Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 2:21
For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
21, 22. land earth ] The Heb. word is the same, and should have the same rendering, either land or earth, in both verses. To a Jew this would of course mean “the land which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee” (Exo 20:12; comp. Psalms 37 passim); but in a Book, the colouring of which is not Jewish, but which addresses itself to all mankind, it is open to us to render, earth, with R.V. marg. See Pro 11:31.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Noticeable here is the Hebrew love of home and love of country. To dwell in the land is (compare Exo 20:12; Lev 25:18, etc.) the highest blessing for the whole people and for individual men. contrast with it is the life of the sinner cut off from the land (not earth) of his fathers.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Shall have a peaceable and comfortable abode in the land of Canaan, which also is a type of their everlasting felicity. See Psa 37:3,9,18,29.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21, 22. (Compare Psa 37:3;Psa 37:9; Psa 37:22;Psa 37:27).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For the upright shall dwell in the land,…. Such as are upright in heart, who have a right spirit renewed in them; whose hearts are right with God, have the truth of grace in them; whose faith is unfeigned, their love without dissimulation, and their hope without hypocrisy; and who are upright in their lives and conversations; these being Israelites according to the flesh, as well as Israelites indeed in a spiritual sense, shall dwell in the land of Canaan, which the Lord promised to such, and which good men enjoyed by virtue of it: or the sense is, that such shall dwell peaceably and quietly in the world, and possess the good things of it, though in a small quantity, in such a comfortable manner, with the love of God and a sense of it, as wicked men do not; or else they shall inhabit the world to come, as Jarchi interprets it; not only a future state of happiness in heaven, but the Messiah’s kingdom on earth, the new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, 2Pe 3:13;
and the perfect shall remain in it; or “be left in it” a; or shall be “strengthened” b, confirmed, and established in it; or they shall dwell in it as a tent or tabernacle, bound with strong cords; see
Isa 33:20; or continue there, when others should have no place in it, as follows. By the “perfect” are meant such as have all grace seminally implanted in them, though it is not come up to maturity; who have a perfection of parts, but not of degrees; are properly men in Christ, though they are not arrived to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; are perfectly holy in Christ, though not in themselves; and are perfectly justified by his righteousness, and perfectly comely through his comeliness, though as yet imperfect in themselves; and those that shall dwell in the new heavens and new earth, and remain there a thousand years, shall be entirely perfect in soul and body, wholly without sin; and complete in knowledge, holiness, and peace: the Targum renders it, who are “without spot”, undefiled persons; such who are not defiled with women, with the strange woman before mentioned; whose garments are not defiled, and who are free from the pollution of false doctrine, will worship, superstition, and idolatry, Re 3:4.
a “superstites erunt”, Tigurine version, Mercerus; “superstitabunt”, Cocceius; “reliqui fient”, Junius Tremellius, Piscator “relinquentur”, Michaelis. b “Nervabuntur”, Schultens.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Pro. 2:21-22
THE CONTRAST IN THE END FROM THE CONTRAST IN THE WAY
If men walk in two directly opposite directions they cannot possibly arrive at the same goal.
I. The historic illustration of this truth. The first inhabitants of Canaan were allowed to dwell in the land until they defiled it to so great an extent by their sins that they were rooted out, to be replaced by the Hebrew people. These, in their turn, became transgressors of Gods law, and consequently forfeited their inheritance.
II. The reasonableness of this dealing. Uprightness leads to industry, and the land which is industriously cultivated fulfils the end for which God gave it to the children of men. Uprightness leads to the rightful dividing of the land or of its produce among all its inhabitants. It is Gods will that none of his creatures should suffer bodily want: if all men were truly upright and godly, the poor and needy, if they did not cease out of the land (Deu. 15:2) would have a much larger share of its good things than they at present enjoy. The Hebrew civil and social laws show us what Gods intentions are in this matter. Therefore none ought to complain if they are deprived of a gift which they have mis-used.
III. The typical suggestion of the subject. Dwelling in the land of Canaan was typical of the eternal dwelling in the heavenly country. Some of the first inhabitants of that country have been rooted out because of sin (2Pe. 2:4), others have dwelt safely there for ages, because they are, literally, perfect. This is the destined home of all just men made perfect (Heb. 12:23; Heb. 11:13-16; Mat. 22:32).
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro. 2:21. The Israelite was, beyond the power of natural feeling, which makes home dear to every one, more closely bound to his ancestral soil by the whole form of the theocracy: torn from it he was in the inmost roots of his life itself, strained and broken.Elster.
As surely a righteous man hath this right unto temporal things which a wicked man hath not, that God doth account him to be worthy of them Wherefore it is observed, that in Scripture, although the wicked are said to possess the things of the earth, they are never said to inherit them; but the godly are said to inherit the good things of the earth as receiving them from the love of their heavenly Father.Jermin.
Pro. 2:22. The very earth casts out the wicked. The whole has a typical meaning. This earth, many conjecture, is to be restored as heaven. In that event, the old Canaan types will be very perfect.Miller.
