Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 22:7
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower [is] servant to the lender.
7. servant ] not necessarily by being sold to him as a slave (Lev 25:30. Comp. Jer 34:13; Jer 34:17); but more generally as being compelled to do his bidding.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Pro 22:7
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
The borrower servant to the lender
The mere circumstance of being rich gives one man superiority over another who is poor. He who is forced to borrow is placed on that very account in a sort of relative inferiority to him whose position enables him to lend. These words may be compared with those attributed to the Lord Jesus, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
I. The principle may be universally acknowledged and acted upon. Though a man may have received much–a vigorous intellect, a commanding judgment, a rich imagination–he will be miserable if he can give nothing. If a man were assured that he would never be permitted to tell what he had done or recite what he had seen, he loses at once the great impetus which urges him to do much or to see much. A man is not satisfied with being rich, he must be in circumstances to give; some one must be borrower, while he is a lender. It is the giving which makes the receiving of any worth. What is the reason of this alleged supremacy of giving over receiving?
1. The resemblance which is thus acquired to our Redeemer and Creator. If God be love, there is no presumption in supposing that without objects over which the love might expand the Almighty Himself would have remained unsatisfied. Lending, not borrowing, constitutes the happiness of God. And there is more like-mindedness to Christ in giving than in receiving.
2. The giver or the lender has necessarily an advantage over the receiver or the borrower, and this explains how the one is the servant of the other. In all cases the giving seems to imply a relative superiority and the receiving a relative inferiority.
3. Notice the reflex character of benevolence which causes that whatever is bestowed is restored to us tenfold.
II. Objections urged against the statement of the text. In dividing society into the lenders and the borrowers you would exclude the vast majority of mankind from the possibility of being charitable. But being charitable is not limited to any class of society. The poor man may be a giver as well as the rich. God has not granted to the wealthy a monopoly of benevolence. (H. Melvill, B.D.)
A wholesome horror of debt
The venerable Peter Cooper of New York, whose philanthropic efforts for the elevation of the masses are well known throughout the United States, celebrated his ninety-first birthday. In conversation with a reporter who congratulated him, Mr. Cooper referred to some of the guiding principles to which he attributed his success in life. Among other weighty observations were the following remarks on the burden of debt which are worthy the attention of all, especially of young men. Mr. Cooper said: When I was twenty-one years old my employer offered to build me a shop and set me up in business, but as I always had a horror of being burdened with debt, and having no capital of my own, I declined his kind offer. He himself became a bankrupt. I have made it a rule to pay for everything as I go. If, in the course of business, anything is due from me to any one and the money is not called for, I make it my duty on the last Saturday before Christmas to take it to his business place.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. The rich ruleth over the poor] So it is in the order of God, and may be a blessing to both.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Ruleth over the poor, to wit, with rigour and tyranny, taking advantage of his necessities.
Is servant to the lender; is at his mercy, and therefore forced to comply with his pleasure. The design of the proverb is partly to correct this miscarriage of the rich, and partly to oblige all men to diligence, whereby they may deliver themselves from this servitude.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. The influence of wealth setsaside moral distinctions is implied, and, of course, disapproved(compare Pro 19:6; Pro 21:14,&c.).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The rich ruleth over the poor,…. Usurps a dominion over them, and exercises it in a rigorous, oppressive, and tyrannical manner; otherwise they are generally the rich that rule, and if they rule well, in a lawful, gentle, and righteous manner, it is commendable;
and the borrower [is] servant to the lender; being under obligation to him, he is forced to be subject to him, and comply with his humours, and do and say as he would have him; it was a happiness promised to the Israelites, that they should lend to many nations, but not borrow,
De 15:6; compare with this Ne 5:4.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
7 A rich man will rule over the poor,
And the borrower is subject to the man who lends.
“This is the course of the world. As regards the sing. and plur. in 7a, there are many poor for one rich; and in the Orient the rule is generally in the hands of one” (Hitzig). The fut. denotes how it will and must happen, and the substantival clause 7b, which as such is an expression of continuance (Arab. thabat , i.e., of the remaining and continuing), denotes that contracting of debt brings naturally with it a slavish relation of dependence. , properly he who binds himself to one se ei obligat , and , as Pro 19:17 ( vid., l.c.), qui alterum ( mutui datione ) obligat , from , Arab. lwy , to wind, turn, twist round (cog. root laff ), whence with Fleischer is also to be derived the Aram. , “into connection;” so , properly “pushing against,” refers to the radically related (= ), contiguum esse . is one who puts himself in the way of lending, although not directly in a professional manner. The pred. precedes its subject according to rule. Luther rightly translates: and he who borrows is the lender’s servant, whence the pun on the proper names: “Borghart [= the borrower] is Lehnhart’s [= lender’s] servant.”
