Proverbs 31:10-31: The Virtuous Woman

Genre

The genre of Proverbs 31 is an encomium. An encomium is high praise for a person or type of person.  In the Bible, the encomium is found in psalms that praise the righteous man, and here where the woman of strength is praised.[1] A. Wolters identifies the lack of form-criticism for this section in scholarship. He notes that in most commentaries, once the ending of Proverbs has been established as acrostic, all discussion ceases in relation to its form.[2] This implies that ‘acrostic’ is a valid genre in its own right, when it is only this in seven out of the seventeen examples of acrostics in the Bible.[3] There are four main purposes of an acrostic poem: didactic, liturgical, oracular or gnostic.[4] R. Marcus puts the section of Proverbs 31:10-31 in the didactic section,[5] but Wolters sees its purpose as liturgical, an ode to an excellent wife.[6] The didactic view is chiefly because wisdom literature in the Near East was used chiefly as a teaching tool, and specifically to young men.[7] This in turn supports the view that the piece is written for young men in the search for a good wife.

Historical-Contextual Analysis

At least two writers see the section of Prov 31:10-31 as an addition to the book rather than an expansion of the mother of Lemuel’s advice. This they conclude by its linguistic style and other factors.[8] It is noted that most people avoid putting a date on a socio-historically detached piece such as this one.[9] Acrostics can help with dating, as there are examples of acrostic poems in Syriac liturgical poetry.[10]  The Talmud states ‘Hezekiah and his colleagues wrote Isaiah, Proverbs, Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes’ (B.B. 15a) but by ‘wrote’ it is generally thought to have meant compiled or edited.[11] This places the period of compilation of this passage in the period of Ezra, or the Persian period of Israel’s history, a fact strongly argued by C. R. Yoder.[12]

Attempts to link the acrostic to other passages in Proverbs as a contrast or similarity are weak considering it is generally accepted as an addendum. In actual fact it has more in common with the Psa 112 acrostic, which describes the man who fears God and his qualities.[13]

Structure and Analysis

Because of its acrostic nature, Prov 31:10-31 is somewhat ‘clumsy’ in its poetic style, resisting analysis. Yoder accurately describes it as an impressionistic painting, more beautiful as a whole than in its parts[14] presumably because the author wished to confine their ideas to an acrostic structure.

The Woman of Proverbs 31

Yoder argues for the Proverbs 31 woman as a ‘composite figure of Persian-period women, particularly women of affluence or position,’ to which I agree.[15]

Considering the activities of the woman of the acrostic are almost super-human in their scope and execution Hornok considers them as encompassing a lifetime rather than a list of chores she accomplishes in a given day. She also draws attention to the fact that the only thing she is said to do every day is ‘being good to her husband’ a reference to verse 12.[16]

A Woman of strength: What a rare find!

The most common translation of v10 is a rhetorical question.

‘Who can find a virtuous woman?’ (KJV, LXX)
‘Who can find a woman of worth?’ (Darby
‘Who can find a capable wife?’ (Complete Jewish Bible)
‘An excellent wife who can find?’ (ESV, NASB)

However, The Jewish Study Bible has ‘What a rare find is a capable wife!’ which is supported by the exegesis of Cohen who suggests that rather than a rhetorical question stating rarity it is an exclamation from the voice of experience.[17] For young men, it teaches them that a wife chosen for practical and moral strengths will benefit them more than a merely beautiful woman. A young woman could see in prospect an example of excellence to strive for. A wife and mother could be read or recited this poem in expression or gratitude for her contribution. (This is the contemporary Jewish practice for the section – it is read in many homes on Friday night as part of the Sabbath worship).[18]

The word translated as ‘excellent’ in the ESV is the Hebrew ‘khayil’ and carries the idea of valour or might. ‘Strong’ does not adequately cover its idea of mental fortitude but accurately shows the idea of physical endurance.  Of particular note is the association with David’s mighty men of 1 Chronicles 7:2. We should be careful not to feminize the word because it is associated with a woman: it is used of the strength of a male warrior. It is only used on one occasion for a woman: the Moabitess Ruth (Ruth 3:11).  This point is laboured by DeFranza, who notes that the Hebrew writer who did not shy away from using a military title to describe a woman managing her home ‘should cause students to pause and consider the significance of such an ascription’.[19]

She also notes the use of words generally associated with aggressive displays of strength in the Hebrew text: the use of the Hebrew word ‘prey’ for the food she gathers from afar, the use of the phrase ‘stretch out her hand’ used exclusively here in a peaceful sense as elsewhere it is violent, such as the incident of Jael and Sisera.[20]  There is also the military term ‘plunder’ for ‘spoil’ which her husband ‘will not lack’. The ‘sashes’ (ESV) of v24 are rendered exclusively elsewhere as military belts in which weapons were held, and the field she ‘seizes’ not ‘buys’.

Conclusion

The woman of Proverbs 31 is engaged in a wide range of activities which illustrate her strength. ‘This picture contradicts the modern stereotype of women in ancient, male-dominated societies being severely restricted in the scope of their economic activity and personal independence.’[21] C. L. Meyers argues that patriarchal generalisations for ancient Israel societies are inaccurate and outdated. She instead suggests that ‘heterarchy’ better describes the reality. This model,

concedes (the) existence of hierarchies but does not situate them all in a linear pattern. Rather it acknowledges that different power structures can exist simultaneously in any given society, with each structure having its own hierarchical arrangements that may cross-cut each other laterally. As a far more flexible model than patriarchy, heterarchy is a heuristic tool that perhaps can better accommodate, at least for now, the complexity of gender dynamics and thereby acknowledge that Israelite women were not dominated in all aspects of Israelite society but rather were autonomous actors in multiple aspects of household and community life.[22]

The Proverbs 31 woman validates this viewpoint as it displays the wife of this section as an autonomous manager of her day-to-day activities. She is no less a hero than her male counterparts who saved Israel from their enemies. She is something to aspire to by any reading her account, whether separated by time or culture.