Глава 31

1–9. Instructions to the kings of King Lemuel, taught to him by his mother. 10–31. Praise to the virtuous wife. Proverbs 31:1. Words of Lemuel the King. The instruction that his mother taught him: The name Lemuel is Hebrew. Lemuel (v. 1) or Lemoil (v. 4), like the name Agur (XXX), tradition also understood it in the sense of a common noun (“Deo deditus”) and considered it a symbolic name of Solomon. But in modern times they usually see in it the proper name of the king of the region of Massa in Idumea (Gen. 25.14). Proverbs 31:2. what, my son? what, son of my womb? what, son of my vows? Proverbs 31:3. Do not give your strength to women, nor your ways to the destroyers of kings. Proverbs 31:4. It is not for kings, Lemuel, not for kings to drink wine, and not for princes to drink strong drink, Proverbs 31:5. lest, having drunk, they forget the law and turn the judgments of all the oppressed. Proverbs 31:6. Give strong drink to the perishing and wine to the sorrowful soul; Proverbs 31:7. let him drink and forget his poverty and remember no more about his suffering. Proverbs 31:8. Open your mouth for the voiceless and for the protection of all orphans. Proverbs 31:9. Open your mouth for justice and for the cause of the poor and needy. The instructions of the king’s mother (obviously dearly loved by him and also loved him, (v. 2) contain, so to speak, the order of royal service in the most condensed form. Like the Mosaic law about the king (Deut. 17.14 ff.), this order commands the king to be careful and abstain from two sources of spiritual and bodily relaxation: addiction to women (v. 3) and to wine (vv. 4–5); in exchange for which it is commanded above all to have concern for royal justice in general and for justice and mercy especially when dealing with the affairs of the poor (chap. 8-9), 6-7. If wine can only bring harm to kings and rulers, darkening their consciousness and depriving them of the opportunity to correctly use and administer the most important aspects of their title, for example, judicial (v. 5), then wine - because of its inherent power that cheers the heart of a person (Ps. 3.15) - has a beneficial effect for all kinds of sorrowful souls, since, by the way, it allows the mourner to temporarily forget the sadness that depresses him. This saying of Art. 6-7 later Judaism applied to those executed, who were given wine to drink during suffering - to quench unbearable thirst and to dull consciousness; this work of compassion was also applied to the Savior suffering on the cross (Matthew 27.34). In Art. 8–9, the king is not only commanded to strictly adhere to justice, especially in relation to the poor, in the sense of the Law of Moses (fn. Deut. 1.17, 27.19), but is also advised to do more: to be for the helpless poor man in court not only a truthful judge, but also a defender, a lawyer - to develop in court not only formal truth, but also the highest mercy, as Job testified about himself (Job 29.15–16 ). The alphabetical speech of these 22 verses, containing praise for the virtuous wife, mother of the family and mistress of the house, constitutes, in the apt expression of one researcher (Dederlein), “the golden letter of women.” And, indeed, here the sublime view of the biblical Jews on the dignity and position of a woman in the family, on her attitude towards her husband, children and household members was most fully and typically expressed. We will not find parallel or similar praise to this in all the world literature of antiquity; the image of the “virtuous wife” of Proverbs is surpassed only in the New Testament by the image of a Christian wife. As in other alphabetical biblical works (Ps. 33, 118 and others. Pl. 1:4), in the section under consideration the individual verses are not closely adjacent to each other, but they are all united by a common theme: the perfections of a virtuous wife are revealed here from certain aspects - tireless activity, comprehensive care, mercy, rationality. Proverbs 31:10. Who will find a virtuous wife? its price is higher than pearls; Proverbs 31:11. The heart of her husband is confident in her, and he will not be left without profit; Proverbs 31:12. she rewards him with good, not evil, all the days of her life. Proverbs 31:13. He produces wool and flax, and willingly works with his hands. Proverbs 31:14. She, like merchant ships, gets her bread from afar. Proverbs 31:15. She gets up while it is still night and distributes food in her house and food to her maids. Proverbs 