The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 407

EXPOSITION. without distinction of rank or position; the CHAPTER XXII. rich should not despise the poor (eh. xiv. Ver. 1.-A. good name is rather to be 31; xvii. 5; Job x:ni. 15), the poor should ohoaen than great riohea. It will be ob- not envy the rich (eh. iii. 31 ), but all sl ,ould served that" good" in the Authorized Ver- live in love and harmony as one great family sion is in italics, showing that the epithet of God. is not expressed in the Hebrew, which is Ver. 3.-A. prudent man foreseeth the simply Cl? (shem), "name." But this word evil, and hideth himself. The whole verse carried with it the notion of good repute, is repeated in eh. xxvii. 12. St. Jerome has e.e in Eccles. vii. 1; for being well known callidus, and the LXX. has ,ravovp-yos, as implied honour and reputation, while being the translation of c,~ (arum); but it must nnmel~ss (Job xxx. 8) signified not only be taken in a good sense, as cautious, far- obscurity, bnt ignominy and discredit. seeing, prudent (see note on eh. i. 4), Such Hence the versions have /Svoµcz 1<czll.ov, nomen a man looks around, takes warning from bonum, and Ecclus. xii. 12, "Have regord little circumstances which might escape the to thy name (,r,pl avoµczTos), for that shall observation of careless persons, on<l provides continue with thee above o. thousand great for his safety in good time. Thus the Chris- treasures of gold. A good life," the moralist tians at the siege of Jerusalem, believing continues, "bath but few days; but a good Christ's warniniss, retired to Pello, and were name endureth for ever" (contrast eh. x. 7). saved. A Spanish proverb runs, "That And loving favour rather than eilver and which the fool does in the end, the wise gold; or, more accurately, and before gold and man does o.t the beginning." The simple silver grace is good; i.e. grace is far better pass on, and are plllliahed. The subject of than gold. Grace (cheri) is the manner and the former hemistich is in the singular demeanour which win love, as well as the number, for a really prudent man is o. com- favour e.nd affection gained thereby; taken paratively rare being; the second clause is os parallel to "nome," in the former hemi- plural, teaching us, as Hitzig observes, that etich, it means hero "favour" the re!rard many simple ones are found for one prudent. conceived by others for a ;orthy object. These silly persons, blundering blindly on Puhl. Syr., "Bona opinio hominum tutior their way, without circumspection or fore- peounio. est." The French have a proverb, thought, meet with immediute punishment, "Bonno renommee vaut mieux que ceinture incur dangers, suffer loss. A Cornish proverb 1lorce." The latter hemistich gives the runs, "He who will not be ruled by the reason for the assertion in the former-a rudder must be ruled by the rock." Sep- good name ie so valuable beco.use it wins tuagint, •• An intelligent nrnn (,rc,voiip-yos) affection and friendship, which are far pre- seeing a wicked man punished is himself ferable to material riches. forcibly instructed; but fools puss by, and Ver. 2.-The rioh and poor meet together aro punished" (comp. eh. xxi. 11). (eh. xxix. 13): the Lord is the Maker of them Ver. 4.-ny humility and the fear of the all (Job xxxiv. 19). God has ordained that Lord, eto. This does not seem to be the there shall be rich and poor in the world, best rendering of the original. The word and tho.t they should meet in the intercouree rendered "by" (JR,¥. ekeb), "in reward of," is of life. These social inequalitiec a.re ordered also tnken as the subject of the sentence : for wise purposes; the one helps the other. r• "'fho reward of humility ond,' or, 'which The labour of the poor make~ the wealth of is'] the fear of God, is ricnes,'' etc. There the rich; the wealth of the rich enables him is uo copulative in the clause, o.nd a eirnilur to employ and aid the poor. Their common nsyndeton occurs in ver. 5 ; so there is no humanity, their fatherhood in God, should reoson why we should not regurd the clause mo.ke them regard one another ee brethren, in thia way. Thus Revised Version, Nowack,  422 THE PROVERBS. [OH. XXII. 1-211,