Proverbschapter 18
24 verses · Solomon and others · 10th to 5th century BC · Wisdom and poetry
He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.
Introduction
Solomon and others, Wisdom and poetry, Proverbs Overview.
This chapter belongs to Solomon's collection and gives most of its attention to words, the words spoken in a quarrel, in a lawsuit and in private talk. It was written for neighbours who had to go on living beside one another after a dispute at the gate was settled. Most of its sayings are single observations, and several come in small clusters that share a subject. Listen for the two places of safety it sets side by side, and for the sayings about hearing a case through before answering it. It teaches how much power speech carries in a town where everyone knows everyone.
Context
- Who
- Neighbours who must live with one another after the argument ends
- What
- Sayings from Solomon's collection on speech, quarrels, lawsuits, pride and the place where a person finds safety.
- Where
- A walled Israelite town, with its tower and the bench inside the gate where cases were heard.
- When
- The reign of Solomon, about 970 to 931 BC; the book names him at Proverbs 10:1.
- Why
- To teach that words carry life and death, and that the name of the LORD is the one sure refuge.
Historical context
"The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." A tower was the last refuge in a fortified town, a thick-walled keep, sometimes at the gate, where people fled when the wall was breached. Every hearer knew what it was to look up at one and know that was where you would run.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
"He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him." This is courtroom procedure at the gate: the plaintiff spoke first, and his account sounded airtight until the other man arrived and cross-examined it. The proverb is a rule for elders and for anyone who hears one side of a story.
"The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty." When two powerful families deadlocked and no evidence settled it, the case went to the lot, which nobody could bribe and both had agreed in advance to accept.
"A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle." The picture is of a gate barred from the inside with heavy timber or bronze bars. You do not talk your way through that; the siege of a family quarrel could outlast the people in it.
Significance
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue" was heard by people whose reputation was decided by talk at the gate and whose court cases were decided by testimony. Words really did kill.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
And the chapter's line about the rich man's wealth being "his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit" is placed near the tower verse on purpose. Two refuges are on offer; only one of them is actually there when the wall is breached.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
What is done
No public reading in the synagogue is drawn from this chapter. The site's own table in src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts was probed for this lane over Proverbs 16 to 31. It printed parashot total 0, haftarah uses total 0 and 0 chapters with a synagogue reading. It printed null for a festival reading of the book. The same probe printed 54 weekly portions and 6 festival readings in the table as a whole. The corpus ties no custom of the home or the synagogue to this chapter, so this part records the absence.
The chapter is met in the study of the Midrash and the Talmud instead. The corpus links it to twenty-one collections. The two it cites most often here are Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition) and Bamidbar Rabbah.
How it is read
Rashi is quoted here from The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, which Sefaria reports as CC-BY. Every quotation is held to fifty words or fewer because the translation is modern. Rashi opens the chapter with the Sages. The one who separates himself of the first verse is read as a man separated from God who pursues the lust of his heart. "Our Sages expounded this as referring to Lot, who separated from Abraham because of the lust of his heart" (Rashi on Proverbs 18:1:1). Rashi adds that Lot's shame was exposed in the synagogues and study halls when Deuteronomy 23:4 was read there. The offended brother of the nineteenth verse he reads by the same pairs: "Lot against Abraham and Esau against Jacob" (Rashi on Proverbs 18:19:1).
Two readings stand side by side at several verses. The wife of the twenty-second verse is "the Torah; and according to its apparent meaning, a good wife" (Rashi on Proverbs 18:22:1). The gift that makes room of the sixteenth verse has a simple meaning and a midrashic one, which is charity that widens a man's share in the future world (Rashi on Proverbs 18:16:1). At the fifth verse Rashi gives the Sages' reading, that it is not good for the wicked to be favoured in this world and requited in the next (Rashi on Proverbs 18:5:1).
The spirit of a man of the fourteenth verse is the strong man who "accepts with joy and love whatever befalls him" (Rashi on Proverbs 18:14:1). The poor man's pleading of the twenty-third verse becomes a rule of conduct, and Rashi applies it to the classroom: "and so is the matter of a teacher to a pupil" (Rashi on Proverbs 18:23:1). The friend of the last verse is the one "who sticks closer than a brother" (Rashi on Proverbs 18:24:1).
