The Bible gave a vivid description of the qualities of a virtuous woman in Proverbs 31: 10 – 31. It painted a picture of a woman whose character is founded on faith in the word of God.
The power of a virtuous woman is mainly geared towards uplifting and making her husband look good and being a life coach to their children.
Hence she follows her husband to build their home with love, truth, and discipline. But the proverbs 31 virtuous woman honors God by being a keeper at home (Titus 2: 5), she is reliable, loyal, and respectful to her husband, and she is never selfish in her ways; her husband and family are her most priority before herself.
The Bible says, “many women have done noble things, but you surpass them all” (Proverbs 31: 29); because she isn’t selfish, she will not neglect her home and family values to focus on herself and her career.
She is not just a blessing to her household alone, she is also a blessing to people around her environment and the society at large, and she is in high esteem by many because she displays integrity in her attitude.
A woman with the qualities of a virtuous woman, as written in Proverbs 31: 10 – 31, is someone that can be described as a rare gem in this era, but for a man to meet such a woman as a life partner is indeed one of the best gifts that any man can get from God.
As we intend to further discuss the qualities of a virtuous woman, we need to understand what makes a woman virtuous; let us take it a step further as we briefly discuss what is virtuous.
What is Virtuous?
The Hebrew word translated as virtuous is the word ‘chayil,’ which means strength, efficiency, wealth, and ability that comes from working hard and persevering. It is the same word used to describe Ruth in the book of Ruth 3: 11.
So virtuous, according to the Bible, is the wealth of strength one shows in times of challenges; it is one’s ability to be well organized in times of chaos and to always be useful in doing what is right.
Let’s use the meaning of the word virtuous to look into the characteristics of the virtuous woman in proverbs 31 as we carefully elaborate on the meaning of virtuous woman.
Meaning Of Virtuous Woman
The meaning of a virtuous woman is clearly defined in Proverbs 31: 10 – 31 to be a woman who has faith in God, who honors and fears God, who remains loyal and helpful to her husband, and who is selfless to her children and society.
She is one whose husband puts full confidence in her because she is reliable and indeed a helpmeet to him. She boosts and instills confidence, strength, and courage in her husband and brings a good name to him.
She is a woman who allows God to show Himself through her to her entire household and the society at large because her standards are Godly and not of this world. Hence she is also seen and taken to be above the nobles of this world.
With a close look at the meaning of the word virtuous, both from the English and the Biblical (Hebrew) perspective, you will see that the words used to explain the meaning of virtuous are words that have this sense of continuity.
That is, for one to be term virtuous, the person must have repeatedly exhibited strength in multiple times of challenges and shown efficiency on different occasions when needed. All of these abilities are what make up a person’s moral standard. Hence such a person is virtuous.
Applying this to the meaning of a virtuous woman, it is safe to say a virtuous woman is someone who has exhibited strength in so many ways to help her husband in difficult times and has demonstrated efficiency in organizing things in the absence of the husband.
So a virtuous woman is her husband’s helpmeet, his strength in time of his weakness, and can well represent him in his absence because “she sets about her work vigorously: her arms are strong for her tasks” (Proverbs 31: 17 NIV). Many women today seek to become independent financially by trying to generate their income and become businesswomen.
Some have become careerwomen, which is good and positive, as it is one of the traits of a virtuous woman. (Proverbs 31: 16).
But today, many have neglected their duties at home, their children, and their husbands and have clung more to their work and career. They have unconsciously lost a sense of family values, which is where they’ve missed it.
12 Qualities Of A Virtuous Woman
1. She Has The Fear Of God
The first and most important of all the qualities of a virtuous woman is that she fears God. I had to bring this as the first on the list because every other quality is a result of this.
No natural human can have such a virtue. That is, for any woman to possess such virtuous qualities, she must have a fear of God.
It is her expression of the fear of God that affects her actions and relationship with her husband and with people. Her wise actions and selfless decisions are all based on the fact that she fears the Lord. Proverbs 31: 30 (NIV) says, “charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”
2. She Is Wise
One of the qualities of a virtuous woman is that she is wise, and as we can see, her wisdom is described here in Proverbs 31: 10 – 31 in how she builds her home and how she coordinates her family and her business.
It is only one who is truly blessed with divine wisdom that can exhibit such characteristics. As listed in Proverbs 31, every one of her actions is an expression of wisdom, even the way she speaks. The Bible says, “She speaks with wisdom; and faithful instruction is on her tongue” (Proverbs 31: 26 NIV).
