Was the Proverbs 31 woman workaholic?

 

“She did not necessarily have ongoing concurrent businesses in real estate, farming, tanning, and textiles. But over the years she has done such things. The behaviors are typical, not constant and simultaneous. We are reading about a lifetime achievement recognition, not her daily planner. The shift away from present-tense translation removes possible overtones of workaholism and adds the quality of persevering faithfulness.” (p.271)

Webster, Brian L. 2014. “The Perfect Verb and the Perfect Woman in Proverbs.” In Windows to the Ancient World of the Hebrew Bible: Essays in Honor of Samuel Greengus, edited by Bill T. Arnold, Nancy L. Erickson, and John H. Walton, 261-71. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns.

This article is easy to read. It also tells us about how to interpret qatal verbs in the book of Proverbs. Hong Kong citizens, this article can be downloaded for free through ProQuest e-books in our public library system.

Another author with a similar position is Siegismund. Siegismund, Kasper. 2019. “The death of a virtuous woman? Proverbs 31.10-31,  gnomic qatal, and the role of translation in the analysis of the Hebrew verbal system.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 43:284-300.