│ SECTION IV. _continued.――
│ Providential Paradoxes leading
│ up to the conclusion, Fear God._
│
A GOOD name _is_ better than │ (1.) GOOD is a name, (2.) good
precious ointment; and the day │ more than spikenard’s fame; and
of death than the day of one’s │ a deathday is better than one’s
birth. │ birthday.
VII. (1.) =Good= is =a name, above ointment good= (there is an
alliteration here which gives great pungency to the sentence. The
Masorets commence this paragraph with a large letter. The Jews have
discovered many mysteries in these letters, but here, perhaps, it is
sufficient reason to allege that a new division of the subject begins);
=and= the =day= (but without the article) of =the death above= the =day
of his birth= (equivalent to one’s birth, for there is no nominative
expressed. Some have remarked that the second clause being connected
by a conjunction with the first, is to be looked upon as containing a
consequence of the fact stated in the first; which is quite true if not
pressed too far. Possibly the idea might be presented thus――
All the ointment’s costly fame
Is not so good as a good name,
And thus it comes that dead saints die
In odour of sweet sanctity).
2 ¶ _It is_ better to go to │ (3.) Good is it to go to the
the house of mourning, than to │ house of mourning, rather than
go to the house of feasting: │ to go to the house of feasting;
for that _is_ the end of all │ because therein is the end
men; and the living will lay │ of every human thing, and the
_it_ to his heart. │ living should lay it to his
│ heart.
(2.) =Good= is it =to go to the house of mourning, more than to go to
the house of feasting, in which= (full relative) =is= (emphatic) =the
end of all the man= (the end of all humanity generally: every real
biography is a tragedy and ends with a death), =and the living= one
=will give it to his heart.=
3 ¹Sorrow _is_ better than │ (4.) Good is disappointment
laughter: for by the sadness │ above laughter; for by spoiling
of the countenance the heart │ the features the heart is
is made better. │ improved.
│
¹ _Or_, anger. │
(3.) =Good= is =vexation= (the vexation of disappointment――see chapter
i. 18, references) =above laughter; for in= the =evil= (concrete, and
therefore an evil or distortion) of =the faces= (plural, but פנים is so
generally, as the face is double) =is bettered= (a _pe. jud_ verb, with
double _jud_) the =heart=. I think the equivoke here is, ‘the worse one
looks, the better one gets.’
4 The heart of the wise _is_ │ That heart of the wise which is
in the house of mourning; but │ in the house of the mourning,
the heart of fools _is_ in the │ when the heart of the befooled
house of mirth. │ is in the house of mirth.
(4.) =The heart= of =wise ones= (as ‘heart’ is repeated again, it gives
the idea of ‘that heart’ spoken of before. This, however, as occurring
in a new clause containing a fresh sentiment, must not be pressed too
far) is =in= the =house of mourning, and= the =heart of befooled ones
in= the =house of rejoicing.= This aphorism is very suggestive: the
heart of the wise is improved in the house of sadness; fools, or rather
befooled ones, who are mistaken with their own joy, are improved in the
house of feasting, but it is an improvement in evil. This equivoke the
rendering of the LXX. preserves.
5 _It is_ better to hear the │ (5.) Good is it to hear the
rebuke of the wise, than for a │ rebuke of the wise, more than
man to hear the song of fools. │ that any should hear the song
│ of the befooled.
(5.) =Good= is it =to hear= the =rebuke= of a =wise one= (גערת occurs
in this book here only, but at Proverbs xiii. 1, 8, xvii. 10), =above=
a =man= (_i.e._ any one) =hearing a song= of =befooled ones= (the
hiphil form is here especially to be noticed, ‘many befooled ones
sing;’ as Jeremy Taylor says, ‘We commonly enter singing into the
snare.’ Ginsburg would amend this passage by relegating the איש to the
first clause; but this is to miss the point, which is, that ‘it is
better to listen to a wise rebuking, than for _any one_ to hear the
song of the befooled’).
6 For as the ¹crackling of │ For as the crackling of
thorns under a pot, so _is_ │ thorns under a pot, so is the
the laughter of the fool: │ cackling of the befooled――and
this also _is_ vanity. │ besides, it is evanescent.
