Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 10:7
The memory of the just [is] blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.
Pro 10:7
The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.
The remembrance of good and forgetting of bad men
I. How great a concern men naturally have to leave an honourable memory behind them. This idea is implied in the text, not expressed. All men in all ages have desired and endeavoured that others should entertain a good opinion of them, and if possible a great one. To this pursuit, multitudes have sacrificed their ease, their interest, the dearest of their other passions, and their lives themselves. They who know they have forfeited their title to a good character labour hard, by concealing and palliating matters, to retain as much as they can of it. A truly good person will always, in the first place, seek the honour which cometh from God only. But still, desire of being esteemed by our fellow-creatures is a natural, and therefore an innocent passion, prompts us to what is right, and supports us in it. And we have also earnest desire of being remembered, as much to our advantage as possible, after we are gone. Though we shall not be within reach of hearing what is said of us, nor shall we be benefited by praise or hurt by reproach. Therefore some treat all concern far posthumous praise and fame as a mere absurdity. But as virtuous and beneficent actions are by far the most certain way of procuring any durable esteem from mankind, so planting in us a desire of such esteem as may endure when we are gone is providing no small security for our good behaviour here. And so this desire becomes an important blessing to us. A good life hath but a few days; but a good name endureth for ever (Son of Sirach)
.
All this must be cautiously understood of such reputation only as is truly good; sought from proper motives, and pursued by proper means. If people affect to be admired for excellences, which they have not, their attempt at cheating mankind will probably be as vain as it is certainly unjust. Scripture not only stigmatises those whose glory is in their shame, but warns against so excessive an admiration, even of things in themselves valuable, as interferes with the superior regard we owe to real piety and virtue.
II. What care the goodness and justice of God have taken that by worthy conduct we shall obtain our desire and by a criminal one fail of it entirely. There is a particular providence causing the memory of the just and good to flourish out of their ashes, and blasting that of the wicked. Worthy men would be pleased to have present respect paid to their characters, as well as future to their memories. And it is paid in good measure, though the deficiencies in this respect are great: due often to imperfections or eccentricities in the goodness, often to party zeal and to envy. It would probably not be to the advantage of good persons, but far from it, to have all the debt which mankind owes them paid immediately. It might endanger their humility, lead them to an uncharitable contempt of others, and a hazardous confidence in themselves. When once good men are removed to another state, all the reasons which made it unsafe for them to receive praise in this are over; and most of the reasons that made others unwilling to bestow it are over too. Generally speaking, they who deserve well have at length due acknowledgments paid to their memory. The undeserved regard of the ungodly in this life seldom outlasts them any considerable time; the name of the wicked soon rots.
III. In what manner may we best contribute to the due payment of those very different regards which belong to the memory of the bad and the good. Vehemence and bitterness in speaking of those whom we dislike, either when they are living or when dead, is opposed to the spirit of our religion. Yet we are not prevented from forming and expressing just judgments at suitable times. For the most part the name of the wicked, if let alone, will rot of itself; and all that we shall need to do is, not to undertake the nauseous and fruitless office of embalming it. The regards due to the just are briefly these: that we believe them, on good evidence, to be the good persons they were in reality; that we consider their virtues with due esteem, and their imperfections with due candour; that we vindicate their names from unjust imputations, and make honourable mention of them whenever a fit opportunity offers; that we warn and arm ourselves against the temptations, both of prosperity and adversity, by observing how they have gone through each; that we incite ourselves to aim at more perfection in all Christian graces, by seeing in them what heights of piety and goodness are attainable; that we learn watchfulness from their falls; and that we thank God, in our retirements, for the instructions which His providence hath vouchsafed to us in their good lives. (T. Seeker.)
The memory of the just
So far as this world is concerned, every one of us will soon cease to be a man, and be no more than a memory. Every man leaves behind him some kind of a memory; and it depends entirely on what the man has been as to what the memory shall be. There are memories that do rot; those that dwell on them, and take a delight in them, are poisoned by the contact, and all whose feelings are healthy and pure keep at a distance, and feel as if in the presence of something that was corrupt and evil. But however short life may be, it is long enough for a man to do something that will leave a memory in the world which, when he is gone, shall be a blessing to other men.
I. The memory of the just is blessed as an example of holy living. We never can see the force of precept fully if we never see precept embodied in action. You can never give a man a clear notion of what the image of God is unless you give him an opportunity of watching for years the life of a man who has walked with God. The memory of such s man acts as a restraint, both upon the unconverted and upon the child of God, when he is pressed by temptation. The memory of such a man acts as an encouragement. We are apt to think that the law of God is too high for us, that we cannot expect to be thoroughly consistent Christians. And yet, why not? We think those men that we see so good must be different in nature from us. But the grace that made them so holy is as free for us as it was for them. The memory is not only an encouragement, it is also a stimulus. When we hear what the good have done we feel a reproach that we have not done more. That memory is blessed which comes acting upon the spirits of men after a man is gone, and impelling them to follow him in the ways of usefulness and goodness. Such a memory is a stimulus to early consecration to God; to full and laborious consecration to God.
