The cryptic statement that the advantage of a land is that a king is served by the fields, understood variously, may suggest that even in injustice, some benefit accrues to the realm as a whole through agricultural production. The verse seems to acknowledge that despite corruption, basic functions of society continue; yet this is a minimal good, hardly justifying the system of oppression that enables it. The verse's difficulty of interpretation may itself express the perplexity of observing how unjust systems continue to function.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

Publish a note on this verse