│
¹ _Hebrew_ sound. │
(6.) =For as= the =voice of the thorns under the pot= (there is both
alliteration and equivoke here, the root סור having the meaning, ‘to
turn aside,’ ‘be crooked,’ etc., and סר, ‘displeased,’ 1 Kings xx. 43,
xxi. 4) =so= (the word ‘so’ is somewhat emphatic, as standing alone)
=a laugh= of =the befooled= (generic), =also this is vanity= (_i.e._
an instance of evanescence).
7 ¶ Surely oppression maketh │ Yet affliction makes false a
a wise man mad; and a gift │ wise man’s hope, and destroys
destroyeth the heart. │ the heart of his purpose.
(7.) =For the oppression= (generic, ‘the affliction of life’) =makes
mad= (poel future, occurs Job xii. 7, Isaiah xlii. 5; compare also
chapter ii. 2, which we have seen is the madness of false expectation)
=a wise man= (hence the meaning must be, that the oppressions or
afflictions of life put out the calculations of the wise, and make
their expectation false) =and destroys with respect to the heart=
(את לב, therefore emphatic; hence the LXX. render τὴν καρδίαν, and the
meaning is, that affliction [compare chapter iv. 1] not only makes his
expectations false, but disappoints his desires; which clearly, with
the advantages of sorrow stated above, it ought not to do to a _wise_
man) =of his purpose.= (Following the LXX., who derive the word from
the root מתן, which exists in the Arabic, and also in the Syriac――see
Bernstein, s. v., (‡ Syriac word) ‘moratus est,’ ‘tardus fuit;’ ‘that
which is purposed or appointed’ would be quite a natural meaning, for
נתן not only has the meaning ‘to give,’ but also ‘to settle or appoint.’
If we render with the Authorized Version ‘gift,’ we introduce an idea
altogether new and strange, while with the rendering supported by the
LXX. and unpointed text, the aphorism connects itself with what went
before and follows after.)
8 Better _is_ the end of │ (6.) [Yet] good is the end
a thing than the beginning │ of a matter, and more than its
thereof: _and_ the patient in │ beginning.
spirit _is_ better than the │
proud in spirit. │ (7.) [And] good is the
│ long-suffering soul above the
│ high swelling spirit.
(8.) =Good= is =the end of a matter= (in its technical sense of a
reasoning) =above its beginning; good is a long spirit above a high
spirit= (this is equivocal; ‘_long_-suffering is better than _high_
mindedness’ will render the equivoke. Thus, then, it appears that these
aphorisms are all closely related to one another, or, at any rate, hang
on the same thread of argument. The existence of oppression makes the
wise man mad by reason of disappointed hopes, and destroys his purpose;
but he must wait to see the end, and be patient. ‘Good’ has occurred
in seven paradoxical relations, having the appearance of evil. The
same strain is continued in the following, but the argument is somewhat
different).
9 Be not hasty in thy spirit │ Do not be in haste to be
to be angry: for anger resteth │ disappointed; for disappointment
in the bosom of fools. │ nestles in the bosom of the
│ befooled.
(9.) =Do not hasten in thy spirit to be angered= (by disappointment),
=for anger in the bosom of befooled ones rests.=
10 Say not thou, What is │ Do not say either, How was it
_the cause_ that the former │ that former days were so good
days were better than these? │ as compared with these? because
for thou dost not inquire │ it is not wisdom which prompts
¹wisely concerning this. │ you to inquire in this way.
│
¹ _Hebrew_ out of wisdom. │
(10.) =Do not say= (אל, the particle of prohibition being repeated,
this second is equivalent to ‘neither say’) =what was= (how was it)
=that the days= (with the article, and therefore generic), =the former
ones= (again generic, in strict apposition) =were good ones beyond
these= (the whole construction of the sentence shows that the _Laudator
temporis acti_ is here specially reprehended), =because not from
wisdom= (_i.e._ the _wisdom_ of such an inquiry is here negatived)
=thou askest= (שאל is to ask in the sense of wishing to have――Exodus
iii. 22) =upon= (or about) =this.=
11 ¶ Wisdom ¹_is_ good with │ As good is wisdom as an
an inheritance: and _by it │ inheritance, and something
there is_ profit to them that │ more, to those who see the
see the sun. │ sunshine;
│
¹ _Or_, as good as an │
inheritance, yea, better │
too. │
(11.) =A good= is =wisdom= (the two nouns both abstracts or in strict
agreement) =together with an inheritance, and a profitable thing= (וְיֹתֵר,
which the Masorets point as a participle, not יתרון, which would give
a different idea, _i.e._ a ‘profit generally,’ which, in the sense
of this book, wisdom is not always, for it fails, through unforeseen
accidents, of always attaining its end, and sometimes perishes like
folly; but with an inheritance, wisdom to know how to use it is
always a real advantage in some way even in this life, and hence the
qualification) =to= those =that see the sun= (generic, as a sun which
is light and warmth indeed, but also glare and heat).
