Woman of Valour

We all know the famous "Eshet Chayil" of Proverbs 31:10. Commonly it is translated as "Woman of Valour" to indicate great deeds. The text does go ahead and give us a long list of deeds which this woman does. The same attribute is also used to describe men of great deeds such as

Exodus 18:21

וְאַתָּה תֶחֱזֶה מִכָּל-הָעָם אַנְשֵׁי-חַיִל יִרְאֵי אֱלֹהִים, אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת--שֹׂנְאֵי בָצַע; וְשַׂמְתָּ עֲלֵהֶם, שָׂרֵי אֲלָפִים שָׂרֵי מֵאוֹת, שָׂרֵי חֲמִשִּׁים, וְשָׂרֵי עֲשָׂרֹת

"But you should choose from among all the people competent men who are God-fearing, honest and incorruptible to be their leaders, in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens."

Genesis 47:6

אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, לְפָנֶיךָ הִוא--בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ, הוֹשֵׁב אֶת-אָבִיךָ וְאֶת-אַחֶיךָ: יֵשְׁבוּ, בְּאֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן--וְאִם-יָדַעְתָּ וְיֶשׁ-בָּם אַנְשֵׁי-חַיִל, וְשַׂמְתָּם שָׂרֵי מִקְנֶה עַל-אֲשֶׁר-לִי

"and the land of Egypt lies before you. Have your father and brothers live on the best property in the country — let them live in the land of Goshen. Moreover, if you know that some of them are particularly competent, put them in charge of my livestock.”

Word Meaning

The two common aspects of a person of valour in the Biblical text are:

a. The best choice for any necessary action

b. Full loyalty and trust

However there is a problem. The word used as the attribute for woman does not mean valour. חיל-Chayil is more commonly used in Biblical Hebrew to indicate the result of a productive action, or a treasure/valued item one may have. Examples of this can be found in:

Numbers 31:9

Isaiah 30:6

Zechariah 14:14

The case of Ruth

An interesting case is found in Ruth 3:11.

וְעַתָּה, בִּתִּי אַל-תִּירְאִי, כֹּל אֲשֶׁר-תֹּאמְרִי, אֶעֱשֶׂה-לָּךְ: כִּי יוֹדֵעַ כָּל-שַׁעַר עַמִּי, כִּי אֵשֶׁת חַיִל אָתְּ

"And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you everything you say, for all the city leaders among my people know that you are a woman of good character."

Ruth was considered an Eshet Chayil but what is interesting is that she was as such in relation to Boaz. Her fame of being a woman of action is in direct relation to her loyalty to Boaz and his family. She did not abandon her mother in law, and remained loyal to Boaz and his field. Hence she is a treasure to Boaz, not a treasure standing by itself. Her value is measured by the eye of Boaz, and is not an objective perspective, but rather subjective to how she is perceived by others.

Conclusion

The conclusion of the above is that it is possible to argue that an Eshet Chayil by no means is not a woman of valour, but that the concept was used to indicate that for the husband or family she is a treasure. Her deeds are not overlooked, but the focus is the reaction of others to here.

Source: Chayim Cohen, "Meanings created due to mistakes", in Sa'arey Lashon A, pp.32-36