Bible Commentaries

The Follies Of The Fool (Proverbs 17:8-16).

The previous subsection ended with reference to the nabal (fool), and this now leads on to consideration of the activities of fools (kesil) (Proverbs 17:21 virtually equates the two).

In this subsection we find an emphasis on the activities of ‘the fool’ (Proverbs 17:10; Proverbs 17:12; Proverbs 17:16) and his equivalent. Basically he interferes with the stability and smooth running of society. He thinks that he can buy men’s favour (Proverbs 17:8); he harps on things and loses friends (Proverbs 17:9); he will not listen to rebuke (Proverbs 17:10); he wants nothing more than to rebel (Proverbs 17:11); acquaintance with him is dangerous (Proverbs 17:12); he rewards evil for good (Proverbs 17:13); he can’t stop quarrelling (Proverbs 17:14); and he justifies the unrighteous and condemns the righteous (Proverbs 17:15).

In contrast the righteous man seeks to build up society. He is gentle in dealing with the transgression of others because he is trying to build up love (Proverbs 17:9); he listens carefully to rebuke (Proverbs 17:10); he avoids letting contention build up into a wholesale quarrel (Proverbs 17:14), and it is implied that he is concerned for justice (Proverbs 17:15).

The subsection can be presented chiastically as follows:

A A bribe is as a stone of favour in the eyes of him who has it, to whoever he turns, it succeeds (Proverbs 17:8).

B He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who harps on a matter separates (disenchants) a boon companion (Proverbs 17:9).

C A rebuke enters deeper into one who has understanding, than a hundred stripes into a FOOL (Proverbs 17:10).

D An evil man only looks for rebellion, therefore a cruel envoy will be sent against him (Proverbs 17:11).

D Let a bear robbed of her whelps meet a man, rather than a FOOL in his folly (Proverbs 17:12).

C He who rewards evil for good, evil will not depart from his house (Proverbs 17:13).

B The beginning of strife is as when one releases water, therefore leave off contention, before there is quarrelling (Proverbs 17:14).

A He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to YHWH (Proverbs 17:15).

Note that in A a bribe is offered in order that a man may get his own way by wrong means, and in the parallel the wicked are justified (often by bribes). In B the righteous covers transgression, while the fool harps on a matter, and in the parallel the righteous hold back from increasing contention, while the unrighteous cannot hold back from turning it into a quarrel. In C the fool does not listen to rebuke, and in the parallel he returns evil for good. Centrally in D the evil man is out for a fight, and a cruel envoy is sent against him, and in the parallel a bear robbed of its cubs is out for a fight, and it is better to meet him than to meet a fool engaged in folly. We can also parallel the bear with the cruel envoy.

Proverbs 17:8

‘A bribe is as a stone of favour in the eyes of him who has it,

To whoever he turns, it succeeds.’

This proverb describes more how the fool thinks than the actual reality. He thinks that all men can be bought. He is confident that he holds in his hand the means of obtaining what he wants, and is sure that a bribe will enable him to succeed in his endeavours wherever, and to whoever he turns. And, of course, he is largely right, until he comes across the godly man. Few can resist a bribe if it is large enough. ‘In the eyes of him who has it’ probably refers to how the briber sees his bribe.

The briber is seeking to get his way at the cost of others by unfair and hidden means, often to the disadvantage of the other. He is thus destabilising society. It is the equivalent of theft, and it is often at the expense of the poor (Psalms 15:5; Isaiah 1:23). It was apparently common practise in Israel, and even moreso in surrounding nations where it was not even disapproved of apart from in the courts of justice. But it is forbidden by YHWH as resulting in dishonesty and injustice (Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19; Deuteronomy 27:25). It comes under His condemnation (Proverbs 17:15; Job 15:34; Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 5:23). Where it has the effect of resulting in the death of an innocent person it brings men under His curse (Deuteronomy 27:25).

