Proverbs - 31:22



22 She makes for herself carpets of tapestry. Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Proverbs 31:22.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
She hath made for herself clothing of tapestry: fine linen, and purple is her covering.
She maketh herself coverlets; her clothing is byssus and purple.
Ornamental coverings she hath made for herself, Silk and purple are her clothing.
She makes for herself cushions of needlework; her clothing is fair linen and purple.
She maketh for herself coverlets; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
She has made embroidered clothing for herself. Fine linen and purple is her garment.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Silk - Better, fine linen, the byssus of Egypt.

She maketh herself coverings of tapestry -
13. She is not regardless either of her own person, or of the decent, proper appearance of her presses and wardrobe. She has coverings or carpeting for her guests to sit upon; she has also tapestry, מרבדים marbaddim, either tapestry, carpeting, or quilted work for her beds; and her own clothing is שש shesh, fine flax, or linen cloth, and purple; probably for a cloak or mantle. The fine linen or cotton cloth of Egypt is probably intended. I have often seen it wrapping the bodies of mummies; it is something like our coarse calico. The purple was supposed to have been dyed by a precious liquor obtained from the pinna magna, a large shellfish, of the muscle kind, found on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. I have seen some of them nearly two feet in length. But it is a doubt whether any such liquor was ever obtained from this or any other fish; and the story itself is invented merely to hide the secret, the proper method of dying purple; which was kept so well that it certainly died with the ancients.

She maketh herself coverings of tapestry,.... For the furniture and ornament of her house, or for her bed; which may signify the ordinances of the Gospel, and the decent, orderly, and beautiful administration of them, wherein the church has communion with her Lord; see Song 1:16. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "garments of divers colours", such as was Joseph's coat, Genesis 37:3; and, in a spiritual sense, may be applied to the above mentioned garments, and agrees with what goes before and follows;
her clothing is silk and purple; the Tyrian purple, which, Strabo says (x), is the best; or purple silk, silk of a purple colour: or rather fine linen of this colour; a dress suitable to a queen, as the church is, who is represented as clothed with clothing of wrought gold, with raiment of needlework, Psalm 45:9; see Ezekiel 16:10. This is not her own natural clothing, for she has none by nature that deserves the name; nor of her own working, not works of righteousness done by her; nor of her own putting on, but what Christ has wrought out for her, and clothes her with; and which is very rich in itself, the best robe, very ornamental to her; her wedding garment, and which will last for ever; see Isaiah 61:10.
(x) Geograph. l. 16. p. 521.

coverings of tapestry--or, "coverlets," that is, for beds.
silk--or, "linen" (compare Exodus 26:1; Exodus 27:9)
and purple--that is, the most costly goods.

From the protecting, and at the same time ornamental clothing of the family, the poet proceeds to speak of the bed-places, and of the attire of the housewife:
22 מ She prepareth for herself pillows;
Linen and purple is her raiment.
Regarding מרבדּים (with ב raphatum), vid., at Proverbs 7:16. Thus, pillows or mattresses (Aquila, Theodotion, περιστρώματα; Jerome, stragulatam vestem; Luther, Decke = coverlets) to make the bed soft and to adorn it (Kimchi: ליפּות על המטות, according to which Venet. κόσμια); Symmachus designates it as ἀμφιτάπους, i.e., τάπητες (tapetae, tapetia, carpets), which are hairy (shaggy) on both sides.
(Note: Vid., Lumbroso, Recherches sur l'Economie politique de l'Egypte sous les Lagides (Turin, 1870), p. 111; des tapis de laine de premere qualit, pourpres, laineux des deux cts (ἀμφίταποι).)
Only the lxx makes out of it δισσὰς χλαίνας, lined overcoats, for it brings over שׁנים. By עשׂתה־לּהּ it is not meant that she prepares such pillows for her own bed, but that she herself (i.e., for the wants of her house) prepares them. But she also clothes herself in costly attire. שׁשׁ (an Egyptian word, not, as Hebrews., derived from שׁוּשׁ, cogn. ישׁשׁ, to be white) is the old name for linen, according to which the Aram. translates it by בּוּץ, the Greek by βύσσος, vid., Genesis, pp. 470, 557, to which the remark is to be added, that the linen [Byssus], according to a prevailing probability, was not a fine cotton cloth, but linen cloth. Luther translates שׁשׁ, here and elsewhere, by weisse Seide [white silk] (σηρικόν, i.e., from the land of the Σῆρες, Revelation 18:12); but the silk, is first mentioned by Ezekiel under the name of משׁי; and the ancients call the country where silk-stuff (bombycina) was woven, uniformly Assyria. ארגּמן (Aram. ארגּון, derived by Benfey, with great improbability, from the rare Sanscrit word râgavant, red-coloured; much rather from רגם = רקם, as stuff of variegated colour) is red purple; the most valuable purple garments were brought from Tyre and Sidon.

Tapestry - For the furniture of her house. Silk - Which was agreeable to her high quality.

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