Tag Archives: Proverbs 5:8

The Edges of Desire — Imperatives and Spatial Metaphor in Biblical Warning

הַרְחֵ֣ק מֵעָלֶ֣יהָ דַרְכֶּ֑ךָ וְאַל־֝תִּקְרַ֗ב אֶל־פֶּ֥תַח בֵּיתָֽהּ׃ Unveiling the Boundary Some warnings do not describe danger — they draw maps around it. Proverbs 5:8 sketches a moral geography with two commands: one urging distance, the other forbidding approach. The target is a figure already introduced in the chapter — the forbidden woman — yet she is not directly named here. Instead, her domain is circled with negations and spatial directives. This verse brings into focus a rich linguistic feature: the Hebrew use of paralleled negative imperatives to frame ethical perimeters.… Learn Hebrew
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