Must not the righteous leave the earth too? Yes; but the earth is a very different thing to the righteous and to the wicked. To the latter it is all the heaven they ever have; to the righteous it is a place of preparation for heaven.Lawson.
The event seemeth to be contrary to the promise here made, for the earth commonly is possessed by those who take evil ways, whilst in the mean season the godly are tossed up and down with many afflictions. But we must consider for our comfort, that the wicked wrongfully and unlawfully, as usurpers, possess the earth and the goods of this world; and again, that by many troubles, and by death in the end, they are put out of possession at last. As for the godly, they, by right, inherit the earth, so that, as Abraham was the heir to the land of promise even when he had not a foot of ground therein, in like manner all the godly are heirs of this world, according to the saying of the apostle, That all things are theirs (1Co. 3:22); howsoever often here they possess little or nothing. In right they are heirs, and in part possessors, looking for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein the just shall dwell (2Pe. 3:13).Muffet.
Suddenly, when they have feathered their nests and set up their rest, the wicked may die sinning. The saints shall not die till the best timenot till the time when, if they were rightly informed, they would desire to die.Trapp.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(21) The upright shall dwell in the landi.e., of Canaan, according to the old promise made to Abraham, renewed in the fifth commandment, and constantly repeated in the prophets.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. The upright shall dwell in the land According to God’s promise, (Deu 11:8-21,) those who keep his commandments shall inherit the land, and transmit it to their posterity.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Contrast Between What Happens To The Upright, And What Happens To The Wicked ( Pro 2:21-22 ).
Each of the first three chapters of Proverbs, together with Pro 4:1-19, ends with a contrast between what happens to the upright, and what happens to those who are not. In Pro 1:32-33 the contrast is between the simple/naive and the fools, as against those who hear and respond to wisdom. Here the contrast is between the wicked and the treacherous as against those who are upright and morally mature. In Pro 3:33-35 the contrast is between the wicked and the righteous, the scorners and the lowly (humbly accepting), the fools and the wise. In Pro 4:18-19 the contrast is between those whose lives reveal light, in contrast with the wicked whose lives reveal only darkness. Thus the simple/naive and fools reveal themselves as wicked and treacherous and in darkness, whilst the wise reveal themselves as upright and morally mature and in the light.
Pro 2:21-22
‘For the upright will dwell in the land/earth,
And the perfect (those who are true) will remain in it,
But the wicked will be cut off from the land/earth,
And the treacherous will be rooted out of it.’
The word eretz can mean either earth or land. In view of the references to death and the grave consuming the wicked (e.g. Pro 2:18) it probably here means ‘earth’ as a generality, or alternatively ‘the land’ as representing what was their world (the land of the living, or the land as given to them by YHWH). The idea of ‘expulsion from the land’ was not in mind here. The expulsion was by death. Thus the upright and the morally mature will live long and satisfying lives on the earth (compare Pro 3:2; Pro 3:16). The wicked and the treacherous will be cut off from the land of the living and rooted out of it. This is the constant message of Proverbs.
‘The upright (straight)’ are those who walk in the straight path. They walk in accordance with God’s instruction. In direct contrast are the ‘wicked’, i.e. the non-upright, those who deviate from the straight path. The latter are defined elsewhere in terms of violence (Pro 10:6; Pro 12:6; Pro 24:15), greed (1-.3; Pro 21:10), deceit (Pro 12:5) and perverse speech (Pro 10:32; Pro 11:11; Pro 15:28; Pro 19:28). Not all the wicked have all these faults. Wickedness is any deviation from the straight path. Wickedness is thus revealed in us all. But the wicked in Scripture are those who continue in that path, Some are violent, some are greedy, some are deceitful and some use perverse speech, but all come under the general term of ‘wicked, non-upright’. The perfect (those who are true) contrast with the treacherous. The ‘perfect’ walk in God’s ways and seek to do His will, the treacherous choose crooked paths, and rebel against His will.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Pro 2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
Ver. 21. For the upright shall dwell in the land. ] Of Canaan, a type of heaven; for by these outward and corporeal things, inward, spiritual, and eternal are understood. Here the wise man speaks after the manner of Moses’ law, under which he lived; Deu 11:8 and howsoever upright men suffer hardship and hunger here, yet they enjoy great tranquillity and felicity, as seeing God in all, and depending wholly upon him for help. “Well for the present, and it will be better hereafter”; – this is the upright man’s motto. Heaven, thinks he, will make amends for all. He that sees visions of glory will not matter, with St Stephen, a shower of stones. How much less will he think much, though “the Lord give him the bread of adversity, and water of affliction.” Isa 30:20
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
dwell in the land. Not be “cast out”, as in Pro 2:22.
perfect: or blameless.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
perfect
(See Scofield “1Ki 8:61”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
Job 1:1, Job 42:12, Psa 37:3, Psa 37:9, Psa 37:11, Psa 37:22, Psa 37:29, Psa 84:11, Psa 112:4-6
Reciprocal: Psa 7:10 – which Psa 51:6 – Behold
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the {o} land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
(o) They will enjoy the temporal and spiritual promises of God, as the wicked will be void of them.