January 2025 – Semper Reformanda

Ecclesiastes 4:8 | Word Study

There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail. Ecclesiastes 4:8 (KJV)

The word ‘alone’ may refer to as the ‘solitary one.’ (Seow, 180) It is not clear though if this solitude is self-imposed, or one born out of implication. The word ‘alone’ may also refer to a ‘loner.’ Others imply the meaning that the word ‘alone’ could mean somebody who has nobody to call their own. (Provan, 120) The context seems to be of greed or covetousness. Qoheleth is investigation the futility or vanity of labour under the sun. From the previous verse forward, he is shifting his focus towards an extreme end – personal ambition. We are presented here with a man who is so entrenched in his labour that he ends up alone; his labour favours none.

Comments: This self-isolating dedication to labour is also deeply enigmatic. (Bartholomew, 161) If a man sacrifices his comforts for some cause, i.e., labour under the sun, he should also be able to reap its benefits. But Qoheleth here illustrates, such labour only entices and consumes the labourer. The oppression of such ambitious endeavours is so blinding that the man even forgets what this labour is for. To the phrase, ‘for whom do I labour,’ Bartholomew refers as the ’exasperated question of the loner.’ Because there is no end to this labour, “neither is his eye satisfied with riches.” Dedication to such labour only makes man “a slave to his business;” that he even forgets the simple joys of life, both worldly and heavenly. (Henry)

References:

Bartholomew, C. (2009). Ecclesiastes, Baker Academic
Henry, M. (1706). Commentary on the Whole Bible, Complete, Eccl. 4:7-12
Provan, I. (2001). Ecclesiastes/Song of Songs: The New Application Commentary, Zondervan
Seow, C.L. (1997). Ecclesiastes, Yale University Press

Ecclesiastes 4:7 | Word Study

Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun. Ecclesiastes 4:7 (KJV)

Qoheleth returns to his study of ‘vanity under the sun,’ but this time the focus changes from ‘oppression’ to ‘individual isolation.’ Henry refers to this as ‘evil of selfishness.’ The greedy man is isolated and suffers vanity because of it.

Reference:

Henry, M. (1706). Commentary on the Whole Bible, Complete, Eccl. 4:7-12

Ecclesiastes 4:6 | Word Study

Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit. Ecclesiastes 4:6 (KJV)

In other translation, it is read as ‘It’s better to have one handful of tranquility than to have two handfuls of trouble and to chase after the wind.’ (ISV) The word for tranquillity or quietness, naḥaṯ, could refer to rest or an absence of trouble. (H5138)[1] It could also mean ‘peace of mind’ as derived from other usages such as in Prov. 29:9. (Provan, 119) Two important things to note here: (1) nahat does not mean ‘inactivity’ as one may assume from v5. It refers to a situation of peace and security, with absence of worry or trouble, and (2) it does not refer to an actual measure of things, as in quantitatively. (Seow, 180)

Comments: The comparison is of two extremes that we have followed in the previous verses: (1) of labour, and (2) of sloth. And the conclusion was that both are meaningless and results only in vanity. The sort of suggestion that Qoheleth seems to push here is that, ‘doing’ and ‘not-doing’ is pointless, that is not the concern. We as mortals don’t have our own fate written out by our own hands. Again, God is sovereign. We cannot cheat and have our way, either by working more or by not working at all. The only sort of solution is to rest in the providence of a sovereign God, it is only in this situation that we can have or experience the actual peace and security. To quote Henry, “I rather take it as Solomon’s advice to keep the mean between that travail which will make a man envied and that slothfulness which will make a man eat his own flesh. Let us by honest industry lay hold on the handful, that we may not want necessaries, but not grasp at both the hands full, which will but create us vexation of spirit. Moderate pains and moderate gains will do best. A man may have but a handful of the world, and yet may enjoy it and himself with a great deal of quietness, with content of mind, peace of conscience, and the love and good-will of his neighbours, while many that have both their hands full, have more than heart could wish, have a great deal of travail and vexation with it. Those that cannot live on a little, it is to be feared, would not live as they should if they had ever so much.”

[1] https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h5183/kjv/wlc/0-1/