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
He had said (v. 2.), Rich and poor meet together; but here he finds, here he shows, that, as to the things of this life, there is a great difference; for, 1. Those that have little will be in subjection to those that have much, because they have dependence upon them, they have received, and expect to receive, support from them: The rich rule over the poor, and too often more than becomes them, with pride and rigour, unlike to God, who, though he be great, yet despises not any. It is part of the affliction of the poor that they must expect to be trampled upon, and part of their duty to be serviceable, as far as they can, to those that are kind to them, and study to be grateful. 2. Those that are but going behindhand find themselves to lie much at the mercy of those that are before hand: The borrower is servant to the lender, is obliged to him, and must sometimes beg, Have patience with me. Therefore it is part of Israel’s promised happiness that they should lend and borrow, Deut. xxviii. 12. And it should be our endeavour to keep as much as may be out of debt. Some sell their liberty to gratify their luxury.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
The Bondage of Debt
Verse 7 affirms the bondage of indebtedness. Israelites were forbidden to charge interest from fellow Israelites, Exo 22:25-27; Lev 25:35-37. The prohibition was ignored however, in the days of the captivities, and excessive rates were charged fellow Jews. See Neh 5:3-13; Eze 18:8; Eze 18:13; Eze 18:17 which denounced this practice. Gratuitous giving is encouraged in the New Testament (Luk 6:30-31), but reasonable interest is not forbidden, Mat 25:27; Luk 19:23. The bondage of debt is recognized, however, in the admonition to “owe no man anything,” Rom 13:8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 22:7
AN ANALOGY AFFIRMED AND A CONTRAST SUGGESTED
I. The contrast between the poor man and the borrower. The proverb at least suggests that the poor man and the borrower are not necessarily convertible termsthat a poor man may owe no man anything, and that a man may be in debt without being a poor man in the common acceptation of the word.
1. The poor man and the borrower may occupy different social relations; indeed, as a rule this is the case. The poor man may have been born to poverty, and consequently may be inured to its hardships, one of which is its subjection to the will of the rich. But the borrower may have been born to wealth, and himself accustomed to rule over the poor. The one may be so ignorant and degraded by reason of his poverty as scarcely to be conscious of the yoke he wears; whereas the servitude of the other will be galling in proportion as his education renders him sensitive to his position.
2. They may be unlike in the fact that the poor man may have had no choice but povertyhe may have been born in it, and may have had no opportunity of altering his condition; but the borrower may not have been absolutely obliged to borrowhe may have borrowed merely to speculate or to waste.
II. The point of resemblance between them. They are alike in being both dependent upon the same personupon the rich man. This rich man may be unlike his poor brother in nothing save in his possession of gold; he may be as uneducated as he is, and, morally, far beneath him. He may be much less polished and refined than the man who borrows of him, but, whatever he is or is not does not alter the case, his money makes him the masterboth the poor man and the debtor must submit to his dictation, must acknowledge their dependence on him. Both often have the painful consciousness that he holds in his hand all that makes their existence of any value to themboth often alike feel that he could at any time deprive them of their very bread.
III. The lesson of the proverb. The wise man, by thus showing how two men who are unlike in almost every other respect may be reduced to the same level in this, is probably reading a lesson against borrowing. The poor mans subjection to the rich is a matter which it is not in his power to alter, but a man goes into debt generally of his own free will. He may often be very hardly pressed by necessity to do so, or as a matter of business it may be advisable, but the proverb at least suggests that the step should not be taken without well weighing the consequences. It is doubtless mainly directed against borrowing when a man has not resources to repay, and is not likely to have them.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
1. The responsibility of the rich. How great the power of wealth. In this world it is a talent often more influential for good than intellect or genius.
2. The temptation of the poor. To become servile, cringing in spirit. Flunkeyism is the greatest curse of the people.
3. The wisdom of the diligent. The industrious man is a wise man. Why? Because the more industrious he is, the more independent he becomes of wealthy men.Dr. D. Thomas.
Very important is it to maintain an independence of mind, quite distinct from pride, which elevates the mind far above doing or conniving at evil, for the sake of pleasing a patron. Many have been forced to great entanglement of conscience, perhaps to vote contrary to their conscience, rather than lose the great mans smile. Often also the influence of capital is an iron rule of the rich over the poor. Many, who profess to resist conscientiously state-interference, have little regard for the consciences of their dependants. The monied master exercises a control over his workmen, which shews too plainly his purpose to make them the creatures of his own will. This gigantic tyranny should be denounced with the most solemn protest. The true Christian line is to shun that proud independence, which scorns the kindly offer of needful help; but at the same time to avoid all needless obligations. Sell not your liberty to gratify your luxury. If possible, owe no man anything but love. (Rom. 13:8.) Guard against that poverty, which is the result of carelessness or extravagance. Pray earnestly, labourdiligently. Should you come to poverty by the misfortune of the times, submit to your lot humbly; bear it patiently; cast yourself in child-like dependence upon your God.Bridges.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
7. The rich ruleth over the poor This proverb, also, states a general fact in forcible language. Riches give influence, power, dominion over those who are without wealth; and the man who borrows, or otherwise goes in debt, loses, in some sense, his liberty by the obligation which he is under to his creditor.
