1. The vanity of practical wisdom in itself, proved by the example of Solomon
(Ecc_2:1-19).
1I said in mine heart, Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and behold, this also is vanity. 2I said of laughter, It is mad; and of mirth, What doeth it? 3I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. 4I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: 5I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits. 6I made me pools of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees: 7I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me: 8I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings, and of the provinces: I gat me men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments and that of all sorts. 9So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. 10And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. 11Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. 12And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly: for what can the man 13do that cometh after the king ? even that which hath been already done. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. 14The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. 15Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise? Then I 16said in my heart, that this also is vanity. For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is, in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man as the fool. 17Therefore I hated life; because the work that is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me: for all is vanity and vexation of spirit. 18Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun; because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. 19And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool? yet shall he have rule over all my labour wherein I have laboured, and wherein I have shewed myself wise under the sun. This is also vanity.
2. The aim of life to be attained in consideration of the empirical vanity of practical wisdom
Ecc_2:20-26.
20Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair of all the labour which I took under the sun. 21For there is a man whose labour is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity; yet to a man that hath not laboured therein shall he leave it for his portion. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? 23For all his days are sorrow, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh 24not rest in the night. This is also vanity. There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. 25For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto more than I? 26For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
[Ecc_2:1.—
ðָà
. A particle of address or appeal, come on now, sometimes of entreaty. Here it denotes another trial with an ironical intimation of its failure. The address is to his heat, and the strong entreaty, or emotion, is shown in the paragogic
ä
in
àֲðַñְּëָä
, O let me try thee again!—T. L.]
[Ecc_2:3.—
úַּøְúִּé
—
ìִîְùׁåְָֹêְ
. See Exeget. and Notes.
îִñְôַּø
is sometimes used to denote paucity, as Num_9:20; Gen_34:30; Psa_105:12, &c. Here the whole phrase may be rendered numbered days, i.e., few days. See Metrical Version.—T. L.]
[Ecc_2:5.—
ôַּøְãֵּñִéí
. See Exeget. and note to Introduction, p. 32.—T. L.]
[Ecc_2:8.—
îְãִéðåֹú
. Int. Ap., p. 34,
ùִׁãּåֹú
,
ùִׁãָּä
. See Exeget. and Note; also Int. to Metrical Version.—T. L.]
[Ecc_2:10.—
àָöַìְúִּé
rendered denied, but more properly withold from, primary sense to separate, place by itself, Gen_27:36.—T. L.]
[Ecc_2:13.—
øָàִéúִé
denotes more properly here the judgment of the mind than seeing stated as a fact. I thought, I judged. Such a sense is a very common one in the Arabic root, and in the Rabbinical usage. It occurs also in the oldest Hebrew, as in the language Gen_2:19, “He brought them unto Adam,”
ìִøְàåֹú
, for Adam to see (judge) what name he should give them. It is only an opinion expressed here. See Metrical Version.—T. L.]
[Ecc_2:14.—
îִ÷ְøֶä
. See Exeget. and Note, p. 58—T. L.]
[Ecc_2:16.—
áְּùֶׁëְּáָø
. The full form would be
áַàֲùֵׁø ëְּáָø
. For an examination of such words, and the manner in which they have become abbreviated, whether in later or earlier Hebrew, or as a mere matter of orthography, see text note to Gen_6:3 [
áְּùׁâַí
].—T. L.]
[Ecc_2:20.—
åְñַáּåֹúִé
. See Exeget. and Note.—T. L.]
[Ecc_2:21.—
ëְּùָׁøåֹï
. One of the words relied upon to prove the late date; but it is most parely Hebrew, and a noun of the same root, and the same sense, is found in that old composition Psa_68:7 :
ëåֹùָׁøָä
prosperity, very wrongly rendered chains in E. V., as though from
÷ùׁø
. See Huppeld.—T. L.]
[Ecc_2:24.—
ùֶׁéֹּàëַì
. See Exeget. and Note.—T. L.]
[Ecc_2:25.—
éָçåּùׁ çåּõ
. Literally hasten beyond, go father—more without. There is the figure of a race. See Matrical Version; also the Exeget. and Note, p. 55—T. L.]
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Of the two divisions of this chapter, the first, (Ecc_2:1-19), treats of the vanity of the practical efforts of men, and thus supplements the description of the vanity of the theoretical strivings after wisdom, whilst the second division (Ecc_2:20-26) is of a more general character, and deduces a provisional result from the nature of human strivings after wisdom as therein set forth. Each of the two divisions contains two subdivisions or strophes within itself, of which, naturally, that of the first longer division (the one of nine, the other of eight verses) is especially comprehensive, and is, in addition to this, provided with a short introductory proposition (Ecc_2:1-2). The complete scheme of the contents of this chapter is therefore as follows:—I. Division. The vanity of practical wisdom aiming at sensual enjoyment and magnificent enterprises, proved by the example of Solomon: a. (proposition, Ecc_2:1-2), in general; b. (first strophe, Ecc_2:3-11), in reference to that seeking after enjoyment and extensive activity; c. (second strophe, Ecc_2:12-19) in reference to the uncertain and deceptive success of the efforts alluded to.—II. Division: The aim of life to be attained in consideration of the empirical vanity of practical wisdom; a. (first strophe, Ecc_2:20-23): Negative proof of the same, as not consisting in grasping after earthly and selfish wisdom, and after external worldly success; b. (second strophe, Ecc_2:24-26): Positive showing of the life aim of the wise man, as consisting in the cheerful enjoyment of worldly benefits offered by God to those in whom he delights.
