A Virtuous Wife
I wasn’t going to post this—it was just a fun little exercise I did for myself, filing it away with the Secret Posts that never see the light of a computer screen.
Chris has read all Secret Posts, and this one he told me to, well, post.
“I see no reason not to,” he said. “I like it.”
Awww. But still. “SOMEBODY will get offended. SOMEBODY will misinterpret it. SOMEBODY will tell me I’m wrong, when I was just sort of playing around. Sort of," I said.
“Is that all that’s stopping you?”
“Pretty much.”
“Then post it.”
Because Chris is the head of our household, I submitted to his wisdom.
I kid, I kid. I posted it because I freaking felt like it.
(And our household has no head.)
I tend to steer clear of Bible verses citing the virtues—or lack thereof—of women, and especially those on the ROLE of women, as these have been exploited for eons to keep women in their place.
But I ran across this well-known Old Testament verse from Proverbs, which you’ll find on I-love-submitting-to-my-husband and the-Bible-says-to-stay-home blogs and websites aplenty.
But I recently read it with fresh eyes, and I’m glad I did. Might these be the verses for the working mama too? (Oh my goodness, she gets VERSES!) Here’s a possible interpretation from someone (moi) who has not attended seminary and thus holds zero qualifications to publicly translate squat. But humor me. My translation commentary is in parenthesis, and I have split verses or paragraphs as I saw fit. Obviously, this is half tongue-in-cheek, half not. Take it for what you will.
Proverbs 31:10–28
Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
(That is correct.)
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
(One of the more beautiful images I’ve read of the relationship between husbands and wives. He trusts her with his heart—the most vulnerable part of himself, which suggests he gives himself totally to her. And then she protects it. A bit of a twist on the ole “wives, submit to your husbands” idea.)
She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar.
(She’s not afraid of work, be it at home or away.)
She also rises while it is yet night,
(Any mama of a newborn gets a gold star here! And in the Hofmann household, it’s still dark at 5:15 a.m., even in July. I am SO virtuous.)
And provides food for her household,
(She prepares snacks, lunches, and breakfasts, and maybe even earns money to keep the ingredients on hand.)
And a portion for her maidservants.
(Her income or at-home work generates enough surplus to care for or employ others so they too can eat—in my house, that would be daycare workers and cleaning ladies).
She considers a field and buys it;
(She’s savvy with real estate.)
From her profits she plants a vineyard.
(YES. And also builds a wine cellar.)
She girds herself with strength,
(No wimpy womenfolk here!)
And strengthens her arms.
(By hauling around 28-lb toddlers, perhaps with a pregnant belly).
She perceives that her merchandise is good,
(Her work is good. It is worthwhile. I love this.)
And her lamp does not go out by night.
(How can it? She has work to do.)
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle.
(Never idle, though I’m sure some misogynist would translate this as “keeping to women’s work.” I translate it as not lazy.)
She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
(Something we all come up short on, I’m sure.)
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
(No clue what is meant here, but I’m guessing it does not mean that she must have red scarves and mittens on hand.)
She makes tapestry for herself;
(I’d like to think of this as the wife finding a little time to do something just for her. Because she’ll probably throttle someone if she doesn’t. However, that interpretation doesn’t completely fit with the KJV [below], so it’s probably metaphorical.)
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
(I think purple was symbolic of royalty, right? I’d like to stretch this as justification for shopping at Nordstrom, but I’m guessing the metaphor is far more, um, virtuous. Probably a metaphor that genuine riches and importance stem from her decency.)
Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
(At church? Sure. Of course, most of our elders are female.)
She makes linen garments and sells them,
(Booyah! The fruits of her labor are SOLD, and she gets PAID. Working moms, rejoice!)
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
(Huh? Are the merchants beauty pageant contestants?)
Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
(No “women, hold your tongues!” here)
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
(That’s a tough one for a snarky girl like me.)
She watches over the ways of her household,
(First, italics MINE, as again we get to another view on “men are the head of the household.” Second, watching over her household may mean nagging her husband to do his fare share, not just doing it all herself. Just sayin’.)
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
(I think this “idle” can be extended to time-wasters, such as Facebook and TV—right?)
