“... 31:16-24. business enterprises for women. Hammurabi’s Code contains several laws regulating the activities of Babylonian women who operate inns or taverns. However, this may not be construed in the same light as having the ability to buy a field or sell finely dyed and woven garments as a professional seamstress. The idealized picture of the “perfect wife” in this proverb goes beyond anything that the biblical text elsewhere suggests was open to women. Ordinarily they did not have the legal standing to purchase land, although they certainly worked hard with their families to cultivate it and deal with its produce. The one industry mentioned in ancient Near Eastern texts that was open to female enterprise was weaving, and this may be the model for all the other activities. ...”