2. First Division. Proposition or general Introduction:Ecc_2:1-2.—I said in my heart.
àְַðִé
with
àָîַøְúִּé
is essentially pleonastic, as also in Ecc_1:16; Ecc_2:11; Ecc_2:14; Ecc_2:18; Ecc_3:17, etc., for it is in no wise apparent that a special significance is in these passages to be given to the subject speaking (Hengstenberg), and pleonasms of all varieties are very characteristic in the somewhat broad and circumstantial style of the author. Go to now, I will prove thee with mirth, i.e., I will try whether thou wilt feel contented and happy in this new object of thy experience, namely, in cheerful sensual enjoyment, whether, on this path of pleasure and joy thou canst become a
ìֵá èåֹá
(Ecc_9:7). For the address to his own heart (or own soul) comp. Psa_16:2; Psa_42:5; Psa_43:5; Luk_12:18-19; for the construction, to prove one with something
ðִñָּä áְּ
1Ki_10:1.—Therefore enjoy pleasure. (Lit. Ger., behold pleasure).—This beholding, is here considered as connected with an enjoyable appropriation of the object beheld, which sense the preposition strongly expresses by virtue of its reference to the conception of lingering with the beheld object; comp.
øָàָä áְּ
in Gen_21:16 : Job_3:9; and therewith the simple
øָàָä
in the expression
øָàָä èåֹáָä
Ecc_6:6, or in
øָàָä çַéּéí
Ecclesiastes 9 : and in
øָàָä ùֵׁðָä
Ecc_8:10, etc.Ecc_2:2. I said of laughter, It is mad. “Of laughter,” does not mean as much as “in reference to laughter” (Knobel, Vaih., etc.): but the laughter, i. e., the unrestrained cheerfulness attending sensual enjoyment, seems here to be personified, just as mirth in the next clause.
ëְäåֹìָì
Part. Poal, as in Psa_102:9, means really one void of sense, one infatuated, and might more properly be considered masculine, than as neuter (with Vaih., Hitzig, etc.), so that Luther’s translation: “Thou art mad,” apart from the address, seems substantially justified. See Hengstenberg, who strikingly compares with it
ἄöñïí
Luk_12:20, and justly finds in this passage the germ of the Parable of the Rich Man, Luk_12:16-21. And of mirth, what doeth it?i. e., what does it accomplish, what fruit does it bring forth (comp.
òùä ôּøé
) Luther, in imitation of the Sept. Vulg., etc., considers the question as an address to mirth (“what doest thou)?” but it is rather, as the word
æäֹ
shows, a bitterly contemptuous exclamation addressed to some third person, and an answer is not expected. For the form fit instead of
æֹàú
comp. Ecc_5:15; Ecc_7:23, 1Ki_6:19. Some exegetists, especially of the rationalistic period, have unjustly desired to find a contradiction in the fact that Koheleth here despises cheerful sensual enjoyment, whilst in conclusion (Ecc_2:24, f.) he vaunts it as the principal aim of life. What he here blames and condemns as foolish, is clearly only that empty merriment which accompanies the wild exhilaration of sensual enjoyment, or sensual pleasure, as only end and aim of human effort, not a thankfully cheerful enjoyment of the benefits bestowed by God. Comp. Luther on this passage, and see the ho-miletical hints.
3. First division, first strophe:Ecc_2:3-11.—I sought in mine heart to give myself unto wine. (Lit. Ger., to comfort my flesh with wine). of the sensual joy indicated in the first verse, a special kind is hero named, by which the preacher first sought to obtain satisfaction, and then follow, to the sixth verse inclusive, still other such separate means of sensual enjoyment. The word
úַּøְúִּé
therefore, recommences the account where the
àֲðַëְּëָä
Ecc_2:1, had begun it, and is in substance synonymous with that verb. Comp. Num_13:18; Num_15:39; etc., where
úּåּø
is always used in the sense of trying, experimenting, and not in that of thinking, re fleeting. (Elster).
