The Proverbial Woman vs. 22

Proverbs 31:22  She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Mem is our next letter.  It is the 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  In pictograph this letter looks like a wave of water.  In Hebrew the letter means 'waters' and represents wisdom. 

Proverbs 18:4  The words a man speaks are deep water, a flowing stream, a fountain of wisdom.

There are other meanings of the word: waters, people, languages, nations. 

The form of this letter, with one side open as seen here,  is said to represent the hidden truth of God, revealed.

In the lexicon, the word used is Marbad. It is marvadim in the Hebrew version I'm using.  (Since Veronika kindly pointed out that the last two words I was struggling with did in fact have the same meaning as the lexicon words used, I will proceed with using them.  I so appreciate that help!!)  Marbad  is translated as spread or coverlet. 

A few translations in English use the word 'tapestry' and indeed the primitive root word from which marbad  is derived is rabad and it means tapestry or covering as well.  Tapestry is a very intricate bit of weaving, and  is usually quite heavy almost like a carpet or rug. This would have been a very luxurious bit of weaving for her bed.  While some translations have used the term 'bedspread', I am not aware enough of the history of tapestry or the times in which our woman lived to know if it truly was a bedspread or if rugs were spread for a bed at that time. I reference this to the story of Jael:  Sisera came to Jael's tent to seek refuge; she gave him milk and rolled him in a rug to hide him...He fell asleep and she took that opportunity to kill him. Judges 4:21.

If you read about tapestry making and the intricacy of the work done, how finely woven it is with a pattern worked atop that, then you'll understand that this work required costly threads and meticulous work, as well as a great deal of time.  That she made these coverings for her own bed bespeaks the value of her marriage bed.

But there's more...aren't we finding that there always is with this woman?

It is her bedroom that she chooses to make lovely with these coverings.  Her bedroom would be a place exclusively for her husband and herself, nost likely an interior room.  It is a place of intimacy.  Surely this is representative of her own relationship with God and the depth of her inner spiritual life. 

..her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Woman or not, these are priestly colors!  The word used for 'fine linen' is "shash"(shaysh).  It literally translates to 'white'.  It is interesting to me to note that the Hebrew word for shash is represented by two shin, another letter of the alphabet, and they look like two crowns side by side.  Purple was a royal and priestly color as well.   The color was acquired by crushing the shells of a certain shellfish from the Mediterranean Sea.  References to the white and the purple are scattered throughout Exodus chapters from chapter 25-28.  These colors were used for both the curtains that surrounded the Holy of Holies and the priests garments worn for duty in the tabernacle.

In light of the previous verse it is not hard to believe that she would wear the garments of a priest. It most surely is spiritual clothiing as much as physical clothing and further evidence of the strong role she plays in her home as an example and guide.   

In My Home This Week: Whew!

In my home this week...

...I don't know just what this coming week will hold. I only expected half of this past week, lol.  Sam and Bess stayed the night one night in the middle of the week on their way to the northern part of the state (that was unexpected). I babysat a sick Josh while they tried to do an errand in the city that night and the next morning their first stop was Urgent care with the boy.  He did not feel well, poor baby.

Friday I was trying to order my thoughts towards the arrival of my older son and grandchildren, only to get a text message moments into my planning session  that he was going to arrive FIVE hours early!  Oh dear!  That restful easy pace I'd been thinking would be mine had to go into overdrive and several ideas of things I'd meant to do were tossed away completely.

It was a rollicking visit.  Thankfully the weather was slightly cooler, the kids happily roamed and ran and roared about outdoors and then came indoors for quieter (relatively) play.  They cleaned their plates at every meal eating every bit as much as any adult, and pretty much went top speed from morning until Gramma slyly sent them all to bed a half hour early (hey they can't read clocks yet!) and were asleep by 9pm.  It was wonderful, every bit of it.  But 9pm was almost blissful and that's no lie. 

