A: 33rd OrdTime (15 Nov 2020) - WOMAN POWER (Prov 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31)

“Who can find a woman of worth? Far beyond jewels is her value” (Prov 31:10).

This is the translation rendered by the New American Bible, where a woman or a wife is described as valuable in the same way as jewels are, for she is a “woman of worth.” The same idea is communicated by the English Standard Version that has the translation “excellent wife.” However, since this idea of worth or excellence is quite abstract as to what it exactly means, some bible versions chose to elaborate it concretely with phrases like “virtuous wife/woman” (e.g., King James Version) or “wife with strong/noble character” (e.g., Christian Standard Bible) in reference to her exemplary attitude in religious matters. Others, meanwhile, decide to simply generalize her admirable character with adjectives like “capable” (e.g., New Revised Standard Version), “good” (e.g., New Life Version), or “excellent” (e.g., New American Standard Bible).

Conversely, the original Hebrew text of Prov 31:10 has the phrase “eshet hayil” where the word “hayil” simply means “strength, wealth, army.” In a similar vein, the Greek Septuagint version of Proverbs sustains this hegemonic sense with “gunaika andreian” where the word “andreios” is synonymous with being “manly, brave, courageous.” In view of this, the New English Translation of the Septuagint translates the passage as “courageous wife.” Furthermore, the Latin Vulgate continues this trend of meaning in the Hebrew and Greek with the phrase “mulierem fortem,” which literally means “brave woman.” By and large, all three ancient biblical languages portray the woman or wife in Proverbs as someone who is courageous and formidable in socio-political affairs.

But what does all this survey tell us? One does not need to be an exegete to conclude that there is a clear attempt among modern English translators to diminish the force of the original wordings of Proverbs, especially regarding its characterization of the female gender. While the ancient texts (Hebrew, Greek, and Latin) are unison in describing the woman/wife as courageous or brave in terms of facing physical adversities that include wars, oppression, and physical pain, modern English translators try to restrict her virtues to domestic chores and spiritual affairs alone.

This stereotyping of women to the exclusive maintenance of the household may contain some truth and may be reflective of our present-day realities in some sense. But limiting women to being mere governesses of homes, performers of menial tasks, and pious keepers of family mores is counter to their authentic worth. It must be emphasized that they can also be brave, courageous, and daring in terms of being catalysts of societal change and prophetic witnesses against worldwide oppression, marginalization, and economic disparity. Indeed, they can be persons of strength and power as men can be.

But, in the final analysis, the book of Proverbs does not only strictly refer to women in the text. Rather, its sapiential language may allude to all the little ones in the society, viz., women, children, elderly, sick, aliens, beggars, imprisoned, slaves, etc. In the same way as women can be courageous and brave, so are all the weak and less privileged ones. They have, too, a voice that can be powerful if tapped and recovered. Yet, this can only happen if they themselves along with our society recognize that they are as precious as jewels … and not the other way around where jewels are reigning on them.

- Rex Fortes, CM