Scita > Scienda

Why is it important to compare common teachings with contextual understanding? And why bother throwing it out there on the internet? Surely there are enough women making enough noise about how to be a biblical woman.

Well, back in March, my journal entry said this:

Last night, I read Proverbs 31 to David and explained to him how warped it reads to me after spending time in Christian homeschooling circles. He was stunned. He said he’d never heard that stuff before. My whole view of him, our home life, and even his Christian upbringing changed.

Husbands, do you know what your wives are being taught as they seek resources and direction from other women? Wives, are you truly submitting your understanding to your husbands and asking your own man for his input at home? Guess what: I wasn’t being subject to my husband. And it caused the doctrine within our household to shift from the foundation of his leadership to a feminine-initiated, outside influence called “Titus 2 womanhood,” where “discipleship” is handed off from one woman to another in excessive isolation from male teaching. For those who believe in male headship, that’s all wrong.

Let’s keep reading through and discussing with spouses.

She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.
She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.

~Prov. 31:13-14

American fundamentalist version:

She is confined to the home, often working at subsistence tasks, because sewing and natural living are arbitrarily deemed to be godlier than working for an employer. She is immersed in frugal living tasks, going out of her way to bargain-hunt or make do on secondhand or refurbished goods.

Contextual understanding:

Primary industry provides a backbone of hard products needed for basic quality of life. Israel’s land heritage laws reflect this, as do the blessings and curses of God on the nation. When the base level of subsistence production is removed in favour of foreign-dominated trade, the nation becomes vulnerable to famine and economic exploitation. We see this cycle going on in the developing world today.

Involving women in production and trade has been shown to assist in creating the needed balance between subsistence and trade good production. A woman with the skills to source raw materials and produce value-added goods is a foreign trade partner to the throne. Her economic force is like merchant ships, attracting trade from afar. By ensuring her safety and quality in the public forum, the kingdom’s stability is enhanced and its needs are met — in contrast, for instance, to the treatment the bride is given in Song of Solomon when she seeks her husband at night and is accosted by the city guard.

Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

~Prov. 31:9-10

As I work through these verses, it’s been helpful to distill the basic thrust of the teachings I’ve heard on them. What follows is a general summary of what I’ve seen said or implied, and then a revisit to the passage to look at it in its context.

None of this negates the basic understanding that this is the kind of wife the king was exhorted to look for. But in context, we see exhortation to both parties of the ruling marriage to be free and equal partners in ensuring the kingdom’s stability. As well, we do have to consider the trickle-down effect of the greater culture being guided by the personal culture of the royal family. Within my lifetime, Princess Diana defined popular thinking. A culture built around monarchy is one of personal identification between people and a lifetime regent, with familial ties that extend outward in ever-widening circles down to the most common levels of society.

Who can find a virtuous woman?

American fundamentalist version:

These women don’t really exist, but you, little woman, should try your best to attain this unachievable standard in hopes that you won’t totally fail to measure up to the “biblical womanhood” bar. It probably won’t work, because actual biblical women are so rare, but try not to be a dishonour to your husband.

Conversely, oh my, the star status conferred on any woman who can pull off the appearance of Proverbs womanhood! The closer a woman gets to fitting into the “list” of traits, the more cultic pull she commands among followers. Hence the high value within dysfunctional churches, where the “right” woman acts as a tool for her spouse in leadership to enhance and maintain control over the congregation.

Contextual interpretation:

Here is the front line of battle in defending the rights of the afflicted and needy. O king, when you see a woman like this, she’s worth more to your nation than all the jewels of your treasury. Actively seek these women and plead their cause. Are rubies nonexistent? No, they’re high-investment. But worth it. Think about that.

Her worth is far above rubies.

American fundamentalist version:

This woman is a commodity to be produced (through training which mines her personhood for the “right” traits) and bartered (courtship, extreme patriarchy) as chattel in her family’s control and possession.

Contextual interpretation:

Listen up, O king, because Mamma is about to lay it on you why you want to look out for this kind of citizen. What does she do for the land? Let me tell you, point by point…

The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.

~Prov. 31:11-12

American fundamentalist version:

The heart of her husband trusts that he can exploit her talents, skills and knowledge for his own gain, and she will fade into the background without ever taking credit, regardless of what her dreams may be. She allows him to do this, because otherwise, she would be “doing him evil.” This pattern is systemic, holding sway over “all the days of her life.”

What a recipe for creating and sustaining mediocre and functionally retarded men.

Contextual interpretation:

Gross domestic product. Women who command equal power, trust and respect in their most intimate personal relationships bring stability to the workforce and the economy.

Because of her focus on relational care toward him (“she does him good and not evil”), the two of them become intertwined on a family path of security and productivity, thus functioning to short-circuit excessive debt, poor decision-making, peer exploitation (doing so or being the recipient of it) and other hazards men run into regarding financial management. The king himself has been duly warned about lifestyle issues which contribute to the crumbling of social order.

I have an old margin note on these verses, scribbled in blue ink. It says, “God’s ‘gain’ is different than man’s.”

What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?