Proverbs 17:2 - Exposition

A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame. Here is intimated the supremacy of wisdom over folly and vice. The contrast is better emphasized by translating, A servant that dealeth wisely shall have rule over a son that doeth shamefully ; i.e. a son of his master. (For similar contrast between "wise" and "shameful," comp. Proverbs 10:5 ; Proverbs 14:35 .) Slaves were often raised to high honour, and might inherit their master's possessions. Thus Abraham's servant, Eliezer of Damascus, was at one time considered the patriarch's heir ( Genesis 15:2 , Genesis 15:3 ); Ziba, Saul's servant, obtained the inheritance of his lord Mephibosheth ("the Shameful," 2 Samuel 16:4 ); Joseph was advanced to the highest post in Egypt. Ecclesiastes 10:1-20 :25, "Unto the servant that is wise shall they that are free do service; and he that is wise will not grudge when he is reformed." Septuagint, "A wise household servant shall rule over foolish masters." "I have seen," says Ecclesiastes ( Ecclesiastes 10:7 ), "servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth." Shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren; shall share on equal terms with the sons of the house. This innovation on the usual disposition of property could happen only in the case of an abnormally intelligent and trusted slave. In 1 Chronicles 2:34 , etc; mention is made of a case where a master, having no son, gave his daughter in marriage to a slave, and adopted him into the family. Delitzsch understands the clause to mean that the slave shall have the office of dividing his master's inheritance among the heirs, shall be the executor of his deceased master's will; but this explanation hardly seems to do justice to the merits of the "wise servant," and takes no account of the idea involved in "shameful son." But the Septuagint appears to countenance this view, rendering, "and among the brethren he shall divide the portions."