Pengkhotbah 1:12

Futility of Secular Accomplishment

1:12 I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹ 

Pengkhotbah 2:14

2:14 The wise man can see where he is going, ²  but the fool walks in darkness.

Yet I also realized that the same fate ³  happens to them both. ⁴ 

Pengkhotbah 11:4

11:4 He who watches the wind will not sow,

and he who observes the clouds will not reap. ⁵ 

Pengkhotbah 12:2

12:2 before the sun and the light ⁶  of the moon and the stars grow dark,

and the clouds disappear ⁷  after the rain;

[1:12]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:14]  ² tn Heb “has his eyes in his head.” The term עַיִן (’ayin, “eye”) is used figuratively in reference to mental and spiritual faculties (BDB 744 s.v. עַיִן 3.a). The term “eye” is a metonymy of cause (eye) for effect (sight and perception).

[2:14]  ³ sn The common fate to which Qoheleth refers is death.

[2:14]  ⁴ tn The term כֻּלָּם (kullam, “all of them”) denotes “both of them.” This is an example of synecdoche of general (“all of them”) for the specific (“both of them,” that is, both the wise man and the fool).

[11:4]  ⁵ sn This proverb criticizes those who are overly cautious. The farmer who waits for the most opportune moment to plant when there is no wind to blow away the seed, and to reap when there is no rain to ruin a ripe harvest, will never do anything but sit around waiting for the right moment.

[12:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “the light and the moon and the stars.” The phrase “the light and the moon” is a hendiadys (two separate terms denoting one idea) or perhaps even a hendiatris (three separate terms denoting one idea) for “the light of the moon and stars” (e.g., Gen 1:14).

[12:2]  ⁷ tn The verb שׁוּב (shuv, “to return”) here denotes “to desist” (HALOT 1430 s.v. שׁוּב 3). It pictures the disappearance of the clouds as a result of the precipitation of their contents.