THE WOMEN OF PROVERBS

The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands (Proverbs 14:1).

The primary author of Proverbs was Solomon.  Solomon asked God for wisdom and God granted Solomon's request.  Much of Solomon's wisdom was the ability to discern wisdom in others and make it known along with his own wisdom.  Chapter 24:23 speaks of the proverbs as being the sayings of the wise.   Chapter 30 is credited to Agur the son of Jakeh, the oracle.

The wisdom of Proverbs was for the young, especially boys--it was their text book for social science.  One of the topics of study for these young scholars was women. (I found a note pad of my grandfather's that was titled All of What Men Know About Women.  Every page was blank.)

One kind of woman mentioned by the Proverbs is the contentious woman.  She is mentioned 4 times in the book.  "It is better to live in a corner of a roof than in a house shared with a contentious woman" (Proverbs 21:9).  The contentious woman is the one who nags, is argumentative and complains.  Watch out for this kind of woman!

The woman of folly is another kind of woman the Proverbs warns about. "The woman of folly is boisterous, she is naive and knows nothing" (9:13).  One of the keys to interpreting all the kinds of people Proverbs talks about is 9:10: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."  This foolish woman knows nothing because she does not fear the Lord!  The wise woman is wise because she fears the Lord.  The virtuous woman is virtuous because she fears the Lord: "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised" (31:30).

The Proverbs speak truly of human nature.  Proverbs doesn't degrade woman, in fact it lifts them up.  Wisdom in chapter 8 is used in the feminine voice, suggesting that women are not second class citizens in regard to wisdom: "For wisdom is better than jewels; and all desirable things cannot compare with her" (8:11).

Our Father's Love,

Tom