Bribes were condemned in Israel (Proverbs 17:23; Proverbs 15:27; Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19; Deuteronomy 27:25; 1 Samuel 8:3; Job 15:34; Psalms 15:5; Psalms 26:10; Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 5:23; Isaiah 33:15). Other nations were less stringent, for while they were frowned on if they affected justice, they were otherwise seen as acceptable and the only penalties were on those who failed to pay the promised bribe. That they did occur in Israel and were specifically seen as encouraging injustice is evidenced in Proverbs 17:23; Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19; Deuteronomy 27:25; 1 Samuel 8:3; Psalms 15:5; Isaiah 1:23; Isaiah 5:23; Micah 3:11. As Isaiah 5:23 says, ‘they justify the unrighteous for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous’, words which parallel the idea in Proverbs 17:15 exactly.

YHWH, unlike the gods of other nations, is distinguished as being unbribeable. He is ‘the God of Gods and the Lord of Lords, the mighty and terrible God, Who is not partial and takes no bribes’ (Deuteronomy 10:17), indicating just how wrong bribes were seen to be.

The ‘stone of favour’ is nowhere explained. It may indicate a token given by a king in order to authorise a servant to act on his behalf, or in order to enable him to benefit by his patronage; or it has been suggested that it has in mind a ‘magic stone’ which obtains favour from the gods and brings luck, or terrifies people into doing what is wanted. Whichever it is, the point is that a briber sees his bribe as having the same persuasive force.

Proverbs 17:9

‘He who covers a transgression seeks love,

But he who harps on a matter separates (disenchants) a boon companion.’

The man who depended on bribes disharmonised society. In contrast the wise man seeks to harmonise society, and one of the ways in which he does it is by not faultfinding. He wants to be loved, and he wants men to love one another, and so he does not draw attention to minor misdemeanours.

The point here, as brought out by the parallel clause, is that, in order to obtain or retain friendships and be loved, and even bring harmony to society, we often have to be willing to overlook another’s transgressions. We have to ‘cover’ them in our own minds so that they are not seen. We have to make sure that we do not repeat the matter. We have to avoid seeking vengeance (Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:17-19).

Indeed if we keep harping on about something, or even repeat it, we may lose our friends, even our boon companion. ‘Seeking love’ is a good thing. But it has a cost, the cost of recognising that people, even our friends are not perfect. As it says in the parallel Proverbs 17:14 we have to recognise that if we remain in contention it could soon lead to a bigger quarrel, and even an irremediable breakdown in friendship.

Proverbs 17:10

‘A rebuke enters deeper into one who has understanding,

Than a hundred stripes into a fool.’

On the other hand the wise man does not seek to cover his own transgression. Rather he welcomes reproof. Because he is a man of understanding he takes careful note of what is said to him, and responds to it. He even learns from being caned (Proverbs 22:15; Proverbs 23:13), and is thankful for it. He is unlike the fool who takes little notice even if he receives a hundred lashes. This is, of course deliberate exaggeration. The highest number of lashes that an Israelite could receive was forty, and that only for very serious offences (Deuteronomy 25:13). But ‘a hundred’ is regularly used simply to indicate a large number. The point is that the fool shrugs off reproof, and does not let it improve him. It is ineffective to remove the evil from his house (Proverbs 17:13).

Proverbs 17:11

‘An evil man seeks only rebellion,

Therefore a cruel envoy will be sent against him.’

The ultimate truth about a fool is that he rebels against society because he is evil. He sets out to destabilise society by violent means. He constantly seeks to destroy harmony. He does not like the status quo. He wants to change it, and change it for the bad. It is his main purpose. And he does not mind who gets hurt in the process. He has refused to respond to the compassionate overtures of the righteous (Proverbs 17:9). He has refused to respond to the ‘hundred lashes’ (Proverbs 17:10). He has demonstrated that nothing can change him. We can compare here Pharaoh who constantly hardened his heart the more that God lashed him (Exodus 3 onwards).

