Reputation and the Name We Leave Behind
Commonplace –
“The memory of the just is blessed; but the name of the wicked shall rot” (Proverbs 10:7).
Proverbs 10:7 begins with saying “the memory of the just is blessed”. Does this mean the just person is remembering and has a blessed memory, because he was a just person and acted correctly? Or does this mean those who recall the just person do so with good thoughts, because he acted in righteous ways. In Proverbs 10:7, the word “memory” is rooted in the Hebrew word ‘zakar’, which is a verb. Therefore, the word memory in verse 10:7 means the act of remembering, recalling to mind.
When we read the second part of verse 10:7, “but the name of the wicked shall rot”, the meaning of the word ‘memory’ is further clarified. In both parts of verse 10:7, Solomon speaks of the act of recalling people to mind. When people remember the just, they recall the memories with blessings; the memories people have of the righteous are good memories. By contrast, people do not recall the name of the wicked. Their reputation fades, and their name dies with them. (Unless of course, they were so evil and their acts so incredibly wicked that their name is referenced as a warning.)
In his summary of Proverbs 10:7, Matthew Henry states,
“Both the just and the wicked, when their days are fulfilled, must die. Between their bodies in the grave there is no visible difference; between the souls of the one and the other, in the world of spirits, there is a vast difference, and so there is, or ought to be, between their memories, which survive them” (691).
Henry goes on to mention “blessed men leave behind them blessed memories”, which is a gift to their heirs. According to Henry, these future generations have a duty to the dead.
“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“.
The highest tribute to the dead is to recall their good deeds and follow their example. When the person was truly a good person, this is easily done, often without thinking about it. Whenever I recall my grandmothers (no disrespect to my grandfathers, but they died when I was young), it is always with good memories. I don’t have to search for good memories, those are the only memories I have of them. They were just such fantastic women: loving, kind, thoughtful, and the list goes on. Do you have someone in your life that you recall with great memories? What was it about them that make their memories so good?
Works Cited
“H2142 – Zakar”. BlueLetterBible.com, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2142/wlc/wlc/0-1/. Accessed 17 Dec 2025.
“Proverbs 10:7”. Biblehub.com. https://biblehub.com/proverbs/10-.htm#google_vignette. Accessed 17 Dec 2025.
Henry, Matthew. “Proverbs 10:7.” Matthew Henry’s Commentary On the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition. Volume 3 and Volume 6, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 1996.
Holy Bible: Giant Print with Study Aids. Dugan Publishers, Inc., 1984.
The Interlinear Bible, I Volume Edition. Jay P. Green, Sr. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., March 2020.
© 2025 Angela Hormberg
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