{"id":2621,"date":"2017-08-20T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/2017\/08\/20\/which-biblical-woman-was-the-original-eishet-chayil"},"modified":"2018-06-12T10:06:12","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T07:06:12","slug":"which-biblical-woman-was-the-original-eishet-chayil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/2017\/08\/20\/which-biblical-woman-was-the-original-eishet-chayil\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Biblical Woman Was the Original Eishet Chayil?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This\u00a0essay<\/a> discusses some theories as to which biblical woman the poem, Eishet Chayil, could be referring. The author, Asher Gabbay, suggests that since the only woman in the Bible specifically referred to as \u201cEishet Chayil\u201d was Ruth (3:11), the Moabite widow and King Solomon\u2019s direct ancestor, the king\u2019s mother was counseling her son to look to his own family for a role model for his future bride. He should marry a woman like Ruth. The transliteration and translation of Eshet Chayil are offered at the end of the article, posted by Gabbay on Nafkamina<\/a>, his blog about books, Israel, Japan, Torah, travel, and more.<\/em><\/p>\n

Eshet Chayil \u2013 The Perfect\u00a0Woman<\/h2>\n

Last Friday was the holiday of Shavu\u2019ot (Pentacost) and, as is customary, one stays up all night to study Torah. At 3AM I heard an interesting talk from Rabbi Yuval Sherlo which I enjoyed very much. It was based on things said by Rabbi Yaakov Medan (co-head of Har Etzion Yeshivah). I will try to reconstruct it from memory.<\/p>\n

Every Friday evening, after returning from the synagogue and before dinner, the husband recites the concluding 22 verses of the book of Mishlei\u00a0(Proverbs), known as\u00a0Eshet Chayil<\/em>. The translation of the Hebrew word\u00a0chayil<\/em>\u00a0into English is not simple; some translate it as valour, others as accomplished or competent \u2013 hence \u201cwoman of valour\u201d or \u201caccomplished woman\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n

From the context of the text, it is clear that the\u00a0eshet chayil<\/em>\u00a0is an extremely resourceful woman: she provides for the home, she gets up before dawn, she feeds the poor, she makes and sells things and she is wise and kind. It is not suprising that the expression\u00a0eshet chayil<\/em>\u00a0has become synonymous with a most fine woman, a woman to marry. This acrostic hymn is recited by the husband to symbolize his gratitude for having such a great wife. The Midrash attributes eshet chayil to Abraham, who composed it as a eulogy for his wife Sarah.<\/p>\n

But turning back to the book of\u00a0Mishlei<\/em>, who is this woman of valour? Was there a historic figure that was the \u201coriginal\u201d\u00a0eshet chayil<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Chapter 31 of\u00a0Mishlei<\/em>\u00a0opens with \u201cThe words of king Lemuel, the burden with which his mother corrected him\u201d, and continues with the mother\u2019s king chastising her son for consorting with the wrong kind of women and for being drunk. She tells him not to forget his duty as king, which is to judge righteously and plead the cause of the poor and needy. And later in the chapter (verse 23) the husband of the\u00a0eshet chayil<\/em>\u00a0is described as someone who is \u201cknown at the gates, where he sits among the elders\u201d. As we know from the Bible, the Judges of Israel sat at the gates of the city, so as to be available to the public. In other words, the husband is none other than the king of Israel, who is by nature of his job also a judge.<\/p>\n

(Some commentators went as far as to identify Lemuel as king Shlomo (Solomon), and the whole monologue by his mother taking place on the morning of the day of the consecration of the Temple. Shlomo is late in waking up after a night of excessive drinking and inappropriate consorting, no less\u2026)<\/p>\n

So, if the husband is Shlomo, who is the\u00a0eshet chayil<\/em>? Is Shlomo\u2019s mother describing a real woman? It seems not. She scolds her son for his present wives and concubines and then launches into the long hymn of\u00a0Eshet Chayil<\/em>\u00a0to describe the woman her son\u00a0should\u00a0have married. She gives him the \u201cblueprint\u201d for the woman he should be looking for, the woman of valour that will take care of the poor that he will judge, that will make sure the household is taken care of while he serves the people at the gates.<\/p>\n

And now for the interesting part. If we search the Bible we find only one woman who is described in the words \u201ceshet chayil<\/em>\u201d: Ruth, the Moabite widow who decided to become Jewish and follow her destitute mother-in-law to Israel. After her husband-to-be Boaz finds her sleeping at his feet in the field and hears her story, he cries out \u201cfor you are an\u00a0eshet chayil<\/em>!\u201d (Ruth 3, 11). Ruth is the archetype of all women of valour; she symbolizes what every man, certainly a king, should aspire to find in the woman he marries. And it is on Shavu\u2019ot that we read the story of Ruth.<\/p>\n

