Followers

Saturday, December 24, 2016

Ecc 1:15 What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be counted.

The book of Ecclesiastes (tl,h,qo) remains a source of confusion to both Jews and Christians.  The source of difficulty for both groups has always been the repeated jump between total despair and hedonism, between orthodox and heterodox theological concepts.  One approach of Jewish sages is to assert that Solomon wrote the book at the end of his life after he had become disillusioned, and he had come to despair over the emptiness in his life.  One conservative Christian approach was popularized by M. R. DeHaan and his Radio Bible Class.  According to this approach, Ecclesiastes identified life difficulties all of which were answered in Christ.  A liberal Christian approach to the book asserts that it was not written by Solomon but rather reflects difficulties and frustrations experienced by the Jews sometime during the middle of the second temple period.  In general, none of these approaches present the book as having a single unifying theme and purpose but more as a collection, like the book of Proverbs.

Now, I agree with the Jewish sages that the book was originally written by Solomon near the end of his life, but I disagree that he had succumbed to despair and disillusionment.  I also disagree with the approach of DeHaan and his successors, because all of the problems identified by Koheleth are just as current as today's news, and they are just as prevalent among 'born again' believers in Jesus as anyone else.  In my opinion, Solomon used his experiences from 40 years as King over Israel as his primary source.  He had not given in to despair, but he had learned by personal experience and observation that no human activity under the sun has any benefit for the individual that can endure beyond this present life.  However, a person can pursue a manner of life capable of giving enjoyment that transcends his particular circumstances.  Although nobody is immune from calamities (loss, sickness, death), a person can live in such a way that he does not become the cause for the calamities that do enter his life.  The key to this understanding is found in chapter 1, particularly verses 3 and 15.


.μIl;v;WryBi Ël,m, dwiD;AˆB, tl,h,qo yreb]Di 1
The words of Koheleth, son of David, king in Jerusalem.

.lb,h; lKoh' μylib;h} lb,h} tl,h,q1o rm'a; μylib;h} lb,h} 2
Koheleth says: Most illusory, most illusory, everything is illusory.

lb,h,          This noun occurs a total of 73 times in the bible but 38 times in Ecclesiastes.  Its basic meaning according to BDB is ‘breath’ or ‘vapor,’ but this usage is found just two times (Is 57:13, Prov 21:6).  Most commonly it is used figuratively to describe something insubstantial.  The translation of ‘vanity’ or ‘futility’ comes from the LXX rendering of lb,h, by ματαιότης.  The term lb,h, signifies something having the appearance of substance but little or no concrete reality – like a frosty breath, fog bank, or mirage.  For this reason, I have rendered it by ‘illusory’ in most cases. 

μylib;h} lbeh}  This construction is formally one of the ways in which Hebrew expresses the superlative degree.  The construct chain approximates the semantic force of a Greek partitive genitive: “of all illusory things, this is the most illusory.”  In addition, repeating the word five times within this one verse is most emphatic.  So how close is this concept to the more common English translation of vanity or futility?  We call a person vain if his attitudes have inadequate basis in fact; we call a desire vain if it cannot be satisfied.  We call an action or desire futile if ultimate realization or accomplishment is not possible.  There are places in the book where the use of lb,h, does correspond closely to that of vain or futile and other places where apparent reality is nothing but an illusion without substance.    

.vm,V;h' tj'T' lmo[}Y'v, /lm;[}Alk;B] μd;a;l; ˆ/rt]YIAhm' 3
What benefit is there for a man in all of his toil that he does under the sun?

This rhetorical question introduces the subject that will be the primary focus of the entire book.  What is the ultimate benefit that a man derives from all his toil during this life on earth under the sun, and how can he keep his life from becoming completely meaningless while he yet lives?  The next seven verses present the problem that concerns Koheleth by means of an overview of natural occurrences.

.td,m;[o μl;/[l] 6r,a;h;w“ aB; r/dw] Ëleho r/D 4
A generation goes and a generation comes, but the world remains forever.

 td,m;[ aB; ] Ëleho         The three verb forms are all singular qal participles, and each of them expresses continuous action.  The first of the three literally means 'walk', but it is used to express 'come, go, depart' or the act of traveling from any place to any other place.  The second verb is also used to express 'come, go'.  Here the sense clearly is 'one generation departs (i.e., dies off) and another generation arrives', and this cycle is going on continually.  However, the material creation -- 6r,a;h; -- remains standing μl;/[l].  The noun  μl;/[ has a very broad range of meaning.  Here it signifies that for any particular generation – say a period of 70 to 100 years – the earth as a whole exhibits no significant observable change.  