Typical  of November, we're seeing a bit more color on the trees now.  Last week it felt rather odd to have the AC running most of the afternoon (and into the early evening hours) and to watch leaves drift from the trees at the same time.  There was definitely something wrong with that picture!  Cooler weather blew back in over the weekend, but truly it's not cool in my opinion.  It's 'about right' but it's not cool.  Cool weather to me necessitates a sweater or light jacket and allows me to be quite content to keep them on!   However, the weather man insists upon calling it 'cooler' and even 'cold' (sheesh and he's supposed to be from Nebraska or something...) and so I shall refer to it as 'cool' as well, just to differentiate between pleasant and the stinking hot we've had for what feels like endless months now.

There are now chipmunks out back...if Maddie has left any of them alive.  I think chipmunks are cute, far more so than squirrels who tend to be a bit too destructive in their ways however acrobatic and funny they might be.  I was so pleased to see my first chipmunk on the place but at least twice now I've found Maddie feasting.  I have a strong suspicion that in her mind they are just so many more baby rabbits, which she seems to consider a great delicacy.  Sigh...It is her sole indiscretion.  She typically chases birds from tree to tree, or plays tag with the bees.  She admires adult rabbits from a distance.  Any other feasting she does is the result of thievery, because Misu is the huntress in this household.  And no doubt that is how Maddie came to know there were chipmunks about. 

The blue jays still are loving the bird bath under the pecan tree.  I've been checking it for water levels every day and refilling when needed.  There's one rather persistent mocking bird who is brazen enough to chase away the jays.  And when no other birds are lurking a smaller bird shows up.  I haven't gotten a good look at him just yet, so I don't know what type of bird he is.

I have a confession to make:  I've never allowed myself to like blue jays.  Granny disliked them so you see, and told me they had the habit of pushing out other's birds eggs from a nest and leaving their own to be hatched and raised (as does the cuckoo and a few others).  And too, the Blue Jay's cry is persistently 'Thief!  Thief!' which I feel is so hypocritical given their way of foisting off their children on others.  But here in the winters the jays and the red birds are the lively bits of color in an otherwise brown and  grey landscape. And this autumn I've come to appreciate how their blue and gray and white coloring complements the tobacco gold of the pecan leaves.  I don't know that I can quite forget their nature, but I suppose they are just as God made them, and so I will do my best to appreciate the finer things about them...as long as they don't scream 'Thief' at me too often!

...I plan my work week:

 I didn't get to a thing on my list of work for last week...So I'll just transfer it to this week's list.  Now that I'm officially slowing down for a little bit it's all copasetic.  No worries.  I expect things will get done during the month. 

It's Harvest week.  Bills, groceries, running errands and all that sort of thing.  I'm trying to plan ahead for the holidays since the next check is the short one and so Thanksgiving dinner must be pretty much purchased this week.  Lots of thinking carefully and at the same time being careful not to stock the pantry but just 'buy what we need'.  It shall be a struggle of sorts but I'll get it done!

Paint the kitchen cabinets (finish the last wall).

Get guest room cleaned up and ready for the next guests.  I don't know who or when but they're coming, I'm sure of that!

John has a long week off this week with no work days so I'll be at the mercy (and fun) of his spontaneous choices.  I'll leave the work plans where they are.

...I plan meals:

Pot Roast with Mashed potatoes, Green Peas and Salad, Gingerbread

Leftovers of roast dinner

Polska Kielbasa, Cabbage, Pierogi (or potatoes au gratin if I can't catch the sale at the store on piergoi)

deli takeout

Tamale Pie, Pineapple Salad

Cranberry Glazed Turkey Tenderloin (leftover makeover) Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Butternut Squash


Vegetable Beef Soup, Corn Muffins,  Apple and Pomegranite salad, Snickerdoodles 


...I plan my leisure:

I hope we can maybe visit Katie this week.  We haven't discussed days or anything yet.  (Katie, don't panic I hope by the time you read this we've talked.  We won't just pop in.)  I would love to get some good Winesap apples and see some fall color if we do go northward.