îְùֹׁê áָּùָׂø
is most justly explained by Gesenius, Hitzig, Hengstenberg etc., as “to nourish the body,” i. e., to keep it in action or condition, to make it lasting and strong so that the expression: “bread which strengtheneth man’s heart” (Psa_104:15), seems parallel with it. Others explain it differently, as Knobel and Vaihinger: “To keep my sensual natur with wine;” Ewald, Elster: “to attach m; sense to wine;” Herzfeld: “to entice my body b; wine,” etc. Yet acquainting mine hear with wisdom. (Lit. Ger., my heart led me wit] wisdom), a parenthetical clause that clearly indicates what the inner man of the preacher did whilst his flesh rioted in pleasures and enjoyments. The sense is therefore: I did not plunge headlong into coarse, fleshly gratifications, but true to the warning counsel in Pro_31:4, f. I tested with calm reflection, and in a compose way, whether real contentment was to be secure by means of sensual joys. The exposition o Ewald and Elsteb, which allies
ðäâ
with the Aramaic
ðäâ
“to sigh,” and the correspond ing Arabic verb, in the sense of “experiercing disgust with something” (“whilst my heart was weary with wisdom”), is too far-fetched, an contradicts what is said in Ecc_9:13; ff., which confirms our conception of the passage. for in the sense of guiding, leading, comp. Isa_11:6; 1Ch_13:7; 2Sa_6:8, etc.—And to lay hold on folly, or also to seize folly.—With “folly” (
ñִëְìåּú
) cannot here naturally be meant as an exclusive contrast with wisdom; therefore not folly in the absolute sense, but mainly that foolish, sensual pleasure, which is referred to in Ecc_2:2, or even that mentioned in Ecc_2:3, “comforting the flesh with wine;” therefore a disposition which gives the reins to pleasure, and lives thoughtlessly in accordance with the assertion of Horace: Dulce est desipere in loco. Koheleth, from the beginning, recognizes this sentiment as folly, and thus designates it in contempt. But nevertheless he will prove it, and try whether it may not be relatively best for man, better than cold, fruitless, and wearisome wisdom, which when gained produces sorrow, and with which he was disgusted according to chapter first.” (Elster).—Till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, etc. Comp. Ecc_7:19.—Which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life. There is in these words a kind of mournful resignation. Short as is the period of human life on earth, oven for this little span of time it is not always clear to man what is really good and beneficial for him; and many, and mostly bitter and painful experiences, are needed to bring him to this knowledge.
Ecc_2:4. I made me great works; I builded me houses. We are here certainly to understand the structures of Solomon in a general sense (1Ki_7:1, ff.; 1Ki_9:19; Ecc_10:18, ff., but hardly a special allusion to the temple, which Solomon could not have counted among his houses.—I planted me vineyards The Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes 8 :II, mentions one of these; and that Solomon had more of them, and had not overrated his wealth arbitrarily, and in violation of historic truth, (as Knobel supposes), is satisfactorily proved by the several vineyards of David enumerated in 1 Chron. 28:27.
Ecc_2:5. I made me gardens and orchards,—in the environs of these houses or palaces, (comp. 1Ki_21:2; Jer. 62:7; also the Son_1:16, f.). For the etymology of the See Int. to the Song, § 3, obs. 2.—And I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits; therefore not merely one of one kind, but many of many kinds of fruit trees. The emphasis does not rest on
ôְּøִé
as if it would declare the King’s object to be to raise trees affording delightful and delicate enjoyment (Knobel), but on
ëָּìÎ
whereby the rich variety of fruit trees is pointed out.
Ecc_2:6.—I made me pools of water; perhaps those mentioned in the Song (Ecc_7:4), as at Heshbon; perhaps also the king’s pool at Jerusalem, mentioned in Neh_2:14, which a later tradition, at least, marked as a work of Solomon. (Josephus, b. Jdg_5:4; Jdg_5:2); and certainly those situated in Wadi Urtâs, near Bethlehem and Erham, “Pools of Solomon,” mentioned in the exposition of the Song of Solomon, and which are doubtless here principally meant.—To water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees, intransitive as in Pro_24:31; Isa_5:6; Isa_34:15. The object of these pools as artificial basins for irrigating the extensive orchards of the king, testify to the magnificence and expense of these grounds. Ecc_2:7. I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house. (Lit., were to me, as in Ecc_2:10), namely, from the marriages of the men and maid servants in my house.
áְּðֵé áַּéִú
Gen_15:2, or
éְìִéãֵé áַּéִú
Gen. 12:27; Jer_2:14, are slaves born in the house (vernæ,
ïἰêïãåíåῖò
), and on account of their natural fidelity and affection a very valuable possession; here, however, named mainly because their presence was the sign and necessary result of numerous servants, and, consequently, of a large and flourishing household.—Also I had great possessions, of great and small cattle. After the wealth in men and maid servants, as in Gen_12:16; Gen_30:43, directly follow the great possessions of cattle, and then comes his wealth in unproductive treasures, silver and gold, as Gen_13:2. The historical books of the Old Testament mention not only David (1Ch_27:29, f.), but also his son and heir Solomon (1Ki_5:3; 1Ki_8:63), as wealthy possessors of herds. For the concluding words of this verse: above all that were in Jerusalem before me, see remarks on Ecc_1:16.
Ecc_2:8. I gathered me also silver and gold.
ëָּðַñְúּé
lit., “I heaped up,” that is in treasuries, as in the gorgeous apartments of my palace. The result of this unceasing activity of Solomon in collecting treasures, is depicted in 2Ch_1:15; 2Ch_9:27; 1Ki_10:27 : “Silver and gold at Jerusalem were as plenteous as stories.”—And the peculiar treasure of kings, and of the provinces. For
ëְæãִéðָä
province, district, comp. Int. § 4, obs. 2.
