Strange Woman (Book of Proverbs)

The Strange Woman (Hebrew: אִשָּׁה זָרָה‎, romanized: 'issa zara) found throughout the Book of Proverbs has been used to act as the antithetical character to Woman Wisdom. Zara is the official name of the Strange Woman referenced in Proverbs; often times referenced as the other, the stranger, or the foreigner. This Strange Woman is also known as Lady Folly, the Foolish Woman and the Loose Woman. Just as Woman Wisdom is meant to be a representation of the ideal woman, the Strange Woman is used to embody an undesirable woman. Loud, ignorant and knowing nothing, the Strange Woman's attributes have been used to shame and suppress women throughout history. The work of many prominent feminist Biblical scholars has resulted in the redemption of this otherwise, outcast character.

What does it mean to be Strange?

Being a strange woman can mean a lot of different things. The most popular reading of being a strange woman comes from the Proverbs scripture itself. Firstly, Proverbs 7 paints the strange woman as being an adulteress (Proverbs 7:5) who seeks after young men when her husband is not home to seduce them with her sweet talk (Proverbs 7:19-21). Proverbs portrays the stranger as being a prostitute in the streets, in the squares, and at every corner lurking as she never stays home (Proverbs 7:11). At an early age, men are advised stay away from the strange woman and to seek after Lady Wisdom, who will lead them to a path of life (Proverbs 7:2). According to Proverbs 6, being a strange woman can mean that you are your neighbor’s wife. She is very beautiful and has captivating eyes (Proverbs 6:24-25). This strange woman does not want possessions from you, but wants a man’s life (Proverbs 6:26). If a young man is enticed by his neighbor’s wife, he has destroyed himself as he will be shamed forever (Proverbs 7). The husband of the woman will also be allowed to take revenge against the man who commits adultery (Proverbs 7). Proverbs 5 portrays a strange woman that is filled with bitterness. She possesses the ability to kill a man as her “feet go down to death and her steps lead straight to the grave” (Proverbs 5:5). Her lips drip of honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, however, she is sharp as a double-edged sword (Proverbs 5:4). Once again, young men are advised to stay away from her and indulge in the beauty of their own wife. Lastly, according to Proverbs 9, a strange woman is unruly and lacks knowledge and common sense. She is known to sit at the threshold to her house at the highest point in the city attempting to mislead men off their straight path with Lady Wisdom (Proverbs 9:14-16). The strange woman persuades the young men who have no sense saying, “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious” (Proverbs 9:17). In other words, the things that are done in private are the most satisfying. However, little do they know, that the dead are the guest of the strange woman (Proverbs 9:18).

In a critical analysis of the Proverbs reading from a feminist perspective, being a strange woman can represent something different than an adulteress or prostitute. According to Mayra Rivera in her article 'God at the Crossroads', a strange woman can represent the marginalized. She states that “nationalism is haunted by the ghost of its desires repressed at the boundaries between ‘we’ and ‘the others’." In other words, the strange woman is a representation of ones who are outside of the Hebrew Culture and appear foreign or strange to the inner-groups. Rivera draws on the population of hybrids, or mestizos, to build her case. Mestizos were those who were born between a colonizer and the colonized during that time period and were the reminders of ‘the others’ who are denied. To elaborate on her point, the strange woman or mestizos could metaphorically include anyone who is oppressed by the divisions within society.

Another point of view that expresses what it means to be a strange woman includes the representation of the symbolic and functional inversion of the good wife and the nurturing mother. In other words, the strange woman represents those qualities which the male culture finds objectionable in women. These could include all the negative aspects from failing to nurture to venturing into a male-dominated public domain. From a feminist perspective, some find a few of the negative characteristics as distorted and exaggerated which can reap negative consequences on the male’s and female’s perspectives to a woman’s sense of self. A way of looking at this would include viewing the strange woman as a way to represent the imperfect realities that exists within the society.

The Strange Woman Today

In teaching about the Strange Woman, many churches and church communities often exploit this woman for her 'questionable' sexuality and shameful choices. She is not the valorous wife men are told to seek, and she is not the type of woman, young girls should strive to be like. Since this character is so strongly connected to sexual impurity, she can be used to deter young Christians from engaging in premarital sex, and other 'shameful' sexual situations. "Strangeness", or being like the Strange Woman, is opposed through wisdom and holiness. Churches teach that a close relationship with God will deter young women from seducing or tempting men sexually. The implications of this interpretation and teaching are severe, as they associate hypersexuality with women only, and subsequently promote slut shaming. The Strange Woman acts as a reminder of the vulnerability of women and children when communities perceive to be in peril, meaning that these drawn out negative readings of her character are in response to the threat men in positions of power may feel when women become independent, assertive and open. However, there are groups of Christians and Biblical scholars who today have envisioned a different interpretation of this woman, that affirms the 'negative' attributes boasted in the text and in Christian circles today.

The Strange Woman Reclaimed

She is othered from the beginning in the text. She is an outsider ethnically, socially, politically and sexually, and the text attempts to contain her. The purpose of this characterization is to represent the perspective of men, with their desires and expectations at the forefront. The characteristics of the Strange Woman are deemed undesirable by the standards of men, but the voice of the woman in question is never heard. The view that the Strange Woman is inherently bad, is distorting and has negative effects on the perceptions of femininity and real life attributes of women. This negative and harmful characterization of the Strange Woman has resulted in affirmed slut shaming, and sexualization of the female body, but her character can be redeemed. Proverbs 9:17 represents the truth of her own situation, that she has no choice in selection of a mate and must pay less attention to fulfillment of her own needs, so she aggressively seeks her own pleasure. This is often interpreted to indicate that the Strange Woman is selfish, but feminist scholars today, now read this as empowering. The Strange Woman is independent and uses the resources accessible to her to improve her situation and place in society. The Strange Woman is not only sexually ambiguous, but a social entrepreneur in her efforts to improve her own life, even if it meant using her sexuality to get what she needed. The independence exerted by this woman is similar to the efforts of other Biblical woman such as Tamar, Ruth and Leah, who use trickster-like methods to acquire what they want and need to sustain themselves. The Strange Woman is an empowered, independent woman living in a world dictated by the opinions and desires of men. She is powerful, resourceful, and successful; the text would not repeat her successful advances if she was not.

References

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