12 For wisdom _is_ a │ for the shelter of wisdom is
¹defence, _and_ money _is_ a │ just as the shelter of money:
defence: but the excellency of │ but the profit of knowledge
knowledge _is_, _that_ wisdom │ is, the wisdom that enables its
giveth life to them that have │ possessor to live.
it. │
│
¹ _Hebrew_ shadow. │
(12.) =For in shadow= of =the wisdom= is =in shadow= of =the silver.=
(The sentence, whichever way we take it, is enigmatical, as indeed the
form shows. The LXX. render _ad sensum_, ‘Because in her shadow, wisdom
is as the shadow of silver,’ but very probably not because they read
differently, this rendering merely gives the equivoke; for the literal
meaning of the sentence, as it stands in the text, is, ‘_Because in the
shadow of wisdom_ generically, _is the same as to be in the shadow of
money._’ The idea of shadow arises naturally from that of _sunshine_,
spoken of above; for we must remember that in the East, shadow is
always desired, and it is to the natives of southern Europe and Asia
the symbol of pleasant refreshment. Shadow and sun are cognate
ideas――see Psalms xci. 1, Isaiah xxxii. 2. Again, the root כסף has the
meaning to desire earnestly――see Job xiv. 15, Psalms xvii. 12; hence
the further play upon the words.) =And a profit of a knowledge of the
wisdom?= (generic, this special wisdom, but the passage might also be
rendered, and a ‘profit of knowledge, it is wisdom which,’ etc.) it
=enlivens its possessor.= (The Masorets, by accenting דַּ֔עַת with zakeph,
separate it from what follows, and so render as above. Thus the meaning
is――‘and there is this advantage in the knowledge of wisdom, it makes
its possessor live,’ or gives him life: but not absolutely so; this
appears from what follows.)
13 Consider the work of │ Consider then, with regard
God: for who can make _that_ │ to the working of the Almighty,
straight, which he hath made │ that none is able to explain
crooked? │ with regard to what He has made
│ complex.
(13.) =See= (as the verb stands first, this is the emphatic word in
the sentence, equivalent, therefore, to ‘observe, however’) =with
respect to the working of the Deity, for who is enabled to set in
order= (occurs chapters i. 15, xii. 9 only, and is a word peculiar
to Ecclesiastes; it is used in the technical sense of ‘resolve,’ or
‘account for,’ a providential mystery) =with respect to that which=
(the LXX. give the force of this את here by the rendering ὃν ἂν ὁ Θεὸς)
=He hath involved it?= (עות, in hithpael, occurs Job xix. 6, chapters
i. 15, and xii. 3. The cognate עוה occurs nearly as often, and with the
same signification, which is the exact opposite of תקן, ‘to involve,’
‘make complex.’ ‘Who can resolve that with respect to which He has
determined that it shall be involved?’ is the precise meaning given by
the suffix to the verb.)
14 In the day of prosperity │ In the day then of good,
be joyful, but in the day of │ accept the good; in the day
adversity consider: God also │ of distress, discern: for the
hath ¹set the one over against │ one indeed hath the Almighty
the other, to the end that man │ appointed as the counterpart
should find nothing after him. │ of the other, for the very
│ purpose that Humanity should
¹ _Hebrew_ made. │ by no means be able to discover
│ anything of what is to result.
