Esther: Subverting the “Capable Wife”

In this article I suggest that an additional reading of the book of Esther sees that work as a subversive sequel to the Capable Wife lauded in Proverbs 31:10–31. Through a comparison of words taken from each of the Proverbs verses, I explain how the redacted version of Esther mines and undermines the earlier work, subtly making fun of such an idealized figure