Proverbs 31:16
in Proverbs 31She appraises a field and buys it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
She considereth a field, and buyeth it; With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
KJV
She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
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This verse in Proverbs 31
Commentary
12 notes on this verseShe considereth a field and buyeth it - 5. She provides for the growing wants of her family. More land will shortly be needed, for the family is growing up; and having seen a field contiguous to her own, which was on sale, she estimates its worth, and purchases it a good bargain; and she pays for it by the fruit of her own industry. 6. She does not restrict herself to the bare necessaries of life; she is able to procure some of its comforts.
This site's exposition
She is like the merchant ships
on Proverbs 31:14-19
"She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar." She rises while it is night, appraises a field and buys it, and plants a vineyard "from her earnings." Her girded strength and a lamp "not extinguished at night" show a woman working past the hours anyone would require.
This site's exposition
She appraises a field and buys it
Adam Clarke pictures a growing family needing more land. She weighs the worth of a neighboring field, buys it at a good price, and pays from her own industry. The vineyard she plants from her earnings adds comfort beyond bare need.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaEXPOSITION ON PROVERBS, FRAGMENT 31:16 · Written before 253.
proposed
[The text] speaks of the church as a virtuous soul possessing the tree of knowledge and the tree of life. [The church possesses] knowledge as the law, and life as the Word. For she herself [is the church] who came out of the rib of Christ and was found by her bridegroom to be a woman of sound mind and strength, guarding the faith of her bridegroom as she awaits his [return] again from heaven.
After saying, "Being farsighted she has bought a field," as though you were to say, "What did she buy it with?" it adds, "With the fruit of her hands she has planted a property." … The property it means, you see, lies in the future; that was suggested by the word farsighted.
The Medieval Church1 voice
"She considers a field and buys it, etc." The field means the possession of the heavenly inheritance. About which the patriarch blessedly speaks to his son Isaac: "Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed" …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. 4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: 5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. 6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
She considereth a field, and buyeth it,....
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Men should not lay out any thing upon superfluities, till, by the blessing of God upon their industry, they have got before-hand, and can afford it; and then the fruit of the vineyard is likely to be doubly sweet, when it is the fruit of honest industry.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
and hence has means to purchase property. To energy she adds a watchfulness in bargains, and a protracted and painful industry. The last clause may figuratively denote that her prosperity (compare Pr 24:20) is not short lived.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
In Hebrew the verses begin with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order (compare Introduction to Poetical Books). Who . . . woman--The question implies that such are rare, though not entirely wanting (compare Pr 18:22; 19:14). virtuous--literally, "of strength," that is, moral courage (compare Pr 12:4;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The verse points to a large sphere of feminine activity, strikingly in contrast with the degradation to which woman in the East has now fallen.
The words behind it
7 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| זָמְמָ֣ה | zamemah | she considers | H2161 → | |
| שָׂ֭דֶה | sadeh | a field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| וַתִּקָּחֵ֑הוּ | vatikachehu | and she took it | H3947 → | 966 times |
| מִפְּרִ֥י | miperi | from [the] fruit of | H6529 → | 119 times |
| כַ֝פֶּ֗יהָ | khapeiha | hands her | H3709 → | 192 times |
| נָ֣טְעָה | neta' | she plants | H5193 → | |
| כָּֽרֶם׃ | karem | a vineyard | H3754 → |
זָמְמָ֣הshe considers
zamemahH2161 →
שָׂ֭דֶהa field
sadehH7704 →334 times
וַתִּקָּחֵ֑הוּand she took it
vatikachehuH3947 →966 times
מִפְּרִ֥יfrom [the] fruit of
miperiH6529 →119 times
כַ֝פֶּ֗יהָhands her
khapeihaH3709 →192 times
נָ֣טְעָהshe plants
neta'H5193 →
כָּֽרֶם׃a vineyard
karemH3754 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 13:44The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that…
it leads to
- Proverbs 2:2–5
if you incline your ear to wisdom and direct your heart to understanding,
- Colossians 2:3
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
- Philippians 3:7–9
But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
- Matthew 6:21
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- Luke 14:33
In the same way, any one of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple.
- Proverbs 2:2–5
Through
Song of Solomon 8:12But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 1:6
Do not stare because I am dark, for the sun has gazed upon me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me a keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I…
- Song of Solomon 1:6
Through
Joshua 15:18One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?”
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 25:23
When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, fell facedown, and bowed before him.
- Genesis 24:64
And when Rebekah looked up and saw Isaac, she got down from her camel
- 1 Samuel 25:23
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Proverbs
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 37:9; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, EXPOSITION ON PROVERBS, FRAGMENT 31:16.