Amsal 9:3

9:3 She has sent out her female servants;

she calls out on the highest places ¹  of the city.

Amsal 31:15

31:15 She also gets up ²  while it is still night,

and provides food ³  for her household and a portion ⁴  to her female servants.

Amsal 27:27

27:27 And there will be enough goat’s milk for your food, ⁵ 

for the food of your household,

and for the sustenance ⁶  of your servant girls.

Amsal 30:23

30:23 under an unloved ⁷  woman who is married,

and under a female servant who dispossesses ⁸  her mistress.

[9:3]  ¹ tn The text uses two synonymous terms in construct to express the superlative degree.

[31:15]  ² tn The first word of the sixth line begins with ו (vav), the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

[31:15]  ³ sn The word for “food” is טֶרֶף (teref, “prey”; KJV “meat”), another word that does not normally fit the domestic scene. This word also is used in a similar way in Ps 111:5, which says the Lord gives food. Here it is the noble woman who gives food to her family and servants.

[31:15]  ⁴ sn The word חֹק (khoq) probably means “allotted portion of food” as before, but some suggest it means the task that is allotted to the servants, meaning that the wise woman gets up early enough to give out the work assignments (Tg. Prov 31:15, RSV, NRSV, TEV, NLT). That is possible, but seems an unnecessary direction for the line to take. Others, however, simply wish to delete this last colon, leaving two cola and not three, but that is unwarranted.

[27:27]  ⁵ sn This part of the proverb shows the proper interplay between human labor and divine provision. It teaches people to take care of what they have because it will not last forever.

[27:27]  ⁶ tn Heb “life”; KJV, NAB “maintenance”; NRSV “nourishment.”

[30:23]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew term means “hated,” from שָׂנֵא (sane’), a feminine passive participle. The text does not say why she is hated; some have speculated that she might be odious (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB) or unattractive, but perhaps she is married to someone incapable of showing love (e.g., Gen 29:31, 33; Deut 21:15; Isa 60:5). Perhaps the strange situation of Jacob was in the mind of the sage, for Leah was described as “hated” (Gen 29:31).

[30:23]  ⁸ tn The verb יָרַשׁ (yarash) means either (1) “to possess; to inherit” or (2) “to dispossess.” Often the process of possessing meant the dispossessing of those already there (e.g., Hagar and Sarah in Gen 16:5; 21:10); another example is the Israelites’ wars against the Canaanites.