Proverbs 18:16

A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
man’s	אָ֭דָם 'A.dom	H120	ruddy i.e. a human being (an individual or the species · noun, common masculine singular absolute
gift	מַתָּ֣ן ma.Tan	H4976	a present · noun, common masculine singular construct
room	יַרְחִ֣יב yar.Chiv	H7337	to broaden (intransitive or transitive · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
bringeth	יַנְחֶֽנּוּ yan.Che.nu	H5148	to guide · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
before	וְלִפְנֵ֖י ve.lif.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
men	גְדֹלִ֣ים ge.do.Lim	H1419	great (in any sense) · adjective, masculine plural absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Proverbs 19:6 Many will intreat the favour of the prince: and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts.
Genesis 33:10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy…
Genesis 43:11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down t…
1 Samuel 25:27 And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.
Proverbs 17:8 A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: whithersoever it turneth, it prospereth.
Genesis 32:20 And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afte…
Proverbs 21:14 A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 18:16

Of what great force gifts (that is, bribes) are he had intimated before, Pro 17:8, Pro 17:23. Here he shows the power of gifts, that is, presents made even by inferiors to those that are above them and have much more than they have. A good present will go far, 1. Towards a man's liberty: A man's gift, if he be in prison, may procure his enlargement; there are courtiers, who, if they use their interest even for oppressed innocency, expect to receive a gratuity for it. Or, if a mean man know not how to get access to a great man, he may do it by a fee to his servants or a present to himself; those will make room for him. 2. Towards his preferment. It will bring him to sit among great men, in ho…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 18:16

(Compare Pro 17:8, Pro 17:23). Disapproval of the fact stated is implied.

John Gill on Proverbs 18:16

A man's gift maketh room for him,.... Or "enlarges him" (y); brings him out of prison, or, or out of straits and difficulties with which he, has, been pressed; or it makes way for him to a judge, and for a favourable hearing of his cause; or it enlarges his acquaintance, and gains him respect among men; and bringeth him before great men; it opens a way for him into the presence and company of great men, being a fee to their servants; or with it he procures a place to wait on them. It is not necessary to understand it of a gift by way of bribe; but to introduce a person to another, and render him acceptable, and appease anger; as in the cases of Jacob and Abigail, Genesis 32:20. (y)

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 18:12-19

We place together Pro 18:12-19, in which the figure of a secure fortress returns: Pro 18:12 This proverb is connected with the preceding of the rich man who trusts in his mammon. Before destruction the heat of man is haughty; And humility goeth before honour. Line first is a variation of Pro 16:18, and line second is similar to Pro 15:33. Pro 18:13 13 If one giveth an answer before he heareth, It is to him as folly and shame. The part. stands here differently from what it does at Pro 13:18, where it is subj., and at Pro 17:14, where it is pred. of a simple sentence; it is also here, along with what appertains to it in accordance with the Semitic idiom, subj. to 13b (one who answers ... is on…

The Church Fathers

"A man's gift" is called an upright life. It is that gift that "makes room for him" and makes him worthy of the fullness of God. It is that very thing which is called the "throne" of the holy powers. Indeed, the "throne" of the mind is that excellent state which they maintain who are seated in a position that is fixed or immovable.
— Evagrius Ponticus, SCHOLIA ON PROVERBS 184:18.16

The gift of a man makes his way broad, etc. The gift of charity or other virtues which the faithful receive from the Lord broadens the way of their actions because the more they are internally filled with the grace of the Spirit, the more they abundantly multiply their steps of good works outwardly, and they attain a peak of honor among the great leaders of the Church in the future. Alternatively, the spiritual gift of the Savior, which he brought to the world, broadened his way that he might come to many nations of the world through his presence in faith and love; and he made not only the peoples, but also the rulers themselves, renounce desires and willingly obey him.
— Bede, Commentary on Proverbs

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Bribery · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Presents · Generally procured a favourable reception — Generally procured a favourable reception
Prudence · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Proverbs 18:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 18:16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 18:16

John Gill on Proverbs 18:16

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 18:12-19

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Proverbs 18:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Proverbs 18:16

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Proverbs 18:16

John Gill on Proverbs 18:16

Keil & Delitzsch on Proverbs 18:12-19

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Proverbs 18:16

Rashi on Proverbs 18:16