She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.
She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

~Prov. 31:19-20

American fundamentalist interpretation: Truly godly women are workaholics. They do 48 hours’ worth of manual labour and good Christian deeds in a given day. They are obviously too busy to “interfere” or become “busybodies” in matters decreed to be beyond the limits of their concerns.

Contextual interpretation: These are proverbs. They’re poeticisms. This particular one carries straight through the translation: a repetitive pattern of gestures creates the beautiful imagery: She stretches out her hands, she reaches out.

She is not just weaving cloth, she is weaving lives together. At this point, I pause to ask myself: does it matter whether this woman literally owns a loom at all? This is no Victorian maid with her requisite embroidery hoop, no Renaissance lady with her de rigeur loom. We are not drawing from European historical concepts at all here, and Eurocentrism only obscures this passage.

The virtuous woman weaves the fabric of life. Isn’t that what the king’s mother spoke of from the start? How to uphold justice and advocate for the needy. How to create peace.

She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
She makes coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

~Prov. 31:21-22

American fundamentalist interpretation: Be paranoid and prepared for even the most unlikely eventualities, like for instance Y2K. A good woman should always carry an extra safety pin, preserve and store spare food, and have her household monitored and kept within the declared circle of security at all times. Winter will come.

And while she’s at it, she’s sewing a wardrobe that will elevate her above and beyond her humble status in the perceptions of others. Fine linen and purple are royal-quality! She must make her husband look good before the elders. He should be the focus of all she does, including clothing herself in such quality fashion.

Contextual interpretation: Again, Eurocentrist and misogynist assumptions fail to consider the full implications.

Snow.

In Jerusalem.

This woman’s cup has overflowed. She has cared for her neighbours, for the afflicted and needy. What became of the vineyard in that year of snow? What was the flavour of its vintage? Or were the buds frozen off?

Either way, God made His presence known. Snow does not just happen in Jerusalem. It’s a rare event, an auspicious sign. Not something that can be predicted and planned for.

What could have been a disaster for people wracked by poverty and injustice is simply the sign of His nearness, because peace reigns. But what of the woman herself and her clothing?

In those days as King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne which was at the citadel in Susa, in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his princes and attendants, the army officers of Persia and Media, the nobles and the princes of his provinces being in his presence.

And he displayed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor of his great majesty for many days, 180 days. When these days were completed, the king gave a banquet lasting seven days for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa, from the greatest to the least, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace.

There were hangings of fine white and violet linen held by cords of fine purple linen on silver rings and marble columns, and couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and precious stones.

~Esther 1:2-6

Fine linen and purple are the decor of pagan palaces. They are the trappings of a godless king’s furniture, adorning his accessories. This woman is no accessory, and before we ever spoke of her, the king was warned against treating women that way. For fundamentalism to treat a woman as a trapping of her husband is not a Christian mentality, but a purely pagan one.

What were fine linen and purple associated with in Israeli thinking?

Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. (Ex. 26:1, see also Ex. 25:3-5, Ex. 26:30-32)

What could be understood proverbially in Judaic thinking, through the direct presence of the cultural artifacts, Paul had to teach to the Gentile believers:

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? (1 Cor. 6:19)

For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. (2 Cor. 5:1)

Eternal treasure is veiled in the earthen vessel of this woman’s form. Remember what was within the heart of the tabernacle and the Temple? The atonement seat. The place of looking forward to the Cross of Jesus Christ.

She belongs to God. Her hope is in Him, and she exists for the praise of the glory of His grace alone.