Amsal 16:32
Konteks16:32 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 22:24
Konteks22:24 Do not make friends with an angry person, 5
and do not associate with a wrathful person,
Amsal 22:1
Konteks22:1 A good name 6 is to be chosen 7 rather than great wealth,
good favor 8 more than silver or gold.
1 Samuel 20:30
Konteks20:30 Saul became angry with Jonathan 9 and said to him, “You stupid traitor! 10 Don’t I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother’s nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse?
1 Samuel 25:17
Konteks25:17 Now be aware of this, and see what you can do. For disaster has been planned for our lord and his entire household. 11 He is such a wicked person 12 that no one tells him anything!”
[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.
[22:24] 5 tn Heb “possessor of anger.” This expression is an idiom for “wrathful person” or “an angry person” (cf. NAB “a hotheaded man”; NLT “short-tempered people”). These are people characterized by anger, meaning the anger is not a rare occurrence with them.
[22:1] 6 tn Heb “a name.” The idea of the name being “good” is implied; it has the connotation here of a reputation (cf. TEV, CEV, NLT).
[22:1] 7 tn “To be chosen rather than” is a translation of the Niphal participle with the comparative degree taken into consideration. Cf. CEV “worth much more than.”
[22:1] 8 tn Heb “favor of goodness.” This is a somewhat difficult expression. Some English versions render the phrase “favor is better than silver or gold” (so NASB, NRSV) making it parallel to the first colon. But if “good” is retained as an attributive modifier, then it would mean one was well thought of, or one had engaging qualities (cf. ASV “loving favor; NLT “high esteem”). This fits with the idea of the reputation in the first colon, for a good name would bring with it the favor of others.
[20:30] 9 tc Many medieval Hebrew
[20:30] 10 tn Heb “son of a perverse woman of rebelliousness.” But such an overly literal and domesticated translation of the Hebrew expression fails to capture the force of Saul’s unrestrained reaction. Saul, now incensed and enraged over Jonathan’s liaison with David, is actually hurling very coarse and emotionally charged words at his son. The translation of this phrase suggested by Koehler and Baumgartner is “bastard of a wayward woman” (HALOT 796 s.v. עוה), but this is not an expression commonly used in English. A better English approximation of the sentiments expressed here by the Hebrew phrase would be “You stupid son of a bitch!” However, sensitivity to the various public formats in which the Bible is read aloud has led to a less startling English rendering which focuses on the semantic value of Saul’s utterance (i.e., the behavior of his own son Jonathan, which he viewed as both a personal and a political betrayal [= “traitor”]). But this concession should not obscure the fact that Saul is full of bitterness and frustration. That he would address his son Jonathan with such language, not to mention his apparent readiness even to kill his own son over this friendship with David (v. 33), indicates something of the extreme depth of Saul’s jealousy and hatred of David.
[25:17] 11 tn Heb “all his house” (so ASV, NRSV); NAB, NLT “his whole family.”
