diff --git a/gs/builtin/panic.test.ts b/gs/builtin/panic.test.ts
index 18c3cc15b..f6c0920dc 100644
--- a/gs/builtin/panic.test.ts
+++ b/gs/builtin/panic.test.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ import {
 import { goSlice, index, makeSlice } from './slice.js'
 import { DisposableStack } from './defer.js'
 
-
 // captureThrow returns whatever value the callback throws, or undefined if it
 // did not throw. Go panics surface as a thrown GoPanic in the transpiled
 // runtime, so tests assert on the caught value's shape. Catching here models a
@@ -193,6 +192,54 @@ describe('recover consumes the in-flight panic', () => {
     )
   })
 
+  it('recovers a JavaScript error thrown without panic', () => {
+    // An error with an Error method is the value, as reflect.ValueError.
+    class valueError extends Error {
+      Error(): string {
+        return this.message
+      }
+    }
+    const thrown = new valueError('reflect: call on zero Value')
+    let seen: unknown = 'unset'
+    const outcome = runWithRecover(
+      () => {
+        throw thrown
+      },
+      () => {
+        seen = recover()
+      },
+    )
+    expect(seen).toBe(thrown)
+    expect(outcome.finished).toBe(true)
+
+    // Another error is its message.
+    runWithRecover(
+      () => {
+        throw new TypeError('x is undefined')
+      },
+      () => {
+        seen = recover()
+      },
+    )
+    expect(seen).toBe('x is undefined')
+  })
+
+  it('does not recover runtime.Goexit', () => {
+    const goexit = new Error('runtime.Goexit')
+    goexit.name = 'GoexitError'
+    let seen: unknown = 'unset'
+    const outcome = runWithRecover(
+      () => {
+        throw goexit
+      },
+      () => {
+        seen = recover()
+      },
+    )
+    expect(seen).toBeNull()
+    expect(outcome.rethrew).toBe(goexit)
+  })
+
   it('normal defer disposal cannot recover an unrelated panic', () => {
     let seen: unknown = 'unset'
     try {
diff --git a/gs/builtin/panic.ts b/gs/builtin/panic.ts
index 63e1db187..a43609bdb 100644
--- a/gs/builtin/panic.ts
+++ b/gs/builtin/panic.ts
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ let activeRecoverPanic: GoPanic | null = null
 
 export function withRecoveringPanic<T>(err: unknown, fn: () => T): T {
   const previous = activeRecoverPanic
-  activeRecoverPanic = err instanceof GoPanic ? err : null
+  activeRecoverPanic = asGoPanic(err)
   try {
     return fn()
   } finally {
@@ -38,6 +38,36 @@ export function withRecoveringPanic<T>(err: unknown, fn: () => T): T {
   }
 }
 
+// errorPanics holds the GoPanic that stands for a JavaScript error thrown
+// without panic, such as a reflect.ValueError of the reflect package or a
+// TypeError, which Go code recovers as it does a panic. It is keyed by the
+// error, which the generated catch block passes to recovered.
+const errorPanics = new WeakMap<Error, GoPanic>()
+
+// asGoPanic returns the GoPanic that err unwinds as, or null if err is not
+// a panic: runtime.Goexit and os.Exit throw errors that recover does not
+// stop. The value of a panic from an error without an Error method is the
+// error's message.
+function asGoPanic(err: unknown): GoPanic | null {
+  if (err instanceof GoPanic) {
+    return err
+  }
+  if (
+    !(err instanceof Error) ||
+    err.name === 'GoexitError' ||
+    err.name === 'ProcessExitError'
+  ) {
+    return null
+  }
+  let goPanic = errorPanics.get(err)
+  if (goPanic === undefined) {
+    const hasError = typeof (err as { Error?: unknown }).Error === 'function'
+    goPanic = new GoPanic(hasError ? err : err.message)
+    errorPanics.set(err, goPanic)
+  }
+  return goPanic
+}
+
 // RuntimeError is the value carried by a panic from a Go runtime fault: index
 // out of range, slice bounds out of range, integer divide by zero, or nil
 // pointer dereference. It implements the Go error interface (Error()), so a
@@ -129,11 +159,11 @@ export function recover(): any {
   return goPanic.value
 }
 
-// recovered reports whether err is a GoPanic that a deferred recover() consumed.
+// recovered reports whether err is a panic that a deferred recover() consumed.
 // The catch block generated for a
 // defer+recover function calls this: true means swallow the panic and return the
 // function's named results; false means rethrow so an outer frame can recover or
 // the program crashes with the Go panic message.
 export function recovered(err: unknown): boolean {
-  return err instanceof GoPanic && err.recovered
+  return asGoPanic(err)?.recovered === true
 }
diff --git a/gs/reflect/types.ts b/gs/reflect/types.ts
index ed272bdc5..08be5c017 100644
--- a/gs/reflect/types.ts
+++ b/gs/reflect/types.ts
@@ -286,11 +286,42 @@ export class ValueError extends Error {
   public Method: string
 
