The Meaning of Proverbs 31:14 Explained

Proverbs 31:14

KJV: She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

YLT: She hath been as ships of the merchant, From afar she bringeth in her bread.

Darby: She is like the merchants' ships: she bringeth her food from afar;

ASV: She is like the merchant-ships; She bringeth her bread from afar.

Discover Proverbs 31:14

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Proverbs 31:14?

MEANING: What does Proverbs 31:14 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Proverbs 31:14 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Proverbs 31:14?

What is the context of Proverbs 31:14?

The Woman Who Fears the Lord (Proverbs 31:10-31)
Description of a Worthy Woman (Proverbs 31:10-31)
In Praise of a Capable Wife (Proverbs 31:10-31)
A Wife of Noble Character (Proverbs 31:10-31)
Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character (Proverbs 31:10-31)
An Excellent Woman .[ f .] (Proverbs 31:10-31)
The Virtuous Wife (Proverbs 31:10-31)
The Honorable Woman (Proverbs 31:10-31)

KJV Reverse Interlinear

She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

What does Proverbs 31:14 Mean?

Context Summary

Proverbs 31:10-31 - "her Works Praise Her"

The ideal woman, as portrayed here, is a wife. She is the stay and confidence of her husband. Not only when she comes as a young bride into his home, in the glory and beauty of her youth, nor only when her womanly beauty holds his admiration, but long after and to the end of life she does him good. She is always busy. She is thrifty in administering his earnings. If he brings the money to her, she expends it economically for their common weal. When a friend of mine was sixty, his wife came to him with an annuity which she had purchased for them both, by her wise administration of the money entrusted to her through forty years of married life.

It is in the home-place that the man's strength is gathered for public life. The woman in the home communicates the inspiration and strength which make him "known in the gates." Her secret, unobtrusive loyalty, counsel, and thrift inspire a growing depth of appreciation; so that the man who chose her in the spring will say of her amid the snows of age, "Other women may be good and true, but "˜thou excellest them all.'" [source]

Chapter Summary: Proverbs 31

¹ Lemuel's lesson of chastity and temperance
⁶ The afflicted are to be comforted and defended
¹⁰ The praise and properties of a good wife

What do the individual words in Proverbs 31:14 mean?

She is like the ships merchant from afar she brings her food

הָ֭יְתָה כָּאֳנִיּ֣וֹת סוֹחֵ֑ר מִ֝מֶּרְחָ֗ק תָּבִ֥יא לַחְמָֽהּ

הָ֭יְתָה	She is
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular Root: אֶהְיֶה Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כָּאֳנִיּ֣וֹת	like the ships
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, feminine plural construct Root: אֳנִיָּה Sense: ship.
סוֹחֵ֑ר	merchant
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular Root: סָחַר Sense: to go around, go about, travel about in, go about in trade.
מִ֝מֶּרְחָ֗ק	from afar
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular Root: מֶרְחָק Sense: distant place, distance, far country.
תָּבִ֥יא	she brings
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person feminine singular Root: בֹּוא Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
לַחְמָֽהּ	her food
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person feminine singular Root: לֶחֶם Sense: bread, food, grain.

What are the major concepts related to Proverbs 31:14?

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Similar Scriptures for Proverbs 31:14

		Ezekiel 27:3-36 [1]
		2 Chronicles 9:10 [1]
		1 Kings 9:26-28 [1]
		Proverbs 31:24 [0]