Proverbs 18:10
in Proverbs 18The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The name of Jehovah is a strong tower; The righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
KJV
The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
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This verse in Proverbs 18
Commentary
10 notes on this verseSTRONG 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.
This site's exposition
The name of the LORD is a strong tower
on Proverbs 18:10-11
"The name of the LORD is a strong tower," 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.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
A commentator
BonaventureCollationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The gift of fortitude is given by God protecting. For God protects us according to hierarchical ordering, fortifying us within and without. It is written in Proverbs: "The name of the Lord is a most strong tower; the just man runs to it and shall …
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
It is good to have the sign of Zabulon, which is "a dwelling of fortitude," which implies the first stability. "Because Thou, O Lord, art my hope." Hence, "the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the just man runs to it and is …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The name of the Lord is a strong tower,....
12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility. Pride is the presage of ruin, and ruin will at last be the punishment of pride; for before destruction men are commonly so infatuated by the just judgment of God that they are more haughty than ever, that their ruin may be the sorer and the more surprising.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
name of the Lord--manifested perfections (Ps 8:1; 20:2), as faithfulness, power, mercy, &c., on which men rely. is safe--literally, "set on high, out of danger" (Ps 18:2;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
3 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
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. He that possessed a castle was lord of all the region round about, and made their inhabitants either his clients who sought his protection, or his dependents whom he ruled at will. He who owned a strong tower felt, however potent might be his adversary, his walls and bulwarks would be his sure salvation. Generous rulers provided strongholds for their people—mountain fastnesses where the peasantry might be sheltered from marauders. Transfer your thoughts to a thousand years ago, and picture a people, who after plowing and sowing, have gathered in their harvest. But when they are about to make merry with the harvest festival, a startling signal banishes their joy. A trumpet is blown from yonder mountain, the bell answers it from the village tower. Hordes of ferocious robbers are approaching, their corn will be devoured by strangers! Burying their corn and furniture, and gathering up the little portable wealth they have, they hasten with all their might to their tower of defense which stands on yonder ridge. The gates are shut. The drawbridge is pulled up. The iron grating is let down. The warders are on the battlements, and the inhabitants within feel that they are safe.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower - The name of the Lord may be taken for the Lord himself; he is a strong tower, a refuge, and place of complete safety, to all that trust in him. What a strong fortress is to the besieged, the like is God to his persecuted, tempted, afflicted followers.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Safe - literally, as in the margin i. e., is exalted. Compare Psa 18:2, Psa 18:33.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The name of the Lord is a tower of strength; the righteous runs into it and is strengthened Heb. ונשגב.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
and like a strong wall his wealth is to him in his chambers. Since the house is paved with a floor of stones that cover the earth, it is called אבן משכית, a covering stone.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִגְדַּל־ | migdal- | [is] a tower of | H4026 → | |
| עֹ֭ז | ʾoz | strength | H5797 → | 92 times |
| שֵׁ֣ם | shem | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בּֽוֹ־ | bov- | in it | ||
| יָר֖וּץ | yarutz | he runs | H7323 → | 103 times |
| צַדִּ֣יק | tzadik | a righteous [person] | H6662 → | 206 times |
| וְנִשְׂגָּֽב׃ | venisgav | and he is set on high | H7682 → | 20 times |
מִגְדַּל־[is] a tower of
migdal-H4026 →
עֹ֭זstrength
ʾozH5797 →92 times
שֵׁ֣ם[the] name of
shemH8034 →864 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בּֽוֹ־in it
bov-
יָר֖וּץhe runs
yarutzH7323 →103 times
צַדִּ֣יקa righteous [person]
tzadikH6662 →206 times
וְנִשְׂגָּֽב׃and he is set on high
venisgavH7682 →20 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 91:2I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
it leads to
- Psalms 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 26:3–4
You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You.
- Psalms 142:5
I cry to You, O LORD: “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
- Psalms 62:5–8
Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.
- Psalms 18:2
Through
Isaiah 26:4Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.
it leads to
- Isaiah 12:2
Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 62:8
Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Psalms 55:22
Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.
- Isaiah 12:2
Where this verse is studied
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About Proverbs
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Collationes de Septem Donis, Collation 5; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 23; Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 491: “Our Stronghold” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.