13:22 A benevolent 1 person leaves an inheritance 2 for his grandchildren, 3
but the wealth of a sinner is stored up for the righteous. 4
17:2 A servant who acts wisely 5 will rule
over 6 an heir 7 who behaves shamefully, 8
and will share the inheritance along with the relatives. 9
1 tn Heb “good.”
2 sn In ancient Israel the idea of leaving an inheritance was a sign of God’s blessing; blessings extended to the righteous and not the sinners.
3 tn Heb “the children of children.”
4 sn In the ultimate justice of God, the wealth of the wicked goes to the righteous after death (e.g., Ps 49:10, 17).
5 sn The setting is in the ancient world where a servant rarely advanced beyond his or her station in life. But there are notable exceptions (e.g., Gen 15:3 where the possibility is mentioned, 1 Chr 2:35 where it changed through marriage, and 2 Sam 16:1-4; 19:24-30, with the story of Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth). This proverb focuses on a servant who is wise, one who uses all his abilities effectively – a Joseph figure.
6 sn The parallelism indicates that “ruling over” and “sharing in the inheritance” means that the disgraceful son will be disinherited.
7 tn Heb “son.”
8 tn The form מֵבִישׁ (mevish) is a Hiphil participle, modifying בֵן (ben). This original heir would then be one who caused shame or disgrace to the family, probably by showing a complete lack of wisdom in the choices he made.
9 tn Heb “in the midst of the brothers”; NIV “as one of the brothers.”