But he needs to recognise that such an attitude has consequences. A ‘cruel envoy’ will be sent against him. The Hebrew word is the one for messenger but this man is clearly more than just a messenger. He comes in the king’s name, to act on the king’s behalf, and deliver a practical message. He is necessarily unrelenting and severe (‘cruel’). He is dealing with someone in continual rebellion. Thus the evil man’s end is certain. He will receive his due reward. He will be dealt with without mercy. In the end, of course, the judgment that comes against him is God’s.

Proverbs 17:12

‘Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her whelps,

Rather than a fool in his folly.’

Solomon now emphasises that a fool acting in his folly is more dangerous than a bear robbed of her cubs, which is outside of itself in grief and desire for revenge. This is the fool of Proverbs 17:11. He is uncontrolled and violent. He plans only evil. He has refused to let the folly be driven out of him by the lash. He is without restraint.

David slew ‘a lion and a bear’ (1 Samuel 17:34), and the young men who derided Elisha were mauled by two she-bears (2 Kings 2:24). They were found in the hilly wooded parts of Palestine, and while they became more and more scarce there were still some there in the first part of the twentieth century AD (in the centuries before that Palestine had been mainly deserted. There was no Palestinian state).

There may be an intended parallel between the she-bear and the cruel envoy. Both are seeking to obtain revenge. Thus the fool in his folly who is worse than the she-bear is simply reaping what he has sown.

Proverbs 17:13

’ He who rewards evil for good,

Evil will not depart from his house.’

Indeed he has become so evil that he rewards evil for good. Even those who show him kindness and compassion will find that he responds with evil. This is what happens when a man grows in evil, and it affects not only him but his house. Evil will not depart from his house. His children will grow up evil like he is. But it will also rebound on him, for evil will not depart from his house in another way. What a man sows he reaps. He and his family will experience evil. In both cases ‘evil’ includes physical evils (storms, earthquakes, hurricanes, invasion) and moral evil. What he has become returns on him and his family.

Proverbs 17:14

‘The beginning of strife is as when one releases water,

Therefore leave off contention, before there is quarrelling.’

In Proverbs 17:9 we had the peacemaker who sought to bring harmony by not being too judgmental, and who in Proverbs 17:10 listened carefully to reproof. He was contrasted with the fool who gradually grew in evil. Now, having centred on the fool’s growth in evil, the chiasmus brings us back to the peacemaker. Disagreement is sometimes inevitable, but the wise man recognises that it can be like water released from a dam. It can grow in pressure until it becomes a flood. Thus he seeks to stop any contention at its source. He seeks to prevent it growing.

Dams in those days, often just made of mud, were not the stable things we think of today (compare Ecclesiastes 2:6). Releasing water from a dam could result in a flow which grew and grew uncontrollably, resulting in damage to the crops and trees, and even a death or two. The commencement of strife is likened to this release. If not immediately staunched it could very quickly grow into a major quarrel. Thus the wise man will cease being contentious in order to prevent this happening.

Proverbs 17:15

‘He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous,

Both of them alike are an abomination to YHWH.’

The subsection then closes as it began (Proverbs 17:8) with the misuse of justice. As we saw above one of the main use of bribes was in order to pervert justice. Now YHWH makes His opinion of those who accept such bribes people clear. Those who arrange by bribery, coercion or lying witnesses for a guilty man to be let off (and therefore be declared as innocent) are an abomination to YHWH. As are those who by such means bring about the condemnation of the innocent. They are both seen by Him in the same way. For they strike at the very roots of society. Compare Proverbs 17:23; Proverbs 17:26; Pro 18:25; Proverbs 24:23-25. They are the forebears of those who found Jesus Christ guilty.

The Ways Of The Fool (Proverbs 17:16-23).

The main emphasis in this subsection is on the ways of the fool (Proverbs 17:16; Proverbs 17:21), the man void of mind (heart) (Proverbs 17:16; Proverbs 17:18; Proverbs 17:20), the unrighteous man (Proverbs 17:23). He thinks he can buy wisdom, but cannot for he has no mind for it (Proverbs 17:16); because he is void of mind he becomes a surety, putting himself in danger of ruin (Proverbs 17:18); he loves transgression bringing strife on himself (Proverbs 17:19 a); he exalts himself above his neighbours (Proverbs 17:19 b): he has a wayward mind and perverse tongue which bring bad consequences (Proverbs 17:20); he brings distress on his family (Proverbs 17:21); and he perverts justice for a secret bribe (Proverbs 17:23).

