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Lady Wisdom’s Plea

Proverbs 9:3 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
³She has sent out her young maidens to call
from the highest places in the city,

She has sent out her young maidens to call: The Hebrew rendered young maidens (נַעֲרָה naarah) refers to female servants who are working for her owner or employer, particularly in the household, usually someone of a lower social status. Here, to call (קָרָא qara) means to utter or announce an invitation, which is shouted as a public message.

From the highest places in the city: The Hebrew word rendered city (קֶרֶת qereth) is a large, densely populated area that is larger than a village settlement or community but smaller than the larger cities. The expression here in Proverbs 9:3b is the same in 9:14b, where it speaks of the foolish woman.

The Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary says, “The location of Wisdom’s house at the highest point of the city is extremely significant to understanding whom she represents. In the ancient Near East, the only building allowed to occupy the acropolis is the temple. In this way, the poet associates Woman Wisdom with Yahweh. She stands primarily for Yahweh’s wisdom and ultimately for Yahweh himself.”^[1]

Lady Wisdom has built her house and prepared the feat; it is now time to invite her guests. Therefore, she sends out her young maidens to the highest places in the city to call in the people. This reminds us of Jesus’ Parable of the Large Banquet in Luke 14:15-24. Today, Christians are to serve as the messengers of true wisdom, being busy in the work of God, inviting people, within our communities, wherever they may be found, to take in the true wisdom of God’s Word, a banquet indeed, leading to eternal life. (John 17:3) Albert Barnes writes, “Wisdom and the ‘foolish woman’ (v. 13) speak from the same places and to the same class—the simple, undecided, wavering, standing at the diverging point of the two paths that lead to life or death.” — Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Jeremiah, Lamentations & Ezekiel, ed. F. C. Cook and J. M. Fuller (London: John Murray, 1879), 32.

^[1] John H Walton, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Old Testament): The Minor Prophets, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, vol. 5 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 480.