The Woman of Valor
She girds herself with strength and shows that her arms are strong. Proverbs 31:17 · Berean Standard Bible
She's physically strong and capable, able to do demanding work—her strength isn't just metaphorical; it's real and practical.
In a culture where physical labor was necessary for survival, strength was valuable. She's not weak or frail; she's capable and resilient. The 'girding' of strength suggests she prepares herself, takes on work deliberately and confidently.
Lemuel's mother, emphasizing the wife's strength and capability
Strength is celebrated throughout Scripture—not the tyrannical kind, but the strength that comes from character, discipline, and purpose. This woman embodies it.
She physically strengthens herself and demonstrates the capability of her arms, showing that strength and vigor are not her limitations but her demonstrated qualities.
The verbs here are intriguing: she 'girds herself with strength' (אׁזׁרׁתׁ בׁעׁוׁז, azrat b'oz) and she 'shows that her arms are strong' (וַתׁאׁמׁץ זׁרׁוׁעׁוׁתׁיׁהׁ, vata'ametz zro'oteya). These are active assertions of physical capacity and endurance. The terminology—'strength' (עׁוׁז, oz) and 'arms' (זׁרׁוׁעׁוׁת, zruo'ot)—typically appears in biblical contexts describing warriors and powerful leaders. This is not metaphorical language but a claim about her actual physical capability to execute demanding work. Medieval commentators and some modern scholars have worried this statement somehow threatens feminine propriety; more careful analysis recognizes it celebrates her necessary and admirable physical robustness.
The acrostic poem's narrator, asserting the woman's physical capabilities as virtuous.
This resists restricting women's virtue to passive or decorative categories; rather, strength and vigor are positive attributes. It connects to athletic women in biblical narrative (though rare)—like Deborah's military leadership or the daughters of Zelophehad's physical presence at the tabernacle—and anticipates Proverbs 31:25 where the woman 'laughs at the days to come,' denoting psychological strength and confidence.
15She rises while it is still night to provide food for her household and portions for her maidservants.
16She appraises a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17She girds herself with strength and shows that her arms are strong.
18She sees that her gain is good, and her lamp is not extinguished at night.
19She stretches out her hands to the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
Read all of Proverbs 31 — Not a checklist but a celebration. Strength, generosity, wisdom, dignity — a life fully and fearlessly lived.
This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.
Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.
Download on the App StoreFree on iPhone & iPad