ñְâֻìָּä
lit. property, is here and in 1Ch_29:3, equivalent to wealth, treasures. By “kings” are naturally first meant those tributary rulers of the neighboring lands treated of in 1Ki_5:1; 1Ki_10:15; but farther on those friendly rulers, who, as the Queen of Sheba, 1Ki_10:2 ff., brought voluntary gifts, or even sent them, (as through the ships of Ophir, 1Ki_9:28; 1Ki_10:11; 1Ki_10:14; 1Ki_10:22; 2 Chron. 8:28). The provinces are those twelve districts into which Solomon divided the land for the purpose of taxation, 1Ki_4:7 if.—I gat me men-singers and women-singers;—the latter doubtless belonging to the women used for courtly display, mentioned in the Song of Solomon under the name of “Daughters of Jerusalem,” or “Virgins without number,” (Ecc_6:8); the former were of course not singers of the temple (as in 1Ki_10:12; 1Ch_25:1 ff.; 2Ch_5:12), but singers of lively, worldly songs, as kept by David according to 2Sa_19:36, and afterwards certainly by Solomon for enhancing the pleasures of the table, (comp. Isa_5:12; Amo_6:5).—For
òָùָֹׁä
to get, to keep, comp. 2Sa_15:1; 1Ki_1:6.—And the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts (Zöckleb has rendered
ùִׁãָּä åְùִׁãּåֹú
die Hulle und Fulle, in great abundance.—T. L.
The words
ùִׁãָּä åְùִׁãּåֹú
are most probably to be translated according to the Arabic by “multitude and multitudes,” or also by “heap and heaps” (Ewald, Elster, etc.), whereby a very great abundance is meant, and indeed of
úַּòֲðֻâåֹú
i. e., of caresses, of enjoyments and pleasures’ of sexual love, to which Solomon was too much given according to 1Ki_9:3; Son_6:8. J. d. Michaelis, Rosenmueller, Herzfeld, Knobel, Hitzig, etc., translate “mistress and mistresses,” or “woman and women,” a signification which they seek to justify etymo-logically in various ways from the Arabic, but which can no more be considered certain than the explanation resting on the Chaldaic
ùְׁãָà
“to pour,” which ancient translators turn into cupbearers, male and female (Sept.
ïἰíï ÷üïíò êáὶ ïἰíï÷üáò
, Hieronymus, ministros vini et ministras). Ecc_2:9. So I was great and increased. (Lit. I became great and added thereto (
äåֹñִó
as Ecc_1:16). This is meant, of course, in the sense of possessions and riches, consequently in the sense of Gen_26:13; Job_1:3.—Also my wisdom remained with me:
òָîְãָäÎìִּé
Lit. (It stood by me), it remained at my side, left me not, notwithstanding the fact that my outward man yielded to these follies and vanities. Thus must it be rendered according to Ecc_2:3, and not “My wisdom served me," (Ewald), or “sustained me,” Elster. (Comp. the Vulg. persevcravitmecum).
Ecc_2:10. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them. That is, I possessed not only an abundance of all earthly goods, but I sought also to enjoy them; I withheld from me no object of my pleasure. Concerning the eyes as seat and organ of sensual desire, consult Psa_145:15; 1Ki_20:6; 1Jn_2:16—I withheld not my heart from any joy. Koheleth does not mean thereby that he enjoyed every imaginable pleasure, but only that I lie kept his heart open for every pleasure that i presented itself to him, and profited by every one; i that he avoided no pleasure that presented itself to him, (comp. Hitzig). That this is the sense is proved by the following: For my heart rejoiced in all my labour; and this was my portion of all my labours. Koheleth allowed himself, therefore, those pleasures and enjoyments which resulted from his continued exertion and labor, which formed agreeable resting places in the midst of his painful and fatiguing life; he sought and found in the hours of cheerful enjoyment, that interrupted his mainly painful existence, a recompense for his troubles and sorrows,—a recompense, it is true, that was only of a transitory nature (consequently no lasting, but simply an apparent,
çֶìֶ÷
and which thus, just as the toil and labor, belonged to that vexation of spirit that formed mainly the sum and substance of his experience. For
ùָׂîַç îִï
“to extract joy from anything,” comp. Pro_5:18; 2Ch_20:27. In opposition to the explanation of Hahn et al.—my heart rejoiced after all my labor, stands the following expression: This was my portion (i. e., my profit, my advantage), of all my labor.
Ecc_2:11. Then I looked on all the works, etc., lit.: I turned to all my works (
ëָּðָä áְּ
as Job_6:28); comp. Ecc_2:12. And on the labour that I had laboured; to do, i. e., to produce these, my toilsome works. And, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit. “All,” that is, the substance of all my efforts, those referring to the collecting of great riches, and the founding of a great dominion, as well as those aiming after cheerful enjoyment; “in nothing of all this did I recognise a lasting
çֶìֶ÷
a real
éִúְøåֹï
(comp. Ecc_1:3); everything seemed to me rather as
øְòåּú øåּçַ
(see Ecc_1:14).” In how far and why this formed the result of his experience, is shown in the sequel (Ecc_2:12-19); there only does this general conclusion: there is no profit under the sun, as here expressed in anticipation, find its full justification.