One of his follies is that he falls for quick fixes. He thinks he can obtain wisdom without effort (Proverbs 17:16); and he thinks he can become wealthy without effort (Proverbs 17:18; Proverbs 17:23).

In contrast is the wise man who has companions in adversity (Proverbs 17:17) and is therefore cheerful of heart, something which is a good medicine and therefore sustains him in adversity (Proverbs 17:22).

The subsection is presented chiastically:

A Why is there a PAYMENT in the hand of a FOOL to buy wisdom, seeing he has no MIND (heart) for it? (Proverbs 17:16)’

B A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17).

C A man void of understanding MIND (heart) strikes hands, and becomes surety in the presence of his neighbour (Proverbs 17:18).

D He loves transgression who loves strife, he who raises high his gate seeks destruction (Proverbs 17:19).

D He who has a wayward MIND (heart) finds no good, and he who has a perverse tongue falls into mischief (Proverbs 17:20).

C He who begets a FOOL does it to his sorrow, and the father of a fool has no joy (Proverbs 17:21).

B A cheerful HEART is a good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones (Proverbs 17:22).

A A wicked man receives a BRIBE out of the bosom, to pervert the ways of justice (Proverbs 17:23).

Note that in A the fool thinks that he can buy wisdom for a payment without effort, and in the parallel he himself (as the unrighteous) can be bought with a secret payment to commit folly. In B a loving friend and a brother are a support in adversity, and in the parallel a cheerful heart is a good medicine. In C a man without understanding (and therefore a fool) puts himself in danger of being sold off as a bondsman, and in the parallel he brings sorrow and distress on his father (who will watch his fall and have to redeem him). Centrally in D the one who loves transgression brings strife on himself, whilst in the parallel the one with a wayward heart and perverse tongue finds no good and falls into mischief.

Proverbs 17:16

‘Why is there a payment in the hand of a fool to buy (obtain) wisdom,

Seeing he has no mind (heart) for it?’

In Proverbs 17:8 the fool thought that by using bribes he could obtain anything that he wanted. But here he learns how wrong he was. He comes along payment in hand to obtain wisdom, but he is unable to do so. For however much wealth he has he could not obtain wisdom, because the obtaining of wisdom requires a receptive heart. As Jesus said to Peter, ‘flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but My Father Who is in Heaven’ (Matthew 16:17). The problem that the people of Isaiah’s day had was not that they had no wealth, it was that their eyes were blinded and their hearts were hardened (Isaiah 6:18). And the problem that the fool has here is that any attempts to use wealth in order to buy wisdom would be useless, because his heart and mind had no desire for it.

We could paraphrase this as, ‘what is the point of a fool having wealth with which to buy wisdom when he is so spiritually blind that it can do him no good?’ To put it another way, the fool does not deserve wealth because he will always use it in order to obtain the wrong things. Such waste is illustrated in Proverbs 5:10 where the young man who went with the seductress lost all his money to her wayward friends.

Note that this fool had wealth in his hand, but was unable to obtain the true wealth because his heart was closed to it. He was like the people spoken of by Isaiah, ‘why do you spend your money for that which is not (spiritual) food, and your labour for that which does not satisfy? -- bend your ear and come to me, hear that your inner man might live ---’ (Isaiah 55:2-3). What was required was not to spend money, but to hear and respond. But the fool would not bend his ear, nor would he truly seek wisdom (otherwise he would not have been a fool). If he wanted wisdom at all it was on easy terms. And indeed, a fool can be conned into buying quick-fix wisdom, even though he has no heart or mind for it, but it will not do him any good.