Servant , ( ‘ hebhedh,) is the word commonly used for bondman, (slave,) though not confined to that sense.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
v. 7. The rich ruleth over the poor,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 22:7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower [is] servant to the lender.
Ver. 7. The rich ruleth over the poor. ] And that with rigour, as Pharaoh did over Israel, as those imperious mammonists in St James’s time that oppressed and subjugated their poorest brethren, trampling upon them with the feet of intolerable insolence and cruelty. Jam 2:6 “Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children,” said those poor Jews in Nehemiah, who pleads their cause most effectually. Neh 5:7-13 Ubi quot verba, tot tela, quae nimirum animam divitum percellant, fodicent et lancinent, as one saith in another case, He sets upon them with irresistible rhetoric, and makes them restore – which yet rich oppressors are very hardly drawn to do. Every grain of riches hath a vermin of pride and ambition in it. 1Ti 6:17 See Trapp on “ 1Ti 6:17 “ Men’s blood riseth together with their good, and they think that everything must be as they would have it. But especially if they have “drawn the poor into their nets” Psa 10:9 – that is, into their bonds, debts, mortgages, as Chrysostom expounds it; then they not only rob, but ravish them; to their cruelty they join dishonesty; there is neither equity nor mercy to be had at their hands.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The rich = a rich one.
the poor = poor ones.
is servant, &c. Illustrations: the widow (2Ki 4:1); the Jews (Neh 5:3, Neh 5:5).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 22:7
Pro 22:7
“The rich rule over the poor; And the borrower is servant to the lender.”
This states an unhappy fact, but without any approval of it (See the first two verses). The apostolic injunction to “Owe no man anything” (Rom 13:8) is the way to avoid the servitude mentioned in the second line. Of course, this involves doing without many things while the money to acquire the things needed is being earned. The widespread practice of young married couples buying everything they want on credit is an infallible method of remaining poor for a lifetime.
Pro 22:7. This is the way it is in life: the rich who have made financial successes are the ones who rule in governmental circles; they have power, influence and reputation that necessarily puts them at the helm. It is likely in this verse that the second statement is explanatory of the first; that is, the borrower (the poor) is servant to the lender (the rich). The borrower is limited in the amount he can borrow by the wishes of the lender; he must pay the interest-rate asked by the lender, or there will be no borrowing; he must pay it back in the time-limit set by the lender; and if he doesnt pay it back, the lender will do all he can to collect the equivalent (or more) from the borrower.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
rich: Pro 22:16, Pro 22:22, Pro 14:31, Pro 18:23, Amo 2:6, Amo 4:1, Amo 5:11, Amo 5:12, Amo 8:4, Amo 8:6, Jam 2:6, Jam 5:1, Jam 5:4
the borrower: 2Ki 4:1, Neh 5:4, Neh 5:5, Isa 24:2, Mat 18:25
lender: Heb. man that lendeth
Reciprocal: Deu 15:6 – thou shalt lend Deu 28:12 – lend Psa 37:21 – borroweth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
This verse does not forbid borrowing. In Israel the Jews borrowed from one another. The Mosaic Law permitted this but condemned charging other Jews interest (Exo 22:25; Deu 23:19; Deu 28:12; Deu 28:44), though the Israelites could charge foreigners interest (Deu 23:20). The New Testament does not forbid borrowing either, though it forbids not paying debts (Rom 13:6-8). It may be unwise to go into debt in some situations, but it is going too far to say that the Bible condemns going into debt.
"While a certain amount of honest debt is expected in today’s world, and everybody wants to achieve a good credit rating, we must be careful not to mistake presumption for faith. As the familiar adage puts it, ’When your outgo exceeds your income, then your upkeep is your downfall.’" [Note: Wiersbe, p. 93.]
This verse warns the borrower that he puts himself in a vulnerable position by borrowing. He becomes dependent on another or others by borrowing. An unscrupulous lender might take advantage of him. Most lenders will not take unfair advantage of someone who borrows from them, but the borrower should be aware of this possibility.
"The verse may be referring to the apparently common practice of Israelites selling themselves into slavery to pay off debts (see Exo 21:2-7). It is not appreciably different from the modern debtor who is working to pay off bills." [Note: Ross, p. 1062.]