Harvesting (Isa 28:7-28:29)

“Dill herbs are not threshed

With a threshing sledge.

Nor is a cart wheel rolled over carrot seeds.

But the dill herbs are beaten out with a stick.

The carrot seeds are beaten with a rod.

Grain is crushed for bread.

But one does not thresh it forever.

One drives the cart wheel with horses over it.

But he does not pulverize it.

This also comes from Yahweh of hosts.

He is wonderful in counsel.

He is excellent in wisdom.”

Each crop has a different form of harvesting. The dill herbs and carrot seeds are too fragile to be smashed with a threshing sledge hammer. You do not roll the cart wheels over the herbs and seeds like you do to the wheat and the barley. You beat the herbs and seeds with a stick or a rod that is gentler than the wheel cart. However, the threshing of the wheat and barley requires a heavy horse drawn cart wheel in order to provide grain for bread. However, you do not want to pulverize these grains into nothing. How do these farmers know how to do this? Why, the Lord of hosts, Yahweh has told them how to do it. Yahweh is wonderful in his counsel and excellent in his wisdom, as in the later wisdom tradition.

Praise for the perfect wife (Prov 31:26-31:29)

Phe

“She opens her mouth with wisdom.

The teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

Cade

She looks well to the ways of her household.

She does not eat the bread of idleness.

Qoph

Her children rise up.

They call her happy.

Her husband also calls her happy,

He praises her.

Resh

‘Many women have done excellently.

But you surpass them all.’”

The perfect good wife speaks wisdom and kindness. She spends her time making the household better, and not in idleness. Her children call her happy and blessed, as does her husband. He has praise for her. He proclaims that she surpasses all the excellent women that are out there.