The virtuous woman

There’s quite a change of pace with the final chapter of Proverbs. 

Chapter 31 starts out with a big question for us – who is/was King Lemuel?  The first verse reads: “The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.”  Scholars have not agreed on this one.  Some ancient rabbinical commentators have taken it to be Solomon, and the mother, therefore, Bathsheba.  However, I found the blog of Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament interesting.  Here are some excerpts:

This blog is a Christian perspective on the Old Testament and Current Events from Dr. Claude Mariottini, Professor of Old Testament at Northern Baptist Seminary.

The ancient Rabbinical commentators identified Lemuel with Solomon. The Babylonian Talmud (Tractate Aboth, Chapter 5) says that six names were given to Solomon: Solomon, Jedidiah, Qoheleth, Ben Iokoh, Agur, and Lemuel.

Many scholars believe that Lemuel was the king of Massa. Massa was one of the descendants of Ishmael and the leader of one of the Ishmaelite clans (Genesis 25:14).

I believe that the best explanation for the name of Lemuel in Proverbs 31:1 is to identify him as the king of Massa. Wisdom literature was widely known in the Ancient Near East and Israel did not develop its wisdom tradition in a cultural vacuum. It is evident that Israel borrowed some of its wisdom traditions from neighboring countries. One good example is the inclusion of Egyptian proverbs found in the “Instructions of Amen-em-Opet” into Proverbs 22:17-24:34.

Andrew Hill, in his book A Survey of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009), p. 381, said that if Massa was the name of a North Arabian nation, then the words of Lemuel in Proverbs 31 “may reflect the influence of Arabian wisdom on the developing Hebrew wisdom tradition. Massa has been identified with the tribes settled in northwestern Arabia near Teman (cf. Gen. 25:14; 1 Chron. 1:30).”

I have recently taken out a 14 day trial of Concord, an online study tool available from The Christian Science Publishing Society.  This tool gives students the opportunity to look up any word in the Bible, Mrs. Eddy’s writings, and the Hymnal, and to transfer collate citations by copying and pasting.  I haven’t actually used it very much as yet, but I am delighted that it is so practical.  For instance, I was taken with “poor and needy” in Prov. 31:9.  And it is in the Christian Science Bible Lesson (Subject: Love) for this week (Isa 42:17”When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.” So I paid attention.  I heard echoes of hymn 75 (verse 1) of the Christian Science Hymnal:

            God comes, with succor speedy,

               To those who suffer wrong:

            To help the poor and needy,

               And bid the weak be strong.

 

I did go to the hard copy Hymnal Concordance to find that, but I went to Concord to find other references.  By clicking on the boxes I was interested in, I could copy all the ones I liked.  There are 29 citations in the Bible, though not all of them use the complete phrase “poor and needy.”  The only other reference is from the hymn already quoted.  There are no citations from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Eddy, although “poor” is not neglected there either.  I found that David’s Psalms held most of the citations.  I also found evidence of David’s humility –

            Ps 40:17 But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

              Ps 70:5 But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help              deliverer; O Lord, and my make no tarrying.

                Ps 86:1 Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

and of his compassion –  

                Ps 82:4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

Verse 10 brings us to that fine tribute to “The Virtuous Wife”, a phrase which NKJV uses as a heading for verses 10-31.  It also uses the phrase “virtuous wife” where KJV has “virtuous woman.”  Surely all these virtues are not expected to be those of one woman! 

Dummelow’s One Volume Bible Commentary tells us that these verses form “a complete alphabetical poem, each of its 22 vv. beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.”  He also adds: “No doubt we should need some additional features for the portrait of the highest type of womanhood.  The lady is not in the fullest sense the helpmeet for man.  She is too much the toiler on his behalf, to little the partner of his thoughts and plans.”  (Dummelow’s Commentary was first copyrighted in 1908; would he have written that in 2013?)

Anyway, I love the virtuous woman; she has her hand in God’s, and works, works, works.  Are her standards too high for us?  She sounds like an excellent student of Christian Science.  Mrs. Eddy tells us that, “The song of Christian Science is, “Work — work — work — watch and pray”” Message ’00 2:7-8.

Joyce Voysey