A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
What does Proverbs 22:1 mean?
We should be more careful to do that by which we may get and keep a good name, than to raise or add to a great estate.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Proverbs 22:1-2 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Proverbs 22:1
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold. Omit "good." The word is an insertion. To the Hebrew, "name" by itself conveyed the idea of good repute, just as "men without a name" (compare Job 30:8 margin) are those sunk in ignominy. The margin gives a preferable rendering of the second clause of this verse.
Key words
- good
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good. (p) "gratia melior", Munster, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Michaelis; so Schultens.
- good
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good. (p) "gratia melior", Munster, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Michaelis; so Schultens.
Context in Proverbs 22
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Proverbs 22 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as sayings of the wise. Proverbs offers compact instruction on speech, work, wealth, friendship, sex, discipline, justice, and wisdom as a way of life before God. Read this chapter with the wider themes of wisdom, fear of the Lord, and speech in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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