Month: October 2023

For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool. Ecclesiastes 2:16 (KJV)

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The word for ‘wise’ is derived from châkâm חָכָם, and it can have two meanings. (H2450)[1] In scripture it is used to refer to both men with natural wisdom, and godly wisdom. In this context, Gill and Henry are of the view that it means ‘natural wisdom.’ Henry calls it ‘men with wisdom of the world.’ And Gill refers to it simply as ‘natural wisdom.’ In scripture, they are most likely the kind of wisemen that Pharoah consults in Genesis 41:8. The word for ‘remembrance’ is derived from zikrôn זִכְרוֹן and it means ‘a memento.’ (H2146)[2] The word reflects a memorable record; in the biblical context, such records are often ‘God-ordained,’ for example, covenants between God and men, or a reminder of divine event.

Comments: Qoheleth seems to say, natural wisdom is ultimately of no profit. It gives you no advantage over the fool. A helpful dichotomy that we can put this across is between, (1) death of a godly man and death of a wicked man. Both dies, but their destinies are not the same, as against, (2) death of a wise man and death of a fool; no matter what allure wisdom has, the wise and the fool share the same fate. (Gill) In addition to this, Henry adds, the godly is remembered in the ‘book of life.’ But beyond this, the weight of Qoheleth’s insistent on this impending fate is interesting. As Seow puts it, there is an insistence on the tension between what already is, and what is to come – he emphasises that it is deliberate; the point being, ‘the days to come are already here.’ (136) Implication: the wise and the fool has/have always shared this same fate; it is not news. In other words, Qoheleth eliminates any hope of future opportunity – that one might get into this fallacy of thinking that wisdom in some way or context can ever be profitable.

Reference:

Gill, J. (1748-63). Exposition of the Old Testament, Eccl. 2:16
Henry, M. (1706). Commentary on the Whole Bible, Complete, Eccl. 2:12-16
Seow, C.L. (1997). Ecclesiastes, Yale University Press     

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[1] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2450/kjv/wlc/0-1/
[2] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h2146/kjv/wlc/0-1/