Reading the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31: 1031 as a reflection of the attributes of the Traditional Miship woman of Nigeria (original) (raw)
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PhD Thesis, 2023
The Akan culture does not treat women the same way it treats its men; there are gender related roles among the Akan cultural practices. Matrilineal inheritance notwithstanding, the Akan woman always plays the second option to her male counterpart. This is obvious in the selection for inheritance which always goes for a male even for nephews, appointments to public office, which follows the same trend no matter her contribution to that society. The objectives of the study included the investigation of the context of the marginalization and dehumanizing cultural practices among the Akan of Ghana and to ascertain how the virtues of the industrious woman in Proverbs 31:10-31 and the cultural situation of the Akan woman can elucidate each other. Inculturation and Liberation hermeneutical methodology were used to study the poem. In this methodology every aspect of the explanation is carefully influenced by the perspectives of the receptor community (Akan of Ghana), their past experiences and cultural practices as a people. Proverbs 31:10-31 is well preserved with few variants which suggest that the poem could have been an adaptation from a male heroic poem. This is made manifest by the several masculine variants in a poem that is meant to eulogise a woman. The presence of Late Biblical Hebrew (LBH) vocabulary and Aramaisms suggest post-exilic Persian period influence on the text. It is most probable that the industrious woman in Proverbs 31:10-31 is a literary creation by a post-exilic poet, as an antithesis of the historic moral and social failures of the Hebrew womanhood during the 8th century B.C.E. for didactic purpose. This is aimed at the moral and social reengineering of the Hebrew society. It is most probable that Ezra might have had a hand in either the writing, redaction or the editing of the poem of Proverbs 31:10-31. With the help of contextual methodology (inculturation and Liberation Hermeneutics) the cultural condition of the Akan woman of Ghana is seen as silent champion instead of a slave and marginalized gender. The Akan woman is empowered for the good of the Akan society with the emulation of the virtues of the Industrious woman of Proverbs 31:10-31. Future studies could aim at the contribution of some Akan women who managed to shatter the glass ceiling of male dominance for the good of the Akan society, the role and identity of such women would help demystify the misconception about the role and place of women in the Akan society.
The “Woman of Substance” (Proverbs 31:10-31) and Ecclesiastical Dignity in Nigeria
KIU Journal of Humanities, 2021
There have been agitations and quests for women inclusion in church leadership. While these engagements had produced some results there is still room for more improvement. There are women with virtues and strength of character like the-woman of substance‖ in Proverbs 31:10-31 who would be of great benefit to ecclesiastical dignity if given opportunity to serve at the top echelon of church leadership. The study employed synchronic and existential methods in analysing the biblical text within the context of contemporary realities in Nigeria. The church in Nigeria would be better equipped to face the challenge of inadequate efficient and trustworthy leaders if hardworking, focused, virtuous, women are given a chance to work in partnership with the few committed men in ministry.
Old Testament Essays, 2016
The poem appearing in the epilogue of the book of Proverbs (Prov 31:10-31) is classically a paean poem that eulogises the outstanding qualities of the female figure assumedly portrayed as an epitome of womanhood. This article seeks to address the unbalanced portrayal of the couple in the paean by inviting readers to pay close attention to the mention of the male figure in vv. 11, 23, 28-29 and to discover his salient role often glossed over or overlooked by interpreters. It draws attention to the civilised and humane personality of this male figure who, suggestively, is to be seen to serve as the architect of the achievements and public praise of his wife, given the patrilocal and patriarchal context of ancient Israel. In view of this, it is argued, he also deserves to elicit praise. By implication, it also invites the contemporary African male figure, particularly the Nigerian one, to follow the legacy of this husband by exhibiting the characteristics of responsible African manhood as he functions as husband and father.
The Proverbs 31 " Woman of Strength " : An Argument for a Primary-Sense Translation
Priscilla Papers, 2011
Author: Megan K. DeFranza Publisher: CBE International Proverbs 31:10–31 is one of the better-known passages of the Old Testament. Many of us hear sermons preached from this text every Mother’s Day, yet these sermons often miss the meaning of this passage. Many pastors hold up the Proverbs 31 woman as the model for all women, yet they present a distorted and limited view of women, hindered as they are by imprecise English translations. Given the weight placed upon the Proverbs 31 woman as an example of “biblical womanhood,” it is essential that we correct our reading of the text. One of the best ways we can do this is by returning to a more literal or primary-sense translation.
