Worth more than rubies...

I happened across a post on Infinite Blogging today regarding a Bible study on the “virtuous woman” of Proverbs 31, available on the United Church of God Web site. It is much more technical than one usually sees in a Bible study in my religious circles, delving into both biblical Hebrew poetics and into the broader implications of those poetics. I plan to take a much closer look at what it says in the near future.

One interesting and (I believe) valuable point made by some commentators cited therein is that the “Proverbs 31 woman” is in a real sense Wisdom Personified. Yet this doesn’t mean that the section is an allegory. It means that the principles of Wisdom that are laid out earlier in the book are exemplified by the ideal wife. Rather than succumbing to the seductions of the “adventuress”, the wise son is to seek someone who aims for this ideal.

One very interesting point made by one of the commentators cited is that Wisdom in Proverbs is largely a matter of socialization. A male needs to be socialized by his mother, and then by his wife. (How true that is!) Indeed Proverbs 31 in the beginning speaks from a mother’s point of view. Yet Proverbs’ advice overall comes from the father to the son, yet without neglecting the mother.

Incidentally, Proverbs 31 was meant to be sung in public reading or private study. Like all of Psalms, Proverbs and the body of Job, it is psalmodia, with its own poetic and melodic style. Suzanne Haik-Vantoura published the text relating to the “virtuous woman” in musical score form, although it has never been recorded to my knowledge.

I was looking for an illustration of rubies for this post (via Google Images Search) and came up with the image above left — and its associated site, Worth More Than Rubies (“The Value of a Work-At-Home Mum”). Serendipity strikes again.

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