Weekend Reading

I had links set up for last weekend and simply never got time to post them.  Now I have a long list after two weeks of reading newsfeed and such.  So I thought it best to go ahead and give you all a nice list for this weekend.  It's varied enough I think to interest you.  Enjoy!

I love to shop for antiques even though I seldom purchase very many.   This list has the 'best' antique stores in small towns state by state (just one per state) but for goodness sake make sure you go visit those near you in your own states.  I can't name the number of times I've meant to pay a visit and found when I finally broke down and did it that the place had closed up just a month or two before.  It always pains me to think of what I missed seeing.

I was surprised at who owns some of my favorite brands...Big corporations have sure taken over a lot of companies.  Great for those small businesses that hopefully made a profit for their product but sometimes if you've noticed a change in a favored  brand a takeover might be why.

For those of you who enjoy The Royal Family, I thought this short video and article about the Queen of England was fun.

John mentioned the movie, "The Station Agent" to me one morning on our way to do errands.  We stumbled upon later that week and stayed up until midnight watching it.  That's a long way past our bedtime!  It's a good film and I thought I'd suggest you to those of you who have Netflix or get the Audience channel on cable. 

I was not at all surprised to find St. Augustine on this list of the 'best' small towns in America

The Proverbial Woman: Vs. 21

Proverbs 31:21  She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.

Lamed  is the twelvth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  In pictograph it is a shepherd's hook or goad.  It is considered the 'heart' of the alphabet.  The original meaning of lamed is 'to prick, sting, incite, goad'  as a shepherd might goad cattle into movement or action.  The Hebrew name of the letter itself means to teach or to learn and refers to the Torah.    

labash is our word in this verse.  It means 'to clothe' but the primitive root word means "to wrap around".

On the surface of things this woman uses common sense and knows that there are seasons.  She has prepared her family for the season of snow.  We don't have snow often in Georgia, but I would think in an area where there was deep snow that red would most surely stand out.  It is unlikely that anyone wearing red would be 'lost' in snow.

Interestingly, when the Hebrew meanings of the words are studied in depth we learn that the scarlet dye was obtained by grinding the dried body of an insect.  It is only the female which produces this color.  I thought this spoke volumes about how our Proverbial Woman has sacrificed herself, in a sense, for her family.

As well we cannot forget that it was by blood that the Israelites were saved during that horrible (and wonderful!) night in Egypt when the Israelites were finally able to walk out of the slavery of generations.  And that was a foreshadowing of the blood of the Lamb of God slain for our sins in years to come.

Frugal Fridays: Making Changes

One of the pair of tables Mama gifted me this week.  They were purchased from one of her new neighbors whose wife wanted to replace them with square tables.  I am pleased as punch with this gift ad thrilled at the quality of the tables.  Mama got them at a bargain price.


Saturday:  Not the sorts of changes we've been making in our home but switching up some of our financial things.  I'll post about it early this week.

My first task today was fighting a pile of ants that came in from an unknown spot and got into the two biscuits I meant to put in the freezer to save for stuffing.  No savings there!  I had to throw them outdoors and spent the first 30 minutes of morning spraying, wiping and sweeping up dead ants.  Yuck.

Made roast beef hash for dinner.  I cut up extra potatoes so we'd have some for potato soup after church tomorrow.

Chopped extra onions to go into sloppy joes and potato soup.

Stacked dishes.  I never meant to be cooking today but we went out yesterday afternoon and that threw me off my work plans.

Made chicken salad and egg salad for sandwich fillings this week.

Bess's mom, Jenny, sent me two big pill cases, the sort that hold a week's worth of pills.  I have one for morning meds and one for evening.  I used a chalk pen to write "a" for am on the one box and "p" for the evening ones so I'd not mix them up.  I don't trust myself to remember which color is meant for which part of the day!  I am very grateful  for  this kind and thoughtful gift.  It bothered Bess that I set up dosages in two paper cups each day.  I explained that I hadn't found a pill box big enough to hold all of my pills.  Jenny is a nurse and knew just where to source what was needed.  Wasn't that thoughtful?