The corpus carries six further notes on this chapter without an English text, each marked linked because Sefaria holds no English version of the ref. They are cited by ref alone: Metzudat David on Proverbs 18:7:1 and 18:12:1 and Ibn Ezra on Proverbs 18:13:1, 18:15:1, 18:17:1 and 18:20:1.
What the rabbis say
The corpus carries forty rabbinic locators on this chapter, thirty-one filed as Midrash and nine as Talmud, and the text of none, so each is cited here by its ref and never quoted or paraphrased. At verse 1 it holds Aggadat Bereshit 25:2, with Bereshit Rabbah 51:9 and with Ein Yaakov, Nazir 4:3. At verse 3 it holds Bereshit Rabbah 63:14, with Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Sanhedrin 11:139. At verse 4 it holds Midrash Sekhel Tov, Shemot 9:9:4. At verse 5 it holds Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Megillah 4:6, with Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Yoma 8:26. At verse 6 it holds Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 261:14 and Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 763:11. At verse 7 it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 18:4 and Bereshit Rabbah 38:8. At verse 8 it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 16:20, with Midrash Lekach Tov, Deuteronomy 1:27:1. At verse 9 it holds Esther Rabbah 1:1. At verse 10 it holds Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Vayera 24:1, with Midrash Tehillim 142:1. At verse 11 it holds Tractate Soferim 15:9. At verse 12 it holds Aggadat Bereshit 26:3, with Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Vayera 29:1. At verse 13 it holds Bava Batra 98b:6, with Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Bava Batra 6:2. At verse 14 it holds Otzar Midrashim, Midrash Yelamdeinu, Last Composition from Midrash Yelamdenu 28. At verse 16 it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 13:17 and Devarim Rabbah 4:8. At verse 18 it holds Bamidbar Rabbah 21:9, with Midrash Tanchuma, Pinchas 6:1. At verse 19 it holds Avot DeRabbi Natan, Recension B 32:23, with Bamidbar Rabbah 18:1. At verse 20 it holds Chullin 59b:6, with Ein Yaakov, Khullin 3:11. At verse 21 it holds Arakhin 15b:22 and Arakhin 15b:25. At verse 22 it holds Berakhot 8a:10 and Berakhot 8a:9. At verse 23 it holds Devarim Rabbah 2:4, with Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Sanhedrin 6:7. At verse 24 it holds Berakhot 63a:15, with Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Berakhot 9:16. At verse 28 it holds Midrash Lekach Tov on Esther, Introduction 1. What each of them teaches is a saying of the rabbis, and it is reported as theirs wherever this site quotes one.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on Proverbs 18:1:1 to 18:24:1, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg, reported CC-BY; Ibn Ezra, Ibn Ezra on Proverbs 18:13:1, 18:15:1, 18:17:1 and 18:20:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; Metzudat David, Metzudat David on Proverbs 18:7:1 and 18:12:1, cited by ref because the corpus carries no English text; The Sefaria corpus, scripts/data/sources/sefaria/proverbs/18.json, the 40 Talmud and Midrash locators of this chapter; The site's own files, src/lib/hebraic/readings.ts, printing no portion, no Haftarah and no festival reading for this book.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
The Name of Jehovah Is a Strong Tower
He who isolates himself pursues: selfish desires, pulling away from counsel and company to chase his own will. In doing so "he rebels against all sound judgment," breaking out against the wisdom he has left behind.
Proverbs 18:1
“The text and the marginal readings indicate the two chief constructions of this somewhat difficult verse. Other renderings are (1) He who separateth himself from others seeks his own desire, and rushes forward against all wise counsel: a warning against self-will and the self-assertion which exults in differing from the received customs and opinions of mankind. (2) he who separates himself (from the foolish, unlearned multitude) seeks his own desire (that which is worthy to be desired), and mingleth himself with all wisdom. So the Jewish commentators generally.”
Proverbs 18:2-5
A fool does not delight in understanding: but "only in airing his opinions," and where the wicked man comes, contempt and disgrace come with him. Showing partiality to the wicked and depriving the innocent of justice name the corruption the chapter keeps circling back to.
