Worth Another Look
A valiant wife who can find? Her price is far beyond corals. Proverbs 31:10 (Waltke)
Valiant – So, now we know that the Hebrew role model for daughters of Zion is found in the heroic actions of this poem. But it might be worth looking a little deeper into the actual word used to describe this kind of ‘eshet (wife). The word is khayil. You might see it written hayil, but the h is a guttural sound like ack, so we will use the phonetic kha. The word appears in Proverbs 12:4, Psalm 33:17, Deuteronomy 3:18, Job 31:25, 2 Chronicles 14:8 and about 100 other places. It is the usual word for strength, military might, an army or financial wealth and influence. It is quite often used to describe God’s provision of strength to the people. And it is a masculine noun.
Did you get that? The word used to describe the role model for women of Israel is a masculine noun taken from military language. Forget those translations that talk about a “good wife” or a “wife of noble character” or an “excellent wife.” This is Joan of Arc, not Jackie Kennedy! The Hebrew imagery focuses on external behavior, not inner contemplation or heart motivation. No heroine ever earned glory by sitting quietly at home thinking good thoughts! Character in the Hebrew community is seen in inner strength exhibited in outward, public reputation.
We need to get the Greek out! Our role models, even the best of them, tend to focus on inner beauty. How many times have you heard someone say that Proverbs 31 is about the inner beauty of the godly woman? No, it isn’t! It is about the heroic actions in the public arena of a woman who knows who she is and who God has called her to be – and what to do about it! This is a woman whose reputation causes her sons to rise up to praise her and her husband to proclaim that she surpasses all others (verse 29). They are not declaring her hidden, moral integrity. They are announcing her value to the community as a woman of action and influence. The Greek model emphasizes the inner psyche, the hidden soul and the confluence of body, mind and spirit in a classic beauty fit for the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine. The heroine of Hebrew culture is on the cover of Forbes or Military Review. Beauty contests? Not likely! The ‘eshet khayil is running a company, funding a charity, managing her family (and her employees) and creating the financial platform for her husband’s service to the community. She is exactly what God designed her to be, the ‘ezer, the protector and provider – a word we find in Genesis 2:18 that is applied to God Himself.
Perhaps we need to completely rethink the way that we conscript our girls and young women into a cultural role that was never part of God’s plan. Perhaps we need to understand that God is not Greek, in thought, word or deed. What a tragedy we have perpetrated upon women as the church adopted a Greek view of feminine attributes. Maybe you need to start seeing your girls in combat fatigues instead of cheerleading costumes.
Are you weary enough for Jesus? Most of us are tired, but not tired enough of our lives to qualify for His rest. It’s time to be sick and tired, weary, of the load of self-sufficiency that we carry.
