Proverbs 31:30 - Exposition

SHIN . The writer confirms the husband's praise by assigning to it its just grounds. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain. Chen, "favour," may signify either the good will with which one is regarded, or gracefulness, beauty. As being in close parallelism with the next words, it is best taken as referring to loveliness of form. Mere gracefulness, if considered as a token of a wife's work and usefulness, is misleading; and beauty is transitory and often dangerous. Neither of them is of any real value unless accompanied by religion. As the gnomic poet says—

΄ὴ κρῖν ὁρῶν τὸ κάλλος ἀλλὰ τὸν τρόπον .

"Judge not at eight of beauty, but of life."

But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. So we come back to the maxim with which the whole book began, that the foundation of all excellence is the fear of the Lord ( Proverbs 1:7 ). Such, too, is the conclusion of Ecclesiastes ( Ecclesiastes 12:13 ), "Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." Septuagint, "False are charms ( ἀρεσκειαι ), and vain is the beauty of woman; for a prudent woman is blessed, and let her praise the fear of the Lord."