4. First Division, second strophe:Ecc_2:12-19. That there is no profit under the sun, appears above all clearly from the fact that the wise man, with reference to his final destiny, and the end of his life, has no advantage over the fool, in so as he meets the same death as the latter through a necessity of nature, and is obliged to eave the fruits of his labor often enough to foolish heirs and successors.
Ecc_2:12. And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly; i. e., to observe them in their relation to each other, and consider their relative value; comp. Ecc_1:17. Hitzig’s conception that “madness and folly” are correlatives is altogether too artificial; he holding that by these the result of the consideration of wisdom is expressed, and that a connective (“and, behold, it was)” has been omitted. For what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done. This, "that has already been done,” consists naturally in a foolish and perverted beginning, even in the destruction of what has been done by a wise predecessor, and in the dispersion of the treasures and goods collected by him, (comp. for this negative, or rather catachrestic sense of the verb to do, Mat_17:12). J. D. Michaelis, Knobel, and Hengstenberg, substantially coincide with this explanation of the somewhat obscure and difficult words; it is confirmed as well by the context as by the masoretic punctuation. Nearest allied to this is the conception of Ko-senmueller: "For who is the man who can come after the king? Answer: For what has been he will do.” Thus also De Rougement: “Who is the man who could hope to be more fortunate in following after him (King Solomon) on this false path? We can try it, but it will be with us as it has been with all before us.” Hitzig reads in the concluding line )
òֲùׂåֹäåּ
instead of
òָùׂåּäåּ
and therefore translates: What will the successor of the king do? “That which he hath already done.” Luther, Vaihinger, as also the Septuagint and the Vulgate, only translating more concretely,, do not take
àֶç àֲùֶׁ ëְּáַø òָùׂåּäåּ
as an independent, responsive clause, but as a relative clause: “What will the man be who will come after the king, who has already been chosen?” (Luther, “whom they have already made”). Hahn also says: “What is the man who will come after the king, in respect to that which has already been done;” and Ewald and Elster: “How will the man be who follows the king, compared with him whom they chose long ago,” i.e., with his predecessor? Some Rabbinic exegetists, whom even Drusius is inclined to follow, have referred
òָùׂåּäåּ
to God as active subject, which is here expressed as a plurality (trinity): “with the One (or beside the One) who has made him;” for which sense they refer to Psa_149:2 : Job_35:10; Isa_54:1, etc.
Ecc_2:13. Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness.—The poet recognizes the absolute worth of wisdom, just as in the first clause of Ecc_2:14 he more clearly describes its profit for the individual. For the comparison of wisdom and folly with light and darkness, comp. Pro_4:23; Mat_6:33 f.; Joh_8:12, etc. “As light is a creative power that bears within itself an independent life, and produces life wherever it penetrates, and darkness, on the contrary, is a negation of light, a numb and dead element,—so is the real strength of life in wisdom alone, whilst folly is vain, empty, and unsubstantial” (Elster).
Ecc_2:14. The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness.—An assumed syllogism, in which the conclusion is wanting: “therefore, it stumbles and falls;” comp. Joh_9:10. By the eyes which the wise man carries in his head, i. e., in the right place, are meant, of course, the eyes of the understanding (Eph_1:18), the inward organ of spiritual knowledge, the eye of the spirit (Pro_20:27; Mat_6:28, etc.), Comp. Cicero, deNatura Deorum, 2, 64. Totam licet animis tamqttam oculis lustrare terram.—And I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.—
âַּí
adversative, as Ecc_3:13; Ecc_4:8; Ecc_4:16.
îִ÷ְøֶä
literal: occurrence, accident or chance; comp. Ecc_2:15; Ecc_3:19, etc., which here clearly designate death, the physical end of man, the return to dust of one born of dust, as a destiny resting on the Divine curse (Gen_3:19).
Ecc_2:15. As it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me.—The general assertion of the latter clause of Ecc_2:14 is now specially applied to the person of Koheleth, as belonging to the class of wise men.—
âַּíÎàֲðִé éִ÷ְøֵðִé
literally: “I also, it will happen to me.” The person being made prominent by the isolated pronoun in the nominative, placed at the beginning, as in Gen_24:27; Eze_33:17; 2Ch_28:10.—And why was I then more Wise?—That is, “what profits me now my great wisdom? what advantage does it afford me compared with the fool?” For this expression comp. 1Co_15:30; Gal_5:11.—
àַæ
now, therefore, if such is the case, is said in view of the dying hour, from which the author looks back on the whole of his past life.—
éúֵֹø
a participle used substantively, synonymous with
éִúְøåֹï
advantage, profit, here an adverb, excessively, too much, comp. Ecc_7:16—That this also is vanity.—“This,” namely, the arrangement that the wise man dies as the fool, that the same night of death awaits them both. Observe that Koheleth does not declare this disposition an injustice, but only as vanity, for a new phase of that fullness of vain, empty appearances which his experience in life has made him acquainted with,
äֶáֶì
here signifies, as at the end of Ecc_2:19 (also Ecc_8:10; Ecc_8:14), something objectively vain, in contrast to the vanity of subjective Human thoughts, knowledge and efforts hitherto indicated by it. It means the same objective
ìáôáéüôçò
of this lower world, derived from the fall, of which Paul, Rom_8:20, says, that the entire earthly creature, like man himself, is subjected to it.
