Proverbs 31:2

What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(2) What, my son?—i.e., what shall I say? The question, thrice repeated, shows her extreme anxiety to give good advice to this son, who was “tender, and only beloved in the sight of his mother.”

The son of my vows.—Perhaps given, like Samuel, in answer to her prayers and vows.

Benson Commentary

Proverbs 31:2. What, my son — A short speech, arguing her great passion for him; what words shall I take? What counsels shall I give thee? My heart is full; I must give it vent; but where shall I begin? What, the son of my womb — My son, not by adoption, but whom I bare in the womb, and therefore it is my duty to give thee admonitions, and thine to receive them. What, the son of my vows — On whose behalf I have made many prayers and sacrifices, and solemn vows to God; whom I have, as far as in me lay, devoted to the work, and service, and glory of God.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

31:1-9 When children are under the mother's eye, she has an opportunity of fashioning their minds aright. Those who are grown up, should often call to mind the good teaching they received when children. The many awful instances of promising characters who have been ruined by vile women, and love of wine, should warn every one to avoid these evils. Wine is to be used for want or medicine. Every creature of God is good, and wine, though abused, has its use. By the same rule, due praise and consolation should be used as cordials to the dejected and tempted, not administered to the confident and self-sufficient. All in authority should be more carefully temperate even than other men; and should be protectors of those who are unable or afraid to plead their own cause. Our blessed Lord did not decline the bitterest dregs of the cup of sorrow put into his hands; but he puts the cup of consolation into the hands of his people, and causes those to rejoice who are in the deepest distress.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The repetitions are emphatic; expressive of anxious love.

Son of my vows - Like Samuel, and Samson, the child often asked for in prayer, the prayer ratified by a vow of dedication. The name Lemuel (literally "for God," consecrated to Him) may be the expression of that dedication; and the warning against indulging in wine Proverbs 31:4 shows that it had something of the Nazarite or Rechabite idea in it.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2. What, my son?—that is, What shall I say? Repetitions denote earnestness.

son of my womb—as our phrase, "my own son," a term of special affection.

son of my vows—as one dedicated to God; so the word "Lemuel" may mean.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

What? a short speech, arguing her great passion for him; what dost thou do? or, what words shall I take? what counsels shall I give thee? My heart is full, I must give it vent; but where shall I begin?

The son of my womb; my son, not by adoption, but whom I bare in my womb, and brought forth with great pain, and brought up with tender care; and therefore it is my duty to give thee admonitions, and thine to receive them; and what I speak is from sincere and fervent affection to thee, which I trust thou wilt not despise.

The son of my vows; on whose behalf I have made many prayers, and sacrifices, and solemn vows to God; whom I have, as far as in me lay, devoted to the work, and service, and glory of God.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

What, my son?.... What shall I call thee? though thou art a king, can I address thee in more suitable language, or use a more endearing appellative than this, and what follows? permit me, thy mother, to speak unto thee as my son: and what shall I say to thee? I want words, I want wisdom; O that I knew what to say to thee, that would be proper and profitable; or what is it I am about to say to thee? things of the greatest moment and importance, and therefore listen to me; and so the manner of speaking is designed to excite attention: or what shall I ask of thee? no part of thy kingdom, or any share in the government of it; only this favour, to avoid the sins unbecoming a prince, and to do the duty of a king, later mentioned. The Targum and Syriac version represent her as exclaiming, reproving, and threatening; as, Alas my son! is this the life thou designest to live, to give up thyself to wine and women? fie upon it, my son, is this becoming thy birth, education, and dignity? is this the fruit of all the pains I have taken in bringing thee up? consider the unbecoming part thou art acting;

and what, the son of my womb? whom I bore in sorrow, brought forth in pain, and took so much care and trouble to bring up in a religious way, and form for usefulness in church and state? not an adopted son, but my own flesh and blood; and therefore what I say must be thought to proceed from pure affection to thee, and solely for thy good; see Isaiah 49:15;

and what, the son of my vows? whom I asked of God, and promised to give up to him again, and did; for which reason she might call him Lemuel, as Hannah called her son Samuel, for a like reason, 1 Samuel 1:28; a son for whom she had put up many prayers, for his temporal and spiritual good; and on whose account she had made many vows, promises, and resolutions, that she would do so and so, should she be so happy as to bring him into the world, and bring him up to man's estate, and see him settled on the throne of Israel.

Geneva Study Bible

What, my son? and what, the son of {c} my womb? and what, the son of my vows?

(c) By this often repetition of one thing, she declares her motherly affection.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

2. What] This word thrice repeated finds its sufficient explanation in the yearning earnestness of a mother’s heart. The LXX. expand it, “What, my son, shalt thou keep? What? the sayings of God.” Similarly Maurer and Rosenmuller, “What shall I say unto thee? With what precepts shall I be able sufficiently to instruct and inform thee, so that thou mayest be truly wise and mayest rule well thy kingdom?”

Song of Solomon of my vows] “For whom I have made so many vows, if I might bring thee safely into the world, and rightly educate thee.” Maur. Comp. 1 Samuel 1:11.

The word here used for son is not the usual Heb. word, ben (as in Benjamin), but the Aramaic word bar (as in Bar-jona, Bar-Jesus); and this Aramaism is in keeping with other dialectic peculiarities of this Section of this Book.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 2-9. - Here follows the exhortation, which seems to come from the same source as the "burden" of Agur above. In this section the connection and parallelism of the parts are exhibited by repetition of thought and often of words in the several clauses. Verse 2. - What, my son? Mah, "what," is repeated thrice, both to enforce the attention of the son, and to show the mother's anxious care for his good. She feels the vast importance of the occasion, and asks as in perplexity, "What shall I say? What advice shall I give thee?" "Son" is here not ben, but bar, one of the Aramaic forms which are found in these two last chapters. The word occurs also in Psalm 2:12. Son of my vows. This might mean, "son who wast asked in prayer," like Samuel (1 Samuel 1:11), and dedicated to God, as the name Lemuel implies; or it may signify, "thou who art the object of my daily vows and prayers." Septuagint, "What, my son, wilt thou observe (τηρήσεις)? What? the sayings of God. My firstborn son, to thee I speak. What, son of my womb? What, son of my vows?" Proverbs 31:2

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

2 What, my son? and what the son of my womb?

   And what, O son of my vows?!

The thrice repeated מה is completed by תּעשׂה (cf. Khler under Malachi 2:15), and that so that the question is put for the purpose of exciting attention: Consider well, my son, what thou wilt do as ruler, and listen attentively to my counsel (Fleischer). But the passionate repetition of מה would be only affectation if thus interpreted; the underlying thought must be of a subjective nature: what shall I say, אדבּר (vid., under Isaiah 38:15), what advise thee to do? The question, which is at the same time a call, is like a deep sigh from the heart of the mother concerned for the welfare of her son, who would say to him what is beneficial, and say it in words which strike and remain fixed. He is indeed her dear son, the son whom she carries in her heart, the son for whom with vows of thanksgiving she prayed to God; and as he was given her by God, so to His care she commits him. The name "Lemuel" is, as we interpret it, like the anagram of the fulfilment of the vows of his mother. בּרי bears the Aramaic shade in the Arameo-Arab. colouring of these proverbs from Massa; בּריהּ is common in the Aram., and particularly in the Talmudic, but it can scarcely be adduced in support of ברי. וּמה belongs to the 24, מה, with ח or ע not following; vid., the Masora to Exodus 32:1, and its correction by Norzi at Deuteronomy 29:23. We do not write וּמה־בּר; מה, with Makkeph and with Metheg, exclude one another.