Solomon had earlier told his ‘son’ to ‘buy/obtain wisdom’ in Proverbs 1:5; Proverbs 4:5-7, but there it was by hearing God’s words and commandments. By that means he would obtain what was better than silver and more valuable than gold (Proverbs 3:13-14; Proverbs 8:10-11). It was, in fact, far too valuable to be obtainable by simply making a payment.

But let us not be mistaken. There are many ‘fools’ in our own day who think that they can obtain wisdom by expending money, for they do not distinguish between wisdom and knowledge. Outwardly they can learn all about God, but it does not bring them any closer to Him. For the things of God are spiritually discerned (John 6:63; 1 Corinthians 2:9-16), and only open to those who seek with a true heart. Payments can close men’s minds (Proverbs 17:23), but they cannot open them.

Proverbs 17:17

‘A friend (harea) loves at all times,

And a brother is born for adversity.’

Another thing that money cannot buy is true friends. The wealthy man will always have his hangers-on (Proverbs 14:20; Proverbs 18:24 a; Proverbs 19:4; Proverbs 19:6) but he will not find them reliable when he really needs them. However, a true friend loves ‘at all times’ (this comes first in the Hebrew for emphasis). He loves when times are good, and he loves when times are hard. And a true brother (one who is not so much a blood relative but one who acts as a true brother should) is ‘born for adversity’, in other words is there when he is needed and things have become difficult. These are friends who ‘stick closer than a brother’ (Proverbs 18:24 b).

It is not likely that this is intended to indicate that a true friend is better than a brother by birth, in that one is there at all times but the other only appears at times of adversity, even though there may be truth in that. For a brother may be close all the time, and some brothers would not be bothered anyway. If anything we could read it is as meaning that when things are really difficult only a brother can be relied on. But it is probably best to see it as signifying that a true friend and a true brother are those who are equally reliable when they are needed. For they come with a cheerful heart (a ready willingness) as good medicine to their friend (Proverbs 17:22).

Proverbs 17:18

‘A man void of understanding strikes hands,

And becomes surety in the presence of his neighbour (harea).’

The same word is used for neighbour here as was used for friend in Proverbs 17:17, thus linking the two proverbs together. But the thought is very different. It is NOT that the man who acts as surety is a true friend, for he is depicted as a ‘man void of heart/mind/understanding’, and as acting, not on behalf of his neighbour but in the presence of his neighbour. The point is more that he should not have involved his neighbour as a witness to the transaction. For to Solomon, acting as a surety was the act of a naive man who was heading for disaster (see Proverbs 6:1-5), and it may be that it even involved his neighbour in some measure of liability.

Whilst the details of the transaction is not clear, what is clear is that the surety was gambling his future, probably for the sake of a commission (just as he thought he could obtain wisdom without effort, so does he think that he can become wealthy without effort). If the loan was called in he could lose everything and find himself sold of as a bond-slave in order to pay off as much of the debt as possible. This would be a great grief to his father (Proverbs 17:21), not only because his father would not like to see him sold off as a bond-slave, but also because it would then be his duty, if at all possible, to redeem him, thus depleting the family finances.

Proverbs 17:19

‘He loves transgression who loves strife,

He who raises high his gate seeks destruction.’

Note the move forward. In Proverbs 17:16 the fool thought that he could buy wisdom and make himself wise. But he had no ‘heart’ for it. In Proverbs 17:18 he proved himself to be a man without ‘understanding/heart’, a fool, because he acts as surety outside the family. Now he reveals that he is a rebel at heart (the word for ‘transgression’ also means ‘rebellion’) and ‘loves strife’ (in contrast to the righteous who love their friends (Proverbs 17:17)). In Proverbs 17:20 he will reveal that he has a wayward ‘heart’ and a perverse tongue that produce no good.