(14.) =In a day of good= (טובה, the abstract here having the meaning
of ‘prosperity’) =be in good= (which the LXX. render, ‘live in good,’
and as the root is repeated, we must render, _that_ good), =and in a
day of= (with the meaning, ‘and in a time also of’) =evil= (abstract
as above) =see= (emphatic, not only from the alliteration of רעה and
ראה, but from its being the same word at the end as at the beginning,
verse 13). =Moreover, with respect to this, to the counterpart= (לעמת,
see chapter v. 16 (15), where this word is discussed) =of that makes=
(_i.e._ so works) =the Deity, for the reason= (על דברת occurs chapters
iii. 18, vii. 14, viii. 2, and in the same sense ‘to the intent that’)
=he might not= (contract relative, with the negative, and involving its
usual subjunctive meaning) =find= even =humanity, his future= (_i.e._
that which comes after him or succeeds, whether this be due to his
own labour or otherwise) =anything= (which is reserved to the end of
the sentence, and is equivalent to ‘anything at all.’ Thus, then, the
transition to the next clause is quite manifest. It follows of course
that this uncertainty as to the result applies even in the case of
virtue and vice: this, therefore, is the topic next discussed).
15 All _things_ have I seen │ With regard to the whole of
in the days of my vanity: │ life, then, I have observed
there is a just _man_ that │ during the days of my
perisheth in his righteousness,│ evanescent existence that
and there is a wicked _man_ │ there may be a just man who
that prolongeth _his life_ in │ perishes by reason of his
his wickedness. │ justice, and there may be an
│ impious man who prolongs his
│ existence by his wrong.
(15.) =With regard to the whole= (with את and the article, ‘with regard
to the whole of life’ is therefore the meaning, as so often in this
book――see chapter i. 2) =I have observed in the days of my vanity=
(with the idea, therefore, ‘so far as my short experience goes’)
that =there is= (a person or thing) =made right=, yet =perishing in
his righteousness, and= that =there is= (as יש is repeated it becomes
emphatic, and thus we must render ‘there also is’) =an impious caused
to be prolonging= (himself) =in his mischief= (_i.e._ the hiphil
participle gives the idea that this prolongation of life by evil means,
or the like, is due to the wickedness itself: it is again the problem
of successful impiety; for the word מאריך compare Exodus xx. 12).
16 Be not righteous over │ Do not be then righteous to
much; neither make thyself │ excess, or make thyself wise
over wise: why shouldest thou │ too confidently: why shouldest
¹destroy thyself? │ thou be grievously disappointed?
│
¹ _Hebrew_ be desolate. │
(16.) =Do not be made right too much, and do not= (repeated, ‘do not
also’) =make thyself wise= (the hithpael occurs only Exodus i. 10, and
has a sinister meaning. Pharaoh’s policy with the children of Israel
was for the time dealing wisely, but also a ‘prolonging in wickedness’)
=to excess= (‘or over and above what is reasonable,’ expecting a
‘_profit_,’ יותר, from it, in that sense in which this word is used in
this book). =Wherefore shouldest thou be desolated?= (but the hithpolel
occurs Psalms cxliii. 4, Isaiah lix. 16, lxii. 5, Daniel viii. 27,
and in all cases with the idea of ‘consternation’ at an unexpected
and afflictive occurrence. Thus the meaning must be, ‘that this
righteousness overmuch, and wisdom beyond what is reasonable, will
disappoint.’ We must not then, in the days of our vanity, expect
too much from right actions; they may to all appearance prove as
disastrous as the most impious could be. In the same way impiety, that
is, high-handed and presumptuous rebellion against right, may succeed
so well that it may cause a prolongation of itself; the very word
is sarcastic, as pointing to an end of wrong at last. The inference
naturally seems to be――If this be so, what is the use of doing right
at all? but a deeply sarcastic refutation is given to this thought in
the succeeding clause).
17 Be not over much wicked, │ but then, do not be wicked to
neither be thou foolish: why │ excess either, and by no means
shouldest thou die ¹before thy │ become a clever fool: why
time? │ shouldest thou die when it is
│ not thy time?
