17:1 Antithetic “better” saying, with lively assonance. See also 15:17. The margin of the NIV indicates the cultic nuance of the Hebrew term zebaḥ (“sacrifice”), but this may have been gradually lost. The contrast is extreme—sheer bread and sumptuous feast. (See also Amenemope 9.7–8=16.13–14; ANET, pp. 422–23.)

17:2 Synthetic. Although there were rules for inheritance (Deut. 21:15–17), instances illustrated by this saying could occur. See 27:18, and also Ben Sira’s advice about servants in Sirach 7:20–21.

17:3 This verse is a “priamel,” a poetic form in which all objects share a common concept. Here “testing” is common to all the objects mentioned, with the climax in verse 3b. Verse 3a is found again in 27:21a. For the Lord’s dealing with the heart, see also 21:2 and 24:12. The theme is …