The Old Testament lesson for Track 1 for Proper 20 in Year B brings us to the conclusion of The Book of Proverbs. This section tells us of the "capable wife", as stated in the NRSV. The word used to describe the wife is חיל, which is usually translated in the context of "strength" or even "wealth". In this passage, it is also translated as "virtuous" or "excellent".
This Proper brings a conclusion to 4 Sundays of readings from wisdom literature attributed to King Solomon. This in turn follows after covering some of the history of Solomon in the Proper before those.
However, Proper 20's reading in Track 1 Year B from Proverbs, if we go by the book, isn't attributed to Solomon. Proverbs 31 instead begins with "The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him" before we even get to the passage about the "capable wife". Who King Lemuel is has been lost to time. If, as some believe, this is actually Solomon writing, then the oracle given, as well as the wisdom on who a capable wife is, must come from Bathsheba.
The poem itself is a Hebrew acrostic. That means each line of the poem starts with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, giving it a sense of completion from start to finish. The section headings of Psalm 119 are a great example of an acrostic poem.
It is interesting to note as well that the wife clearly comes from a house of some wealth since they have maidservants, as listed in verse 15. She also appears to have skills in the market place.
Knowing these facts might not give us immediate answers to what this poem means for us, yet they do give us context to strengthen our understanding of Scripture and thus help us sort out what it is that God is trying to say to us.