Proverbs 31:10

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The praises of a virtuous woman; forming a Hebrew acrostic. The 22 years begin with the several 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet consecutively; M. Henry calls it, 'a locking-glass for ladies.' Lemuel's "mother" (Proverbs 31:1) suggested the model of "a virtuous woman" - Hebrew, chail: brave, strenuous, good. WHO CAN FIND? - it is a rare treasure (Ecclesiastes 7:28). Verse 11. THE HEART OF HER HUSBAND DOTH SAFELY TRUST IN HER - he can with implicit confidence leave to her the management of his household concerns, and devote himself to his public and weightier duties. Confidence reposed makes good wives the more diligent in their duties. Husband...

Verse Proverbs 31:10. _WHO CAN FIND A VIRTUOUS WOMAN?_] This and the following verses are _acrostic_, each beginning with a consecutive letter of the _Hebrew alphabet_: Proverbs 31:10, א aleph; Proverbs 31:11, ב beth; Proverbs 31:12, ג gimel; and so on to the end of the chapter, the last verse of which has the letter ת _tau_. From this to the end of the chapter we have the _character_ of a woman of _genuine worth laid_ down; _first,_ _in general_, Proverbs 31:10; _secondly_, in its part...

See the introduction to Proverbs. RUBIES - Better, pearls. See the Proverbs 3:15 note....

EXPOSITION PROVERBS 31:1 PART VIII. SECOND APPENDIX TO THE SECOND COLLECTION, containing "the words of Lemuel" on the subjects of impurity and intemperance. PROVERBS 31:1 _The_ _superscription. _THE WORDS OF KING LEMUEL, THE PROPHECY WHICH HIS MOTHER TAUGHT HIM. Who is intended by "Lemuel king" is much disputed. Those who connect the following word _massa _("oracle") with the preceding _melek _("king"), translate "King of Massa," as Proverbs 30:1 (where see note). Of the country, or the ki

WHO CAN FIND A VIRTUOUS WOMAN,.... This part of the chapter is disjoined from the rest in the Septuagint and Arabic versions; and Huetius t thinks it is a composition of some other person, and not Lemuel's mother, whose words he supposes end at Proverbs 31:9; but it is generally thought that what follows to the end of the chapter is a continuance of her words, in which she describes a person as a fit wife for her son. Some think that Bathsheba gave the materials, the sum and substance of this beautiful description, to Solomon; who put it in the artificial form it is, each verse beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in order till the whole is gone through; though rather it seems to be a composition of Solomon's, describing the character and virtues of his mother Bathsheba. But, be this as it will, the description is drawn up to such a pitch, and wrote in such strong lines, as can...

VII. THE WORDS OF KING LEMUEL TAUGHT HIM BY HIS MOTHER CHAPTER 31 The Virtuous Woman “The words of King Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him”; this is the superscription of this chapter. Who is King Lemuel? No king by that name is known. We do not hesitate in saying that it is Solomon. It means “unto God” one who is devoted to the Lord. In all probability Solomon's mother called her boy by this name, and here is the record therefore of the instruction given by Solomon's mother. The warning is once more, and that very earnestly (shown by the thrice asked “what?” What shall I say unto you?) against licentiousness, against wine and strong drink. The brief words of the mother's exhortation end with a request to act righteously as king, to stand up for those who are appointed to destruction, to plead the cause of the poor and needy. The final portion of the book of Proverbs is a...

THIRD DIVISION. THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN. Proverbs 31:10. This, the last division of the appendix, is in form an acrostic poem, each verse commencing with a letter of the Heb. alphabet in order. There are several more or less perfect specimens of such literary exercises in the OT_ e.g._ Psalms 111 f., Lamentations 1-4, and especially Psalms 119. Though some of the acrostics may, as their imperfect state suggests, have been early_ e.g._ Nahum 1:2 yet in general they belong to the latest period of OT literature. The ideal mistress of the house is represented as a shrewd manager and business woman, trusted by her husband, praised by her children, obeyed by her servants, caring for the poor, and admired by the people. The only religious note is in...

WHO CAN FIND... ? This heading is the Figure of speech _Erotesis._ App-6. The twenty-two verses which follow, each begin with the twenty-two successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The acrostic cannot be reproduced in English, because the letters of the two alphabets vary in their number, order, and equivalents. This is to emphasize the great lesson King Solomon was to learn. Note the warnings against foreign women (p. 865), which, alas! Solomon failed to heed. This is why the book closes with the eulogy of the model Israelitish matron. See the evidence in App-74. VIRTUOUS. The English use of this word limits it to one kind of excellence. The meaning of the Hebrew is wider: _hayil =_ strong in all moral qualities. Ruth is the only one so called in the O.T. May it not be that we have here Bathsheba's or Solomon's (and David's) commendation of Ruth?...

_Who can find_ It is no easy thing to do. _a virtuous woman_ The R.V. follows the order of the Heb.: _A virtuous woman who can find?_, giving emphasis by the arrangement of the words to the subject of the whole Section. _virtuous_ Lit. A WOMAN OF MIGHT, or POWER, or CAPACITY; γυναῖκα ἀνδρείαν, LXX; mulierem fortem, Vulg. The conditions of woman's life and her social position in those times and countries must be borne in mind. Comp. Proverbs 18:22; Proverbs 19:14. The rendering _virtuous_is retained in R.V., and no better English representative of the Heb. word could probably be found. But _virtuous_must here be understood, not in the restricted sense which, in this connection, it has come to have in our language (though in that sense the phrase

DISCOURSE: 826 USEFULNESS OF SCHOOLS OF INDUSTRY Proverbs 31:10. _Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies_. WHILE we rejoice in the progress of civilization, we cannot but regret the loss of primitive simplicity. In former days, women of the highest rank did not disdain to employ themselves in the most common offices of life [Note: Genesis 18:6.]. King Lemuel, supposed by some to be Solomon himself, was exhorted by his inspired mother to select for his wife a woman who was not ashamed to occupy herself in domestic duties. The description here given of a queen, is, alas! but ill suited to the refinement of the present age. It is rather calculated for the lower classes of the community. With a more immediate view therefore to _their_ benefit, we shall consid