Questions, Answers & Comments, Oh My!

Can you believe it's November?  No, neither can I!  And yet it is.  October is a memory and the weeks ahead suddenly seem to press in upon us.  It all feels like a downhill rush after October doesn't it?   I have not highlighted post this time around, but I did go through and reply to most questions and commented on a few comments, too.  I'm between guests at the moment and have much to do to get ready for the next group, but wanted to get out a post! Aside from the Proverbial Woman posts, all other replies are in order of posting from the first ones this month to the last. 

The Proverbial Woman posts will continue until I finish the series up.  I hope to do that in the next week but we'll see how long it takes to research some of these verses and words, lol.  I knew it was delving deeper but I hadn't realized just how much I'd be stretched in writing these posts from a spiritual perspective rather than the practical.  Georgene did ask about what resources I used for these posts and I'll share them with you all.  I used Hebrew4Christians.com to get an understanding of the Hebrew letters.  I used bereansonline, the Eshet Chayil and this site to get a better understanding of the Hebrew meanings.  I used blueletterbible.org  lexicon and Strong's commentaries to get a better understanding of Hebrew meanings of root words.  I have used the random other website but I didn't bookmark those and can't tell you which they were. 

Debbie in KS  John and I attended Messianic synagogues for  about 4 years total with a year's break  between year 3 and 4.  We wanted to learn more about the Jewish roots of the Christian faith which frankly was glossed over or 'forgotten' very often by pastors.  The Bible was ALL written from a Hebrew/Jewish standpoint even though the New Testament was largely recorded originally in the Greek language.  Those men who became the first Christians were many of them of the Jewish faith.  Even the Gentiles of the region in that era knew life more from a Jewish standpoint than any other.  It was this fact that led us to go more deeply into study of Torah and Old Testament.  We've discovered some wonderful teachers along the way:  Perry Stone, Jonathon Bernis, Larry Huch, and John Hagee are some of the most outstanding.  I find that today ten years after we'd begun our journey that more and more we hear from the pulpit reminders that our faith has it Hebraic  roots.  Another time perhaps I will write a more indepth post about our experiences.  We feel strongly that we should keep a Sabbath day (not necessarily Saturday but we do) and we do a Sabbath evening prayer and candle lighting service complete with kiddush (communion) each Friday evening.  The Messianic years were pivotal years for us and richly rewarding.   The essence of the tenets of the denomination is that Christ was/is the Messiah.  Many Messianics are Jewish and grew up in the Jewish faith but had a spiritual revelation of Christ in their lives.  Hence many of the Jewish traditions were brought forward with an awareness that all Torah and Talmud foretell the coming of the Messiah who did in fact come to earth. It is a lovely blending of New Testament with Old in Messianic synagogues. 

The Proverbial Woman: Vs 20 Compassionate To Others

Proverbs 31:20  She opens her hands to the poor and reaches her hands out to the needy.

Kaf is our next letter and the pictograph looks like the open palm of the hand.  The literal meaning is 'palm'.  During Shabat service, there is a special moment when the children are called to the front of the church.  The rabbi and the congregation face the children, with arms raised and hands extended palm facing them.  Then the blessing of the children is spoken.  Just so, this letter is meant to represent the palm of God's hand facing us, as he gives his blessing upon us. There is an implied meaning of not just 'palm' but what is held in the open palm of the hand.   Kaf comes from a root word, kafah which means 'to bend or bow down'.

The word used here is 'kapah.'   It is referring to the  gesture 'she opens', although blueletterbible.org does not use the word for this verse.  It does not even use the word used in the previous verse.  The lexicon lists the word as 'kaph' which means 'spoon'.   The translation from the Hebrew is 'she opens'. Just as a spoon holds something in the bowl of it,  her hand is not empty.  There is something in her hand for the poor. 

In every Jewish home there is a small box, called a tzadakah, and coins are dropped into it each week. This money is meant to be used towards a charitable cause or a person in need.  So this woman has something in her hand and  opens it in order to allow the other person to receive that offering.