And the secret of her wisdom is that she fears the Lord (Proverbs 31: 30b). The Bible says that “the fear of the LORD s the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9: 10a NIV).
3. She Is A Philanthropist
Another quality of a virtuous woman, as listed in Proverbs 31: 10 – 31, is that she engages in philanthropy. Verse 20 of proverbs 31 says (NIV), “she opens her arms to the poor, and extend her hands to the needy.”
Her philanthropy is something that comes from the inside of her heart because she truly fears the LORD; hence she knows that in every portion of wealth one gets, God requires that one should set out something for the poor. And she is not okay with just giving a little, so she gives to the poor and also cares for the needy and the afflicted.
4. She Is A Homemaker/Housekeeper
A virtuous woman knows how to build her home, and she also knows how to manage the affairs around the house. Verse 27 of Proverbs 31 (NIV) says, “she watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”
This also shows that she is not an idle person, nor is she lazy. She is mostly busy putting things in place in her home, even to the extent that at night, she still gets up to prepare food for the family.
Proverbs 31 15 (NIV) says, “she gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.” This implies that she does not sit down and pass orders to her female servants.
She also gets involved in doing what is needful around the house, to make the home, and keep the house, a sign of good leadership.
5. She Prepares Her Home For Stormy Days
One of the qualities of a virtuous woman, as seen here in proverbs 31, is that she prepares her home for stormy days. Verse 21 (NIV) says, “When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.”
The snow indicates the storms in life and the challenges that will come. Therefore, she works for them to have warm clothes, which indicates the comfort she tries to bring in stormy times.
A virtuous woman makes an effort to plan ahead for times like this to prepare the family for stormy days of life. She is the kind of woman that goes the extra mile to make sure that her family is comfortable in challenging times.
6. She Is Not Selfish
The virtuous woman is not selfish, and in all that she does, her family usually comes first before her. Her activities are driven by the priority of caring for her family.
So in everything she does, her drive is to look after her family and build and care for her home. That’s why she is industrious, she makes clothes and sells them to help meet the needs in the home, and her schedule is usually circled around her household.
7. She Is Strong And Brave
Proverbs 31: 25 “she is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” Another quality a virtuous woman has is that she is clothed with strength; this signifies her bravery in doing what is right.
She is strong and confident always to do the right thing, even when it doesn’t seem to be going well or the expected future outcome doesn’t seem favorable.
All she cares about is pleasing God, and she demonstrates this by how she is loyal to her husband and committed to her children, doing what is right towards them even in the face of distress.
8. She Is Reliable
Proverbs 31: 11 – 12 (NIV) says, “her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.”
A virtuous woman is reliable, and because she is reliable, she is trustworthy. Her actions and how she deals with issues and conducts her life have proven that, so her husband relies on and trusts her.
This is because of how loyal she is to her husband, so he gives her his wealth to manage, he does not keep them away from her or out of her reach so that she won’t access it, and instead, she is trusted as one who is loyal, and that can manage the husband’s wealth and industry.
9. She Gives Her Husband Peace Of Mind
One of the qualities of a virtuous woman is that she gives her husband peace of mind by totally submitting to him. That is why she is reliable and trustworthy, that he can, without fear or jealousy, give her his wealth to manage.
Because he knows that since she is loyal to him, she will certainly manage it very well for the good and betterment of the family and not for herself alone.
10. She Brings Respect And A Good Reputation To Her Husband
It is said that one of the good reputations any man can have must begin from his home. Proverbs 31: 23 (NIV) says, “her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.”
This is because her domestic contributions to his life have proven to be a key ingredient to the secret to his success. When he is faced with troubles and challenges out there, he runs back home to her, and she gives him comfort and rest. He re-energizes to go out the next day and do well.
The community has seen that her domestic support helps him to be who he is, and this brings a good name to him. She has made significant contributions to her husband’s success and her community.
A virtuous woman is known by many in her community, and her good deeds have sounded her trumpet for her. Even her husband is recognized and respected by many in society because of her.
11. She Is Industrious
A virtuous woman is an entrepreneur. She engages in diverse industrious activities, working hard to be productive. When she meets success, she reinvests more to make more wealth for her family.
Proverbs 31: 16 – 18 (NIV) says, “she considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.”
