Hebrew Word Study – Laid Up – Tsaphan – Sade Pei Nun 

Proverbs 13:22:  “A good [man] leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner [is] laid up for the just.”

Leviticus 14:34: “When ye be come into the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession;”

A few years ago, Proverbs 13:22 was a very popular verse among the prosperity movement.  All the shopping malls, theme parks, mansions of the rich as well as their luxury cars and yachts will be passed on to us poor, financially struggling Christians. We don’t hear that interpretation too much now a days, probably because Christians are tired of waiting for the rich to give them their mansions and other luxuries.  So perhaps now is a good time to look at an alternative interpretation.

In reading the Jewish Midrash on the book of Leviticus I ran across something rather interesting that gives us the back ground for Proverbs 13:22 and might explain what Solomon was referring to when he wrote this passage. 

You see the words laid up in Hebrew is tsaphan which is rarely used to express the idea of laid up or stored up as most of our Modern translations will render it. It is actually a word for hidden treasures. The word used for wealth is chayil which in its Semitic root is a reference to a fortress.  The Akkadian language uses the word for an army. Ultimately, the word has the idea of power and strength. Chayil is wealth in the sense of wealth being a source of security, a fortress or power to stave off hunger or needs.  You see wealth in those days was rarely used as it is today. Today wealth means the ability to afford luxuries like vacations, big homes, beautiful furniture, expensive clothing or fancy cars. Most of us have a car, like a Ford Focus, Dodge Caravan etc. The wealthy have a Mercedes Benz, or Porsche.  In ancient times people accumulated wealth not to purchase bigger or better, but to lay away as a form of security, like a savings account. It is something put aside for a rainy day in case the crops fail and they need to purchase food or a more powerful nation or city demands tribute, you know like the mob demanding protection money. They would be able to pay off the thugs and protect their family while those with no hidden resources will end up in slavery. Thus, I would not use our English word wealth for chayil as that would be misleading. Actually it is more like a savings account or the 401K’s of the sinners that are laid up or a fortress for the righteous. Of course that sounds outright greedy to us. I mean let the sinners have their 401Ks, we certainly would not want them to starve.

Thus, it is very important to consider the context of this passage.  The ancient rabbis and sages suggest that the context goes back to Leviticus 14:34 where God promises to put the plague of leprosy on the houses that the children of Israel will possess when they come into the land of Canaan.  That is a horrible promise.

But here is the thing that in our modern Western culture it is a bit difficult for us to comprehend. When a nation conquered another nation the people moved in and the conquered moved out and became displaced or refugees living in tents. The conquering nation did not tear down the homes but simply moved in. Homes built of clay, mud and stones were more secure and more protective from the elements.  They were not really show places as they are today.  They were just a secure dwelling and when you moved in you did not redecorate, tear out walls, repaint etc. You just lived in it.  Anything of value over and above your daily living needs was set aside for a day that you hoped would never come, like a failed crop.  All this extra wealth was hidden deep within the walls of these homes and covered over. In fact, unlike today, they did not flaunt their wealth. They did not want anyone to know of it lest it gets stolen, So that any stranger entering the home would just have to tear down the entire dwelling to find the jewels or precious stones that were hidden.  Sometimes the owner would die and the new owner would be unaware of the hidden wealth, they would have their own little stash hidden away in the walls. Even today workmen find little hidden treasures that were buried in the walls of homes that are torn down.  This is why a conquering nation that had no intention of living in a town or village would tear down all the buildings, they were looking for the treasures hidden in the walls.

God said he would put a plague of leprosy on these homes that the children of Israel would move into when they conquered the land of Canaan. The word leprosy in Hebrew is tsara’ath which  is a very general term and could refer to a skin disease, a rash, and mold or mildew on a building or wall. The Midrash said that the Mosaic Law commanded that when a home was infested with tsara’ath which was most likely mold, it was to be torn down and burned.  We know today mold can cause all sorts of physical disorders and even modern day leprosy is said to originate from mold.  Tearing down any structure that had mold or mildew was God’s way of protecting the people from diseases. Yeah, you would lose a good house and have to rebuild a cleaner healthier abode, but at least you will not die from asthma. 

But the Bible says God promises to put the plague of leprosy on a house. Why would he do that?  Once the Children of Israel moved into their new houses taken from the Canaanites they would saw no sense in tearing down a perfectly good house to build a new one. However many pagan rituals were performed in these homes which were consecrated for pagan gods often demonic beings. So God gave a law that if tsara’ath is infesting the home it must be torn down and burned.  Two things happened when this was done. What had been consecrated for sinful, unclean purposes had been destroyed while at the same time the previous owner’s little nest egg hidden in the walls would be discovered and could be used to finance the building of a new home.

I believe the lesson of Proverbs 13:22 is that you may have a perfectly good job, house or car and suddenly through some Godless entity you get laid off, your house goes into foreclosure or your car is wrecked and you ask: “God, why did you do this?  Why did you send the plague of leprosy on me?” Perhaps there was a hidden uncleanness in these and God had to remove it. But at the same time hidden in the walls of your devastation is a treasure like a severance check or insurance settlement from a Godless source that  will be used to finance a replacement that would be more honoring to God and more to His purposes.

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