Pengkhotbah 5:13

Materialism Thwarts Enjoyment of Life

5:13 Here is ¹  a misfortune ²  on earth ³  that I have seen:

Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery.

Pengkhotbah 8:16

Limitations of Human Wisdom

8:16 When I tried ⁴  to gain ⁵  wisdom

and to observe the activity ⁶  on earth –

even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night ⁷  –

Pengkhotbah 9:6

9:6 What they loved, ⁸  as well as what they hated ⁹  and envied, ¹⁰  perished long ago,

and they no longer have a part in anything that happens on earth. ¹¹ 

Pengkhotbah 11:8

11:8 So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all,

but let him remember that the days of darkness ¹²  will be many – all that is about to come is obscure. ¹³ 

Pengkhotbah 12:3

12:3 when those who keep watch over the house ¹⁴  begin to tremble, ¹⁵ 

and the virile men begin to stoop over, ¹⁶ 

and the grinders ¹⁷  begin to cease because they grow few,

and those who look through the windows grow dim, ¹⁸ 

[5:13]  ¹ tn Heb “there is.” The term יֵשׁ (yesh, “there is”) is often used in aphorisms to assert the existence of a particular situation that occurs sometimes. It may indicate that the situation is not the rule but that it does occur on occasion, and may be nuanced “sometimes” (e.g., Prov 11:24; 13:7, 23; 14:12; 16:25; 18:24; 20:15; Eccl 2:21; 4:8; 5:12; 6:1; 7:15 [2x]; 8:14 [3x]).

[5:13]  ² tn The noun רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil”) probably means “misfortune” (HALOT 1263 s.v. רָעָה 4) or “injustice, wrong” (HALOT 1262 s.v. רָעָה 2.b). The phrase רָעָה רַבָּה (ra’ah rabbah) connotes “grave injustice” or “great misfortune” (Eccl 2:17; 5:12, 15; 6:1; 10:5).

[5:13]  ³ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[8:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “I applied my heart.”

[8:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “to know.”

[8:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “and to see the business which is done.”

[8:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “for no one sees sleep with their eyes either day or night.” The construction גַם …כִּי (ki… gam) expresses a concessive sense: “even though” (e.g., Ps 23:4; Prov 22:6; Eccl 4:14; Isa 1:15; Lam 3:8; Hos 8:10; 9:16); cf. HALOT 196 s.v. גַּם 9; BDB 169 s.v. גַּם 6; 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c.

[9:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “their love.”

[9:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “their hatred.”

[9:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “their envy.”

[9:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[11:8]  ¹² tn The phrase “the days of darkness” refers to the onset of old age (Eccl 12:1-5) and the inevitable experience of death (Eccl 11:7-8; 12:6-7). Elsewhere, “darkness” is a figure of speech (metonymy of association) for death (Job 10:21-22; 17:13; 18:18).

[11:8]  ¹³ tn The term הֶבֶל (hevel) here means “obscure,” that is, unknown. This sense is derived from the literal concept of breath, vapor or wind that cannot be seen; thus, the idea of “obscure; dark; difficult to understand; enigmatic” (see HALOT 236–37 s.v. I הֶבֶל; BDB 210–11 s.v. I הֶבֶל). It is used in this sense in reference to enigmas in life (6:2; 8:10, 14) and the future which is obscure (11:8).

[12:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the watchers of the house.”

[12:3]  ¹⁵ tn The verb זְוּעַ (zÿua’, “to tremble”) probably does not refer to physical tremors but to trembling in fear (e.g., Esth 5:9; Hab 2:7; Sir 48:12); cf. HALOT 267 s.v. זוע). At the onset of old age, those who had been the most courageous during their youth suddenly become fearful.

[12:3]  ¹⁶ tn The verb עָוַת (’avat, “to bend; to stoop”) means “to be stooped” (HALOT 804 s.v. עות) rather than “to bend themselves” (BDB 736 s.v. עות). The perfect tense may be taken in an ingressive sense (“begin to stoop over”).

[12:3]  ¹⁷ tn The term הַטֹּחֲנוֹת (hattokhanot, Qal active participle feminine plural from טָחַן, takhan, “to grind”) is a double entendre. In its literal sense, it refers to female mill-grinders; in its figurative sense, it refers to molar teeth (HALOT 374 s.v. *טֹחֲנָה). The related Hebrew noun טַחֲנָה (takhanah) refers to a “mill,” and the related Arabic noun tahinat means “molar tooth” (HALOT 374 s.v. *טַחֲנָה).

[12:3]  ¹⁸ tn The verb חָשַׁךְ (khashakh, “to grow dim”) is used elsewhere in reference to failing eyesight (e.g., Ps 69:24; Lam 5:17); see HALOT 361 s.v. חשׁך 2. Therefore, the phrase “those who look through the windows” is probably a figurative description of the eyes, picturing failing eyesight at the onset of old age.