‘Loving transgression/rebellion’ and ‘loving strife’ are seen as the same thing. The one who loves the one will love the other. He is thus either a sower of discord (abominated by YHWH - Proverbs 6:19), having a perverse tongue, or an open rebel, having a wayward heart (Proverbs 17:20). And this last would be supported by the fact that he ‘raises high his gate’. He wants his gate to be higher than that of his neighbours, and even possibly above the Temple, thus expressing his superiority and strength against both God and his neighbours. But by so challenging God and by so challenging others he is inviting destruction. All who raise themselves above their neighbours are there to be shot at. And as a consequence he is seeking destruction, both by God and his neighbours. So he started by trying to get wisdom on the cheap, and ends up in destruction. Such is the lot of the fool.

We can compare him with Shebna who built his tomb high above the others, and would as a consequence be brought down (Isaiah 22:15-19), or Haman who set himself above others, had a wayward heart and a perverse tongue in his behaviour towards Mordecai, and as a consequence perished (Esther 3:1 to Esther 8:1).

Proverbs 17:20

‘He who has a wayward heart finds no good,

And he who has a perverse tongue falls into mischief.

In a verse parallel to Proverbs 17:19 we learn that the one who loves transgression does so because he has a wayward heart. He had had no heart for wisdom (Proverbs 17:16), and this is therefore not surprising. It is what we would expect. And the consequence is that he ‘finds no good’. Nothing good comes from his life, only evil (non-good). And as a result he finds no good for himself. His wayward heart has led him into wayward activity. ‘Finding good’ is limited to the righteous (Proverbs 11:23).

In the same way the one who has a perverse tongue ‘falls into mischief’, not so much because of what he does, but because of what he says. He is a rabble-rouser. He stirs up trouble in others. And he brings trouble on himself. See Proverbs 1:11-14; Proverbs 2:12; Proverbs 2:14; Proverbs 8:13; Proverbs 10:31-32.

Proverbs 17:21

‘He who begets a fool does it to his sorrow,

And the father of a fool has no joy.’

We can now understand why a fool’s natural father has begotten him ‘to his sorrow’, and why he ‘has no joy’. He sees his son chasing pseudo-wisdom. He sees him ruined by acting as a surety, and is himself called on to step in, to the depletion of the family wealth. And he sees him involving himself in rebellion and causing dissension. He can have no doubt where it will all lead. When his son is a fool a father’s lot is not a happy one.

Proverbs 17:22

‘A cheerful heart is a good medicine,

But a broken spirit dries up the bones.’

In contrast to the non-joy of the father, and in line with his deep sorrow, we have a proverb concerning joy and sorrow. The righteous man is to cultivate a cheerful heart, cheerful because he looks to YHWH and His wisdom (Proverbs 3:13; Proverbs 3:18; Proverbs 16:20). And this will be a good medicine for him (Proverbs 12:25; Proverbs 18:14), because it will enable him to overcome the downturns in life, and will be good medicine for others because he will be able to support his friends and brothers when they face adversity (Proverbs 17:17).

In contrast is the broken spirit of the man who does not trust in YHWH. When things go wrong (like an errant son, or some catastrophe in life) his broken spirit dries him up inside. He becomes listless and loses any zest for life (Proverbs 18:14). How important it is that we find our joy in God, so that when trouble comes we have a refuge (Proverbs 18:10) and a sustainer. For the way to ensure ‘healthy bones’ is to fear YHWH and depart from evil (Proverbs 3:7-8).

Proverbs 17:23

‘A wicked man receives a bribe out of the bosom,

To pervert the ways of justice.’

The subsection ends with this proverb concerning the perverting of justice as a consequence of the receipt of secret bribes, something which undermines the very fabric of society. The ‘unrighteous (wicked) man’ is the equivalent of the fool in his folly. Being unable to buy wisdom (Proverbs 17:16), the unrighteous man (the wicked, the fool, the worthless man) is himself bought. Unable to obtain wisdom without effort, he determines to obtain wealth without effort. He falls back on opening himself to receiving secret bribes, bribes ‘out of the bosom’, which refers to a fold in a man’s cloak which was similar to a pocket. The picture is vivid as we see the briber take gold from his secret pocket and slip it to the judge or the false witness. Both are confident that no one will see. But because they are both fools they forget that YHWH can see, and declares His woes upon them (Isaiah 5:23). The horror with which such injustice was viewed by the generality of people comes out in Proverbs 24:24.