II. The memory of the just is blessed as an example of holy dying. Even those who do not care about living well would like to die well. Others look upon a happy death only in the light of s suitable close of a good life. There is something blessed in seeing the last days of good men.
III. The memory of the just is blessed as a tie to another world. Are there not many of us to whom God has given ties of this kind to that better lend? The blessing in this way counteracts the curse; the curse strikes right and left with the stroke of death, and we see our dearest objects falling before our eyes. But then the blessing comes; they are redeemed; their spirits are in heaven; and our affections turn to the same objects as before. But now those affections, instead of being a tie to earth, are a tie to heaven, where those we love have gone. (William Arthur, M.A.)
The remembrance of a noble name
Who would not preserve a noble name? The recollection of such a name is a continual inspiration. From that recollection many things may be shed that are mere matters of detail, but the substance and the honour, the real quality and worth, abide with us evermore. Who need be ashamed to own that he had a just father and a virtuous mother? No man blushes when he cites the name of a conqueror who worked heroically and succeeded perfectly in the great warfare of life. Just memories are flowers we cannot allow to fade; we water them with our tears; by them we enrich and ennoble our prayers, and by them we animate ourselves as by a sacred stimulus. Blessed are they who have a noble past, a yesterday crowded with memories of things beautiful end lovable; they can never be lonely, they can never be sad; they walk in the company of the just and true, and the silence of the communion does not diminish its music. Here is a fame which is possible to every man. It is not possible for us all to win renown in fields of battle, in walks of literature, in lives of adventure, or in regions of discovery and enterprise–that kind of renown must be left to the few, the elect who are created to lead the worlds civilisation; but the renown of goodness, the fame of purity, the reputation of excellence–these lie within the power of the poorest man that lives. (J. Parker, D.D.)
The memory of the just
The mind often goes back in review of the past human world. On this great field there are presented all the grand varieties of character. They come to view in great divisions and assemblages–in mass, as it were–bearing the broad distinctions of their respective ages, nations, and religions. Here and there individuals stand up conspicuously to view–of extraordinary and pre-eminent character and action. What an odious and horrid character rests upon some. They seem to bear eternal curses on their heads. And these have gone in that same character, unaltered, into another world, and that a state of retribution. But there has been a multitude that no man can number, bearing on earth and bearing away from it the true image of their Father in heaven. The saints of God in the past time are presented as a general comprehensive object to our memory. And we have many of the just retained in memory as individuals. They abide in memory, and ever will, kept alive, as it were, the images, the examples, the personifications of what we approve, admire, and feel that we ought to love and to be. Now, their memory is blessed, self-evidently so, for the mind blesses it, reverts to it with complacency mingled with solemnity. It is blessed when we consider them as practical illustrations, verifying examples of the excellence of genuine religion. Their memory is blessed while we regard them as diminishing to our view the repulsiveness and horror of death, and as associated with the most blessed things through all time. (J. Foster.)
The two memories
It is a trite saying that the present is the only period of time we can call our own; but it is a saying not less true than trite. Now is the moment of action. By our acts in this living present we shall become a power as a memory. In our footsteps our successors will trace our characters as the geologist traces those of the beasts end birds of antediluvian fame.
I. What does the text assert of the name and memory of the wicked?
1. A wicked mans memory lives in his children. Sometimes as a beacon to warn of danger.
2. In their sins the wicked perpetuate their memory. Those who are not content to be in the road to hell themselves, but must inveigle others into the same accursed paths, surely fasten their memories on the souls of their victims. What putrid animal matter is to our physical senses the memory of the wicked shall be to our moral sensibilities when they are gone.
II. The memory of the righteous is blessed. True, as a rule, in the case of the children of the good men. Exceptions prove the rule. Let our children find us faithful to our principles, to our professions, to our Saviour, and when we are gone our memory shall be blessed. The memory of the just shall be blessed in their actions–their acts live long after they are gone, in their effects. Illustrate by the memories of the martyrs end reformers. And there are martyrs in humble life. We have, then, a work to do, that our memories may be a blessing and not a curse, that we may leave footprints behind for others to walk in. (W. Morris.)
Blessed memories
I. The memory of the just is blessed in their inherent worth. Contrast Abraham, Moses, Daniel, Paul, Luther, etc., with Pharaoh, Voltaire, Paine, etc. Of the former, the mention of their names is as ointment poured forth, beautiful, fragrant, and costly; while the latter are only regarded with pity and regretted as a waste.
