Proverbs 17:1

Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

XVII.

(1) A house full of sacrifices.—Possibly the same as the “peace offerings” of Proverbs 7:14 (where see note). The consumption of these may have at times degenerated into licence (comp. 1Samuel 1:13), and quarrelling have ensued.

Benson Commentary

Proverbs 17:1. Better is a dry morsel — “Bread with pulse, or husks,” as Bochart and Houbigant interpret it; which was the food of meaner persons; and quietness therewith — Peace, love, and concord among the members of a family; than a house full of sacrifices — Of the remainder of sacrifices, of which they used to make feasts; concerning which see on Proverbs 7:14 : or, of slain beasts, as the same word, זבחים, is used Genesis 31:54, and elsewhere.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

17:1 These words recommend family love and peace, as needful for the comfort of human life. 2. The wise servant is more deserving, and more likely to appear one of the family, than a profligate son. 3. God tries the heart by affliction. He thus has often shown the sin remaining in the heart of the believer.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Sacrifices - The feast accompanied the offerings Proverbs 7:14. Part of the victims were burned upon the altar, the rest was consumed by the worshipper and his friends. The "house full of sacrifices" was therefore one abounding in sumptuous feasts.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 17

Pr 17:1-28.

1. sacrifices—or, "feasts" made with part of them (compare Pr 7:14; Le 2:3; 7:31).

with—literally, "of."

strife—its product, or attendant. Of sacrifices; of the remainders of sacrifices, of which they used to make feasts; of which See Poole "Proverbs 7:14". Or, of slain beasts, as that word is used, Genesis 31:54, and elsewhere.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith,.... A small quantity of bread; a broken piece of bread, as the word (w) signifies; which has been long broken off, and become "dry" (x); a dry crust of bread; old bread, as the Arabic version; an old, mouldy, dry piece of bread: and the word used has the signification of destruction in it: bread that has lost its taste and virtue; or, however, a mere piece of bread is meant, without anything to eat with it, as Gersom, butter, cheese, or flesh: this, with quietness and peace among those that partake of it, peace in the family, in a man's own mind, especially if he has the peace of God, which passeth all understanding; this is better

than a house full of sacrifices with strife; than a house ever so well furnished with good cheer, or a table ever so richly spread; or where there is plenty of slain beasts for food, or for sacrifice, which were usually the best, and part of which the people had to eat, and at which times feasts used to be made; but the meanest food, with tranquillity and contentment, is preferable to the richest entertainment where there is nothing but strife and contention among the guests; for, where that is, there is confusion and every evil work: peace and joy in the Holy Ghost are better than meats and drinks. Mr. Dod used to say,

"brown bread and the Gospel are good fare;''

see Proverbs 15:17.

(w) "frustrum", a "fregit", Gejerus. (x) "siccum frustum panis", Tigurine version; "cibi sicci" Junius & Tremellius; "brucella sicca", V. L. Mercerus, Piscator; "buccea sicca", Cocceuis; "frustum sicci, sc. cibi", Michaelis, "frustum siccae buccellae, Schultens, so Ben Melech.

Geneva Study Bible

Better is a dry morsel, and quietness with it, than an house full of {a} sacrifices with strife.

(a) For where there were many sacrifices, there were many portions given to the people, with which they feasted.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

1. sacrifices with strife] Lit. sacrifices of strife, but better rendered, good cheer with strife, A.V. marg.; or, feasting with strife, R.V. text. This rendering, however, may be arrived at in either of two ways, (1) We may suppose that the ordinance of feasting on part of a sacrifice Leviticus 7:16; Leviticus 19:6-8) appealed so to the popular mind, that the restriction to “the place which the Lord their God should choose” (Deuteronomy 12:4-14) came to be neglected, and as is too commonly the case, with Christmas, for example, in our own day, the word which should have denoted a religious act before God, sank down to mean a mere worldly feast at home. (2) But it may be doubted whether the Heb. for sacrifice is not used here in the sense of animals slain or killed for eating, as in Deuteronomy 12:15; 1 Samuel 28:24; 1 Kings 19:21; and Ezekiel 39:17, compared with Revelation 19:17, where θυσία of the LXX. becomes δεῖπνον. See also Matthew 22:4.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 1. - (Comp, Proverbs 15:16, 17; Proverbs 16:8.) Better (sweeter) is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith. Dry bread was soaked in wine or water before it was eaten. Thus Boaz bid Ruth "dip her morsel in the vinegar" (Ruth 2:14); thus Jesus gave the sop to Judas when he had dipped it (John 13:26). The Septuagint is pleonastic, "Better is a morsel with joy in peace." Aben Ezra connects this verse with the last two of ch. 16, confining the application to the patient man; but the sentence seems rather to be independent and general. Than an house full of sacrifices with strife. Of the thank or peace offerings part only was burnt upon the altar, the rest was eaten by the offerer and his family; and as the victims were always the choicest animals, "a house full of sacrifices" would contain the materials for sumptuous feasting (see on Proverbs 7:4). The joyous family festival often degenerated into excess, which naturally led to quarrels and strife (see 1 Samuel 1:5, 6, 13; 1 Samuel 2:13, etc.). So the agapae of the early Church were desecrated by licence and selfishness (1 Corinthians 11:20, etc.). Septuagint, "than a house full of many good things and unrighteous victims with contention." With this verse compare the Spanish proverb, "Mas vale un pedazo de pan con amor, que gallinas con dolor." Proverbs 17:1

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

A comparative proverb with טוב, pairing with Proverbs 16:32 :

Better a dry piece of bread, and quietness therewith,

Than a house full of slain beasts with unquietness.

Similar to this in form and contents are Proverbs 15:16. and Proverbs 16:8. פּת חרבה is a piece of bread (פת, fem., as Proverbs 23:8) without savoury drink (Theodotion, καθ ̓ ἑαυτόν, i.e., nothing with it), cf. Leviticus 7:10, a meat-offering without the pouring out of oil. זבחים are not sacrificial gifts (Hitzig), but, as always, slain animals, i.e., either offerings or banquets of slain beasts; it is the old name of the שׁלמים (cf. Exodus 18:12; Exodus 24:5; Proverbs 7:14), part of which only were offered on the altar, and part presented as a banquet; and זבח (in contradist. to טבח, Leviticus 9:2; Leviticus 43:16) denotes generally any kind of consecrated festival in connection with the worship of God, 1 Samuel 20:29; cf. Genesis 31:54. "Festivals of hatred" are festivals with hatred. מלא is part. with object.-accus.; in general מלא forms a constructive, מלא occurs only once (Jeremiah 6:11), and מלאי not at all. We have already, Proverbs 7:14, remarked on the degenerating of the shelamı̂m feasts; from this proverb it is to be concluded that the merriment and the excitement bordering on intoxication (cf. with Hitzig, 1 Samuel 1:13 and 1 Samuel 1:3), such as frequently at the Kirmsen merry-makings, brought quarrels and strife, so that the poor who ate his dry bread in quiet peace could look on all this noise and tumult without envy.