Proverbs 18:2
“But that his heart may discover itself - It is a fact that most vain and foolish people are never satisfied in company, but in showing their own nonsense and emptiness. But this verse may be understood as confirming the view already given of the preceding, and may be translated thus: “But a fool doth not delight in understanding, though it should even manifest itself:” so I understand כי אם בהתגלות ki im behithgalloth.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
With a wicked man comes contempt: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the verse as sin and punishment joined. Contempt is the feeling others hold toward the wicked man, and disgrace is that contempt shown openly. Shame comes with him wherever he goes.
Proverbs 18:3
“So surely are sin and punishment connected (Pr 16:4). wicked, for "wickedness," answers to ignominy, or the state of such; and contempt, the feeling of others to them; and to reproach, a manifestation of contempt.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
mouth are deep waters: John Gill reports that Jarchi took the man here as an excellent man and Aben Ezra as a wise man. Their words run deep. The second line pictures the same wisdom as a bubbling brook that flows out from its fountain.
Proverbs 18:4
“The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters,.... The words of a great and mighty man; of an excellent and valuable man, as Jarchi; or of a wise man, as Aben Ezra.”
Showing partiality to the wicked: In a court, Adam Clarke writes, riches, influence, friends and office must count for nothing, and the case is judged on its merits. Partiality to the wicked is worst when a rich man oppresses the innocent poor. Both lines name one corrupt verdict.
Proverbs 18:5
“To accept the person of the wicked - We must not, in judicial cases, pay any attention to a man’s riches, influence, friends, offices, etc., but judge the case according to its own merits. But when the wicked rich man opposes and oppresses the poor righteous, then all those things should be utterly forgotten.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 18:6-9
A fool’s lips bring him strife: and his mouth invites a beating, so his ruin and the snare to his soul come from one mouth. The slothful worker is named "brother to him who destroys," since wasted effort and wasted goods spend the same coin.
Proverbs 18:6
“The first verse speaks of the immediate, the others of the remote, results of the “fool’s” temper. First, “contention,” then “strokes” or blows, then “destruction,” and last, “wounds.” Pro 18:8 Wounds - The word so rendered occurs here and in Pro 26:22 only. Others render it “dainties,” and take the verse to describe the avidity with which people swallow in tales of scandal. They find their way to the innermost recesses of man’s nature.”
A fool’s mouth is his ruin: Verse 6 showed the lips of a fool drawing strife and a beating from others. Here the harm turns inward, his mouth his ruin and his lips a snare to his soul. His own speech sets the trap.
like choice morsels: Adam Clarke names the gossip as the whisperer and the double-tongued man, whose words seem soft and gracious. Clarke calls them wounds that injure deeply. They sink into the inmost being.
Proverbs 18:8
“The words of a tale-bearer - דברי נרגן dibrey nirgan, “the words of the whisperer,” the busy-body, the busy, meddling croaker. Verba bilinguis, “the words of the double-tongued.” - Vulgate. The wordes of the twisel tunge - Old MS. Bible. “The words of a slanderer.” - Coverdale. The words of a deceiver, the fair-spoken, deeply-malicious man, though they appear soft and gracious, are wounds deeply injurious. The original word is כמתלהמים kemithlahamim; they are as soft or simple, or undesigning. But Schultens gives another meaning.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
is brother to him who destroys: The slothful worker and the destroyer are named brothers in one family. One neglects his work and the other ruins it, and the loss is the same. Wasted time and wasted goods spend the same coin.
Proverbs 18:9
“He also that is slothful - A slothful man neglects his work, and the materials go to ruin: the master, he destroys the materials. They are both destroyers.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Proverbs 18:9
“He also that is slothful in his work,.... Remiss in it; hangs down his hands, and does not care to make use of them, but neglects his business: is brother to him that is a great waster: a prodigal man, who spends his substance in riotous living: the sluggard and the prodigal are brethren in iniquity; for, though they take different courses, they are both sinful, and issue in the same manner; both bring to poverty and want.”
Proverbs 18:9
“He who is lazy and slack in his work, etc. Because he who does not strictly follow through with good beginnings imitates the hand of a destroyer through the laziness of negligence.”
Bede · written before 735 · Commentary on Proverbspatristic
Proverbs 18:10-11
The name of the LORD is a strong tower: r," and the righteous run to it and are safe. The next verse sets against it a rich man's wealth as "his fortified city," like a high wall "in his imagination." One tower shelters and the other only feels like shelter.