Ver.16. For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool forever—i. e., as is the fool, so is the wise man forgotten after his death; posterity thinks of the one as little as of the other. This assertion is, of course, to be relatively understood, like the similar one in Ecc_1:11; not all posthumous fame of men is denied; it is simply asserted to be ordinarily and most generally the case, that posterity retains no special remembrance of those who have previously lived, which, in reference to the great majority of individuals is certainly wholly true.—
òִí äַëְּñִéì
lit., “with the fool,” is equivalent to “as the fool;” comp. Ecc_7:10; Job_9:26; Job_37:18.—
ìִòåֹìָí
belongs in conception with
æִëְøåֹï
“no remembrance for eternity,” the same as, no eternal remembrance, no lasting recollection.—Seeing that which is now in the days to come shall all be forgotten.—
äַéָּîִéí äַáָּàִéí
is the accusative of time, comp. Isa_27:6; Jer_28:16.—
ëְּáַø
is to be connected with the verb, as also chap, Ecc_9:6, and is therefore to be rendered: “because every thing will have long been forgotten” (
ðִùְׁëַç
the future past).—And how dieth the wise man? as the fool!—(A simple exclamation in the Ger.). A painful cry of lamentation, ) which, by an appeal to the experience of the reader, is to represent what is asserted as incontestable.
Ecc_2:17. Therefore I hated life.—
ùָׂðֵà
does not indicate the strong effect of actual hatred or hostile feeling, but the feeling of disgust, weariness, antipathy towards a thing. Comp. the Vulg.: tseduit me vilse mess, and also for this same milder sense of the verb, Isa_14:1; Amo_5:13; Mal_1:3.—Because the work That is wrought under the sun is grievous unto me.-That is, the view of every thing occurring under the sun bore painfully upon me, tortured me with an oppressive feeling; comp. Ewald, Manual, § 217, i. y.; comp. also Ecc_1:14.
Ecc_2:18.—Yea, I hated all my labor,etc.-Not simply the doings of men in general, but also his own exertions, appeared hateful to the Preacher, because they were vain and fruitless.—Because I should leave it to the man that shall be after me-that is, to my successor, heir; comp. Ecc_2:12. He must leave to his heirs not the labor itself, but what he had acquired thereby, its fruit, its result, and this grieves him-why, the following verse tells.-For the form
àַðִּéçֶðּåּ
Imp. Hiph. from
ðåç
comp. Ewald, § 122, e.
Ecc_2:19 heightens the thought of Ecc_2:18, and thereby leads back definitively to Ecc_2:12, as the starting point of the present reflection on the uncertainty and transitory nature of all earthly possessions (for wise men as well as for fools)—Wherein I have labored, and wherein I have showed myself wise under the sun.—
ùֶׁòָîַìְúִּé åְùֶׁäָëַîְúִּé
lit., “which I have obtained by trouble, and in which I have employed wisdom.” A zeugma for: by whose wearisome acquirement I have showed myself wise.
5. Second Division, first strophe.
Ecc_2:20-23. On account of the painful truth of what has just been demonstrated, one must despair of all external earthly success of this earthly life, as does the Preacher at the evening of his life.—Therefore I went about to cause my heart to despair.–(Lit. Ger., “turned around”).
åְñַáּåֹúִé
different from
åְôָðִéúִé
Ecc_2:12, does not mean to turn in order to sec any thing, but a turning around in order to do something, comp. Ecc_7:25; 1Sa_22:17-18. The idea of turning from a former occupation is also included.-The Piel
éָàֵùׁ
to permit to despair, to give up to despair, is only found here in the O. T.; the Niph.
ðåֹàַùׁ
desperavit is more usual (or also the neuter participle: desperatum est), whilst the Kal does not occur.
Ecc_2:21. For there is a man whose labor is in wisdom, and in knowledge, and in equity.—Lit., whose labor is with wisdom, etc. (
ùֶׁòֲîָìåֹ áְּçָëְëָä
), or also: whose labor has been, etc.; for
äָéָä
the verb supplemented to
òֲîָìå
, can express both a present and a perfect sense. Wisdom is not here designated as the aim of labor, as Ewald supposes (“whose labor aims after wisdom”), but as the means whereby the aim of
òָîָì
, the fruit of human Exertion shall be attained. Besides wisdom, knowledge and equity are also named as means to this end. (
ãּòú
comp. Ecc_1:16; Ecc_1:18; Ecc_2:26); for this is what
ëִּùְׁøåֹï
here means, not success, favorable result, as Ecc_5:9. The Sept. is also correct,
ἀíäñÝéá
, and substantially so also the Vulg (sollicitudo), and Luther (ability, capability).- Yet to a man who has not labored thereir shall he leave it for his portion.—
ùֶׁìֹּà òָîַìÎáּåֹ
for
áּåֹ
refers to tho principal thought of the preceding clause, and not to
çָëְîָä
. For
òָîַì áְּ
, to labor for a thing; comp. Jon_4:10 The suffix in
éִúְðֶðּå
also refers to
òָîָì
, and
çֶìְ÷åֹ
is a second object: “he gives it to him as him portion, his share”
Ecc_2:22. For what hatl man of all his labor,
äָåָä
lit.: falls to, falls suddenly down upon (Job_37:6); in the late Chaldaic style, to happen, to become, to be ap pointed to; comp. Ecc_11:2; Neh_6:6.—And of the vexation of his heart.-Herewith are principally, if not exclusively, meant these there synonyms: Wisdom, knowledge and equity, ver 21. The aspiration of the heart is the essence of the plans and designs which form the motiv of the labor and exertion of man, and give t them their direction and definite aim.