II. The memory of the just is blessed in their influential words. Their words are blessed–
1. In Christian conversation.
2. In the public mention of them.
3. In quiet meditation.
And they are influential, as is evident–
(1) In the history of the Christian Church.
(2) In the annals of profane history.
(3) In the efforts of human progress.
III. The memory of the just is blessed in their important works.
1. In the books they have written.
2. In the inspiration they have given.
3. In the effects they have produced.
Application: What sort of memory are we weaving for ourselves? One to be blessed, and that will remain unforgotten in the world? or one that will decay, rot, and around which there will cling no loving and permanent memories of Divine or human blessedness? (T. Colclough.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. The memory of the just is blessed] Or, is a blessing.
But the name of the wicked shall rot.] This is another antithesis; but there are only two antithetic terms, for memory and name are synonymous.-Lowth. The very name of the wicked is as offensive as putrid carrion.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Is blessed, i.e. honourable and acceptable to those who mention them. Compare Job 31:20; Psa 62:5.
Shall rot; shall perish, and be cursed and detestable amongst men, shall stink above ground.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. blessedliterally, “fora blessing,” or praise.
shall rotliterally,”be worm-eaten,” useless and disgusting.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The memory of the just [is] blessed,…. Men to whom he has been useful, either in temporals or spirituals, bless him, or wish all blessings to him while alive, whenever they make mention of his name; and after death they speak well of him, and pronounce him blessed; for such are had in everlasting remembrance; the memory of them is sweet and precious; their name is famous and valuable, and always spoken of with honour and commendation; see Ps 112:6. The Jewish writers take it for a command, and render it, “let the memory of the just be blessed”; and say, that he that transgresses it breaks an affirmative precept; they make an abbreviation of the word by the initial letters, and join them to the names of their celebrated men;
but the name of the wicked shall rot; shall be forgotten, be buried in oblivion, and never mentioned: and though they may call their houses, lands, and cities, by their own names, in order to transmit their memory to posterity; yet these, by one means or another, are destroyed, and their memorials perish with them; see Ec 8:10; and if their names are mentioned after they are gone, it is with detestation and abhorrence, as things putrefied are abhorred; so they leave an ill savour behind them, when the good name of the righteous is as precious ointment, Ec 7:1. It is a saying of Cicero a, that
“the life of the dead lies in the memory of the living.”
a Orat. 51. Philip. 9.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Thus, as Pro 10:6 says how it goes with the righteous and the wicked in this life, so this verse tells how it fares with them after death:
The memory of the righteous remains in blessings,
And the name of the godless rots.
The tradition regarding the writing of with five ( ) or six points ( ) is doubtful ( vid., Heidenheim in his ed. of the Pentateuch, Mer Enajim, under Exo 17:14); the Cod. 1294 and old printed copies have here . Instead of , might be used; the phrase (opp. , often used by Jeremiah), subordinate to the substantival clause, paraphrases the passive, for it expresses a growing to something, and thus the entrance into a state of endurance. The remembrance of the righteous endures after his death, for he is thought of with thankfulness ( ” = , the usual appendix to the name of an honoured, beloved man who has died), because his works, rich in blessing, continue; the name of the godless, on the contrary, far from continuing fresh and green (Psa 62:1-12:17) after his departure, becomes corrupt ( , from , to be or to become thin, to dissolve in fine parts, tabescere ), like a worm-eaten decayed tree (Isa 40:20). The Talmud explains it thus, Joma 38b: foulness comes over their name, so that we call no one after their name. Also the idea suggests itself, that his name becomes corrupt, as it were, with his bones; the Mishnah, at least Ohaloth ii. 1, uses of the dust of corruption.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
7 The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.
Both the just and the wicked, when their days are fulfilled, must die. Between their bodies in the grave thee is no visible difference; between the souls of the one and the other, in the world of spirits, thee is a vast difference, and so there is, or ought to be, between their memories, which survive them.
I. Good men are and ought to be well spoken of when they are gone; it is one of the blessings that comes upon the head of the just, even when their head is laid. Blessed men leave behind them blessed memories. 1. It is part of the dignity of the saints, especially those who excel in virtue and are eminently useful, that they are remembered with respect when they are dead. Their good name, their name with good men, for good things, is then in a special manner as precious ointment, Eccl. vii. 1. Those that honour God he will thus honour, Psa 112:3; Psa 112:6; Psa 112:9. The elders by faith obtained a good report (Heb. xi. 2), and, being dead, are yet spoken of. 2. It is part of the duty of the survivors: Let the memory of the just be blessed, so the Jews read it, and observe it as a precept, not naming an eminently just man that is dead without adding, Let his memory be blessed. We must delight in making an honourable mention of good men that are gone, bless God for them, and for his gifts and graces that appeared in them, and especially be followers of them in that which is good.