¹ _Hebrew_ not in thy time. │
(17.) =Do not be impious to excess, and do not be= (the quadruple
repetition of the particle of prohibition gives emphasis to it,
especially at the close of the sentence――(1.) Do not be over right,
and (2.) do not be over wise either, (3.) nor impious either, nor
(4.) still less either a clever fool, are the four stages of the
argument; the emphatic תהי is reserved to the last clause here in this
member; in the former clause it stands first, giving it thus a still
further sarcastic emphasis, something like our ‘whatever you are do
not be’) =an elaborate fool= (סכל, compare chapters ii. 19, x. 3, 14;
and see the meaning of this term discussed there. This wickedness then,
it seems, is wise folly, or false prudence). =Wherefore shouldest thou
die in= what is =not your time?= The sarcasm is surely deep and cutting
which, covertly reminding the impious that he has yet to die, advises
him not to die before his time.
18 _It is_ good that thou │ It is good that thou shouldest
shouldest take hold of this; │ lay hold of the former;
yea, also from this withdraw │ moreover, of the latter, by no
not thine hand: for he that │ means let your hand touch it,
feareth God shall come forth │ for he that fears God comes out
of them all. │ safely with regard to all of
│ these.
(18.) =Good= it is =that= (full relative, referring to both the
following clauses) =thou layest hold of this, and, moreover, from
that do not withhold with respect to thine hand= (the root ינח occurs
chapters ii. 18, x. 4, xi. 6; see also Genesis ii. 15, xix. 16,
etc.――the precise meaning being, in all these cases, ‘to lay up.’ The
LXX. translate this word by μιαίνῃς, ‘defile;’ and hence consider the
word to refer to the second clause of the verse above; but it may be
doubted, as Schleusner points out, whether the rendering of the LXX. is
not a misreading of Symmachus’ μὴ ἀνῇς, which was successively altered
to μίανῃς and μὴ μίανῃς, so that with this before us we may well reject
their reading as not entitled to disturb our confidence in the Hebrew
text; observing also that it is את ידך, _i.e._ do not rest, or do not
lay it up, _with respect to_ thy hand; the conclusion is, do not touch
either the wickedness or the false prudence. The rendering of the
Authorized Version is ambiguous; it is not clear what the second ‘this’
refers to, but evidently admits of the meaning above. The whole drift
then of the aphorism is, ‘lay hold of right notwithstanding, and have
nothing to do with wickedness’). =For= he who =fears God goes out of=
(or ‘gets free from,’ as את follows) =with respect to all of them=
(_i.e._ the whole four difficulties here mentioned; he will neither be
over-expectant of an immediate result from his righteousness, nor of
his prudence; on the other hand, he will not be either impious, or an
elaborate fool).
19 Wisdom strengtheneth │ This wisdom is a better
the wise more than ten mighty │ defence to the wise than ten
_men_ which are in the city. │ powerful men within a fortress.
(19.) =The wisdom= (wisdom generically) =strengthens= (a play between
תאחז above and תעז here) =to the wise more than ten= persons who =have
been invested with power who are= (emphatic) =in a city.= Powerful men
in a city are hard to overcome, or get at; ten, the indefinite number,
gives the idea of ‘ever so many.’
20 For _there is_ not a just │ However, there is no single
man upon earth, that doeth │ man on earth so right that he
good, and sinneth not. │ always does good, and never
│ makes a wicked mistake.
(20.) =For a man= (a man, as a specimen of the race, which we have
already seen is the meaning of this word standing alone without the
article) =there is not= (for we have in this case אין, and not לא; thus
the meaning is, ‘there is not a single man’) =made right in the earth
who does good and does not sin= (_i.e._ ‘make wicked mistakes:’ hence,
as no man is perfectly right, it would be unreasonable to expect a
perfect result; thus the relevancy of verse 17 is apparent. If our
right acts do not always succeed, it is but just, considering the many
sins we all commit).
21 Also ¹take no heed unto │ Besides, to all those arguments
all words that are spoken; │ by which men direct themselves,
lest thou hear thy servant │ do not give much heed, just as
curse thee: │ thou hadst better not listen to
│ thy servant when he curses thee;
¹ _Hebrew_ give not thy │
heart. │
(21.) =Moreover= (an additional reason), to =all the words= (הדברים, in
the usual sense, and very emphatic as followed by the corresponding
verb) =which they speak= (reason about) =do not give thine heart=
(because they are not worth thinking about: the reason follows),
=which= (repeated, equivalent to ‘they are such that’) =not dost
thou hear= (‘as thou wouldest not listen to if’) =with respect to thy
servant= he was =cursing thee.=
22 For oftentimes also thine │ because thou knowest that
own heart knoweth that thou │ besides, times out of mind
thyself likewise hast cursed │ thyself also hast cursed――some
others. │ one else.
