Proverbs 18:16

A person’s gift ¹  makes room for him, and leads him ²  before important people.

Ge 32:20; Ge 33:10; Ge 43:11; 1Sa 25:27; Pr 17:8; Pr 19:6; Pr 21:14

¹ sn The Hebrew term translated “gift” is a more general term than “bribe” (שֹׁחַד, shokhad), used in 17:8, 23. But it also has danger (e.g., 15:27; 21:14), for by giving gifts one might learn how influential they are and use them for bribes. The proverb simply states that a gift can expedite matters.

² sn The two verbs here show a progression, helping to form the synthetic parallelism. The gift first “makes room” (יַרְחִיב, yarkhiv) for the person, that is, extending a place for him, and then “ushers him in” (יַנְחֵנּוּ, yakhenu) among the greats.