Woman Wisdom and the ethical vision of the book of Proverbs: An African reflection
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 2015
An observable gap in scholarship is a comprehensive ethical reflection on the portrayal of wisdom as feminine in the book of Proverbs and its implication for wisdom ethics. Besides this lacuna is the observation that the few existing studies on the ethics of the book of Proverbs take their point of departure essentially from a Western conception of ethics. This article as approached the book of Proverbs from an ethical perspective and has argued that the African view of ethics has a rich quality embedded in communitarian values that can be explored heuristically to interpret the ethical vision of the book of Proverbs. Such an approach, it is suggested, has pedagogical relevance to the teaching of biblical ethics especially in Africa.
Verbum et Ecclesia
In varying Jewish and African contexts (cf. the Yorùbá and Sotho in the present essay), the ‘ēšet hayil is regarded as a historical figure who should serve as a model for women both young and old. As an organic scholar within an African context, I am both fascinated and also challenged by how biblical notions of gender and womanhood, as portrayed in the paean on the ‘ēšet hayil in Proverbs 31:10–31, seem to be at variance with notions of gender and womanhood as depicted in some Yorùbá and Sotho proverbs. Noting the emphasis in Proverbs 31:10–31 on the positive image of the ‘ēšet hayil as the ideal wife, this article shows that overall, in the African proverbs, the woman is depicted positively as a mother, though many proverbs (cf. especially the Yorùbá proverbs) cast the woman as a wife in a negative light. It is argued that the epitome of womanhood, which in Proverbs 31:10–31 is the ideal wife, appears to stand in tension with the image of a good mother and of a bad wife observed i...
Women in the Esan Proverbs of Nigeria
Jumuga Journal of Education, Oral Studies, and Human Sciences (JJEOSHS)
This research article adopts interpretive and descriptive approaches in the study of derogatory Esan proverbs that are geared towards demeaning women in the Esan indigenous society of Nigeria. Our main aim here is to assess whether the content of such anti-women local proverbs in Esan are valid or anachronistic. This is in the light of the message that indigenous knowledge is ideally meant to convey; and will be done by a comparative judgmental approach to the cultural and modern realities. Esan people are an ethnic group in Edo State of Nigeria whose research on women in Esan proverbs or proverbs about Esan is investigated in this treatise by researchers who speak the language under consideration. Can this insider-researcher perspective help us to deconstruct the negative portrayal and eventually reconstruct Esan proverbs as we strive to build an all-inclusive society for all? Methodologically, we harvested Esan proverbs through our public interactions with elders, and young and ol...
The Women in the Book of Proverbs: Woman Wisdom versus Woman Folly
The American Journal of Biblical Theology, 2015
The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth analysis of the women in the book of Proverbs, with particular attention to the dynamics between Woman Wisdom and Woman Folly. The following themes will be explored concerning Woman Wisdom and Woman Folly: the variety of views on the origin of wisdom’s personification, Woman Wisdom as portrayed throughout wisdom literature outside of Proverbs, the “strange” woman and Woman Folly, the choice between Woman Wisdom and Woman Folly in Proverbs 9, a look at the good wife/woman of strength in Proverbs 30:10-31, some theological considerations and finally some concluding remarks in an attempt to draw some threads between the multiplicity of subtopics concerning the women in Proverbs. It should be noted that although there will not be an in-depth examination of feminist interpretations there will be a mention of such methodologies throughout the paper. The bulk of this paper will focus on Proverbs 1 to 9 and 31:10-31.
Feminism and Deity Personification in Yoruba Proverbs
Journal of Gender and Power, 2022
In Yoruba social context, male is seen as comptroller and central in gender status because of the cultural perception that makes male hegemony a priority. If Yoruba people by chance through their tradition could encroach the social order of the family structure by maintaining the biological dominance of male ahead of female, then it means that women have no say. In the oratory aspect of this tradition however, the construct of women acceptability in terms of their sacred features undermine the biological concept of male dominance. This is the area where Olupona (2011) itemised the role of female goddesses in Yoruba religion as more of important discussion and that balancing their role with that of male, particularly in the aspect of religion, will improve the cultural variables and etiquette of the Yoruba people. This paper however intends to look at this balancing through Yoruba oral proverbs, which personified women symbolically from the angle of deity specific. The paper argues that Yoruba epistemology through proverbs is a means of deconstructing the usual male hegemony in Yoruba tradition, and further concludes that ascribing dominance to male echelons is a reflection of social inequality because "what a man can do, a woman can do better". The paper will use semiotic analysis to portray the significant aspect of feminism in the proverbial sayings of the Yoruba people.