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.
‘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.
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).
‘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). Notice the ideas repeated from the Prologue, ‘knowledge', ‘understanding', ‘shrewdness', things which the wise man enjoys and the fool usually reveals as lacking.
‘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.
‘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.