Pengkhotbah 1:16

Futility of Secular Wisdom

1:16 I thought to myself, ¹ 

“I have become much wiser ²  than any of my predecessors who ruled ³  over Jerusalem; ⁴ 

I ⁵  have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” ⁶ 

Pengkhotbah 2:7

2:7 I purchased male and female slaves,

and I owned slaves who were born in my house; ⁷ 

I also possessed more livestock – both herds and flocks –

than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem. ⁸ 

[1:16]  ¹ tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”

[1:16]  ² tn Heb “I, look, I have made great and increased wisdom.” The expression הִגְדַּלְתִּי וְהוֹסַפְתִּי (higdalti vÿhosafti) is a verbal hendiadys; it means that Qoheleth had become the wisest man in the history of Jerusalem.

[1:16]  ³ tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).

[1:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”

[2:7]  ⁷ tn The phrase “sons of a house” (בְנֵי בַיִת, vÿne vayit) appears to be parallel to “a son of my house” (בֶן־בֵּיתִי, ven-beti) which refers to a person born into slavery from male and female servants in the master’s possession, e.g., Eleazar of Damascus (Gen 15:3). The phrase appears to denote children born from male and female slaves already in his possession, that is, “homeborn slaves” (NASB) or “other slaves who were born in my house” (NIV). Apparently confusing the sense of the phrase with the referent of the phrase in Gen 15:3, NJPS erroneously suggests “stewards” in Eccl 2:7.

[2:7]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.