Proverbs 18:10
“STRONG towers were a greater security in a bygone age than they are now. Then when troops of marauders invaded the land, strong castles were set upon the various hilltops, and the inhabitants gathered up their little wealth and fled there at once. Castles were looked upon as being very difficult places to attack. And ancient troops would rather fight a hundred battles than endure a single siege. Towns which would be taken by modern artillery in twelve hours held out for twelve years against the most potent forces of the ancient times.”
wealth is his fortified city: Albert Barnes notes that the Hebrew word for high is the word for safe in verse 10, set there on purpose. The wealth of a rich man is a refuge only in his imagination. Bede adds that riches often bring capture or death.
Proverbs 18:11
“What the name of the Lord is to the righteous Pro 18:10, that wealth is to the rich. He flees to it for refuge as to a strong city; but it is so only “in his own conceit” or imagination. High - In the Hebrew the same word as “safe” Pro 18:10, and manifestly used in reference to it.”
Proverbs 18:12-14
Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud: A proud heart comes before downfall and humility before honor, and answering a matter before hearing it is named "folly and disgrace to him." The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, but the verse asks "who can survive a broken spirit?" and gives no answer.
Proverbs 18:12
There is nothing to be proud about. For to sink to the state of being proud has its consequences according to the text: "Before ruin the heart of man is exalted and before glory it is humble." These words [also] concern the text: "Hear and hearken, and do not be proud, because the Lord has spoken."
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · Homilies on Jeremiah 12:8.3patristic
Death and Life Are in the Power of the Tongue
answers a matter before he hears: John Gill pictures the man who breaks in before the speaker has finished and answers without weighing what was said. He ties the verse to the call to be swift to hear and slow to speak. Such haste ends in folly and disgrace.
Proverbs 18:13
“He that answereth a matter before he heareth it,.... Who is impatient, and cannot wait to hear it out, but breaks in upon the speaker before he has finished what he has to say; or is rash and precipitate, and returns an answer at once, without weighing and considering, and thoroughly understanding, what is said: it is folly and shame unto him; his answer must be a foolish one, and bring shame and confusion upon him; men should be "swift to hear", and "slow to speak", Jas 1:9.”
can endure his sickness: John Gill reads the spirit of a man here as fortitude, natural and Christian, that bears him up to endure his sickness. Bede sets beside it the words of Christ that the spirit is willing and the flesh weak. Who can survive a broken spirit is left unanswered.
Proverbs 18:14
“The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity,.... The spirit of a mighty man, as Jarchi; a man of spirit, that has a spirit of fortitude, even of natural fortitude, and especially of Christian fortitude; that has a spirit of might upon him, of power, and sound mind; a man of a Christian spirit, that is renewed in the spirit of his mind; who is a spiritual man, and has the Spirit of God in him, as well as a rational soul, an immaterial, immortal, and never dying substance.”
Proverbs 18:15-16
The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge: and the ear of the wise seeks it out, inward disposition and outward attention paired in one couplet. A man's gift opens doors for him and brings him before great men, a plain observation about what a present does.
Proverbs 18:15
“With the wise and prudent there is no loss of time. “Heart” and “ear” - the mind working within, or gathering from without materials for its thought - are, through this channel or that, ever gaining knowledge.”
gift opens doors for him: John Gill reads the gift as opening doors, bringing him out of straits, winning a hearing for his case, and bringing him before great men. Adam Clarke calls such a gift to the great a base practice. The verse records it.
Proverbs 18:16
“A man's gift maketh room for him,.... Or "enlarges him" (y); brings him out of prison, or, or out of straits and difficulties with which he, has, been pressed; or it makes way for him to a judge, and for a favourable hearing of his cause; or it enlarges his acquaintance, and gains him respect among men; and bringeth him before great men; it opens a way for him into the presence and company of great men, being a fee to their servants; or with it he procures a place to wait on them.”
1 more voice on this verse
Proverbs 18:16
“A man’s gift maketh room for him - It is, and ever has been, a base and degrading practice in Asiatic countries, to bring a gift or present to the great man into whose presence you come. Without this there is no audience, no favor, no justice. This arose from the circumstance that men must not approach the altar of God without an offering. Potentates, wishing to be considered as petty gods, demanded a similar homage: - Munera, crede mihi, capiunt hominesquedeosque; Placatur donis Jupiter ipse suis.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 18:17-19
The first to state his case: seems right until another comes and cross-examines him, a warning that one side of a story always sounds complete. An offended brother is harder to win than a fortified city, the strongest bond made the hardest breach once it is broken.
