Proverbs 22:1
in Proverbs 22A good name is more desirable than great riches; favor is better than silver and gold.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, And loving favor rather than silver and gold.
KJV
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
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This verse in Proverbs 22
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA good name is more excellent than money, and good favor is better than heaps of silver. Faith itself redounds to itself, sufficiently rich and more than rich in its possession. There is nothing which is not the possession of the wise person except what is contrary to virtue, and wherever he goes he finds all things to be his. The whole world is his possession, since he uses it all as his own.
This site's exposition
A good name is more desirable
on Proverbs 22:1-2
The chapter opens by valuing a reputation earned by character over wealth, "A good name is more desirable than great riches." The rich and the poor have this in common, that "The LORD is Maker of them all," which levels the two at their root.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
Better than silver and gold is good grace. He signifies that grace when one is praised by the good for his good work, and indeed, for the conferred gifts of merit, the Father who is in heaven is glorified.
A good name is better, etc. He speaks of a good name, not one praised by the masses of the ignorant, but praised by the testimony of the faithful, even if few. For he did not shun having a good name, but sought to be …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
A good name-- (Job 30:8, Hebrew); "good" is supplied here from Ec 7:1. loving favour--kind regard, that is, of the wise and good.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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 name: but the word of the man of character will go farther than all their riches.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| נִבְחָ֣ר | nivchar | [is to be] chosen | H977 → | 171 times |
| שֵׁ֭ם | shem | a name | H8034 → | 864 times |
| מֵעֹ֣שֶׁר | meosher | more than wealth | H6239 → | 37 times |
| רָ֑ב | rav | great | H7227 → | 454 times |
| מִכֶּ֥סֶף | mikesef | more than silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| וּ֝מִזָּהָ֗ב | umizahav | and more than gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| חֵ֣ן | chen | favor | H2580 → | 69 times |
| טֽוֹב׃ | tov | good | H2896 → | 538 times |
נִבְחָ֣ר[is to be] chosen
nivcharH977 →171 times
שֵׁ֭םa name
shemH8034 →864 times
מֵעֹ֣שֶׁרmore than wealth
meosherH6239 →37 times
רָ֑בgreat
ravH7227 →454 times
מִכֶּ֥סֶףmore than silver
mikesefH3701 →403 times
וּ֝מִזָּהָ֗בand more than gold
umizahavH2091 →389 times
חֵ֣ןfavor
chenH2580 →69 times
טֽוֹב׃good
tovH2896 →538 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
Luke 10:20Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
it leads to
- Revelation 21:27
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 20:15
And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
- Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their…
- Matthew 7:22–23
Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
- Hebrews 12:23
in joyful assembly, to the congregation of the firstborn, enrolled in heaven. You have come to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
- Revelation 21:27
Through
Ecclesiastes 7:1A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth.
it leads to
- Revelation 14:13
And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead—those who die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors,…
- Revelation 14:13
Through
Philippians 4:3Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have labored with me for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in…
it leads to
- Revelation 3:5
Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His…
- Luke 10:20
Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
- Revelation 3:5
Where this verse is studied
About Proverbs
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, LETTER 15; Bede, Commentary on Proverbs; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.