From Courtship in Springtime to the Business Acumen of a Capable Wife

The lectionary has a series of readings in September from works traditionally attributed to King Solomon, the first of which is from the Song of Solomon which is set in springtime (Song of Solomon 2:8-13).  This anthology of love poems celebrates romantic attraction and sexual intimacy, and would not be considered sacred text had not the rabbis interpreted it allegorically as a celebration of God’s passionate love for Israel and so included it in the Hebrew canon (in spite of God not being mentioned in the book).  Elsewhere God is described as Israel’s husband (e.g. Isaiah 54:5) so the bride in the Song of Solomon was understood to represent Israel.  In the New Testament, Christ is described as a bridegroom (e.g. Matthew 9:15; Revelation 19:7), so the Church fathers reinterpreted the allegory to refer to Christ’s devotion to the Church.

The authors of Jewish wisdom literature often assumed the persona of Wise King Solomon, (e.g. the Wisdom of Solomon written around 50 BCE).  The books attributed to Solomon in the Bible may have been written in Solomon’s name rather than by Solomon himself.  Nevertheless there is an old tradition that Solomon wrote the Song of Songs as a lusty young man, the Book of Proverbs as a middle-aged man able to draw on his life experiences, and Ecclesiastes as a disillusioned old man.  The Bible is patriarchal, so the young person being addressed in Proverbs is male, presumably the King’s son.  (Women have for centuries been reading their own gender into the text.)  The selected verses which the lectionary highlights in Proverbs 22 are typical of the book as a whole in that they exhort the moral conduct required of someone destined for leadership.  Proverbs belongs to the genre that gets its name from the emphasis placed on wisdom (cf. Sirach, and Wisdom of Solomon).  In Proverbs 1 we are introduced to Lady Wisdom, the feminine personification of wisdom, who laments that her reproofs are being ignored to the detriment of those who disregard her.

Proverbs ends with an ode to an idealised capable wife.  While her husband spends his days at the city gates, she spends her days diligently and wisely running his estate.  She oversees the manufacture and marketing of linen and woollen cloth and the production of wine.  Her labour and her business acumen ensure the prosperity of her family and she deserves a share of this wealth. She is praiseworthy for many things, including her kindness and philanthropy, but most of all she is praiseworthy for being a woman of faith. 

Joy Kingsbury-Aitken has written two books of prayers and meditations, Prayers for Southern Seasons and Prayers for Southern People, to supplement the few resources available that fit with the seasons as we experience them.