Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 31:20

She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

20. stretcheth out ] Rather, spreadeth out.

her hand ] Lit. her palm. The whole expression, spreadeth out her palm (holding out the gift for acceptance) denotes the open-handed liberality with which she disperses abroad and gives to the poor (Psa 112:9; 2Co 9:9).

“The hand which is thus held out to the poor is precisely the hand which has been laid on the distaff and the spindle; not the lazy hand or the useless hand, but the hand which is supple with toil, dexterous with acquired skill.” Horton.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The industry is not selfish, but bears the fruit of an open-handed charity.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 20. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor]

11. She is truly charitable. She knows that in every portion of a man’s gain God requires a lot for the poor; and if this is not given, God’s blessing is not in the rest. And she is not contented to give common alms. While with one hand ( yad) she relieves the general poor, with both hands ( yadeyha) she gives to the needy, leaney, to the afflicted poor.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

To relieve their necessities. Her designs are generous and noble; for she labours not only to supply her own and her household necessities, or to support her own state, much less to feed her pride and luxury, but that she may have wherewith to supply the wants of others who crave or need her assistance; which also procures Gods blessing upon her husband, and children, and whole family, to whom, by this means, she brings both honour and advantage.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

20. Industry enables her to becharitable.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

She stretcheth out her hand to the poor,…. Her liberality is very extensive, reaches to many, and at a distance; it is done with great cheerfulness and readiness; to do good and communicate, she forgets not, it being acceptable to her Lord and husband, Heb 13:16;

yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy; she gives with both hands, liberally and largely. It may be applied to the church, giving spiritual food by her ministers to those who are poor in spirit, spiritually poor and needy, and who hunger and thirst after righteousness.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

That which impels the housewife to this labour is not selfishness, not a narrow-hearted limitation of her care to the circle of what is her own, but love, which reaches out far beyond this circle:

20 She holdeth out her hand to the unfortunate,

And stretcheth forth her hands to the needy.

With , 19b, is connected the idea of artistic skilfulness; with , here that of offering for counsel ( vid., at Isa 2:6); with sympathy and readiness to help, she presents herself to those who are oppressed by the misfortunes of life as if for an alliance, as if saying: place confidence in me, I shall do whatever I can – there thou hast my hand! Hitzig erroneously thinks of the open hand with a gift lying in it: this ought to be named, for in itself is nothing else than the half-opened hand. Also in 20b we are not to think of alms. Here Hitzig rightly: she stretches out to him both of her hands, that he might grasp them, both of them, or whichever he may. She does not throw to him merely a gift from a distance, but above all she gives to him to experience her warm sympathy (cf. Eze 16:49). Here, as at 19a, is punctuated (with Dagesh) as Piel. The punctuation supposes that the author both times not unintentionally made use of the intensive form. This one verse (20) is complete in itself as a description of character; and the author has done well in choosing such strong expressions, for, without this sympathy with misery and poverty, she, so good and trustworthy and industrious, might indeed be pleasing to her husband, but not to God. One could almost wish that greater expansion had been given to this one feature in the picture.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

(20) She streteheth out her hand to the poor.Either in sympathy or with alms; yea, she reacheth forth (both) her hands to the needy; she is keenly alive to their sorrows, and pities them and aids them with all her power.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

20. Stretcheth out to the poor She spreads out or opens her palm. While exceedingly thrifty and industrious, she is not “close-fisted;” but generously opens her hand to every case of distress and need: an example of good economy and liberality two virtues but rarely blended, unhappily, in the same person, either man or woman.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Pro 31:20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

Ver. 20. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor. ] She laboureth with her hands to that purpose, Eph 4:28 and findeth by experience that not getting but giving is the way to thrive. See my Common Place of Alms.

Yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. ] ‘Nittily needy,’ as one phraseth it. To those that are extremely poor she not only stretcheth but reacheth, not her hand only, but both hands; yea, she hath her almoners to give to those that she cannot go to, as Queen Anne Boleyn had. a For, besides what she dealt and distributed by the hands of others, she carried ever about her a certain little purse; out of which she was wont to scatter about daily some alms to the needy, thinking no day well spent wherein some man had not fared the better by some benefit at her hands. The like is told of Placilla, wife to the Emperor Theodosius, that for her courtesy and bounty to the poor she was called , The poor man’s friend.

a Acts and Mon., fol. 957.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

the poor = a poor one. Hebrew. ‘ani. See note on “poverty”, Pro 6:11.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

She stretcheth: Heb. She spreadeth, Pro 1:24, Rom 10:21

she reacheth: Pro 19:17, Pro 22:9, Job 31:16-20, Psa 41:1, Psa 112:9, Ecc 11:1, Ecc 11:2, Mar 14:7, Act 9:39-41, Act 20:34, Act 20:35, Eph 4:28, Heb 13:16

Reciprocal: Eze 18:16 – but hath 1Co 13:4 – is kind

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Pro 31:20. She stretcheth out her hand to the poor To relieve their necessities. Her designs are generous and noble; for she labours not only to supply her own and her households necessities, or to support her own state, much less to feed her pride and luxury; but that she may have wherewith to supply the wants of others, who crave or need her assistance. Which also procures Gods blessing upon her husband and children, and whole family, to whom, by this means, she brings both honour and advantage.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments