Hermeneutic of Suspicion - The description of our iššâ
( "woman," "wife") is deceiving. She may be the model
wife/mother/provider, but consider the patriarchal source from which it comes. While her
husband sits with the elders at the gates of the city-doing the real work of justice-the
woman is busy providing for the private needs of the household. And though several
transactions take her outside of the family, she works solely for the sake of the family
and has no real life in the public places. [1]
A New Perception - If ancient Israel admired the man of war who
defended God’s people from their enemies, and if Israelite males, like men throughout
history, were sinfully prone to demean women as "the weaker sex," the praise of
woman here is designed to alter errant male perceptions of women. The heroic terms of
strength usually applied to men are here given to a woman so her splendor and wisdom may
be seen by all. [2]
Fears the Lord - Some commentators have been puzzled by the
appearance of the phrase "fears the Lord" in the poem on the capable woman since
it has been totally occupied with praising the woman’s mundane activities. The
woman’s wisdom and fear of the Lord, however, come to expression precisely in her
worldly activities. For Proverbs there is no sacred-secular split. All of human life and
action is to manifest reverence and obedience to God and show harmony with God’s
cosmic order. [3]
You might
begin by referring to the connection above-thinking about how television producers portray
women. Some TV characters will be demeaning, but others may be surprisingly inspiring.
Shift to the portrayal in Proverbs 31-be free to be amused when you attempt to bring
this superwoman into postmodern society! (My congregation chuckled with just the reading
of the lesson the last time it showed up in the lectionJ)
Dig deeper into the noble character of the passage. In its own ancient setting, how
does the description ennoble women? Modernize the lesson, but don’t moralize! Draw
from the lesson a quality or two that women (and men) emulate even in today’s world.
End with the fear of the Lord-which begins the Proverbs-as the true way to wisdom no
matter gender, age, or where a society is on the historical continuum.
Of all the TV sitcom women, with whom do you identify most: June Cleaver? Lucille
Ball? Jill Taylor? Roseanne? Clair Huxtable? Elaine (Seinfeld)? Other? What features of
those characters do you admire?