Proverbs 23 Appetite And Gluttony References

Proverbs 23: Appetite and Gluttony References

Proverbs 23:21 states, "For the drunkard and gluttonous, they will become poor, and with rags, drowsiness will clothe them" ^[1]. This verse appears within a larger instructional unit (Proverbs 23:19-21) that warns against overindulgence and calls for disciplined living. The passage addresses a son directly, urging him to guide his heart "in the way" and avoid association with those who consume wine and meat excessively ^[6]. The warning is both economic and moral: those who lack self-control in appetite will suffer material consequences.

Literary Context and Structure

The verse sits within the "Thirty Sayings" collection (Proverbs 22:17–24:22), a section distinguished by its direct address and pedagogical tone. Saying 15 (23:19-21) emphasizes the necessity of discipline for balanced living, linking overindulgence in drink, food, and sleep to poverty ^[6]. The preceding verses (23:1-3) similarly caution against gluttony when dining with rulers, employing the striking metaphor of putting "a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite" ^[7]. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown identify this as an Eastern figure for restraining appetite ^[7], underscoring the severity with which the text treats uncontrolled consumption.

The Consequences of Excess

The verse identifies two vices—drunkenness and gluttony—and two consequences—poverty and being clothed in rags. John Gill's commentary explains that drunkards and gluttons "consume their substance upon their bellies," leaving nothing for their backs, while excessive eating and drinking produce drowsiness that unfits them for productive work ^[4]. The Babylonian Talmud similarly interprets the verse as describing someone whose gluttony, drunkenness, and resulting excessive sleep lead inevitably to poverty and ragged clothing ^[5]. This rabbinic reading emphasizes the causal chain: indulgence leads to lethargy, lethargy to neglect of work, and neglect to destitution.

The connection between drowsiness and poverty appears elsewhere in Proverbs (10:4; 19:15; 20:13), where sloth and idleness consistently produce want ^[3]. The text treats gluttony not merely as a moral failing but as a practical destroyer of economic stability. Torrey's Topical Textbook catalogs gluttony's effects: carnal security (Isaiah 22:13; 1 Corinthians 15:32), poverty (Proverbs 23:21), and ruin to nations when princes indulge (Ecclesiastes 10:16-17) ^[2].

Theological Interpretations

Christian tradition has treated gluttony as one of the capital vices. Aquinas addresses gluttony in the Summa Theologica, defining it as "an immoderate pleasure in eating and drinking" and cataloging its "daughters"—the vices that result from it—on both bodily and spiritual levels ^[8]. Tertullian, writing in the patristic period, links gluttony inseparably to lust, arguing that "these two are so united and concrete" that one cannot exist without the other ^[9]. His polemic against the "Psychics" (non-Montanist Christians) accuses them of being "bursting with gluttony, which leads them to hate fasts," connecting dietary excess to broader spiritual laxity ^[9].

The Anglican tradition formally addressed these vices in the Thirty-Nine Articles, which include a specific article "Against Gluttony and Drunkenness" ^[10]. This institutional concern reflects the text's enduring influence on Christian moral formation.

Broader Biblical Warnings

Torrey's Topical Textbook situates Proverbs 23:21 within a network of scriptural warnings against gluttony. The New Testament continues this theme: Christ was falsely accused of being "a glutton and a drunkard" (Matthew 11:19), while Paul warns against those whose "god is their belly" (Philippians 3:19) and cautions believers to avoid carnal security and excess (Romans 13:13-14; Luke 21:34) ^[2]. The punishment for gluttony could be severe: Israel's craving for meat in the wilderness brought divine judgment (Numbers 11:33-34; Psalm 78:31), and Deuteronomy 21:21 prescribes death for the stubborn, gluttonous son ^[2].

Proverbs 23:21 thus functions as both practical wisdom and moral instruction. It warns that unrestrained appetite destroys not only one's resources but one's capacity for productive life, clothing the indulgent in the visible shame of poverty.

