Proverbs 31:24

She maketh fine linen, and selleth [it],.... She not only seeks wool and flax, and spins it, but makes it up into fine linen, which she disposes of to advantage to herself and family.

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The praises of a virtuous woman; forming a Hebrew acrostic. The 22 years begin with the several 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet consecutively; M.

Curiously wrought of linen, and gold, or other precious materials, , which in those parts were used both by men, , and by women, .

Proverbs 31:24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth [it]; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.Ver. 24. She maketh fine linen and sells it.] Such sindons as our Saviour’ s dead body was wrapt in, and for girdles. It was anciently no shame for a queen to make gain of her handiwork.

Verse 24. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it] 15. She is here remarkable for carrying on a traffic of splendid and ornamental dresses, or habits, as she is, Proverbs 31:13, for "a coarser manufacture," The סדון sidon is supposed to come from [Arabic] in Arabic; and to signify a kind of loose inner garment, shirt, chemise, or fine muslin covering. Some of these are so exceedingly fine, like the abrooam, that when spread on the grass, they are scarcely discernible. Some such garments as these are still worn by ladies in India and in China, and are so thin and transparent, that every part of the body may be seen through them. I have many representations of persons clothed in this way before me both of the Chinese, the Hindoo, and the Malabar ladies. Probably this eminent Jewish matron had such articles manufactured in her own house. She dealt also in girdles. These are still a very general and very expensive article of dress. I have seen them made of silk, and highly ornamented with gold and silver thread, worked into flowers and various curious devices. The loose Eastern robe is confined by these; and the word may also take in the shawl of the turban, which is often superb and costly. It is properly the girdle for the head. As these were generally woven, the consumption was great; and an able artist must have had a good trade. The Arabic gives a remarkable translation of this verse: "She maketh towels, (or tablecloths,) and sells them to the inhabitants of Basra, (a city in Mesopotamia,) and fine linens, and sells them to the Canaanites." My old MS. Bible has, Sandel sche made and sold, and a litil girdil sche toke to Chanane. Perhaps לכנעני lakkenaani, for the merchant, may stand here for לכנענים lakkenaanim, the Canaanites.

24. fine linen] Rather, linen garments. The word, which is not the same as that rendered fine linen in Proverbs 31:22, denotes not the material but a made-up garment, σινδόνας LXX.; sindonem, Vulg. It is rendered sheets, A.V., but linen garments, R.V., in Judges 14:12-13, where it is described in the note in this Series as “a wide flowing under-garment of linen, worn next the body.” See Isaiah 3:23. girdles] These were often richly worked and very valuable. See 1 Samuel 18:4; 2 Samuel 18:11. the merchant] Lit. the Canaanite (as in Job 41:6 [Heb. 40:30]; Isaiah 23:8), because the Canaanites were the great merchants of the time. See note in this Series on Zechariah 14:21. This verse adds as it were the finishing stroke to the picture. While all home duties in every relation, to her husband, her children, her servants, and to the poor around her, are fully and faithfully discharged, she is yet able to increase her store by the sale of what the industry of herself and her maidens has produced. At the same time it throws an interesting light upon the state of society, in which the mistress of a large household and the wife of one who took his place “among the elders of the land’ did not think it unworthy of her to engage in honest trade.

Fine linen - Not the same word as in Proverbs 31:22 note; it describes a made-up garment Isaiah 3:23. Merchant - literally, “Canaanite,” i. e., the Phoenician merchant.

24. Fine linen — ργιο, (sadhin,) fine undergarments; those worn next the body — shirts. In the East these are frequently made of very fine and elegant texture — transparent gauze — and worn by persons of rank, especially ladies.