The woman of folly is boisterous,
she is naïve and knows nothing.

Proverbs 9:13

The main take away I have from this verse is the singularity of the Hebrew words used. 

Folly: Our English word “folly” is used often in Proverbs as we studied in the 31 Days in Proverbs: Fool’s Box. But in this verse a different Hebrew word is used which has been translated folly or foolish and this Hebrew word is only used once in the entire Old Testament! 

[Kesilut] is a feminine noun defined as “foolishness, stupidity, silliness” and is the antithesis of the Hebrew word [Hakmot] which is a feminine noun describing “Supreme Wisdom personified as a woman.” This “wisdom” is given feminine pronouns in The Proverbs when used in the first person. For example:

Proverbs 1:20-21 Wisdom shouts in the street, she lifts her voice in the square; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the gates in the city she utters her sayings.

The folly of the woman mentioned in our verse today is the complete opposite of the wisdom God desires for all of His followers: women and men. We discussed God’s wisdom in detail when we studied 31 Days in Proverbs: Wisdom Calls! This is a sure spiritual battle for all women who claim Christ as their Savior! To be a woman of wisdom or a woman of folly!

Boisterous: This Hebrew word [Hama] is a verb and only used 34 times (small number comparatively) in the OT. It means “to murmur, growl, roar, cry aloud, rage, make noise, tumult, to be clamorous, to be disquieted, to be loud, to be in an uproar.” Not positive reactions to life at all, but accurate descriptions of much of what we see in the news & our social media feeds. 

Chapter seven of Proverbs is a companion chapter to nine and describes this woman as boisterous and; rebellious, lurking by every corner, flattering, brazen, persuasive, and enticing.

Naïve: Here is another Hebrew word that is only used one time in all of the Old Testament. [petayyut] is a feminine noun meaning simple, silliness, fatuity. Fatuity is a new word for me and has English synonyms such as; stupidity, mindlessness, and complacency. We will see the full intent of [petayyut] in its connection to the last word we will look at in this verse. 

Nothing: This Hebrew word is [Bal] and is an adverb which in this verse is attached to the verb “knows”. [Bal] can mean; none, not, lest, nothing, neither, no. It carries the intent of zero! In modern terms; zilch, nada, and zip. 

For all her bluster and, sometimes, enticing speech and behavior this woman described in our verse today and elsewhere in Proverbs knows nothing and can offer nothing of any substance to anyone, but especially not to foolish young men who can’t see past her flaunting persona. Thus Solomon’s many warnings to his sons.

The New Living Bible has a wonderful translation of this verse!

The woman named Folly is brash. She is ignorant and doesn’t know it.

Let’s not be this woman ever, ever, ever!