This man illustrates much of the subsection. He is the opposite of the friend who loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17), and is similar in motive to the man who acts as a surety for payment (Proverbs 17:18), he wants quick silver and gold to his own destruction. He has a wayward heart and a perverse tongue (Proverbs 17:20), and he is a grief to his godly father (Proverbs 17:21). Here, unlike in Proverbs 17:8, the bribe is specifically related to justice. He receives a secret bribe so that he will pervert the ways of justice, either because he is a judge in a position to influence the decision, who twists the facts of a case in order to benefit his briber, or because he is a false witness testifying falsely against the innocent. Either way he has a perverse tongue (Proverbs 17:20). Such men are an abomination to YHWH (Proverbs 6:19), for what they do is not hidden from Him (Proverbs 15:11; Proverbs 16:2; Proverbs 17:3). Evil behaviour like this came to its head in the so-called trials of Jesus. There too there were false witnesses and perverted judgments. It is no wonder that Jerusalem was destroyed.

In The Face Of Wisdom And Understanding The Fool Soon Reveals Himself For What He Is (Proverbs 17:24 to Proverbs 18:2).

In this subsection the fool is prominent. Unlike the wise whose eyes are always on wisdom (Proverbs 17:24), and who behave discreetly (Proverbs 17:27), the fool’s eyes are anywhere but on wisdom (Proverbs 17:24); he is a grief to his parents (Proverbs 17:25); he perverts justice (Proverbs 17:26); he only appears wise when he keeps his mouth shut (Proverbs 17:28); he is an isolationist and rages against wisdom (Proverbs 18:1); and he has no delight in understanding but quickly reveals himself for what he is (Proverbs 18:2).

The subsection is presented chiastically:

A Wisdom is before the face of him who has SHREWDNESS, but the eyes of a FOOL are in the ends of the earth (Proverbs 17:24).

B A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him. Even to punish the righteous is not good, to flog the nobles for their uprightness (Proverbs 17:25-26).

C He who spares his words has knowledge, and he who is of a cool spirit is a man of UNDERSTANDING (Proverbs 17:27).

C Even a FOOL, when he holds his peace, is counted wise, when he closes his lips, he is esteemed as SHREWD (Proverbs 17:28).

B He who separates himself seeks his own desire, and rages against all sound wisdom (Proverbs 18:1).

A A FOOL has no delight in UNDERSTANDING, but only that his heart may expose itself (Proverbs 18:2).

Note that in A wisdom is before the face of him who has shrewdness (he delights in it), whilst the fool is looking anywhere else than at wisdom, and in the parallel the fool has no delight in understanding. In B the foolish son, who among other things perverts justice (compare Proverbs 17:21 with Proverbs 17:23), grieves his father and mother, and in the parallel the one who separates himself (including from his own family) seeks only his own desire (seeking to get rich by quick-fix methods - 17. 8, 16, 18, 23) and rages against all wisdom (including by perverting justice - Proverbs 17:23; Proverbs 17:26). Centrally in C the one who is sparing in his words reveals his intelligence, whilst in the parallel even a fool is counted wise if he keeps his mouth shut.

Proverbs 17:24

‘Wisdom is before the face of him who has shrewdness,

But the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.’

This opening verse of the subsection prepares the way for the exposure of the fool. Whilst the wise and shrewd man constantly has wisdom in front of his eyes (before his face), the eyes of the fool turn anywhere but on wisdom. His restless eyes are ‘in the ends of the earth’. He lives in a dream world of get-rich-quick schemes (Proverbs 17:8; Proverbs 17:16; Proverbs 17:18; Proverbs 17:23; Proverbs 17:26), with little thought about how others will see him (Proverbs 18:2), and little concern for morality (Proverbs 18:1).

We can almost see the two students sitting there. The one with his eyes firmly fixed on his teacher of wisdom soaking in every word, whilst the eyes of the other are looking anywhere than at the teacher, while his mind roves the world weaving fantastic schemes. He has no time for wisdom, indeed he is unable to appreciate it (Proverbs 17:16).

