Proverbs 22:1-2 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 22:1

Here are two things which are more valuable and which we should covet more than great riches:?1. To be well spoken of: A name (that is, a good name, a name for good things with God and good people) is rather to be chosen than great riches; that is, we should be more careful to do that by which we may get and keep a good name than that by which we may raise and increase a great estate. Great riches bring great cares with them, expose men to danger, and add no real value to a man. A fool and a... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 22:2

Note, 1. Among the children of men divine Providence has so ordered it that some are rich and others poor, and these are intermixed in societies: The Lord is the Maker of both, both the author of their being and the disposer of their lot. The greatest man in the world must acknowledge God to be his Maker, and is under the same obligations to be subject to him that the meanest is; and the poorest has the honour to be the work of God's hands as much as the greatest. Have they not all one Father?... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 22:1

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches ,.... The word "good" is not in the text, but is rightly supplied, as it is by the Targum, Septuagint, and Vulgate Latin versions; for it is not any name that is more eligible than riches; nor is it a need name among any sort of persons; for to have a good name with some turns to a man's reproach rather than to his credit; but a good name among good men, a name in the house of God, which is better than sons and daughters; a new name,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 22:2

The rich and poor meet together ,.... In an hostile way, as some; they rush upon one another; the rich despise the poor, and the poor envy the rich; they cannot speak well one of another, as the Arabic version; or they are dependent on one another, they cannot do without each other; as in the natural body one member cannot say to another, I have no need of thee; so, in the body politic, the rich and the poor cannot say they have no need of one another; the rich stand in need of the poor to... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 22:1

A good name - שם shem , a name, put for reputation, credit, fame. Used nearly in the same way that we use it: "He has got a name;" "his name stands high;" for "He is a man of credit and reputation." טבא toba , καλον , hamood , and bonum , are added by the Chaldee, Septuagint, Arabiac, and Vulgate, all signifying good or excellent. Is rather to be chosen than great riches - Because character will support a man in many circumstances; and there are many rich men that have no... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 22:2

The rich and poor meet together - עשיר ashir the opulent, whether in money, land, or property; רש rash , the man that is destitute of these, and lives by his labor, whether a handicraftsman, or one that tills the ground. In the order of God, the rich and the poor live together, and are mutually helpful to each other. Without the poor, the rich could not be supplied with the articles which they consume; for the poor include all the laboring classes of society: and without the rich,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 22:1

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches . It will be observed that "good" in the Authorized Version is in italics, showing that the epithet is not expressed in the Hebrew, which is simply שֵׁם ( shem ) , "name." But this word carried with it the notion of good repute, as in Ecclesiastes 7:1 ; for being well known implied honour and reputation, while being nameless ( Job 30:8 ) signified not only obscurity, but ignominy and discredit. Hence the versions have ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 22:1

A good name and loving favour Both of these blessings—which, indeed, are closely allied—are here preferred to great riches. It is better to be poor with either than rich with neither. Let us examine the excellence of each of them. I. THE EXCELLENCE OF A GOOD NAME . Why is this rather to be chosen than riches? 1 . Because it is a higher order of good. Wealth is a material thing. The best of it is empty and vain by the side of what is intellectual, moral, or spiritual. It... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 22:1

Riches or reputation Both of these things are good in their way and in their measure. They may be held together, for many wealthy men have enjoyed s good name and much "loving favour." But it is not given to all men to command both of these. A large proportion of rich men have lost their reputation for equity' and humanity by the way in which they have gained their wealth. And they must necessarily be many who are compelled to take and keep their place among the poor. But if only one of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 22:1-5

The general conditions of a good name I. WHAT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE ITS FOUNDATION . 1 . Riches . ( Proverbs 22:1 .) Riches have their worth; reputation has its worth; but the latter is of an order altogether different from the former. The former gives a physical, the latter a moral, power. It is right that we should have regard to the opinion of good men. "An evil name shall inherit disgrace and reproach," says Sirach 6:1. And we have, as Christians, clearly to think... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 22:1

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 22:2

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 22:1

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 22:2

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 22:1

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 22:2

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 22:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 22:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 22:1

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 22:1-5

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