Amsal 16:32

16:32 Better to be slow to anger ¹  than to be a mighty warrior,

and one who controls his temper ²  is better than ³  one who captures a city. ⁴ 

Amsal 17:2

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 

[16:32]  ¹ tn One who is “slow to anger” is a patient person (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT). This is explained further in the parallel line by the description of “one who rules his spirit” (וּמֹשֵׁל בְּרוּחוֹ, umoshel bÿrukho), meaning “controls his temper.” This means the person has the emotions under control and will not “fly off the handle” quickly.

[16:32]  ² tn Heb “who rules his spirit” (so NASB).

[16:32]  ³ tn The phrase “is better than” does not appear in this line in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism.

[16:32]  ⁴ sn The saying would have had greater impact when military prowess was held in high regard. It is harder, and therefore better, to control one’s passions than to do some great exploit on the battlefield.

[17:2]  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.

[17:2]  ⁶ sn The parallelism indicates that “ruling over” and “sharing in the inheritance” means that the disgraceful son will be disinherited.

[17:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “son.”

[17:2]  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.

[17:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the midst of the brothers”; NIV “as one of the brothers.”