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The Proverbs 31 Woman: Entrepreneurial Epitome?, Jeffrey E. Haymond

Business Administration Faculty Publications

This article provides an exegesis of Proverbs 31:10-31 from an economic perspective, portraying the Proverbs 31 woman as an ideal entrepreneur. She is industrious, generous, and pious in all her actions, specializing in small-scale capitalist production. As such, her behavior is consistent with the vision of entrepreneurship found in Mises and Knight. Proverbs is part of the biblical "wisdom" literature, and the specific texts viewed are intended to showcase her worthiness. Her actions are provided as proof that “many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all,” and provide a model to emulate. The woman (or man) who serves …