The Old Testament description of the capable wife from Proverbs 31 is a favorite first reading at weddings and sometimes at funerals. As Sunday’s first reading, this passage inventories very concretely how wise and faithful women in ancient times invested themselves in husband, family, and household.
The Church reads only 8 of the 21 verses about the capable wife. Sunday’s passage emphasizes her relationship to her husband, her domestic skills, her openhandedness with the poor, her awe of God.
The passage omits verses that describe the ideal wife as a business woman, buying fields and planting vineyards, and making and selling clothing. It omits her laughter, wisdom, kindness, and enjoyment of her children.
Except that most women today no longer spin and weave, the description of the capable wife still largely applies. Contemporary readers may want to describe the ideal husband as well or wrestle with how to support each other’s relationship with God and with people in need.
The Capable Wife
Who can find a strong wife?
She is more precious than pearls.
Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, will lack nothing.
She does him good, not evil,
all the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax and
makes cloth with skillful hands. She puts her hands to the distaff; her fingers ply the spindle.
She opens her hands to the poor
and reaches out to the needy.
Charm is deceptive,
and beauty perishable.
The woman in awe of God
is to be praised.
Give her a share in the fruit
of her hands; let her works
praise her at the city gates.
Proverbs 31.10-13, 19-20, 30-31
- Which qualities do you value in women today?
- What new demands do women face today?
- What are the qualities of the capable husband?
- What characterizes healthy relationships between husbands and wives in our time?