Sources

Proverbs “Proverbs 23:21 (LEB) — For the drunkard and gluttonous, they will become poor, and with rags, drowsiness will clothe them.”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Gluttony — Christ was falsely accused of -- Mt 11:19. The wicked addicted to -- Php 3:19; Jude 1:12. Leads to Carnal security. -- Isa 22:13; 1Co 15:32; Lu 12:19. Poverty. -- Pr 23:21. Of princes, ruinous to their people -- Ec 10:16,17. Is inconsistent in saints -- 1Pe 4:3. Caution against -- Pr 23:2,3; Lu 21:34; Ro 13:13,14. Pray against temptations to -- Ps 141:4. Punishment of -- Nu 11:33,34; Ps 78:31; De 21:21; Am 6:4,7. Danger of, illustrated -- Lu 12:45,46. Exemplified Esau. -- Ge 25:30-34; Heb 12:16,17. Israel. -- Nu 11:4; Ps 78:18. Sons of Eli. -- 1Sa 2:12-17.”
Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Idleness and Sloth — Forbidden -- Ro 12:11; Heb 6:12. Produce apathy -- Pr 12:27; 26:15. Akin to extravagance -- Pr 18:9. Accompanied by conceit -- Pr 26:16. Lead to Poverty. -- Pr 10:4; 20:13. Want. -- Pr 20:4; 24:34. Hunger. -- Pr 19:15; 20:13. Bondage. -- Pr 12:24. Disappointment. -- Pr 13:4; 21:25. Ruin. -- Pr 24:30,31; Ec 10:18. Tattling and meddling. -- 1Ti 5:13. Effects of, afford instruction to others -- Pr 24:30-32. Remonstrance against -- Pr 6:6,9. False excuses for -- Pr 20:4; 22:13. Illustrated -- Pr 26:14; Mt 25:18,26. Exemplified Watchmen. -- Isa 56:10.”
Proverbs (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Proverbs 23:21: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty,.... They consuming their substance upon their bellies, in eating and drinking; see Pro 21:17; and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags; excessive eating and drinking brings drowsiness on men, unfits them for business, and makes them idle and slothful; and spending all on their bellies, they have nothing for their backs, and are clothed in rags; see Pro 24:33.”
Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 71a.3: And although there is no explicit proof to the matter, there is an allusion to the matter in another verse, as it is stated: “Be not among wine drinkers, among gluttonous eaters of meat” (Proverbs 23:20). And the verse states: “For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags” (Proverbs 23:21). That is to say, a person who is a glutton and a drunkard, and sleeps a lot due to his excessive eating and drinking, will end up poor and dressed in rags. Rabbi Zeira expounds the same verse and says: With regard to a”
Proverbs (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Proverbs 23:19: 23:19-21 Saying 15: Discipline is necessary for living a wise and balanced life. Overindulgence in drink (drunkards, see also 23:29-35), food (gluttons, see also 23:1-3), or sleep (see also 10:5; 19:15) results in poverty.”
Proverbs (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Proverbs 23:2: put a knife--an Eastern figure for putting restraint on the appetite.”
theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part (Secunda Secundae), Of Gluttony, Art. 6: Article: Whether six daughters are fittingly assigned to gluttony? I answer that, As stated above (Articles [1],2,3), gluttony consists properly in an immoderate pleasure in eating and drinking. Wherefore those vices are reckoned among the daughters of gluttony, which are the results of eating and drinking immoderately. These may be accounted for either on the part of the soul or on the part of the body. on the part of the soul these results are of four kinds. First, as regards the reason, whose ”
Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 4: Tertullian IV, Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen — CHAP. I.--CONNECTION OF GLUTTONY AND LUST. GROUNDS OF PSYCHICAL OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE MONTANISTS. (part 1): I Should wonder at the Psychics, if they were enthralled to voluptuousness alone, which leads them to repeated marriages, if they were not likewise bursting with gluttony, which leads them to hate fasts. Lust without voracity would certainly be considered a monstrous phenomenon; since these two are so united and concrete, that, had there been any possibility of disjoining them, the pudenda would not have been affixed to the b”
Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican) “Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (Anglican, 1571), 5.Against Gluttony and Drunkenness.: 5.Against Gluttony and Drunkenness.”

Ask Your Own Question