Bible Strands
Proverbs 31:23
Her husband is known at the city gates, where he sits among the elders of the land.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The passage belongs to the acrostic poem in Proverbs 31, originally composed as instruction for royal or general readers about the character of a capable woman. The statement follows the description of her textile production and precedes the declaration of her enduring worth.
The words — The Hebrew נוֹדָע (noḏaʿ) literally means "is known" or "recognized," coupled with בַּשְּׁעָרִים (baššəʿārîm), meaning "in the gates." This phrasing places the husband’s public identity within the civic space where legal and administrative functions occurred.
The thread — The city gate functions as the institutional center of authority in Deuteronomy 16:18, where judges and officials are appointed, and in Ruth 4:1, where Boaz conducts legal proceedings. These references establish the gate as the standard location for public recognition and civic governance.
Why it lands — The text states that the husband’s recognition occurs at the city gates among the elders. It asks the reader to trace this public standing back to the woman’s domestic and commercial management described in the surrounding verses, treating reputation as a direct outcome of disciplined work rather than innate status.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 12:4 A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but she who causes shame is like decay in his bones.
- Ruth 4:1 Meanwhile, Boaz went to the gate and sat down there. Soon the kinsman-redeemer of whom he had spoken came along, and Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
- Deuteronomy 16:18 You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
- Deuteronomy 21:19 his father and mother are to lay hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown,
- Ruth 4:11 “We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the LORD make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you be prosperous in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem.
- Job 29:7 When I went out to the city gate and took my seat in the public square,
- Proverbs 24:7 Wisdom is too high for a fool; he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.