Proverbs 11:24-26

Generosity Of Spirit Will Bring Blessing And Plenty, But Niggardliness Will Bring Want And Cursing (Proverbs 11:24).

We now have three proverbs in a minimal chiastic form which deal with the question of generosity and niggardliness. Those of a generous spirit will prosper and be blessed. Those who are niggardly will themselves suffer want and be cursed.

This can be presented chiastically:

A There is that scatters, and increases yet more (Proverbs 11:24 a),

B And there is that withholds more than is meet, but it tends only to want (Proverbs 11:24 b).

C The liberal soul will be made fat (Proverbs 11:25 a).

C And he who waters will be watered also himself (Proverbs 11:25 b).

B He who withholds grain, the people will curse him (Proverbs 11:26 a)

A But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it (Proverbs 11:26).

Note that in A there is one who generously scatters his kindness, with the consequence that he becomes even better off, and in the parallel there is the man who sells his grain at a time of want rather than keeping it in the family. In B the one who withholds more than is necessary will find that his parsimonious attitude results in want for himself, and in the parallel the one who withholds grain at a time of hunger will find himself cursed. Centrally in C the one who is liberal will become wealthier, and in the parallel the one who ‘waters' others will himself be ‘watered'.

Proverbs 11:24

‘There is that scatters, and increases yet more,

And there is that withholds more than is meet, but it tends only to want.'

There is a connection here with Proverbs 11:23 where the desire of the righteous is only for good. This is now expressed in more concrete form. The picture is of a man of generosity and compassion who liberally dispenses his kindness towards others without restraint, and the consequence of this is that he finds himself even wealthier. We can compare the proverb, ‘cast your bread upon the waters for you will find it after many days' (Ecclesiastes 11:1). The thought is not of profligacy (it is not true of all who scatter) but of open-hearted generosity. ‘Withholding more than is meet' in the second part suggests that public duty is in mind. In Israel the wealthy were seen as having a responsibility to the poor. Thus this man goes well beyond his public duty. In contrast is the one who is tight-fisted, and clings on to all that he has. He fails to fulfil his public duty. As a consequence he may well later find that he himself is in want. Note that he is not being called on to give sacrificially. He rather withholds more than can be considered reasonable given his circumstances. He is niggardly. Thus when he himself is in need no one is concerned for him or can be bothered with him.

Proverbs 11:25

‘The liberal soul will be made fat,

And he who waters will be watered also himself.

The central point in the chiasmus expresses a similar idea in two different ways. The one who is liberal (one who bestows blessing) will find that he himself will enjoy ‘the fat of the land' (Genesis 45:18). To be ‘made fat' is to enjoy ample provision, to enjoy the very best, to prosper greatly (compare Deuteronomy 31:20).

‘He who waters' may refer to the wealthy landowner who uses his irrigation resources in order to supply water to the land of those who are not blessed with his resources, or who opens his springs to others so that they and their herds can refresh themselves at them (it was quite common for ample springs to be privately owned and limited to the use of the owner(s)). Or it may have in mind the watering of the parched in Israel, that is ‘the poor' (compare Isaiah 41:17). Whichever way it is, the idea is that his efforts will be rewarded by himself prospering and being refreshed. What he dispenses will return to him. Generosity will be rewarded. We are reminded of the words of Jesus, ‘with what measure you mete it will be measured to you' (Matthew 7:2 b)

Proverbs 11:26

‘He who withholds grain, the people will curse him,

But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.'

The thought here is of the wealthy man or trader who has filled his barns or his storage cisterns (huge grain pits have been discovered at Gibeon and Megiddo) only for a time of want to come along. Those less fortunate find themselves short of food and look to those more fortunate to sell them grain from their own ample resources. The one who withholds grain in those circumstances will find that the people who are starving will curse him, especially if he does it with the hope of increasing the price. But on the head of the one who willingly sells grain will come blessing, which includes the thought of increasing prosperity in the future.

It is noteworthy that both men cause people to look to God, but on the one hand those who are deprived do so by calling down curses because of the inhumanity of the person involved (thus wishing want and hunger on him), whilst on the other hand those who are provided for call down blessing because of the man's humanity (thus wishing that he will be prospered in future).

One good example of this was Joseph who on behalf of Pharaoh stored ample grain in times of plenty, in order, when the time of want came, to be able to sell it to those who were without grain because of famine (Genesis 41:46; Genesis 42:4).