Von der „fremden Frau” zu „Frau Torheit“: Metaphorik in Prov 1–9 und in 4Q184

The present article examines the literary relationship between 4Q184 and the book of Proverbs. In contrast to previous research, this article demonstrates that 4Q184 depends not only on Prov 7 but also on Prov 9, 5, and 2. Given that these four texts (Prov 2, 5, 7, and 9) belong to three different literary layers in the redaction of Prov 1–9, the demonic female of 4Q184 thus appears in a new light. Even though 4Q184 presents an ontological metaphor, the shift in meaning from a structural metaphor to an ontological understanding of the female figure can already be found in Prov 1–9. A closer look at the literary formation of Prov 1–9 shows that the paradigmatic shift from a female figure (the “strange woman”) to a counter-principle of personified Wisdom (“Dame Folly”) is already evident in the redaction of Prov 1–9. Therefore, in its demonization of “Dame Folly,” 4Q184 does not present a completely novel concept, but rather one that is connected to the shift in the understanding of the female figure produced by the final redaction of Prov 1–9.