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in fact, synthetical both line by line and throughout the theme as well. Each line of the verse completes the line before it, and each verse adds another thought of completion to the theme of the whole poem, which is the quality and virtues of a worthy woman.

Since there was no King Lemuel ever recorded, there is inconclusive speculation as to whom the authorship of Proverbs chapter thirty-one belongs to. There is evidence to support the fact that it was written by King Solomon. For one, he wrote the first thirty chapters of the book. Furthermore, the book was clearly written during the time that he was King. One of the reasons that Bathsheba is speculated to be the woman giving the advice is that the advice that the mother gives is consistent with the advice that Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, would have given him. It is very possible, since the name Lemuel means, devoted to God,' that it was Bathsheba's pet-name' for Solomon.

Bathsheba was quite fond of Solomon, since she had lost her first-born son. She is also recorded to have shown him favor over his other brothers. So it is quite possible that she had a pet name for him. Due to Bathsheba's own experiences in II Samuel 11, she would be well qualified to give the advice found in the poem.

One will recall that King David saw Bathsheba bating one day and decided that she was so beautiful that he had to have her, even thorough she was already married to another man, Uriah, who was away at battle fighting for King David's honor. When she become pregnant with King David's child, he tried to hide it by calling her husband back, thinking he would sleep with his wife. However, Uriah was far too loyal to David to do so, so David had him Killed. One can then understand how the words "favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised (verse 30)" could very well have been Bathsheba's, "or any of 100 other mothers."

Whoever the authorship belongs to, it was clearly written during King Solomon's time by a Hebrew. To understand the culture of the time we can then look to King Solomon's kingdom. During King Solomon's reign the temple was erected at Jerusalem, along with an elaborate palace. Solomon had vast chariots, horses and around a thousand wives and concubines. Concubines were not a practice started by the Hebrew people, it was however a common practice of Kings in Solomon's time.

While many great things were accomplished during King Solomon's reign, these amenities did cut

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