Pengkhotbah 1:16
Konteks“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 5:18
Konteks5:18 I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: 7
to eat and drink, 8 and find enjoyment in all their 9 hard work 10 on earth 11
during the few days of their life which God has given them,
for this is their reward. 12
[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.”
[5:18] 7 tn Heb “Behold, that which I have seen, I, good which is beautiful.” The phrase “for people” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[5:18] 8 sn The phrase “to eat and to drink” is a common idiom in Ecclesiastes for a person enjoying the fruit of his labor (e.g., 2:24; 3:13).
[5:18] 9 tn Heb “his,” and three times later in the verse.
[5:18] 10 tn Heb “the toil which one toils.”
[5:18] 11 tn Heb “under the sun.”
[5:18] 12 tn The term חֵלֶק (kheleq, “lot”) has a wide range of meanings: (1) “share of spoils” (Gen 14:24; Num 31:36; 1 Sam 30:24), (2) “portion of food” (Lev 6:10; Deut 18:8; Hab 1:16), (3) “portion [or tract] of land” (Deut 10:9; 12:12; Josh 19:9), (4) “portion” or “possession” (Num 18:20; Deut 32:9), (5) “inheritance” (2 Kgs 9:10; Amos 7:4), (6) “portion” or “award” (Job 20:29; 27:13; 31:2; Isa 17:14) or “profit; reward” (Eccl 2:10, 21; 3:22; 5:17-18; 9:6, 9); see HALOT 323 s.v. II חֵלֶק; BDB 324 s.v. חֵלֶק. Throughout Ecclesiastes, the term is used in reference to man’s temporal profit from his labor and his reward from God (e.g., Eccl 3:22; 9:9).