1These are the words of King Lemuel—the burden that his mother taught him:
2What shall I say, O my son? What, O son of my womb? What, O son of my vows?
3Do not spend your strength on women or your vigor on those who ruin kings.
The Woman of Valor
These are the words of King Lemuel—the burden that his mother taught him: Proverbs 31:1 · Berean Standard Bible
King Lemuel's mother is passing down her hard-earned wisdom to her son about how a king should live—this isn't casual advice, it's a burden she feels deeply about his future.
A mother, likely the wife of a king, has something urgent to tell her son who will rule. She's not just making polite conversation; she feels the weight of responsibility to prepare him for leadership. In ancient Near Eastern culture, mothers of kings had real influence, and this woman is using hers.
The mother of King Lemuel, speaking directly to her son
This stands in the tradition of wisdom being passed down through families in Scripture—like a parent caring enough to speak truth that might save their child from ruin. It echoes the father's instruction in Proverbs 1-9, but here it's a mother's voice, which matters.
King Lemuel's mother is transmitting wisdom to her son, framing these teachings as a weighty burden of instruction—the kind of serious moral guidance a royal mother would impart to ensure her son's righteous reign.
This superscription (what scholars call a 'heading' or 'attribution formula') identifies the source of the acrostic poem that follows. The historical Lemuel remains somewhat obscure—possibly a northern Arabian or Syrian monarch—but the situational context is unmistakable: a mother-teacher addressing her son in a moment of formal instruction, likely at a transitional point in his life or kingdom. The Hebrew word משׂא (massa, 'burden') carries connotations not merely of 'saying' but of prophetic weight and responsibility.
The mother of King Lemuel, functioning as wisdom teacher and royal counselor.
This represents the Wisdom tradition's emphasis on maternal instruction as foundational to moral formation—echoing Proverbs 1:8 and 6:20 where the father-mother dyad teaches. The 'burden' motif aligns with prophetic traditions where God's word comes as weighty obligation; here, maternal wisdom assumes similar authority, positioning women as authoritative moral guides in Israel's religious imagination.
1These are the words of King Lemuel—the burden that his mother taught him:
2What shall I say, O my son? What, O son of my womb? What, O son of my vows?
3Do not spend your strength on women or your vigor on those who ruin kings.
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