What does it mean to be a “prudent wife”?
The Hebrew word translated into English as “prudent” here is found in the Strong’s Concordance as reference #7919, śāḵal:
כַל sâkal, saw-kal’; a primitive root; to be (causatively, make or act) circumspect and hence, intelligent:—consider, expert, instruct, prosper, (deal) prudent(-ly), (give) skill(-ful), have good success, teach, (have, make to) understand(-ing), wisdom, (be, behave self, consider, make) wise(-ly), guide wittingly.
The word is used 63 times in the Old Testament and has been translated also as: wise, understanding, prosper, consider, instruct and others.
This Proverb reads fully:
Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.
Proverbs 19:14
This wife is being compared to wealth inherited from earthly fathers, but she is provided from the LORD, thereby being the more valuable gift. Bible commentary from Guzik says: “A wife who is not prudent may waste whatever wealth a man has. Every man with a prudent, wise wife should give thanks to the LORD.”
Another commentary is quoted: “Thus the proverb instructs the disciple to look to God (Proverbs 15:8, 29; 16:3; cf. Genesis 24:14) and find his favor through wisdom to obtain from him a competent wife (Proverbs 8:35; 18:22)…. As a result, when a man has a competent wife, he praises God, not himself.” (Waltke)
Being wise in all matters is certainly a desirable characteristic not limited to wives or even females. We should all seek to be temperate and wise in all of our dealings.
To learn more about wisdom listen to, “Is Anyone Listening to the Wisdom of the Bible?”