From the standpoint of the biblical narrative, Genesis 1 states that this creation had a beginning, and the curse presented in Genesis 3:14 – 3:19 implies that it will have both a climax and a conclusion.  However, by examining the genealogical records of the scriptures or by merely examining human records in general, one finds that one generation follows another and that the overall state of the world changes little, if any at all.  No meaningful progression or development is evident.  This unending sameness is summarized by the next three verses.

.μv; aWh j're/z 5ae/v /m/qm]Ala,w“ vm,V,h' ab;W vm,V,h' jr"z:w“ 5
The sun rises, and the sun sets, and it rushes to its place for rising there (again).

wyt;boybis]Al['w“ j'Wrh; Ële/h bbe/s bbe/s ˆ/px;Ala, bbe/sw“ μ/rD;Ala, Ële/h 6
.j'Wrh; bv;        
Turning to the south and turning to the north, turning, turning goes the wind, and upon its circuit the wind returns.

alem; WNn,yae μY:h'w“ μY:h'Ala, μykil]ho μylij;N“h'AlK; 7
.tk,l;l; μybiv; μhe μv; μykil]ho μylij;N“h'v, μ/qm]Ala,
All of the rivers go to the sea, but the sea is not filled.  To the place where the rivers run, there they return to run (again).

The natural world presents exactly this same picture. The sun rises and sets, the winds blow round about, and the rivers flow continuously from the mountains to the seas.  There is no obvious sign of progression or development and no advancement toward any conclusion. 

rBed'l] vyai lk'WyAalo μy[ig´y“ μyrIb;D]h'AlK; 8
.['moV]mi ˆz,ao aleM;tiAalow“ t/ar“li ˆyi[' [B'c]tiAalo
Everything is so wearisome that a person cannot speak (of it).  The eye is not satisfied with seeing, and the ear is not filled with hearing.

The patterns that have existed in the past continue to be present now.  If a person is inclined to go sight seeing, there will never be enough: there will always be something else to see.  If a person is inclined to listen to stories, music, or the like, there will never be the last song to sing or story to hear (or book to read, movie to see, or CD to play, etc.).

.vm,V;h' tj'T' vd:j;AlK; ˆyaew“ hc,[;Yev, aWh hc;[}N"v,Ahm'W hy,h]Yiv, aWh hy;h;V,Ahm' 9
What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done.  And there is nothing new under the sun.

As far back as we can assess from human records, these patterns have bound human life.  As far forward as we can imagine (apart from divine intervention), they will continue to do so. From this perspective, no aspect of our lives and no experience that might enter our lives have changed from the beginning of time under the sun.  (This observation is also confirmed within the Bible.  God’s oath to Noah in Gen 8:22 following the flood stated that these patterns would not cease so long as the earth remains.  Yet, these very words imply a conclusion will come at some time.)

 .WnnEp;L]mi hy;h; rv,a} μymil;[ol] hy;h; rb;K] aWh vd;j; hz<Ahaer“ rm'aYov, rb;D; vye 10
Is there a message saying, ‘Look! This is new!’  It has already existed in the times that were before us.

There is a story (apparently apocryphal) about a bureaucrat in Washington in the late 1800’s who asserted that the patent office was of no further value, because there was nothing left to be invented.  Today many of the gadgets that we deem to be essential did not exist even 10 years ago, and the pace at which ‘new stuff’ appears on the scene only increases year by year.  However at the most fundamental level, all of these ‘new gadgets’ consist merely of the rearrangement or repackaging of material or concepts that have been present from the time of Adam and Eve.  Consider music, for example.  Every generation or culture has had its own favored style of music.  But whether that music is based on the octave scale, 12-tone scale, or chromatic scale, it is all based on sound waves ranging from 40 Hz to 1200 Hz.  Both popular and classical music employ the same range of frequencies with varying rhythm and beat patterns.  The same can be said of art, literature, science, and mathematics.  More than once the newest great discovery was merely a rediscovery of something that was once known and later forgotten.  (For example, the ancient Greeks knew that the earth was round and calculated its circumference to a high degree of accuracy.)  Much of the renaissance was merely the rediscovery of what the Greeks had known 1500 years earlier.  From this perspective, nothing is really new but merely a rearrangement of what has previously existed.

Wyh]Yiv, μyniroj}a'l; μg"w“ μynivoaril; ˆ/rk]zi ˆyae 11
.hn:roj}a'l; Wyh]Yiv, μ[i ˆ/rK;zi μh,l; hy<h]yIAalo
There is no remembrance of the former things, and also the latter things that will be will have no remembrance with those who will live in later times.

