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What is a Proverbs 31 Woman?
Alicia Curry • Jan 08, 2023
Hi Friend!! I am so glad you are here!
You have no idea how exciting it is for me to write a deep dive into the Proverbs 31 Woman. After recent life events, I have decided to take a different approach to this study. I am more excited than ever to share this with you!
The enemy is in Overtime
We live in such a fallen world and the enemy is working overtime. As I studied and prayed over this, the description of a Proverbs 31 Wife, I have found it to be much more than just a wife. She is a wife, a mother, a Sister in Christ, and a friend. There have been many debates in our home on a biblical woman. One of the biggest issues I am finding is that our youth is being bombarded with false theology. If you are an avid bible reader, then you shouldn’t be alarmed at the amount of evil, deception, and false doctrinarian, found in the world today. I believe we live in a fascinating time to be alive here on earth!
I have chosen to write this blog series to encourage other women to pick up their Bibles and study God’s word . As we break down Proverbs 31:10-31, I want to challenge you to do your own research. To think of these words and pray over them, asking The Good Lord to reveal the message he is trying to speak to your heart personally.
I am sharing the way I study The Bible. I am just a mama, who has a passion for The Lord and understanding His Word. I pray that as you join me through this seven week series, you will find encouragement, community of believers, grow your faith, and most importantly grow your relationship with God our Father, maker of heaven and earth. I don’t have all the answers, but I do have a whole lot of faith.
As a mama, my prayer is that this will inspire another woman to live a life of Noble Character! Let me ask you, what is a wife of noble character? What does that mean to you?
A wife of Noble Character
Depending on your version of the Bible, Proverbs 31:10-31 may start out with “A Wife of Noble Character” As we go through this study I will be referencing the King James Version, next to other versions to help best understand the message. I will also cite Blue Letter Bible as it is a great reference to show the original Hebrew, Greek and Latin translations.
This week we are going to focus on just the first three verses.
Proverbs 31:10-12 KJV
10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
Who can find a virtuous woman?
First, what is virtuous? Virtuous is defined as: 1. conforming to moral and ethical principles; morally excellent; upright: Lead a virtuous life. 2. Chaste.
The second thing to look at is, what are comparable words to Virtuous. Even with a definition, I can still find the message overwhelming. This is the reason why I will search for comparable words. Now, I am NOT ADDING any words to The Bible. I am seeking additional context, to better understand His message to me. The English language is complex and I feel that is why context is KEY with studying scripture.
When we take virtuous we find that it also is relatable to being: honest, honorable, noble, principled, righteous, wholesome, blameless, celibate, chaste, clean-living, effective, effectual, efficient, excellent, exemplary, faithful, guiltless, incorruptible, inculpable, in the clear.
One fascinating discovery, I have found, was from the Oxford dictionary. The use of Virtuous had vastly declined from the early 1800’s to the 1900’s. It makes me wonder, what caused this drop? Did moral standards change? Did we add new words to the English language? Or was it a mix of both?
How valuable is a RUBY?
This was some truly fascinating research. I searched high and low for how much a ruby is worth in todays market. Here’s the dilemma: Is the ruby grown in a lab or is it a naturally found stone? If it is naturally found, the purity levels, color, shape all affect the price! I did find from The Natural Ruby Company that depending on their four C's (Color, Clarity, Cut, Carat weight) a 1 carat ruby could run an upwards of $100,000! Um, yeah. I about choked on my water when I read that too!
In regards to King Lemuel's mother's comment, that "She is worth far more than rubies", I do not think she is telling him that he needs to go buy a bride for $100,000! During this time period, rubies were very rare and not at all common, and still to this they are one of the rarest gemstones. I think it is also important to know that rubies are the second strongest stone next to diamonds.
I am understanding that this woman of such virtue is truly a rare find, and if found will be a great wealth of blessings to this man's life. Now that is simply my opinion. I highly recommend you pray over Proverbs 31:10 and ask The Lord to open your heart to what he is trying to teach you in those words.
Not to spoil, but ENRICH
As we follow along to Proverbs 31:11, we can find two different meanings in two different translations.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.Proverbs 31:11 KJV
Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.
Proverbs 31:11 NLT
So after looking at what doth, trust, spoil and enrich meant, I was curious as to why these verses were opposites. It is obvious that we don't want to spoil our husbands, but we would want to enrich their lives. I spent some time looking at what it look like to ENRICH our husbands lives. I found quite the assortment of words and I love each of them for different reasons.
- Cultivate
- Develop
- Supplement
- Adorn
- Build
- Decorate
- Grace
These words can be powerful, and used to greatly enrich your husbands life. But how can we use these words to ensure he will not spoil, but instead prosper? By following God's plan for a husband and a wife, together you can cultivate your marriage to help develop one another into the Husband and Wife God created you to be. We as women were created to supplement our husband's lives. I mean; he can't birth children, but it does take two to tango! By adorning our husbands we can help build them up. Not just when they are having bad day, but every day! Simply by sharing our appreciation for them, and letting them know how much we care. Finally Grace. Mama, don't forget to give yourself grace, but our husbands as well! We are all sinners, and all fall short of the Grace of God each and everyday. But because of the Blood of Jesus Christ, he has washed away our sins, for those who believe in him whole heartily.
She will Do HIM Good
Proverbs 31:12 She will do HIM good and not evil all the days of her life.
As we wrap up this week I find yet another fascinating verse. Depending on your version, it may or may not say "HIM". I wonder why, as we can see in the Hebrew translation of gāmal is
1. a verb
2. third person singular feminine.
It is pretty clear that God is wanting us to reference another person. Why would this "third person singular" be anyone other than her husband? Again, reasons why we, alone should be studying scripture and praying over it as we read.
I love how this all ties in at the end of the week. My personal outtake: She will do HIM Good and not evil, all the days of her life. A virtuous, honest, honorable, noble, principled, righteous, wholesome, blameless, celibate, effective, effectual, faithful, guiltless, incorruptible, incurable, woman whom doesn't spoil but enriches her husband's life. This woman is strong in her faith, and as rare as a ruby.
Only 18 more verses to fully learn "What is a Noble Wife?"
See you next week!
-Alicia
Hello! it is past next week so you can read part two here! Part Two
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Welcome to Curry Family Favorites! This is our first offical Curry family favorites corner post! We absoulty love Abby from BobbinBay! She makes the most beautiful, durable and
In this weeks deep dive of the Proverbs 31 woman, we will look at Proverbs 31:13-15 and how they apply to modern day life.
