The unusual address, "What, O my son?" is "affectionately reproachful." [1] She was getting his attention and appealed to him strongly to give heed to her words for two reasons. She had borne him, and he had some connection with vows she had made to God. [source][source][source]
Context Summary
Proverbs 31:1-9 - The Worthy Woman
In these words of King Lemuel, we notice a mother's influence in the education of her son. A woman is never more nobly occupied than in warning her son against the seductions of pleasure and in giving him a high sense of that which is right. The sins of the flesh have been the peculiar snare of royal personages, preventing them from pleading the cause of the desolate and ministering judgment to the poor and needy. What a contrast to the glory of the sovereignty of Jesus! When Savonarola preached with his burning eloquence in Florence, the people cried, "Jesus is our King, only Jesus!" That is what we all need. He is the King of whom His subjects need never be ashamed.
We cannot interpret Proverbs 31:6 and Proverbs 31:7 as a divine injunction, but rather as an admission that alcohol imparts a temporary stimulus to the despairing and the dying. We must remember Proverbs 20:1. Still speaking of the king, Lemuel shows how best his influence can be employed, Proverbs 31:8 and Proverbs 31:9. But the same obligation and privilege rests on us all. [source]
Chapter Summary: Proverbs 31
1Lemuel's lesson of chastity and temperance 6The afflicted are to be comforted and defended 10The praise and properties of a good wife
What do the individual words in Proverbs 31:2 mean?