Her entrepreneurship is not just only in buying and selling alone. And she even goes into production. Proverbs 31: 24 (NIV) says, “she makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.”
12. She Is A Caring And A Loving Mother
A virtuous woman is a loving and caring Mother who works hard to provide food, safety, and comfort for her children. She will go the extra mile to ensure her children and family is comfortable.
The Bible says she wakes up early to prepare a meal for them (Proverbs 31: 15), and she also has planned before time for stormy days to make sure her children find warmth and comfort when it snows (Proverbs 31: 21), that why she is not worried when it snows.
She always puts her family’s needs as her own personal needs, so she is not selfish. No wonder the Bible says that her children rise up and call her blessed and her husband also praises her (Proverbs 31: 28).
Names Of Virtuous Women In The Bible
The Bible only directly addressed Ruth (Ruth 3: 11) as a virtuous woman. But based on the meaning of the word virtuous, which means strength, efficiency, wealth, and ability, there is a list of women in the Bible that we can call virtuous women. This is because they exhibited these characteristics in their actions, and a few of them are listed below.
1. Ruth (The Book Of Ruth)
Let’s begin with Ruth, after which the book of Ruth is titled. Her husband died at a very young age, and though she was still very young and had the right to move on with her life to get married to someone else, she decided to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi.
2. Hannah (1 Samuel 1)
Another one on the list is Hannah, the wife of El-Kanah, who could not bear him a child. But she never gave up. She persisted in prayers, having faith and trusting in God. Finally, God opened her womb to give her a child she gave as a gift to God that he might serve in the temple, fulfilling a vow she made to God.
3. Esther (The Book Of Esther)
The third person we have on our list is Esther, a simple Jewish girl raised by her uncle Mordecai. During her time, a plot was made against Israel to be annihilated.
Still, Esther encouraged herself and presented her case to the King uninvited, she trusted God putting her life on the line for her people, and God saw her through, and her people were not annihilated.
4. Deborah Judges 4 – 5
According to the book of Judges, Deborah defies many of the stereotypes of Biblical women. She is the only female judge ever mentioned of the people of Israel, judging and prophesying at the same time. She was also part of the military leadership in battle.
5. Mariam Exodus 2: 1 – 10
Mariam is the sister of Moses, she is known for her commitment to Moses right from when she was a little child, and even when she became an adult, she was still right by his side as a prophetess assisting Moses in his ministry. Even the book of Micah referenced her as one of the people God used to deliver Israel out of Egypt.
6. Rahab
Rahab was the prostitute from Jericho that helped the Israelite spies when they came to spy on Jericho. She and her family were spared from destruction because of her faith in the God of Israel, and she was even listed in Hebrews 11: 31 as one of the heroes of faith in the Old Testament.
7. Abigail 1 Samuel 25
Abigail was a wise and wonderful woman who made the most of life’s situation. Though she was married to a foolish man, she was still applying wisdom in her marriage, going before her husband to calm situations and try to fix the things that he spoils.
8. Elizabeth
Elizabeth is the mother of John the Baptist and the wife of Zachariah. She was barren and old, conceiving a child just like Sarah. But she remained faithful to God, trusting in God for a child. God made it possible and gave her a child who became the forerunner of Jesus Christ.
9. Huldah 2 Kings 22 And 2 Chronicles 34
Huldah was a prophetess known for her boldness during the time of the kings to always declare the counsel and will of God to the kings. This is a great virtue when a woman is bold enough to speak out in the face of despair.
10. Jael Judges 4
Jael is the wife of Heber, known for her bravery in killing Sisera, the Army General of the Canaanite King Jabin, who was oppressing the people of Israel. Her wisdom and bravery are a great virtue and an example for every woman.
11. Sarah
Sarah is Abraham’s wife, and her virtue is seen in how she puts her faith in God, believing in the promise of God despite the length it time it took to come. And at the age of 90, she gave birth to a child. Today she is a perfect example of how God keeps His promises to anyone.
Conclusion
A virtuous woman fears the Lord, her conduct and activities, and all goals and aspirations are geared towards expressing this fear and reverend she has for God. And this is evident in how she is loyal to her husband and selfless to her children and the community.
Her strength and bravery are in how she will always do what is suitable for her husband and children to encourage and build her home; a virtuous woman’s goal is mostly about building and taking care of her home.
Sharing is caring!
