Who shall find a strong woman? Far away, and from the furthest parts, is her price. (Prv 31,10)
אֵֽשֶׁת־חַ֭יִל מִ֣י יִמְצָ֑א וְרָחֹ֖ק מִפְּנִינִ֣ים מִכְרָֽהּ׃
Mulierem fortem quis inveniet? Longe super gemmas pretium eius.
Courage (חַיִל ḥayil), this noun has a wide range of meanings: “strength”, “power”, “wealth”, “value”, “bravery”, “courage”, and even in the military sense “valor, troop, army”.
In this Sunday’s Liturgy, the Book of Proverbs (Prv 31:10-31) asks an intriguing question: “Who shall find a strong woman (אֵשֶׁת־חַיִל ՚ešeṯ ḥayil)?” Today we would say that it is about an “entrepreneurial”, “valuable”, and “brave” woman. The author of the Book of Proverbs beautifully describes this woman’s personality as trustworthy on the part of her husband, hard-working, generous towards the poor and needy, and above all, fearing the Lord. The “strong woman” from Proverbs 31 is worthy of recognition and fame (v. 31). For a long time, scholars have been wondering about the identity of the person symbolized by such a woman, and many of them admit that she is the personification of a sage. A wise person chooses well, can manage his life effectively, and above all, believes in God, seeks support from Him, and puts all his trust in Him. Today, we would say that he is a man of deep faith, or he lives in a close relationship with God.
The Lord Jesus discusses the same topic in the parable of the Talents (Mt 25:14-30). A wealthy man who entrusts his servants with the management of his estate invests in them and expects profits. Some of the servants are enterprising and multiply their profits, but not all of them. There is also someone who, due to fear of loss, did not invest the talent entrusted to him, but buried it, or stored it properly, and returned it to his master intact. Perhaps he was pleased with himself for not losing his talent.
We can say that our entire life is God’s investment in us. He wants our growth and development, including that which results from our fruitful, fertile life. However, nothing happens automatically but requires wisdom and wise management of our lives, which not only has value in itself, like the proverbial “talent”, but is also a given mission. What is our mission? We can find the answer to this question only within ourselves and in conversation with God.