Ecc_2:22Wherein he hath labored under the sun.—The relative refers to
ëָּì òֲîָìåֹ
as well as to
øַòְéåֹï ìִáּåֹ
Ecc_2:23. For all his days ar sorrows and his travail grief.—
òִðְéָðåֹ
(comp. Ecc_1:13) bears here again the meaning of daily labor (Hitzig, Elster, Vaihinger, etc.), a stronger expression that would remind us of Psa_42:3 Comp. also Psa_90:10.—Yea, his heal taketh not rest in the night-that is, it n maineth awake, troubled by anxious thoughts and plans, or tortured by unquiet dreams; comp Ecc_5:12; Son_5:2.
6. Second Division, second strophe.
Ecc_2:24-26. We are not always to remain in this abandonment of hope of external happiness, but to seek the necessary contentment of the heart in the cheerful and grateful enjoyment of the blessings of life, which God bestows on those of His children who find favor in His sight; and even this enjoyment is something vain and futile, so far as it does not stand in the power of man, but must be graciously conferred by God.—There is nothing better for man than that he should eat and drink,etc.—The words
àֵéï èåֹá áְּàָãָí ùִׁéֹּàëַì åְâå
permit a threefold conception:1. Interrogative: “Is it not better for man to eat,” etc. (thus Luthher, Oetinger, Hengstenberg, and the Vulg.: “Nonne melius est comedere et bibere,” etc.). 2. Purely negative: “There is no happiness for the man who eats,” etc. (thus the Sept., M. Geier, Dathe, Knobel, Hahn). 3. On the supposition of the omission of
îִï
or of
ëִּé àִí
before
ùֶׁéֹּàëַìִ
, “there is no happiness for man but in eating.” This last translation has the most to recommend it, because the interrogative and the unconditional negative conception do not so well comport with the context, and because this latter especially would be in contradiction with the passages of Ecc_3:12; Ecc_3:22; Ecc_5:18 ff; Ecc_7:14; Ecc_8:15; Ecc_9:7-9, which recommend serene enjoyment of life as a means of acquiring happiness and contentment. And because, further, the ancient Aramaic translations confirm the omission of
î
(compare Ecc_3:22)before
ùֶׁéֹּàëַì
an omission which, on account of the
áְּ
in
áָּàָãָí
. and the like ending, might so easily take place, and finally because the idea of
áְּ
in
áָּàָãָí
with the sense of
ì
, consequently in a sense designating an object, is confirmed by Ecc_3:12; Ecc_10:17; and the instrumental conception of this attempted by Geier and Knobel, is therefore unnecessary To eat and drink, and let one’s soul be merry, is therefore the triad of sensual life, which is sometimes used in a bad sense-, of vicious excess and indulgence, and again in a good or morally unpreju-dicial sense. The former is found in Exo_32:6; Pro_23:7-8; Jdt_12:13; 1Co_10:17,etc., the latter in this passage, and in Ecc_3:13; Ecc_5:17; Ecc_8:15; and also in 1Sa_30:16; Isa_65:13; Son_5:1, etc. Comp. Zöckler, Theologia Naturalis, p. 651 f., where are also produced from the classics many parallels of this combination of ideas in eating, drinking, and being merry; (e.g., Euripides, Alcest., 783; Arrian, Anab., II. 5,4; Plautus, Mil. glor., III., 1, 83).—That these maxims, to eat, drink, and be merry, are not here meant in the Epicurean sense of 1Co_15:32, is proved by the important addition
áַּòֲîָìåֹ
in his labor, in his toil, on which a special emphasis rests, and which excludes every thought of idle debauchery and luxurious enjoyment. See Int. § 5, and especially p. 24.—This also I saw, that it was from the hand of Grod. That is, not: I observed that as all else, so also this comes from the hand of God, but, at the same time with that truth, that eating, drinking, etc., is the best for man, I perceived also that only the hand of God can bestow such cheerfulness in toil, and such a joyous and contented feeling in the midst of the fatigues of worldly avocations.
Ecc_2:25.For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto more than I? Lit. Ger., and who enjoy, except from Him?
çåּùׁ
lit., to make merry, to pass a life in carousing, deliciis afflaere (Vulg.) hence to enjoy, to delight, not drink, tipple (Sept. Syr., Ewald).—Instead of
çåּõ îִîֶּðִּé
we must read with the Sept., Syr., Hieronymus and eight manuscripts
çåּõ îִîֶּðִּé
except from Him. For
çåּõ îִîֶּðִּé
ia the comparative sense, “except me,” or just as I, does not afford a thought in accordance with the text, and would not harmonize with the
éָçåּùׁ
and
éֹàëַì
(see Vulg. Luther, etc.). But the translation of Hahn: “for who shall eat and who shall pine for food, is beyond me, is beyond my power,” is insufferably harsh. On the contrary,
îִîֶּðּåּ
from Him (comp. the preposition
îִï
2Sa_3:37; 1Ki_20:33), accords admirably with the connection, and furnishes that thought reminding us of Jam_1:17, which we here above all things need. And, moreover, the reading
îִîֶּðִּé
appears to coincide with the equally faulty
ùֶׁéֹּàëַì
for
îùׁéàëì
of the preceding verse. See Hitzia on this passage.