More than one writer has noted that any generation who fails to learn from the errors of prior history will be doomed to repeat those errors.  Here the author asserts that this fault is characteristic both of people as individuals and of entire societies.  Read today’s newspaper (or internet news bulletin) and then read one from 50 years, 100 years ago, or 2500 years ago.  Details will be different, but many of the problems being addressed will be essentially the same.  The human creature has not changed from the day that God judged Adam and Eve and cursed the ground (Gen 3:17); the problems that the earliest human cultures have experienced remain with us still in essentially the same form.  We tend to be so wrapped up in our own circumstances that we forget that no problem we face is new: it may be new to us, but it has all happened before.

.μIl;v;WryBi laer:c]yiAl[' Ël,m, ytiyyih; tl,h,qo ynia} 12
I, Koheleth, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

There were just three kings who reigned over all Israel from Jerusalem: David, Solomon, and Rehoboam, though Rehoboam's tenure lasted just a few months at most.  Verse 1 states that Koheleth was the son of David, much of the book stresses the great wisdom possessed by Koheleth, and chapter 2 describes some of the great building projects and wealth attributed to Solomon.  Without a doubt, the author is claiming to be Solomon.  The internal evidence of the text presents this as the work of Solomon.  The state of the Masoretic Text shows numerous textual corruptions, indicating that this book was among the less carefully preserved of the Hebrew texts, and these same corruptions are often contained word-by-word in the LXX and other early translations.  This suggests that the book was already ancient by the time that the Greek and Aramaic translations were made.

 μyim;V;h' tj'T' hc,[}n' rv,a}AlK; l[' hm;k]j;B' rWtl;w“ v/rd]li yBiliAta, yTit'n:w“ 13
./B t/n[}l' μd:a;h; yneb]li μyhi/la‘ ˆt'n; [r: ˆyn}[i aWh
And I applied my heart to examine intently with wisdom all that is done under heaven:  God has given a profoundly unpleasant task to mankind to be occupied with.

yBiliAta, yTit'n:w“       This is the primary clause of the verse. yTit'n:w“ is a 1cs qal perfect of ˆtn and has the basic meaning of ‘give.’  In the present context, it describes concentrated application to a particular task.  yBiliAta, is the direct object of the transitive verb.  In classical Hebrew, the term ‘heart’ often refers to the seat of reason and conscious determination, not the seat of emotion or passion.

hm;k]j;B' rWtl;w“ v/rd]li        This phrase consists of two qal infinitive constructs followed by an adverbial prepositional phrase.  The two infinitives are predicate compliments to the finite verb and describe the task that Koheleth intends to undertake.  The basic root meaning of vrd is ‘seek,’ and its range of usage includes ‘investigate, study, practice.’  The root meaning of rWt is ‘seek out, explore.’  The combination is a hendiadys (two words used to express a single idea) to describe a determined, concerted examination of a particular subject.  The adverbial prepositional phrase hm;k]j;B' identifies the tool to be used for this examination: ‘with the wisdom.’  In classical Hebrew, hm;k]j; refers primarily to the practice of practical skills in life, not the accumulation of information or the speculative knowledge that characterized Greek thought.  English does not have any single word that has an equivalent semantic content.

μyim;V;h' tj'T' hc,[}n" rv,a}AlK; l[' This phrase presents the object of this examination: concerning everything that is being done under the sun.  The verb form hc,[}n' is an ms niphal (passive) participle from the root hc[ expressing continual action.  The prepositional phrase μyim;V;h' tj'T' focuses attention on events that currently were taking place on the earth and could be investigated by direct observation. This expression has essentially the same force as vm,V;h' tj'T' 'under the sun'.

/B t/n[}l' μd:a;h; yneb]li μyhi/la‘ ˆt'n; [r: ˆyn}[i aWh          This clause presents the conclusion of his study concerning all that is done under heaven (essentially chapters 2 through 5) before he begins describing the details of that study.  The grammatical core of the clause μd:a;h; yneb]li μyhi/la‘ ˆt'n; [r: ˆyn}[i aWh: ‘God has given an unpleasant task to the sons of Adam.’  The remainder is merely amplification.  In the Hebrew text [r: ˆyn}[i aWh is an independent clause that precedes the main clause, but it identifies what God has given to mankind. /B t/n[}l' is an infinitive phrase describing the nature of the problem: habitual occupation with an unpleasant task.  This unpleasant task that God has inflicted on the sons of Adam is the core of the curse in Gen 3:19: ‘With the sweat of your face (lit. nose) you shall eat your bread until you return to the ground.’

[r:       This adjective is almost always translated as ‘evil,’ and readers of the English translations often assume that the term ‘evil’ always describes moral evil or something sinful.  In reality, the classical Hebrew usage of [r: is similar to that of the English term ‘evil,’ i.e. something that is bad, unpleasant, or undesirable.  All moral evil and all sin certainly are bad and always have ultimately undesirable consequences, but not all bad (unpleasant or undesirable) things or deeds are sinful.  In this book the term [r: usually does not refer to moral evil but to something that is unpleasant or undesirable.   

