the midst of night and darkness,” which can refer to the new moon, some two weeks before the full moon. The full moon is the brightest phase of the moon in the lunar month, while the new moon is the darkest.

Maybe she sees fear in the young man’s heart, the only thing causing him to pause, so she moves to remove his concerns about being caught, telling him that her husband is off “on a long journey” and will not be back for many days, per the reference to taking a big bag of money with him. Therefore, he needs not to fear any consequences of this night of endless pleasure.

[1] Or my husband is not at home

[2] I.e. a long journey

[3] Or money