Proverbs 22:22 - Exposition

This and the following verse form a terrastich, which connects itself in thought with Proverbs 22:16 . Rob not the poor, because he is poor. The word for "poor" is here dal, which means "feeble," "powerless" (see on Proverbs 19:4 ), and the writer enjoins the disciple not to be induced by his weakness to injure and despoil a poor man. Neither oppress the afflicted in the gate. The gate is the place of judgment, the court of justice (comp. Job 31:21 ). The warning points to the particular form of wrong inflicted on the lowly by unjust judges, who could give sentences from which, however iniquitous, there was practically no appeal.