μd:a;h; yneb]li   Grammatically, this phrase constitutes the indirect object of the transitive verb. μd:a;h; yneb] is a construct chain that is ordinarily translated ‘the sons of Adam.’  The peculiar thing is that μd:a;h; has the definite article attached even though it is often taken as a personal name.  Since personal names in Hebrew are always definite, use of the article is not appropriate.  Consequently, the author appears to be using this term as a generic expression for human or mankind and not as the personal name ‘Adam.’  This usage is confirmed by the expressions in 2:18, 21, 22, 24, 26, 3:11, 12, 20, etc.

.j"Wr tW[r]W lb,h, lKoh' hNEhiw“ vm,V;h' tj'T' Wc[}N"v, μyci[}M'h'AlK;Ata, ytiyair: 14
I have seen all of the deeds that are done under the sun, and everything is an illusion and striving after wind.

j"Wr tW[r]W lb,h, lKoh' hNEhiw“           This clause and its variants are structurally significant literary markers.  They are repeated throughout the book at the end of each major segment of text like the refrain in a song or poem.  Semantically, this refrain means: what has just been presented is as futile as trying to find substance in a mirage or trying to catch the wind.  The term tW[r] is an fs noun derived from the root h[r III signifying ‘striving, longing;’ ˆ/y[]r" is a ms noun from the same root having the same meaning.  (LXX translation for both terms is προαίρεσης, a choosing.)  Just try to be a close companion with the wind!

.t/nM;hil] lk'WyAal ˆ/rs]j,w“ ˆqot]li lk'WyAal tW:[um] 15

This is the first of many obvious proverbs presented throughout the text of this book.  It is intended as the explanation for the assertion that 'God has given humans an extremely unpleasant task'.  Understanding the content of this particular proverb couplet is essential for gaining an accurate understanding of the message that the author is trying to convey.  Formally, tW:[um] is a pual (passive form) participle of tw[ (be bent, twisted, crooked); ˆqot] is a qal infinitive construct (become straight); ˆ/rs]j, is an ms noun from rsj (deficiency, thing lacking); t/nM;hi is a niphal (passive form) infinitive construct of hnm (count, number, reckon).  A strictly literal translation of the forms would be: One is not able to straighten a bent thing, and one is not able to count a missing thing.

What is bent?  The creation is bent by the curse of God, and that curse cannot be undone by anything we can do:  ‘Cursed is the land because of you’ (Gen 3:17).  Yeshua bore the judicial curse of the law (c.f., Deut 27:15 – 26) for those who believe in him, but he has not yet eliminated the curse on this creation (see Rom 8:19-21).  That will not happen until the creation is made new after the end of his 1000-year reign following his bodily return to the earth (Rev 21:1).

What is missing?  Innocence and the original direct fellowship with God.  This cannot be restored completely even by the new birth: ‘I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked’ (Gen 3:10).  Restoration of innocence will not occur for those under the sun until they who have been redeemed possess glorified material bodies.  The redeemed will be confirmed in sinlessness following their physical death, but they will not again live under the sun on earth until after their resurrection.

Now, if we accept the rhetorical question of verse 3 as a general statement of purpose for the entire book, then verse 15 constitutes the fundamental problem that confronts every human throughout the duration of his life on planet earth.  Given the fact that we all live in a world that is not the original creation that God intended – or as stated by Rav Shaul in Rom 8:20, For the creation was subjected to futility (ματαιότης), not of its own will, but because of him who subjected it… – how can a person find something of value in his pursuits?  The remaining verses of chapter 1 assert that he, Koheleth, will undertake an investigation of all that is done on earth to discover what is beneficial for a person to do, and this investigation constitutes the body of the book.  Chapters 2 through 5 describe the various ways that people have attempted – and still attempt – to find value and satisfaction in life:

·         Pleasure – material, culinary, sexual
·         Knowledge, especially the attempt to understand ultimate purposes of God
·         Rivalries and strife between people
·         Personal mastery by means of deceit, wealth, or position

All of these offer no ultimate benefit because they are all transitory.  The futility of pursuing any or all of these as life objectives is summarized in chapter 6.

Chapters 7 through 11 have a somewhat different focus and employ a more directly proverbial approach.  If the most common methods for seeking satisfaction in life are ultimately futile, how can a person find enjoyment in life that transcends circumstances?  The author's answer is the fear of God coupled with the practice of wisdom hm;k]j;.  No human under the sun is immune from chance calamity, but through the practice of hm;k]j; a person can avoid being the source of his own calamities.  In addition, such a person receives as a gift from God the capacity to enjoy the time of life he has been granted under the sun, whether he has little or much. 


Chapter 12 is then the conclusion to the book and summarizes the entire investigation with the words Fear God and keep the commandments.  

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