   constructor(init: { Kind: Kind; Method: string }) {
-    super(
-      `reflect: call of reflect.Value.${init.Method} on ${Kind_String(init.Kind)} Value`,
-    )
+    // Go calls a Value of kind Invalid the zero Value.
+    const kind = init.Kind === 0 ? 'zero' : Kind_String(init.Kind)
+    super(`reflect: call of reflect.Value.${init.Method} on ${kind} Value`)
     this.Kind = init.Kind
     this.Method = init.Method
     this.name = 'ValueError'
   }
+
+  // Error returns the message, as the Error method of *ValueError.
+  Error(): string {
+    return this.message
+  }
+
+  // Register the type, so that a recovered *ValueError asserts as one.
+  static __typeInfo = $.registerStructType(
+    'reflect.ValueError',
+    null,
+    [
+      {
+        name: 'Error',
+        args: [],
+        returns: [{ type: { kind: $.TypeKind.Basic, name: 'string' } }],
+      },
+    ],
+    ValueError,
+    [
+      {
+        name: 'Kind',
+        key: 'Kind',
+        type: { kind: $.TypeKind.Basic, name: 'int' },
+      },
+      {
+        name: 'Method',
+        key: 'Method',
+        type: { kind: $.TypeKind.Basic, name: 'string' },
+      },
+    ],
+  )
 }
diff --git a/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/expected.log b/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/expected.log
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9ef9f6961
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/expected.log
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+ok
+recovered: true reflect: call of reflect.Value.Field on zero Value
diff --git a/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/index.ts b/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/index.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb
diff --git a/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/reflect_recover_value_error.go b/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/reflect_recover_value_error.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..38deed5f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/reflect_recover_value_error.go
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"reflect"
+)
+
+// field returns the first field of v, or the panic it recovers.
+func field(v reflect.Value) (s string) {
+	defer func() {
+		if r := recover(); r != nil {
+			_, isErr := r.(*reflect.ValueError)
+			s = fmt.Sprint("recovered: ", isErr, " ", r)
+		}
+	}()
+	return v.Field(0).String()
+}
+
+func main() {
+	type T struct{ S string }
+	println(field(reflect.ValueOf(T{S: "ok"})))
+	println(field(reflect.Value{}))
+}
diff --git a/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/reflect_recover_value_error.gs.ts b/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/reflect_recover_value_error.gs.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..110d018dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/reflect_recover_value_error.gs.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+// Generated file based on reflect_recover_value_error.go
+// Updated when compliance tests are re-run, DO NOT EDIT!
+
+import * as $ from "@goscript/builtin/index.js"
+import * as fmt from "@goscript/fmt/index.js"
+import * as reflect from "@goscript/reflect/index.js"
+
+export function field(v: reflect.Value): string {
+	let s = ""
+	const __defer = new $.DisposableStack()
+	try {
+		__defer.defer(() => { (() => {
+			{
+				let r = $.recover()
+				if (r != null) {
+					let [, isErr] = $.typeAssertTuple<reflect.ValueError | $.VarRef<reflect.ValueError> | null>(r, /* @__PURE__ */ $.pointerType("reflect.ValueError"))
+					s = (fmt.Sprint("recovered: ", isErr, " ", r) as string)
+				}
+			}
+		})() })
+		const __goscriptReturn0: string = $.markAsStructValue($.cloneStructValue($.markAsStructValue($.cloneStructValue(v)).Field(0))).String()
+		s = __goscriptReturn0
+		__defer.dispose()
+		return s
+		__defer.dispose()
+	} catch (e) {
+		__defer.disposePanic(e)
+		if (!$.recovered(e)) {
+			throw e
+		}
+	}
+	return s
+}
+
+export async function main(): globalThis.Promise<void> {
+	class T {
+		public declare S: string
+
+		constructor(init?: Partial<{S?: string}>, __goscriptValue?: boolean) {
+			this.S = init?.S ?? ("" as string)
+			;(this as any)[$.structValueMarker] = __goscriptValue === true
+		}
+
+		public clone(): T {
+			return new T(this, true)
+		}
+
+		public __goscriptAssign(source: T): this {
+			this.S = source.S
+			return this
+		}
+
+		static __typeInfo = $.registerStructType(
+			"main.T",
+			() => new T(),
+			() => [],
+			T,
+			() => [/* @__PURE__ */ $.structField("S", /* @__PURE__ */ $.basicType("string"), [0], 0, true)]
+		)
+	}
+	await $.println(field($.markAsStructValue($.cloneStructValue(reflect.ValueOf($.structInterfaceValue($.markAsStructValue(new T({S: "ok"})), "main.T", "main.T"))))))
+	await $.println(field($.markAsStructValue(new reflect.Value())))
+}
+
+if ($.isMainScript(import.meta)) {
+	await main()
+}
diff --git a/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/tsconfig.json b/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/tsconfig.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..90615133f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+{
+  "compilerOptions": {
+    "paths": {
+      "*": [
+        "./*"
+      ],
+      "@go/github.com/s4wave/goscript/*": [
+        "../../../*"
+      ],
+      "@goscript/*": [
+        "../../../tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/run/output/@goscript/*",
+        "../../../gs/*",
+        "../../../tests/deps/*"
+      ],
+      "@goscript/github.com/s4wave/goscript/tests/tests/reflect_recover_value_error/*": [
+        "./*"
+      ]
+    }
+  },
+  "extends": "../../../tests/tsconfig.base.json",
+  "include": [
+    "index.ts",
+    "reflect_recover_value_error.gs.ts"
+  ]
+}