Proverbs 31:11

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 31:11. _THE HEART OF HER HUSBAND_] 3. She is an _unspotted_ wife. _The heart of her husband doth_ _safely trust in her_ - he knows she will take care that a proper provision is made for his household, and will not _waste_ any thing. He _has no need for spoil_ - he is not obliged to go out on predatory excursions, to provide for his family, at the expense of the neighbouring tribes....

NO NEED OF SPOIL - Better, no lack of gain, lack of honest gain....

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

THE HEART OF HER HUSBAND DOTH SAFELY TRUST IN HER,.... Christ her Maker is her husband, who has asked her in marriage, and has betrothed her to himself in righteousness; and of whose chaste love, and inviolable attachment to him, he is fully satisfied, as well as of her fidelity in keeping what he commits unto her; he trusts her with his Gospel and ordinances, which she faithfully retains and observes; and with his children born in her, who are nursed up at her side, to whom she gives the breasts of ordinances, bears them on her sides, and dandles them on her knees, as a tender and careful mother does, Isaiah 60:4; SO THAT HE SHALL HAVE NO NEED OF SPOIL; he shall never want any; by means of the word preached in her, prey and spoil shall be taken out of the hands of the mighty, and he shall divide the spoil with them; or have souls snatched out of the hands of Sa

TRUST (_ See Scofield) - (Psalms 2:12). _...

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...

DOTH... TRUST IN. hath confided in. Hebrew. _batah._ App-69. NO NEED. no lack. SPOIL. gain,...

VIII. The Virtuous Woman. Chap. Proverbs 31:10-31 This short Appendix differs from the other Sections of the Book of Proverbs in having one subject throughout, and in being in form acrostic or alphabetical. Each verse begins with a letter, taken in order, of the Hebrew alphabet. There is nothing in the contents of the Section to throw light upon either its age or authorship. The alphabetical arrangement cannot safely be regarded as a proof of a late date of composition. A similar arrangement occurs in several Psalms and in the opening Chapter s of the Book of Lamentations; and some at least of these must be assigned to a comparatively early date. It is more probable that the arrangement in question, belonging as it does for the most part to didactic poems, was a device adopted to assist the memory. (See _The Book of Psalms_, Vol. i. Introd. p. xlviii. in this Series; and Bp