II. Bad men are and shall be forgotten, or spoken of with contempt. When their bodies are putrefying in the grave their names also shall rot. Either they shall not be preserved at all, but buried in oblivion (no good can be said of them, and therefore the greatest kindness that can be done them will be to say nothing of them), or they shall be loathsome, and mentioned with detestation, and that rule of honour, De mortuis nil nisi bonum—Say nothing to the disadvantage of the dead, will not protect them. Where the wickedness has been notorious, and cannot but be mentioned, it ought to be mentioned with abhorrence.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
7. Blessed Literally, for a blessing; which some understand to be such to others. “He blesses after he is dead.” Comp. Psalm 9:56; Ecc 8:10; Psa 112:6.
Shall rot Shall be rotten, carious, worm-eaten; that is, loathsome. The Septuagint reads, “Shall be extinguished.” It stands opposed to the honours paid to the righteous.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
v. 7. The memory of the Just is blessed,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 10:7. The memory of the just is blessed Eusebius observes, that Plato has transferred this observation into his seventh book of laws; concerning which Lord Bacon makes the following remarks in the place quoted; “That the name of good men, after envy is extinguished, which cropped the blossom of their fame while they were alive, presently shoots up and flourisheth, and their praises generally increase in strength and vigour; but for wicked men, though their fame, through the partial favour of friends and of men of their own faction, may last for a little time, a detestation of their name springs up not long after; and at last those vanishing praises end in infamy, and, like bodies which putrify, expire in a filthy and noisome odour.”
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Pro 10:7 The memory of the just [is] blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.
Ver. 7. The memory of the just is blessed. ] “Demetrius had a good report of the truth.” 3Jn 1:12 In the Hebrew tongue the same word signifieth “a good name,” and “a blessing.” This is one of those blessings mentioned in Pro 10:6 , that shall be heaped upon holy men. “Holy and reverend is his name.” Psa 111:9 How comes God’s name to be “reverend,” but by being “holy?” Be good, and do good, so shall thy name be heir to thy life; yea, when thou art laid in thy grave, thy stock remains, goes forward, and shall do till the day of doom.
But the name of the wicked shall rot.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The memory = What is remembered of him; not what he remembers; see Psa 146:4. Illustrations: Elisha (2Ki 13:21); Jehoiada (2Ch 24:15, 2Ch 24:16); the woman (Mar 14:9); Mary (Luk 1:28, Luk 1:48); Dorcas (Act 9:36, Act 9:39. Compare Pro 22:1; Antipas (Rev 2:13).
the name, &c. Illustrations: Balaam (2Pe 2:15. Jud 1:11. Rev 2:14); Ahaz (2Ch 28:22); Athaliah (2Ch 24:7); Herod (Act 12:22, Act 12:23. Compare Psa 9:16).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 10:7
Pro 10:7
“The memory of the righteous is blessed; But the name of the wicked shall rot.”
This contrasts the beautiful and precious memory of a godly life with the shame and rejection that linger upon the names of the wicked. As Deane asked, “Whoever thinks of naming a child Judas or Nero”?
Pro 10:7. This verse speaks of the deceased. The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance (Psa 112:6). Their virtues are extolled (Act 9:36-39). But the bad things that a wicked person did are remembered long after he is dead. His name rots (gets worse) because that is the only side of him seemingly remembered and passed onto others. While we may call our children Timothy, Matthew, and other good Bible characters names, yet we do not name them Cain, Ahab, or Jezebel.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
memory: 1Ki 11:36, 2Ki 19:34, 2Ch 24:16, Psa 112:6, Mar 14:9, Luk 1:48
the name: Job 18:17, Job 27:23, Psa 9:5, Psa 9:6, Psa 109:13, Psa 109:15, Ecc 8:10, Jer 17:13
Reciprocal: Gen 7:1 – thee Gen 11:4 – and let Exo 17:14 – the remembrance Num 5:21 – rot Deu 7:24 – their name Deu 9:14 – blot 2Sa 18:17 – laid 2Ki 9:34 – this cursed woman 2Ch 21:20 – without being desired 2Ch 24:7 – that wicked 2Ch 28:27 – they brought 2Ch 32:33 – did him Job 4:20 – without Job 13:12 – remembrances Job 24:20 – he shall be Psa 34:16 – to cut Psa 41:5 – his name Isa 14:22 – the name Isa 26:14 – and made Isa 65:15 – ye shall Jer 11:19 – that his Nah 1:14 – that Mal 2:9 – made Act 9:39 – and all
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
10:7 The memory of the just [is] blessed: but the name of the wicked shall {d} perish.
(d) Shall be vile and abhorred both by God and man, contrary to their own expectation, who think to make their name immortal.