(22.) =For moreover, times many knows= (but the LXX. read ירע, κακώσει,
‘afflicts,’ that is, the servant does so. Symmachus also reads ὅτι
πρὸς πλεόνακις καιροῦ πονηρεύσεται καρδία σου, supporting the LXX.;
the Syriac, on the other hand, reads as the Hebrew. If, therefore, ירע
was the real reading, the change took place in ancient times) =thy
heart= (which is nominative to ידע) =which= (the third repetition of the
relative; it ought therefore to be taken in the meaning of ‘and this,’)
=also thou= (which is emphatic if we follow the Masorets, who point אַתָּ
in which apparently they are supported by both the LXX. and Symmachus)
=hast cursed others.=
Were it not for this suspicious אַתָּ there would be no reason at all to
disturb the present Hebrew text. Nor, probably, is the evidence strong
against it, unless indeed it should turn out, on further investigation
and discovery, that when the version of the LXX. was made, there was
a greater difference between the letters ר and ד than there is now. If
the reading of the LXX. were right, the following was the meaning of
the passage:――‘Moreover, to all the words which they speak [they being
supposed to refer to the wicked, hence the explanatory gloss of B,
ἀσεβεῖς], do not give thine heart,’――which [amounts to this]――‘thou
wouldest not hear (or listen to) with respect to thy servant cursing
thee, because many times he vexes thy heart, which [amounts to this
also] in regard that thou hast _cursed_ others.’ The innuendo being
that our reasonings with regard to God’s dealings with ourselves are
like the rash improper speeches of a grumbling servant. It must be
confessed that the expression, אשר גם את קללת, literally, ‘which also with
respect to thou hast cursed,’ is unprecedentedly harsh and elliptical,
even for Koheleth. But to alter the text――and the Masoretic punctuation
is here a virtual alteration of the text――is to interpret an imaginary
document, and not the one which exists before our eyes. The Masorets,
however, with their customary caution――and in this respect they are a
brilliant example to some modern critics――would not add a single letter,
on mere conjecture only, however plausible.
23 ¶ All this have I proved │ All this have I explored by
by wisdom: I said, I will be │ means of wisdom. I said, I
wise; but it _was_ far from me.│ shall be wise enough, but what
│ may be is altogether beyond
24 That which is far off, │ me! beyond me how far? a double
and exceeding deep, who can │ depth! how could any find it?
find it out? │
(23, 24.) =All this= (the Masorets point זֹה feminine, equivalent to
neuter) =have I tried with wisdom; I said I will be wise= (with ה
paragogic, and Taylor in his note observes that this form is optative,
and expresses a strong desire [Lange, _Commmentary on Old Testament_,
American edition]; might it not with truth be said that it is
the abstract idea of which the verb is the concrete, ‘I shall be
wisdomed’?), =but that was far from me= (but notice again רחוקה,
agreeing no doubt with חכמה understood, but not the less an abstract on
that account: it was _farness_ or _distance itself_ from me――‘beyond my
reach’ is the meaning), =a distant= thing, =what= is it =which it will
be= (that is, that he could not reach by wisdom to discern what the
future might be), =and deep, deep= (‘doubly deep,’ very emphatic), =who
will find it out?= (as these questions expect the answer, No, they are
equivalent to ‘a distant _thing_! is not it, the future, indeed? and a
vast depth which none can discover.’)
This concludes this part of the discourse, as is evident from the
formula, ‘I turned round, I and my heart,’ with which the following
passage begins; that which is to succeed is a personal experience of
another kind.
25 ¹I applied mine heart │ To come to another point then,
to know, and to search, and │ in my own experience of
to seek out wisdom, and the │ knowledge and investigation: I
reason _of things_, and to │ mean the discovery of wise and
know the wickedness of folly, │ prudent experiments by which
even of foolishness _and_ │ one may recognise wickedness
madness: │ as folly, and false-prudence
│ as mad disappointment.
