Proverbs 17:2 - Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame.... — This was strikingly exhibited in the case of Ziba, who by his timely succour to David (2 Samuel 16), first gained all the property of his master, Mephibosheth (i.e., the “man of shame”), and was later confirmed in the possession of half of it. Slaves, especially those “born in the house,” often rose to a position of great trust. (Comp. Genesis 24:2; Genesis 39:4-6.) Eliezer would have been Abraham’s heir had not Isaac been born (Genesis 15:3).