But the idea possibly goes a little deeper. ‘The ends of the earth’ elsewhere indicates being outside the covenant land (Deuteronomy 13:7; Deuteronomy 28:49; Deuteronomy 28:64). Thus this may further indicate that the fool has no interest in the covenant, which is dear to the heart of the wise. He does not want to be bound by YHWH’s wisdom.

Proverbs 17:25-26

A foolish son is a grief to his father,

And bitterness to her who bore him.

Even to fine the righteous is not good,

To flog the nobles for their uprightness.’

As with Proverbs 17:27-28 these two verses are connected by the word ‘even’ (gam), bringing the ideas together. The foolish son partly reveals his folly by his unjust behaviour towards social inferiors, including nobles (here we see a king speaking).

Because of his attitude towards wisdom and towards life, the foolish son is a grief to his father (compare Proverbs 17:21), and even causes bitterness to the one who bore him in such pain, and brought him up so tenderly (Proverbs 4:3; compare Proverbs 10:1 b). He throws off all authority, and refuses to listen to his father’s stern words and his mother’s instruction in the Torah (Proverbs 1:8). For as the parallel verse in the chiasmus reveals he makes himself an isolationist, something necessary because of his way of life (Proverbs 18:1).

And he even takes advantage of his position and stoops to fining the righteous, and flogging nobles because they behave uprightly to his own disadvantage. He not only declares the innocent to be guilty, but also punishes them severely. Solomon sternly adds that doing such things ‘is not good’. In other words the foolish son perverts justice (compare Proverbs 17:23). We see here the mind and circumstances of a king, who thinks in terms of court intrigues. Note the ‘even’ which connects this verse with the previous one. The father and mother whom he grieves by his perverting of justice are clearly of high status (compare Proverbs 4:3-4).

Proverbs 17:27-28

‘He who spares his words has knowledge,

And he who is of a cool spirit is a man of understanding.’

Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is counted wise,

When he closes his lips, he is esteemed as shrewd.’

Taking a brief respite from his diatribe against the fool Solomon points out that even the fool can sometimes appear wise and shrewd. The wise man, who is sparing with his words, thinking before he speaks (compare Proverbs 10:19; Proverbs 13:3; Proverbs 15:2; Proverbs 15:28), and who is cool of spirit, reveals himself as a man of understanding. And when the fool imitates him and keeps quiet, even he can for a moment appear wise. When he closes his lips even he can appear as shrewd. But it does not last long. He soon reveals himself for what he is (Proverbs 18:1 a-2). Notice the ideas repeated from the Prologue, ‘knowledge’, ‘understanding’, ‘shrewdness’, things which the wise man enjoys and the fool usually reveals as lacking.

Proverbs 18:1

‘He who separates himself seeks his own desire,

And rages against all sound wisdom.’

But the fool soon exposes himself (Proverbs 12:16 a). Having separated himself from his father and mother, and from all authority, he seeks his own desire. He is a selfish and self-motivated isolationist. He has no concern for others. He rejects the demands of the community. And instead of having the cool head of the wise (Proverbs 17:27), he rages against all sound wisdom. He isolates himself from that as well. He has no time for it, indeed hates it, and pursues his own foolish course. He turns his back on the ways of God.

Proverbs 18:2

‘A fool has no delight in understanding,

But only that his heart may expose itself.’

This proverb summarises what is in the subsection. The fool has no delight in understanding. Compare Proverbs 17:24 where he would rather think of anything else other than wisdom. He does not have the cool spirit required for it (Proverbs 17:27). And he reveals the fact by the way in which he behaves. Indeed he gives the appearance of delighting in ‘exposing’ his folly (Proverbs 12:23;Proverbs 13:16). The same verb is used of Noah exposing himself (and his folly) in Genesis 9:21. But the fool does not see it as ‘exposing himself’ because he is wise in his own eyes (Proverbs 26:12) and lacking in understanding.