I once had a wonderful friend whose first name was Lemuel, but he never wanted to be called by that name. Yet, had he known its true Hebrew derivation, my friend might have changed his mind. Lemuel has the very special meaning in Hebrew of "at or in God." The final chapter in the Biblical book of Proverbs is an oracle that presents a mother speaking to her son, a king named Lemuel. She shares some ideas with him that have stimulated, strengthened, and supported a higher view of womanhood. This is a subject that has been receiving renewed attention in today's world, and one with which any individual whose thinking is "at or in God" should feel right at home.
Here are some of the words that have been recorded in that climactic last chapter of Proverbs: "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.... She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. ... She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. ... She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. ... Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates." Prov. 31:10, 13, 15, 16, 26, 27, 31. According to the original Hebrew texts, a "virtuous" woman is one having strength, power, might, ability, uprightness, and integrity.
This view is in stark contrast to the concept of woman as produced from "the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man." Gen. 2:22. In the original Hebrew texts, the rib indicates the "side of a person." The notion that woman was taken out of man suggests the incompleteness of woman, and has fueled the belief that women are weak, do not have persistence, and therefore give up easily. Also stemming from this Genesis, chapter 2, story, traditional thinking has viewed Adam as the original man, and has condemned Eve as being the cause of Adam's downfall and the reason for the consequent banishment of the human race from Paradise. Over the centuries, uncritical acceptance of this view has been the cause of much unenlightened thinking about the role of woman in the world.
