Proverbs 27 · a question people ask
"A neighbor who is near is better than a distant brother" (27:10). Doesn't Proverbs say a brother is there in hard times?
It does: "A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity" (Proverbs 17:17). It also says, "there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24). 27:10 has three parts: "Don’t forsake your friend and your father’s friend", then "Don’t go to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster", then "A neighbor who is near is better than a distant brother" (27:10). Its last line weighs near against distant. The verse doesn't say why not to go to a brother's house in the day of disaster, and these notes don't supply a reason. In Hebrew 27:10's disaster is the word of "I also will laugh at your disaster" (Proverbs 1:26), and 17:17's adversity is another word. The notes on Proverbs 17 look at 17:17 and 18:24 together. The book keeps these sayings side by side, and these notes don't apply them to anyone's family.
The verses
“Don’t forsake your friend and your father’s friend. Don’t go to your brother’s house in the day of your disaster. A neighbor who is near is better than a distant brother.”
“A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity.”
“A man of many companions may be ruined, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
“I also will laugh at your disaster. I will mock when calamity overtakes you,”