Proverbs 18:17
“A protest against another fault in judging. Haste is hardly less evil than corruption. “Audi alteram partern “should be the rule of every judge. His neighbor - The other party to the suit “searcheth,” i. e., scrutinizes and detects him.”
Casting the lot ends quarrels: Albert Barnes reads the lot as a quiet appeal to the Divine Judge, and he compares 16:33. It gave a fairer hope of justice than the gift of verse 16 or the one-sided case of verse 17. It separates strong opponents.
Proverbs 18:18
“Compare Pro 16:33 note. A tacit appeal to the Divine Judge gave a fairer prospect of a just decision than corruption Pro 18:16 or hasty onesidedness Pro 18:17.”
An offended brother is harder to win: Albert Barnes notes that translators supply words to complete the first line, and he judges that sense the best. The Septuagint and Vulgate follow another text entirely. A dispute between brothers shuts like the bars of a castle.
Proverbs 18:19
“The meaning of the first clause is obtained in the King James Version by the insertion of the words in italics, and it seems on the whole to be the best. The Septuagint and Vulgate give an entirely different rendering, based, apparently, upon a different text.”
Proverbs 18:20-21
From the fruit of his mouth: A man's belly is filled from the fruit of his mouth, so he is satisfied or starved by what he has said. The next verse states the principle: "Life and death are in the power of the tongue," and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18:20
“With the fruit of his mouth - Our own words frequently shape our good or evil fortune in life.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Proverbs 18:20
“The general sense is plain. A man must for good or evil take the consequence of his words, as well as his deeds. Compare the marginal reference.”
in the power of the tongue: John Gill applies the verse to witnesses, judges and teachers, whose words bring life or death. Valerian of Cimiez says wounding words cause death. Those who love the tongue eat its fruit, as verse 20 pictures the mouth filling the belly.
Proverbs 18:21
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue,.... Of witnesses, according to the testimony they bear; of judges, according to the sentence they pass; of teachers, according to the doctrine they preach; of all men, who, by their well or ill speaking, bring death or life to themselves and others.”
2 more voices on this verse
Proverbs 18:21
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue - This may apply to all men. Many have lost their lives by their tongue, and some have saved their lives by it: but it applies most forcibly to public pleaders; on many of their tongues hangs life or death.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Proverbs 18:21
“A wound arising from words is unbearable.… Truly, dearly beloved, if you look deeply, and diligently investigate the swelling tumor of an exasperated heart, you will discover that the wounds produced by words cause deaths.”
Valerian of Cimiez · written before 460 · HOMILY 5:4patristic
Proverbs 18:22-24
He who finds a wife finds: a good thing and "obtains favor from the LORD." Beside it the poor man pleads for mercy and the rich man answers harshly. A man of many companions may come to ruin, "but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother."
Proverbs 18:22
“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing - Marriage, with all its troubles and embarrassments, is a blessing from God; and there are few cases where a wife of any sort is not better than none, because celibacy is an evil; for God himself hath said, “It is not good for man to be alone.””
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The poor man pleads for mercy: Albert Barnes notes the paradox of the verse. The poor man, from whom roughness might be expected, pleads for mercy, while the well-bred rich man answers harshly. Bede reads the pair as the humble publican and the proud Pharisee of the Gospel.
Proverbs 18:23
“With supplications a poor man speaks, etc. The humble in spirit humbly worship the Lord, like the publican in the Gospel; the proud boast of their merits, like the Pharisee.”
Bede · written before 735 · Commentary on Proverbspatristic
a friend who stays closer than a brother: John Gill reads the first line in its older rendering as a call to return friendship, as between David and Jonathan. The Berean text reads it as a warning that many companions may bring a man to ruin. One true friend stays closer.
Proverbs 18:24
“A man that hath friends must show himself friendly,.... Friendship ought to be mutual and reciprocal, as between David and Jonathan; a man that receives friendship ought to return it, or otherwise he is guilty of great ingratitude.”
Keep studying
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Valerian of Cimiez, HOMILY 5:4.