¹ _Hebrew_ I and my heart │
compassed. │
(25.) =I turned round= (to do something, as this formula always
implies), =I and my heart= (for we have here a _confession_) =to know=
and =to investigate= (that is in order to know, etc., the prepositions
being repeated) =and seek= (without a preposition; the distinction
seems to be that the seeking is to be the consequence of the above
investigation) =wisdom and device= (חשבון is exclusively a Koheleth word,
and occurs verse 27, ix. 10, only, it is thus not easy to determine its
precise meaning, but it is probably, as Moses Stuart points out, the
opposite of הללות; and if so, it will be something reasonable, in the
sense of wise or well-formed and successful plan, as its opposite is
an ill-formed and disappointing one; thus השבונות――occurs only here,
verse 29, and 2 Chronicles xxvi. 15, where it is used to denote Asa’s
engines of war――is evidently ‘efficient contrivances.’ To know wisdom
and _a device_, then, in this sense, is ‘wisdom how to obtain a
reasonable or proper result; and, on the other hand, to discover the
opposite.’ With this accords what follows), =and to know= (as this
is repeated it is equivalent to, and so to know) =wickedness= (as)
=folly= (כֶסֶל――the only instance of the occurrence of this form in
Ecclesiastes――compare Job viii. 14, xxxi. 24, where we find that
‘expectation’ is the meaning, though not necessarily in a bad sense,
yet clearly so here. The LXX. render ἀσεβοῦς ἀφροσύνην [which E. X.
alter to εὐφροσύνην], ‘the folly of a wicked person’) =and the false
wisdom= (plural form in ות――with the article) =follies= (הוללות, as
we have seen, compare chapter i. 17, of the disappointing kind. The
LXX. render here ὀχληρίαν, ‘trouble,’ and περιφοράν, ‘madness,’ with
καὶ ‘and,’ which is so far wrong, as there is no conjunction in the
original. The meaning of this passage it is no doubt difficult to
discover, but if we are right in the above analysis the interpretation
must be as follows: ‘I turned myself round, I and my heart――(or, my own
personal experience) to know and to investigate, and so seek, wisdom
and well-formed plans: and so to recognise a wicked folly; and [a
series of] falsely-wise acts, [which were] disappointing follies.’
The punctuation represents the accents, the larger distinctive accents
being represented by the longer pauses. The Syriac reads (‡ Syriac
phrase), ‘to know the wickedness of the fool, and folly and _adultery_,’
which coincides with the above; a reason for the peculiar rendering
‘adultery’ will appear presently).
26 And I find more bitter │ Now, I have made a discovery,
than death the woman, whose │ and that more bitter than
heart _is_ snares and nets, │ death; it is with respect
_and_ her hands _as_ bands: │ to woman, when she is in the
¹whoso pleaseth God shall │ nature of an ensnarer, her
escape from her; but the │ affection seductions, and her
sinner shall be taken by her. │ hands bondage. A real good in
│ the sight of the Almighty is it
¹ _Hebrew_ _He that is_ good │ to be delivered from her, but
before God. │ the erring sinner is taken by
│ such as she.
(26.) =And finding= (a participle written full, giving a peculiar
emphasis to this word) =am I a bitterness above death with respect to
the woman= (את with the article, which the LXX. note by σὺν, as usual;
thus ‘woman’ is generic, hence the precise idea seems to be ‘and a
discovery of mine more bitter than death――is with respect to woman;’
and, again, this follows the accentuation, which makes a pause at
‘death,’) =who= (but the relative is full, and so refers back to the
whole clause, ‘when she’) =is snares= (masculine plural, and hence
distributive, ‘in the nature of an ensnarer’ then, see Proverbs xii. 12,
chapter ix. 14, where this form alone מצודה in the feminine occurs,
chapter ix. 12, Isaiah xxix. 7, Ezekiel xix. 9, and with shurek at Job
xix. 6; there is a slight difference in meaning in these forms) =and
allurements= (the root חרם is to destroy, and the noun signifies ‘a
cursed thing’ as often as a ‘net;’ see Deuteronomy vii. 26, Joshua
vi. 17) =her heart= (singular following plural; her heart then is in
the nature of things which allure to destruction, a whole armoury of
them, as it were, in her love) =and bonds= her =hands= (or ‘powers’);
=good in the sight of Divine providence= (‘a real good is it in the
sight of Divine providence’ is the meaning) =is deliverance from her=
(emphatic), =but the erring one= (a full participle, which the LXX.
note) =is taken by her= (emphatic).