Ecc_2:26. For to the man that is good in his sight, that is, to the just and God-fearing (comp. Neh_2:5; 1Sa_29:6), the opposite of
çåֹèֵà
. The idea of the retributive justice of God, meets us here for the first time in this book, but not yet so thoroughly developed as subsequently, e. g., Ecc_3:17; Ecc_11:8; Ecc_12:14.—But to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up.
ìָçåֹèֵà
stands absolute and is not to be supplemented by a new
ìְôָðָéå
(like the
èåֹá
of the first clause of the verse), as if the sense were, to the one who is. offensive to Him, who isa sinner in His sight. That he may give to him that is good before God. The object of
ìָúֵú
is not the travail of the sinner, but the goods gathered by him through toil and travail, the treasures heaped up by him, but finally falling to the just. The same thought occurs in Pro_13:22; Pro_28:8; Job_27:17.—This also is vanity and vexation of spirit, namely, that one seeks his happiness in the cheerful enjoyment of sensual blessings, (according to the maxim in verse 24). This is also vanity, because the acquisition of goods and pleasures in this life, is by no means in the power of man, but depends solely on the free grace of God, which gives to its beloved while sleeping, (Psa_127:2); but permits the wicked, instead of pleasures, to heap up vain wrath against the day of judgment, (Rom_2:5; Jam_5:3). Others consider the heaping up of travail on the part of the wicked, as the subject of the phrase (Elster and Hengstenberg), or that it designates the arbitrary distribution of the blessings of life on the part of God as vanity and vexation (Knobel), but thereby they depart equally far from the true train of thought which the author maintains since verse 24.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL.
(With Homiklical Hints.)
The transition of Koheletii in the beginning of the chapter, especially in vers.1–8, from the striving after wisdom and knowledge to enjoyment, and from that to action, to the organizing and artificially producing deed (Ecc_2:4-8) presents a certain similarity with the progress of Goethe’s Faust from knowledge to enjoyment, and from that (in the sec. act) to the more serious duty of laboring and producing. For the magnificent undertakings, structures, and extension of possessions and acquirements described in Ecc_2:4-8, can scarcely be considered as mere means of sensual enjoyment in the sense of Ko-heleth (as in Elster, p. 55). He expressly confesses to have connected therewith a certain ideal object, if not of a religious, at least of an ethical aad human character; this lies in the repeated assertion (Ecc_2:3; Ecc_2:9), that in the midst of these eudemonistic and practical efforts, wisdom remained the ruler of his heart. But the great difference between Faust and the Preacher, consists in the final solution of the grand enigma of earthly life, which in the former ends in an obscure, sentimental, and philosophical mysticism, whilst the latter returns from his wanderings in the sphere of effort after earthly wisdom, enjoyment and acquisition, into the safe haven of a clearly conscious, modestly practical, and filially pious faith in God’s gracious and just government of the world. It is the humble, confidently trusting, and gratefully contented reliance on God’s gracious hand, which, at the close of his vivid and almost startling description of the vanity of all earthly things, he recommends as the only true aim for the life and labors of man, (Ecc_2:21-26). That all human exertions are vanity, even that modest striving after cheerful enjoyment and serene employment described in Ecc_2:21, is firmly fixed in his mind, (according to Ecc_2:26). But the acknowledgment of this fact does not impel him to a sullen despair of all happiness and peace, but father leads from such a feeling of discontent and discouragement into the blissful repose of a heart wholly given to God, and thankfully enjoying the good and perfect gifts dispensed by Him. Not the indolent man of enjoyment, but the industrious, cheerful laborer; not the greedily grasping misanthropic miser, but the friend of humanity delighting in God, and well-pleasing to Him; not the sinner, but the pious child of God, strong in the faith, forms the ideal that he presents at the close of his observations on the vanity of human life, which, though agitated and complaining indeed, nowhere extend to despairing grief or frivolous scepticism.
A comprehensive homileticar consideration of the whole chapter, would, therefore, be able to present as its theme: “The vanity of all earthly things, and the consoling power of a faithful reliance on God;” or, in order to show more clearly the feature distinguishing this chapter from the preceding: “The wrong and the right way to seek one’s happiness on earth;” or: “Divine grace as tile bestowcr of that happiness of men, vainly sought after by their own power and with earthly means,”(comp. the following passages in the N. T: Joh_6:65; Joh_15:5; Eph_2:8; Jam_1:17, etc.). The principal divisions for a discourse on these contents would be: 1. No earthly enjoyment or possession leads to genuine happiness, (1–11); 2. Even the happiest and wisest man remains subject to the curse of death, common to all the sons of men, (12–19); 3,Genuine and lasting
