In Ecclesiastes, xii, 5, the familiar words “and desire shall fail,”
have been changed in the Revised Version to “the caper-berry shall
fail.” This alteration does not strike the ordinary reader as an
improvement, but it appears that the Revised Version translation is a
reversion to that of the Septuagint, and is probably exactly correct.
It is supposed to mean the same thing. The caper has always been
recognised as a relish to meat, as we use it; and there is evidence
that it was given as a stimulating medicine among the Arabs in the
Middle Ages, and perhaps from very ancient times. The idea would be
therefore that even the caper-berry will not now have any effect. The
Revisers also suggest in the margin “burst” for “fail.” It is only a
question of points in Hebrew which word is intended, and some think
that the berry when fully ripe and bursting may have been an emblem of
death.
The other clauses in the same verse have given rise to much difference
of opinion. “The almond tree shall flourish” is generally supposed
to indicate the white locks of the old man. But against this it is
objected that the almond blossom is not white, but pink; and by a
slight alteration of the original it is possible to read “the almond
(the fruit) shall be refused” or rejected; it is no longer a tempting
morsel.
The almond and the almond tree (the same word may mean either) are
mentioned several times in the Bible. Jacob’s gifts to Joseph from
Canaan to Egypt included almonds. They were grown in Canaan and were
a luxury in Egypt. In Jeremiah, i, 11, the almond branch is used as
symbolical of hastening or awakening, which is the primary meaning of
the word, derived from the early appearance of the blossoms on the
almond tree.
The third clause, “the grasshopper shall be a burden,” similarly
presents difficulties, but these hardly concern us here. Probably all
the metaphors conveyed distinct ideas to Eastern readers at that time,
but have lost their point to us.
The interpretation of the beautiful Hebrew poetry of the twelfth
chapter of Ecclesiastes, as given in Leclerc’s “History of Medicine,”
may be of interest. Leclerc says the chapter is an enigmatic
description of old age and its inconveniences, followed by death. The
sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are respectively the mind, the
judgment, the memory, and the other faculties of the soul, which are
gradually fading. The clouds and the rain are the catarrhs and the
fluxions incident to age. The guards of the house and the strong man
are the senses, the muscles, and the tendons. The grinders are the
teeth; those who look out through the windows is an allusion to the
sight. The doors shall be shut in the streets, and the sound of the
grinding is low, means that the mouth will scarcely open for speaking,
and that eating must be slow and quiet. The old man must rise at the
voice of the bird, for he cannot sleep. There is no more singing, and
reading and study are no longer pleasures. The fear of climbing, even
of walking, are next expressed; the white hair is signalised by the
almond blossom, and the flesh falling away by the grasshopper, though
the word burden may indicate the occasional unhealthy fattening of old
persons. The caper failing indicates the loss of the various appetites.
The silver cord represents the spinal marrow, the golden bowl the brain
or the heart; the pitcher, the skull; and the wheel, the lung. The long
home is the tomb.