Demystifying the Proverbs 31 Woman

by Elizabeth Ahlman

At first glance, the Proverbs 31 woman seems to have it all under control. She is held up as a model woman who serves her Lord first, her husband and family second, and herself last. What can today's Christian women - married and single - learn from Proverbs 31, and how should they apply it to their own lives? This in-depth Bible study explores the entirety of Proverbs 31 and draws from Proverbs 8 to aid in understanding. Author Elizabeth Ahlman especially highlights the passage's connection to Christ and how this affects the everyday woman as she goes about her life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Christianity

188 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 14, 2017

Reviews

[Elizabeth Ahlman]

Yes, I reread my own book to prep for an event. ;-) So I'm counting it in my reading, but I'll refrain from rating it. :-)

[Dakotah Gumm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizabeth Ahlman does an excellent job in this study of bringing clarity to an often misinterpreted passage of Scripture. Rather than looking at the passage as a how-to guide on being the perfect Christian woman, she takes it apart verse by verse, examining language, context, and literary technique, to show how it depicts Christ crucified, the Church, and who we are in Christ. She explains how the passage fits into and illuminates the rest of chapter 31, the book of Proverbs, and Scripture as a whole, and most importantly, she shines light on the Gospel message in this passage. It is deep and is the sort of study that one would learn something new from with each work-through. It would make a great weekly group study or an in-depth personal study, and I would recommend it to all Christian women.

[Chani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this study of the Proverbs 31 Woman! It'd be great as a group Bible study, but I read it alone. I liked how she connected this passage to the rest of Proverbs, and other Old Testament passages.... all while pointing us to Christ. It was nice to be reminded that it's not about me!

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is rather academic in nature, certainly not the flowery type of literature I had somewhat expected based on this passage’s popularity in today’s culture. Ahlman is very thorough in her discussion and I do feel like I learned a lot. There is much to digest and I’m not sure a single read-through will do it justice. I do appreciate that her discussion was much more Christ focused than, say, CPH’s Ladylike, which felt more condemning. The tone of this book was much nicer, too.

[Amanda Repke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a light read. Very researched and scholarly analysis.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have felt like the final chapter of Proverbs is condemning you for not living up to an ideal, then you should read this book. Because it will free you from that fear.

In this book, Elizabeth Ahlman first walks through the Proverb and shows how Proverbs 31:10-31 are an acrostic poem in the original Hebrew. She shows how the whole chapter connects to the first few chapters of Proverbs -- the first few chapters admonish a young man to avoid Dame Folly and seek out Lady Wisdom, and this one chapter again focuses on how to value a wise and godly woman, and how the language echoes the earlier chapters. This is not a portrait of a single human woman, but of Lady Wisdom, the personification of godly wisdom.

Then Ahlman shows how this portrait of a godly woman connects to a specific woman in the Bible: Ruth. She goes on to show how the verses are a portrait of the Church when it is acting according to God's will, of all Christians when they carry out their God-given vocations. Finally, she shows how they can also be a portrait of Jesus caring for his Church -- since he is Wisdom Incarnate.

As Ahlman puts it, "[t]he three ways of understanding this passage -- as a portrait of Lady Wisdom/Christ as Wisdom Incarnate, as a portrait of the Holy Church, and as a portrait of who we are in Christ -- all ultimately show us Jesus" (p. 158).

I was especially impressed by how many sources Ahlman drew on. She wasn't just coming up with these ideas and insights on her own, but building upon theological writings from many, many others writing down through the ages.

I came away with a great appreciation for how complex Hebrew poetry can be, how connected different parts of the Bible truly are, and how loving and uplifting this chapter is.

[Megan Kortze · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe this book offers an excellent analysis and breakdown of Proverbs 31 and the woman who is spoken of in the scripture. However, what this book lacked for me personally was a more life-applying part where I felt connected to the reading. Personally I am not one who is really into such structural analysis, and therefore found myself having to push through some of the readings.
I definitely have a fuller perspective of the Proverbs 31 woman, as well as learned some concepts I otherwise would have never discovered. If you enjoy learning more about scripture from a structural, contextual angle, then I recommend this book for you!

[Rebecca Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so, so good. The author studied this piece of scripture well. It was deep. Refreshing to go through a study that is truly scriptural and not sugar coated. I highly recommend this study.

[Megan Kophamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent exegesis. The book is full of great information, and especially the final few chapters help to change the common, shallow view of Proverbs 31. Four stars because it does read like a research paper.

[Jill S. Mongold · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chalked full of good information but very difficult to trudge through. If I hadn’t been doing this with a bible study group, I don’t think I’d have finished it.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Tracey Gouraud · Rating 2 out of 5]

too scholarly for a ladies bible study with mostly older women. I felt it referenced other publishers and book writers than the Bible. The references by a single name as references was not helpful.