27 Behold, this have I │ _Observe_, this have I
found, saith the Preacher, │ discovered, and this is
¹_counting_ one by one, to │ what the Preacher announces,
find out the account: │ one after another, so as to
│ find out a wise experiment;
28 Which yet my soul │ but which I have longed for
seeketh, but I find not: one │ without discovering: one
man among a thousand have I │ single specimen of Humanity in
found; but a woman among all │ a thousand I discovered; but
those have I not found. │ a woman in all these I did not
│ discover.
¹ _Or_, _weighing_ one thing │
after another to find out │
the reason. │
(27, 28.) =Observe this, have I found the speech of Koheleth= (it is
usually said that אמרה is a feminine agreeing with קהלת, but קהלת was
a king, and so certainly masculine. It has been proposed to write אמר
הקהלת, but this is another instance of the attempt to cut the knot by
altering the text, besides in that case Koheleth would be generic.
We must therefore fall back upon the usual meaning of feminines as
the abstract of the masculines. Now, אמר is ‘to say,’ to ‘announce,’
and therefore the abstract will be ‘the announcement;’ this abstract,
however, stands by itself, and is not joined closely to קהלת, as in
that case it would have been אמרת. Attending then to these principles
of grammar, the meaning will be, ‘observe this, I have found it, and
announce it as Koheleth,’ an additional proof that here we have a
personal experience of Koheleth’s) =one to one to find a wise result=,
(that is collecting instance after instance, or trying one method after
another so as to find the wise result, in contrast to the disappointing
folly mentioned above) =which yet seeks my soul=, and =has not
found= (the ‘not’ is emphatic, and denies that he has discovered it:
experimental science did no more for him than moral); =a man= (אדם;
we should have anticipated איש from the context, but אדם includes both
sexes, so that we have a sarcastic equivoke) =a single one from a
thousand have I found, but a woman in all these have I not found= (that
is, that he could come to no general conclusion; only in his experience
he had met with one man but not with one woman, the allusion being
evidently to his thousand wives and concubines. From this individual
history we are allowed to make our own conclusions. In the case of
Solomon, it was his numerous wives which turned away his heart. He had
apparently one or two male friends, such as Zadoc and Nathan, that he
could trust. The word ‘found’ occurs seven times in its different
forms――it is _all_ he could discover).
29 Lo, this only have I │ Only observe, this I have
found, that God hath made man │ discovered, namely, that the
upright; but they have sought │ Almighty has with respect to
out many inventions. │ humanity done what is correct,
│ but _they_ have sought out
│ machinations without number.
(29.) =Only= (which standing first is emphatic: ‘This _alone_ is a
real discovery, or a safe induction from my numerous trials’) =observe,
this have I discovered, which= is that he has =made= even =the Deity
with respect to the man= (_i.e._ ‘has done in regard to man,’ the LXX.
notice this by σὺν τὸν ἄνθρωπον) =right= (or ‘correct,’ see 1 Samuel
vi. 12, Proverbs xi. 3), =but they= (plural following singular――‘every
one of them’) =seek devices= (plural abstract, and as it is used
evidently in a sinister sense, we may translate ‘machinations’) =many=
(masculine, notwithstanding the feminine plural, _i.e._ not many in the
abstract, ‘but many a one’――all kinds of sinister plans to evade God’s
right order, of which Solomon’s harem was a signal instance. He would
have had more real enjoyment had he obeyed the rule at Genesis ii. 24,
which assigns one man to one woman, and the spirit of that at Leviticus
xxi. 1, which enjoins a Hebrew woman. This harem of strange women was
at once Solomon’s most elaborate folly, bitterest disappointment, and
saddest fall: it was an experiment in search of happiness, running
counter to God’s just and right commands, and proved a most miserable
failure; and the only conclusion which could be drawn from it was, that
God’s way is invariably the best. The connexion with the following will
be best understood if we consider it a reflection on his own failure).