31:16. She thinks about a field and acquires it; from the fruit of his hands he plants a vineyard. Proverbs 31:17. He girds his loins with strength and strengthens his muscles. Proverbs 31:18. She feels that her work is good, and her lamp does not go out at night. Proverbs 31:19. She stretches out her hands to the spinning wheel, and her fingers take hold of the spindle. Proverbs 31:20. She opens her hand to the poor, and gives her hand to the needy. Proverbs 31:21. She is not afraid of cold for her family, because her whole family is dressed in double clothing. Proverbs 31:22. She makes her own carpets; Fine linen and purple are her clothing. A virtuous wife (cf. Proverbs 15.4) is depicted first in terms of her domestic activities (vv. 11–22), and then in terms of assisting and assisting her husband in his social activities (vv. 23 et al.). The first virtue of a virtuous wife is the complete confidence of her husband in her (v. 11); Moreover, here, as in the subsequent speech, the wife’s economic activity is in the foreground. Out of love for her husband (v. 12), the wife-mistress of the house takes upon herself all the various household duties and fulfills them in the most perfect manner. First of all, according to the custom of antiquity, he personally prepares materials - wool and flax - for clothing for family members (v. 13), and then he produces fabrics for sale abroad (v. 24). Likewise, the subject of the wife’s special care is obtaining and distributing food to family members; the caring housewife distributes food to the maids early in the morning (vv. 14–15), giving them her own example of activity and hard work. The economic activity of the valiant wife, not limited to the boundaries of the house, extends further - to the acquisition of new plots of land for planting grain and vineyards (v. 16). She feels strong in her work and has success in everything (vv. 17–18). Work, for example, spinning, often goes on at night for the housewife (v. 19). The valiant wife satisfies all her wealth not only at home, but also shares it with the poor, extending a helping hand to everyone who needs it; so in regard to charity, as in other respects, a virtuous wife is exemplary. The household of such a housewife is not afraid of winter and cold, since all members of her family are dressed not only warmly enough, but also beautifully (vv. 21–22). Proverbs 31:23. Her husband is known at the gate when he sits with the elders of the land. Proverbs 31:24. She makes bedspreads and sells them, and delivers belts to the Phoenician merchants. Proverbs 31:25. Strength and beauty are her clothes, and she looks cheerfully at the future. Proverbs 31:26. She opens her lips with wisdom, and gentle instruction is on her tongue. Proverbs 31:27. She oversees the management of her house and does not eat the bread of idleness. The husband of a valiant wife, not distracted by concerns about household and economic affairs, especially thanks to the good reputation of the whole house created by the wife’s labor, acquires honorable fame among the people, devotes himself entirely to public activities - in the east, concentrated at the city gates - and takes a place among the elders (v. 23). The housewife produces so many spinning and weaving products with her own hands that they remain for her to sell to the Phoenicians (v. 24). Having had success in the past and present (v. 18a), a gifted and hardworking woman looks forward to the future (v. 25). The wife considers not only every deed, but also every word, and speaks only what is useful and edifying (v. 26). She maintains strict order in her house so that all family members, following her example, work and acquire food through labor (v. 27). Proverbs 31:28. The children get up and please her, and the husband praises her: Proverbs 31:29. “There were many virtuous women, but you surpassed them all.” Proverbs 31:30. Loveliness is deceptive and beauty is vain; but a woman who fears the Lord is worthy of praise. Proverbs 31:31. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her deeds be glorified at the gates! The fruit and reward of the great virtues of a virtuous wife is the deep gratitude of her husband and children, who enthusiastically glorify her various perfections. Among the latter, the fear of God is especially emphasized, which distinguishes a virtuous wife and constitutes her true value. They bring the glory of their worthy wife and mother to the attention of the whole community (v. 31). You might be interested in: