Shalom to my brothers and sisters in Torah. Hope all is well with you all individually. Even though the world seems like it’s going to crumble, our hope is in Yah. Today, we will continue in Proverbs 31. I personally learned a lot studying this passage and I am overjoyed to share my findings with you. Verse 17: She girdth her loins with strength, she put on energy with her girdle. I know this probably reads different in your Bible,but this is a better translation of the verse.The Hebrew word for girdeth is “chagar“,which means”to dress”. So she dresses herself in strength. Strength does not always constitute physical strength. For example, you can be strong in a certain area of study.She is strong in her function.So what is a girdle? A girdle is a garment worn by both men and women. In modern times, women wear girdle to shape their bodies. For example,after women have babies,they we put on a girdle to reshape their bodies. In those days,women wore girdles to put important articles in them as they went throughout their day, similar to a fanny pack. Men also put their swords and other weapons in the girdles. So in the Hebraic culture, girdles are looked at as symbols of readiness and protection.
Verse 18: She sees that her trading is profitable and her lamp does not go out at night. This passage reminds me of the parable of the ten virgins.Which let’s us know that she is a prepper. Verse 19:In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. This passage has a two fold meaning. If you are familiar with looming, which I am not(lol) a distaff is a stick or spindle onto which wool or flax is wound for spinning. But,the Hebraic word is”kasher“,which means to be proper or to succeed.Which in turn means her hand holds success. Okay,so what is a spindle? A spindle is a slender rounded rod with tapered ends used in hand spinning to twist and wind thread from a mass of wool or flax held on a distaff. The Hebrew word,”pelek” means whorl of a spindle. Which suggest she is not lazy, and she enjoys busy work that always kept her ahead of the game, seldomly lacking anything. Hope this helps anyone who is reading it. Shalom
Suggested reading:Matthew 25:1-13
