Economic Equals: Proverbs 31:16-18

She considers a field and purchases it;

from the fruit of her palms she plants a vinyard.

She girds her loins with strength;

she strengthens her arm for the task

She perceives that her trading is good;

her lamp [of prosterity] does not go out at night.

Till the age of 24 I never lived anywhere more than 3 years and usually moved across the world at least every 8 weeks from the age of 10 to 21.  Moving heavy things was part of my childhood. Which is one of the reasons I find it incredibly grating when people insist on carrying things for me that I am perfectly able to carry (please note I said when they insist not when they offer). Its as if they know my physical limitations better than I do. 

The commentary I have seems to want to suggest that most of the physical work of planting a vinyard would have been done by male slaves. I see no evidence for this in the text. Not that I'm not prepared to say that on average men are physically stronger than women. The problem is that we then polarise men and women and then assume women have no physical strength - which is clearly untrue. 

I recently went to the women at work exhibition at the women's library and was quiet amazed at the incredible weights many women would lift during the course of their labour. it reminded me of my granny's right arm which was phenomenally strong.  

Not only is this women physically strong she is also mental astute, she considers and sees that her trading is good. She also has the mental strength to prosper. And neither her physical or mental strength is interpreted by anyone as a question of her husbands masculinity. It is interesting how in subtle and not so subtle ways women's differing anatomy is not only considered a cause of physical fragility but also of mental fragility. 

You see the problem with these verses is that if we're really honest they just don't allow for not allowing women to be the economic equals of men, which is really what constructing them as physically and mentally fragile is about, keeping them out of economic power. She produces products and trades. 

So I don't think my commentary is justified in describing her economic work as 'cottage industries' as I've said before the whole/home/work split is something thats happened since the industrial revolution, but even without that this is not a women making handicraft in the times between developing a spotless house and spotless children, this is a woman engaged in serious economic work. Oh and who's looking after the kids while she's doing this?

So a proverbs 31 community values women's economic participation and doesn't make them feel like ogres for leaving their kids with other nurturing adults.