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
For those of you (and I know you’re out there) who doth prefer the King James Version (as I doth), I present it to you as follows, sans Ashley commentary:
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Chris has read all Secret Posts, and this one he told me to, well, post.
“I see no reason not to,” he said. “I like it.”
Awww. But still. “SOMEBODY will get offended. SOMEBODY will misinterpret it. SOMEBODY will tell me I’m wrong, when I was just sort of playing around. Sort of," I said.
“Is that all that’s stopping you?”
“Pretty much.”
“Then post it.”
Because Chris is the head of our household, I submitted to his wisdom.
I kid, I kid. I posted it because I freaking felt like it.
(And our household has no head.)
I tend to steer clear of Bible verses citing the virtues—or lack thereof—of women, and especially those on the ROLE of women, as these have been exploited for eons to keep women in their place.
But I ran across this well-known Old Testament verse from Proverbs, which you’ll find on I-love-submitting-to-my-husband and the-Bible-says-to-stay-home blogs and websites aplenty.
But I recently read it with fresh eyes, and I’m glad I did. Might these be the verses for the working mama too? (Oh my goodness, she gets VERSES!) Here’s a possible interpretation from someone (moi) who has not attended seminary and thus holds zero qualifications to publicly translate squat. But humor me. My translation commentary is in parenthesis, and I have split verses or paragraphs as I saw fit. Obviously, this is half tongue-in-cheek, half not. Take it for what you will.
Proverbs 31:10–28
Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
(That is correct.)
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
(One of the more beautiful images I’ve read of the relationship between husbands and wives. He trusts her with his heart—the most vulnerable part of himself, which suggests he gives himself totally to her. And then she protects it. A bit of a twist on the ole “wives, submit to your husbands” idea.)
She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar.
(She’s not afraid of work, be it at home or away.)
She also rises while it is yet night,
(Any mama of a newborn gets a gold star here! And in the Hofmann household, it’s still dark at 5:15 a.m., even in July. I am SO virtuous.)
And provides food for her household,
(She prepares snacks, lunches, and breakfasts, and maybe even earns money to keep the ingredients on hand.)
And a portion for her maidservants.
(Her income or at-home work generates enough surplus to care for or employ others so they too can eat—in my house, that would be daycare workers and cleaning ladies).
She considers a field and buys it;
(She’s savvy with real estate.)
From her profits she plants a vineyard.
(YES. And also builds a wine cellar.)
She girds herself with strength,
(No wimpy womenfolk here!)
And strengthens her arms.
(By hauling around 28-lb toddlers, perhaps with a pregnant belly).
She perceives that her merchandise is good,
(Her work is good. It is worthwhile. I love this.)
And her lamp does not go out by night.
(How can it? She has work to do.)
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle.
(Never idle, though I’m sure some misogynist would translate this as “keeping to women’s work.” I translate it as not lazy.)
She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
(Something we all come up short on, I’m sure.)
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
(No clue what is meant here, but I’m guessing it does not mean that she must have red scarves and mittens on hand.)
She makes tapestry for herself;
(I’d like to think of this as the wife finding a little time to do something just for her. Because she’ll probably throttle someone if she doesn’t. However, that interpretation doesn’t completely fit with the KJV [below], so it’s probably metaphorical.)
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
(I think purple was symbolic of royalty, right? I’d like to stretch this as justification for shopping at Nordstrom, but I’m guessing the metaphor is far more, um, virtuous. Probably a metaphor that genuine riches and importance stem from her decency.)
Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
(At church? Sure. Of course, most of our elders are female.)
She makes linen garments and sells them,
(Booyah! The fruits of her labor are SOLD, and she gets PAID. Working moms, rejoice!)
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
(Huh? Are the merchants beauty pageant contestants?)
Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
(No “women, hold your tongues!” here)
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
(That’s a tough one for a snarky girl like me.)
She watches over the ways of her household,
(First, italics MINE, as again we get to another view on “men are the head of the household.” Second, watching over her household may mean nagging her husband to do his fare share, not just doing it all herself. Just sayin’.)
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
(I think this “idle” can be extended to time-wasters, such as Facebook and TV—right?)
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
For those of you (and I know you’re out there) who doth prefer the King James Version (as I doth), I present it to you as follows, sans Ashley commentary:
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
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