Some of my favorite things about the people who surround me are their warm and happy smiles. It does not take much to quickly crack a few muscles in your face, to smile, and show a positive disposition towards someone else. It takes so little effort, yet it can mean so much. I realize that in some settings, there is a shortage of smiles, and there is little to smile about. The way I grew up, smiles were quite rare, so perhaps that is why I am always drawn to people who smile genuinely and easily. There are plenty of polite fake smiles, too, but most of us have learned to see through those.
On Friday evening, as the Sabbath comes, we often sit around the dinner table and recite the traditional words from Proverbs 31, a chapter about eishet chail, an amazing woman. And I wanted to share something about that woman that I never thought of till just recently. Besides all the things she is known for (which are very impressive accomplishments), she smiles at the future. That's nice...
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. (Prov 31:25-26 NASB)
The message to all of us who read this chapter and admire the woman is that she is ready to face whatever is next. That is yet another admirable quality. She looks to the future with joy and not with dread because she is ready and resilient enough to take on the ups and downs of life. She is a wise woman, and, no doubt, her wisdom is entangled with her knowledge of God and his ways. So, she smiles at the future, but there is more...
The Hebrew text does not exactly say, "she smiles." The phrase תִּשְׂחַק לְיוֹם אַחֲרוֹן (tish'chaq leyom aharon) means "she rejoices about the coming day." In modern Hebrew, "smile" is חיוך (hiyuch). There is also another term for "smile" - שַׂחֲקָה (shachaqa), but "smile" as a noun does not appear across many chapters of the Bible. In biblical Hebrew, the verb שָׂחַק (shachaq) means “to laugh” or “to rejoice,” and that's probably the closest equivalent to a "smile" in biblical texts. There is another term בִּלְגָּה (bil'gah) "cheerfulness," something very close to a smile. I was somewhat surprised; there are so many instances in the Bible that describe celebratory settings, happiness, and rejoicing, but not too many mentions of smiles. I kept searching for smiles in the Hebrew Bible, but I could not find the descriptive language I expected to see. And then it dawned on me... Hebrew is a very idiomatic language, and smiles are represented via indirect references in ancient Hebrew, not with a straightforward noun, as I keep expecting.
Consider this familiar verse and see if you can spot a smile... "The Lord bless you and keep you: The Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace." (Num 6:24). When Hebrew says, "may his face shine upon you," יָאֵר יהוה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ (yaer ADONAI panav eleykha) - it's describing a smile. In biblical Hebrew, "smile" is a description of the "face that lights up."
I smiled on them when they had no confidence, and the light of my face they did not cast down. (Job 29:24 RSV)
Yes, אוֹר פָּנַי (ohr panai) "light of my face" is a smile. Isn't that a beautiful and poignant way to describe a face beaming with a smile? But from where does such a type of light that illuminates the face come? I am pretty certain not from the sun or the stars or even electricity. A light that lights up our faces comes is a different kind of light. It comes from somewhere deep within us, and it was already there on day one when the Almighty created the world (Gen 1:3-4), so ultimately, it comes from him. So we rejoice, and our faces quite literally "light up with smiles" because we were made to be like our Maker, to shine forth some of his light. We were made in his image, and that alone should give you a good reason to smile at the future as a Proverbs 31 woman does!
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