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A Virtuous Woman, Not to be Interpreted Literally

Proverbs 31 speaks about a virtuous woman who takes care of her husband and her children to the point where they have no need of anything. She goes out to buy a field and plants a vineyard. She gathers wool and makes fine linen. She not only works hard to provide for her family, but she also has enough to give to the poor. This virtuous woman is worthy of praise from her husband and children, and her husband is made known amongst the elders in the gates of the land.

This chapter of the virtuous woman is interpreted literally by the Christian churches and therefore, it is often read aloud for the Mother's Day sermon in many churches. It is used to praise the wives and mothers within the congregation for their hard work and dedication to their husbands and children. It is used to praise them even though this type of dedication and success is rarely, if ever, seen from a mother or a wife.

Proverbs chapter 31 is not to be interpreted literally and makes absolutely no sense when it is read or explained in this way. The chapter has nothing to do with a husband, wife, children or a business. Not only that, a literal interpretation of the virtuous woman goes against all other teachings of the Bible.

Most churches do not teach this, but, the Bible is not to be studied without logic. Either we have to apply a physical logic and if that doesn't work then we must apply our spiritual logic. When doing so, it becomes very clear that Proverbs 31 makes absolutely no sense in a literal translation, but has a beautiful symbolic meaning behind it.

10. "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

11. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

12. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

13. She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

14. She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

15. She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

16. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

17. She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

18. She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

19. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

20. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

21. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

22. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

23. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

24. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant." Proverbs 31:10-24.

The Word Virtuous

The word virtuous comes from the word chayil, which means, strength, wealth, efficiency, or the force of an army. In other words, this woman is wealthy and strong like an army. These are generally not the qualities that a man looks for in a woman. This was especially true in the times of the Bible because women were to be keepers of the home and not the providers as the virtuous woman seems to be when taken literally. This, however, does not mean that women cannot run a successful business, provided that the business does not interfere with their role as a wife and mother.

Furthermore, if taken literally, it seems to imply that a man who can find a rich wife has done well for himself. In other words, its okay for a husband to rely on the income of his wife, while he sits pretty amongst the elders in the gates of the city.

The wealth can refer to money or to spiritual things. In the same way, the power can also refer to a spiritual or a physical power. We all know that the Bible does not esteem physical wealth or physical power. Therefore, the chapter has to be interpreted in a symbolic language in order for it to match up with the rest of the Bible. For, we cannot take one verse and apply a spiritual interpretation and then apply a literal interpretation to the next one. The Bible was not written in that way. However, that is the way it is explained in most churches.

She Willingly Works With Her Hands

Notice how the virtuous woman works with her hands to provide food and clothing for her family. She is the one who gathers the wool, she buys the land, and she plants the vineyard and gives food and clothing to her family and to her maids. My question is, where is the husband in all this? Did God not instruct Adam to go out and work in the fields in order to provide? Why now, is this virtuous woman doing all these things that her husband is to do?

And besides, think about it for one second. How can one woman have time to go out and find wool, purchase a land, plant a vineyard, feed her family and her maids, clothe her family, spin and sell her linens and still have time to give to the poor and raise her children. She not only runs one business, but rather, she runs several businesses in different markets. Do you realize how much work it takes to run one business, let alone two or more?

It is clear that one woman does not have time to do all this. If so, it would mean that she would have to come from a rich home and have plenty of people helping her and working for her. In verse 15 there is mention of maidens, which could be interpreted as employees. But notice that maidens is a term that refers to women. That means in a literal translation, the businesses would be run and operated solely by women. Furthermore, the text does not state that she sends her maidens to do the work, but rather, it is she who does the work.

But for arguments sake, let's say that it is to be taken literally, and that the chapter is an example of what women are to strive for today. Then let me ask you, why are women not striving towards this goal? For how many women you know who have their own business, let alone two or more, and still keep up with the duties of a mother and a wife?

Please note that this chapter is not saying that a virtuous woman will posses some of these qualities. Rather, the chapter says that she will possess ALL of them. That means for a woman to fit this description today, she would have to have a multi-million dollar industry that is run by women only, while her husband is sitting pretty in the gates of the town.

Therefore, it is absolutely absurd to take this chapter literally and use it to praise the wives and mothers in the congregations. If anything, in a literal sense, this chapter is the most condemning chapter towards a woman, mother or a wife. In addition, it goes against everything that the Bible teaches because it is the men who are to provide for the women, and not the other way around as it seems to be in Proverbs 31 when taken literally.

A Prophecy

And to top it all off, the first two verses when compared with verse 29 make it very clear that it is written in a symbolic language.

"The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.

What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?" Proverbs 31:1-2.

Notice that this chapter is a prophecy spoken by a mother to her son. A prophecy is a foretelling of the future and is usually written in a symbolic language. But, if that isn't clear enough then read verse 29:

"Many virtuous daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all." Proverbs 31:29.

The keywords are "daughters" and "thou". The mother is telling her son that she has seen many daughters do well, but none as well as her son, the one to whom she is talking to.

In a literal translation, this could mean one of two things. Perhaps the mother is calling her son a woman, which seems unlikely because that would be an insult to him. Or, she is simply saying that he has done better than the daughters whom she has seen, which too is unlikely because we cannot compare the work of women to men and expect the same productivity from them. This is especially true when it comes to working in the fields. Of course there are many areas where women might be more productive than men as we all have our gifts, however, to say that the prophet expected to see the same results from both sexes is highly unlikely.

When interpreted literally, Proverbs 31 becomes one of the most discriminative passages in the Bible. But God is not discriminative and neither are His prophets. Therefore, there has to be a spiritual interpretation of the virtuous woman.

Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep