1 Kings 1:47

1:47 The king’s servants have even come to congratulate ¹  our master ²  King David, saying, ‘May your God ³  make Solomon more famous than you and make him an even greater king than you!’ ⁴  Then the king leaned ⁵  on the bed

Ecclesiastes 7:1

Life is Brief and Death is Certain!

7:1 A good reputation ⁶  is better ⁷  than precious ⁸  perfume; ⁹ 

likewise, ¹⁰  the day of one’s ¹¹  death ¹²  is better than the day of one’s birth. ¹³ 

Luke 10:20

10:20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice that ¹⁴  the spirits submit to you, but rejoice ¹⁵  that your names stand written ¹⁶  in heaven.”

Philippians 4:3

4:3 Yes, I say also to you, true companion, ¹⁷  help them. They have struggled together in the gospel ministry ¹⁸  along with me and Clement and my other coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.

Hebrews 11:39

11:39 And these all were commended ¹⁹  for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. ²⁰ 

[1:47]  ¹ tn Heb “to bless.”

[1:47]  ² tn The plural form is used in the Hebrew text to indicate honor and authority.

[1:47]  ³ tc Many Hebrew mss agree with the Qere in reading simply “God.”

[1:47]  ⁴ tn Heb “make the name of Solomon better than your name, and make his throne greater than your throne.” The term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) is used here of one’s fame and reputation.

[1:47]  ⁵ tn Or “bowed down; worshiped.”

[7:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “name.” The Hebrew term שֵׁם (shem, “name”) is used metonymically for a person’s reputation (e.g., Prov 22:1; Deut 22:14, 19; Neh 6:13; also Gen 6:4; 12:2; 2 Sam 7:9; 8:13; 23:18, 22; 1 Chr 5:24; 12:31; 2 Chr 26:15; Neh 9:10; Isa 63:12, 14; Jer 32:20; Ezek 16:14; Dan 9:15); cf. HALOT 1549 s.v. שֵׁם D.2; BDB 1028 s.v. שֵׁם 2.b.

[7:1]  ⁷ tn The comparative term טוֹב (tov, “better”) is repeated throughout 7:1-12. It introduces a series of “Better-than sayings,” particularly in 7:1-6 in which every poetic unit is introduced by טוֹב.

[7:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “good.” The repetition of טוֹב (tov, “good”) forms an inclusion (a structural device that rounds off the unit), while the two internal terms מִשֶּׁמֶן…שֵׁם (shem mishemen, “name …ointment”) create a paronomastic wordplay (see the note on the word “perfume”). The combination of these two sets of literary devices creates an AB:B'A' chiasm: מִשֶּׁמֶן טוֹב // שֵׁם טוֹב (tov shem // mishemen tov, e.g., “good name”// “ointment good”).

[7:1]  ⁹ tn Or “oil”; or “ointment.” The term שֶׁמֶן (shemen) refers to fragrant “perfume; cologne; ointment” (Amos 6:6; Eccl 10:1; Song 1:2 [1:3 HT]; 4:10); see HALOT 1568 s.v. שֶׁמֶן A.2.c. Bodily oils were expensive (1 Kgs 17:12; 2 Kgs 2:4). Possession of oils and perfumes was a sign of prosperity (Deut 32:8; 33:24; Job 29:6; Prov 21:17; Ezek 16:13, 20). Wearing colognes and oils was associated with joy (Ps 45:8; Eccl 9:8; Isa 61:3) because they were worn on festive occasions (Prov 27:9). The similar sounding terms “name” (שֵׁם, shem) and “perfume” (שֶׁמֶן) create a wordplay (paronomasia). See W. G. E. Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry (JSOTSup), 242–43; J. J. Glück, “Paronomasia in Biblical Literature,” Semitics 1 (1970): 50–78; A. Guillaume, “Paronomasia in the Old Testament.” JSS 9 (1964): 282–90; J. M. Sasson, “Wordplay in the OT,” IDBSup 968-70.

[7:1]  ¹⁰ tn The vav prefixed to the form וְיוֹם (vÿyom) functions in a comparative sense, e.g., Job 5:7; 12:11; 16:21; Prov 25:25 (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 71, §437).

[7:1]  ¹¹ tn The word “one’s” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[7:1]  ¹² tn The article prefixed to הַמָּוֶת (hammavet, “death”) probably functions in an indefinite possessive sense or in a generic sense: “one’s death,” e.g., Gen 44:2 (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 19, §86, §92).

[7:1]  ¹³ sn There are two ways to understand this proverb: (1) Happy times (characterized by celebration and “fragrant perfume”) teach us less than hard times (“the day of one’s death”) which can bring about moral improvement (“a good reputation”). (2) It is better to come to the end of one’s life (“day of one’s death”) with a good reputation (“a good name”) than to merely be starting life (“day of one’s birth”) in an auspicious manner in joy and wealth (“fine perfume”). Folly and wickedness could foil a good beginning so that a person ends life as a fool. For example, Solomon began as the wisest man who ever lived, only to end life as one of history’s greatest fools.

[10:20]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “do not rejoice in this, that.” This is awkward in contemporary English and has been simplified to “do not rejoice that.”

[10:20]  ¹⁵ tn The verb here is a present imperative, so the call is to an attitude of rejoicing.

[10:20]  ¹⁶ tn The verb here, a perfect tense, stresses a present reality of that which was a completed action, that is, their names were etched in the heavenly stone, as it were.

[4:3]  ¹⁷ tn Or “faithful fellow worker.” This is more likely a descriptive noun, although some scholars interpret the word σύζυγος (suzugos) here as a proper name (“Syzygos”), L&N 42.45.

[4:3]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “in the gospel,” a metonymy in which the gospel itself is substituted for the ministry of making the gospel known.

[11:39]  ¹⁹ sn The expression these all were commended forms an inclusio with Heb 11:2: The chapter begins and ends with references to commendation for faith.

[11:39]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the promise,” referring to the thing God promised, not to the pledge itself.