Shlomo\u2019s mother is not making up an imaginary woman. She reminds her son where he comes from, what his roots are. Remember, she tells him, \u201ccharm is deceptive and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears God shall be praised\u201d (verse 30). She asks him to look to his great-great-grandmother, Ruth, in order to find the model for the woman he should marry \u2013 the\u00a0eshet chayil<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Here is the hymn of Eshet Chayil (Mishlei 31, 10-31) in Hebrew transliteration and English:<\/p>\n

Eshet chayil mi yimtza v\u2019rachok mip\u2019ninim michrah<\/em>
\nAn accomplished woman, who can find? Her value is far beyond pearls.<\/p>\n

Batach bah lev ba\u2019lah v\u2019shalal lo yechsar<\/em>
\nHer husband\u2019s heart relies on her and he shall lack no fortune.<\/p>\n

G\u2019malathu tov v\u2019lo ra kol y\u2019mei chayeiha<\/em>
\nShe does him good and not evil, all the days of her life.<\/p>\n

Darshah tzemer ufishtim vata\u2019as b\u2019chefetz kapeiha<\/em>
\nShe seeks wool and flax, and works with her hands willingly.<\/p>\n

Haitah ka\u2019oniyot socher mimerchak tavi lachmah<\/em>
\nShe is like the merchant ships, she brings her bread from afar.<\/p>\n

Vatakom b\u2019od lailah vatiten teref l\u2019vetah v\u2019chok l\u2019na\u2019aroteiha<\/em>
\nShe arises while it is still night, and gives food to her household and a portion to her maidservants.<\/p>\n

Zam\u2019mah sadeh vatikachehu mip\u2019ri chapeiha nat\u2019ah karem<\/em>
\nShe plans for a field, and buys it. With the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
\n
\nChagrah b\u2019oz motneiha vat\u2019ametz zro\u2019oteiha<\/em>
\nShe girds her loins in strength, and makes her arms strong.<\/p>\n

Ta\u2019amah ki tov sachrah lo yichbeh balailah nerah<\/em>
\nShe knows that her merchandise is good. Her candle does not go out at night.<\/p>\n

Yadeha shilchah bakishor v\u2019chapeiha tamchu falech<\/em>
\nShe sets her hands to the distaff, and holds the spindle in her hands.<\/p>\n

Kapah parsah le\u2019ani v\u2019yadeiha shil\u2019chah la\u2019evyon
\n<\/em>She extends her hands to the poor, and reaches out her hand to the needy.<\/p>\n

Lo tira l\u2019vetah mishaleg ki chol betah lavush shanim<\/em>
\nShe fears not for her household because of snow, because her whole household is warmly dressed.<\/p>\n

Marvadim astah lah shesh v\u2019argaman l\u2019vushah<\/em>
\nShe makes covers for herself, her clothing is fine linen and purple.<\/p>\n

Noda bash\u2019arim ba\u2019lah b\u2019shivto im ziknei aretz<\/em>
\nHer husband is known at the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.<\/p>\n

Sadin astah vatimkor vachagor natnah lak\u2019na\u2019ani<\/em>
\nShe makes a cloak and sells it, and she delivers aprons to the merchant.<\/p>\n

Oz v\u2019hadar l\u2019vushah vatischak l\u2019yom acharon<\/em>
\nStrength and honor are her clothing, she smiles at the future.<\/p>\n

Piha patchah b\u2019chochma v\u2019torat chesed al l\u2019shonah
\n<\/em>She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the lesson of kindness is on her tongue.<\/p>\n

Tzofi\u2019ah halichot betah v\u2019lechem atzlut lo tochel<\/em>
\nShe watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.<\/p>\n

Kamu vaneha vay\u2019ash\u2019ruha ba\u2019lah vay\u2019hal\u2019lah
\n<\/em>Her children rise and praise her, her husband lauds her.<\/p>\n

Rabot banot asu chayil v\u2019at alit al kulanah<\/em>
\nMany women have done worthily, but you surpass them all.<\/p>\n

Sheker hachen v\u2019hevel hayofi ishah yir\u2019at Hashem hi tit\u2019halal
\n<\/em>Charm is deceptive and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears God shall be praised.<\/p>\n

T\u2019nu lah mip\u2019ri yadeiha vihal\u2019luha vash\u2019arim ma\u2019aseha<\/em>
\nGive her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This\u00a0essay discusses some theories as to which biblical woman the poem, Eishet Chayil, could be referring. The author, Asher Gabbay, suggests that since the only woman in the Bible specifically referred to as \u201cEishet Chayil\u201d was Ruth (3:11), the Moabite widow and King Solomon\u2019s direct ancestor, the king\u2019s mother was counseling her son to look […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":2622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[527],"tags":[529,462,530,531,293,533,537,535,536],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621\/"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post\/"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14\/"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments\/?post=2621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2621\/revisions\/"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2622\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/?parent=2621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/?post=2621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kol-ami.kulam.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/?post=2621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}