Pengkhotbah 8:1

Human Government Demonstrates Limitations of Wisdom

8:1 Who is ¹  a ²  wise person? Who knows the solution ³  to a problem? ⁴ 

A person’s wisdom brightens his appearance, ⁵  and softens ⁶  his harsh countenance. ⁷ 

Pengkhotbah 10:2-3

Wisdom Can Be Nullified By the Caprice of Rulers

10:2 A wise person’s good sense protects him, ⁸ 

but a fool’s lack of sense leaves him vulnerable. ⁹ 

10:3 Even when a fool walks along the road he lacks sense, ¹⁰ 

and shows ¹¹  everyone what a fool he is. ¹² 

Amsal 14:8

14:8 The wisdom of the shrewd person ¹³  is to discern ¹⁴  his way,

but the folly of fools is deception. ¹⁵ 

Amsal 17:24

17:24 Wisdom is directly in front of ¹⁶  the discerning person,

but the eyes of a fool run ¹⁷  to the ends of the earth. ¹⁸ 

Amsal 17:1

17:1 Better is a dry crust of bread ¹⁹  where there is quietness ²⁰ 

than a house full of feasting with strife. ²¹ 

Yohanes 2:11

2:11 Jesus did this as the first of his miraculous signs, ²²  in Cana ²³  of Galilee. In this way he revealed ²⁴  his glory, and his disciples believed in him. ²⁵ 

[8:1]  ¹ tn The preposition כְּ (kaf) prefixed to כְּהֶחָכָם (kÿhekhakham, “wise man”) is traditionally taken in a comparative sense: “Who is like [or as] the wise man?” On the other hand, it may denote identity, e.g., Gen 1:26; Num 11:1; 1 Sam 20:3; 2 Sam 9:8; Neh 7:2; Job 10:9; Nah 3:6 (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 47, §261; IBHS 202-4 §11.2.9b).

[8:1]  ² tn The definite article on הֶחָכָם (hekhakham, “wise man”) may be taken in an individualizing (“the wise man”) or generic sense (“a wise man”).

[8:1]  ³ tn Or “the explanation.” The noun פֵּשֶׁר (pesher) denotes “solution; explanation; interpretation; meaning” (HALOT 982–83 s.v. פֵּשֶׁר; BDB 833 s.v. פֵּשֶׁר). The Hebrew term is an Aramaic loanword from פִּשְׁרָא (pishra’, “diagnosis; meaning; solution”). The Aramaic noun פְּשַׁר (pÿshar, “interpretation of a dream or prophecy”) and verb פְּשַׁר (pÿshar, “to interpret a dream or prophecy”) reflect a later meaning not present in Ecclesiastes, but current at the time of Daniel (Dan 2:5-7; 4:3, 15, 16; 5:12, 15, 16; 7:16) and Qumran (e.g., 1QpHab).

[8:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “a thing.”

[8:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “makes his face shine.”

[8:1]  ⁶ tc The MT vocalizes the consonantal form ישנא as יְשֻׁנֶּא (yÿshunne’, Pual imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from I שָׁנָה, shana, “to change”). However, the LXX μισθήσεται (misqhsetai) reflects an alternate vocalization tradition of יִשָּׂנֵא (yissane’, Niphal imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from שָׂנֵא, sane’, “to hate”), while the Vulgate’s commutabit reflects יְשַׁנֶּה (yÿshanneh, Piel imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from II שָׁנָה, shanah, “to repeat”).

[8:1]  tn Heb “the strength of his face is changed.”

[8:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “the strength of his face is changed.” The expression עֹז פָּנָיו (’oz panayv, “strength of his face”) is an idiom for “boldness; impudence” (BDB 739 s.v. עֹז 4) or “hard face” = harsh countenance (HALOT 805 s.v. I עֹז 1.c).

[10:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “a wise man’s heart is at his right hand.” The phrase “right hand” is a Hebrew idiom for the place of protection (e.g., Pss 16:8; 110:5; 121:5). In ancient warfare, the shield of the warrior on one’s right-hand side protected one’s right hand. Qoheleth’s point is that wisdom provides protection (e.g., Eccl 7:12).

[10:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “and the heart of a fool is at his left hand.” The fool lacks the protection of wisdom which is at the right-hand side of the wise man (see note on “right hand” in the previous line). The wise man’s heart (i.e., good sense) protects him, but the fool is always getting into trouble.

[10:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he lacks his heart.”

[10:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he tells everyone.”

[10:3]  ¹² sn A fool’s lack of wisdom is obvious to everyone, even when he is engaged in the simple, ordinary actions of life.

[14:8]  ¹³ tn Or “the prudent [person]” (cf. KJV, NASB, NIV).

[14:8]  ¹⁴ tn The Hiphil infinitive construct denotes purpose. Those who are shrewd will use it to give careful consideration to all their ways.

[14:8]  ¹⁵ tn The word means “deception,” but some suggest “self-deception” here (W. McKane, Proverbs [OTL], 466; and D. W. Thomas, “Textual and Philological Notes on Some Passages in the Book of Proverbs,” VTSup 3 [1955]: 286); cf. NLT “fools deceive themselves.” The parallelism would favor this, but there is little support for it. The word usually means “craft practiced on others.” If the line is saying the fool is deceitful, there is only a loose antithesis between the cola.

[17:24]  ¹⁶ tn The verse begins with אֶת־פְּנֵי מֵבִין (’et-pÿni mevin), “before the discerning” or “the face of the discerning.” The particle אֶת here is simply drawing emphasis to the predicate (IBHS 182-83 §10.3.2b). Cf. NIV “A discerning man keeps wisdom in view.”

[17:24]  ¹⁷ tn The term “run” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for the sake of clarification.

[17:24]  ¹⁸ sn To say that “the eyes of the fool run to the ends of the earth” means that he has no power to concentrate and cannot focus his attention on anything. The language is hyperbolic. Cf. NCV “the mind of a fool wanders everywhere.”

[17:1]  ¹⁹ tn The phrase “a dry piece of bread” is like bread without butter, a morsel of bread not dipped in vinegar mix (e.g., Ruth 2:14). It represents here a simple, humble meal.

[17:1]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and quietness in it”; the construction functions as a circumstantial clause: “in which there is quietness” or “with quietness.”

[17:1]  sn The Hebrew word means “quietness” or “ease.” It represents a place where there can be carefree ease because of the sense of peace and security. The Greek rendering suggests that those translators read it as “peace.” Even if the fare is poor, this kind of setting is to be preferred.

[17:1]  ²¹ tn The house is described as being full of “sacrifices of strife” (זִבְחֵי־רִיב, zivkhi-riv). The use of “sacrifices” suggests a connection with the temple (as in 7:14) in which the people may have made their sacrifices and had a large amount meat left over. It is also possible that the reference is simply to a sumptuous meal (Deut 12:15; Isa 34:6; Ezek 39:17). It would be rare for Israelites to eat meat apart from festivals, however. In the construction the genitive could be classified as a genitive of effect, the feast in general “bringing about strife,” or it could simply be an attributive genitive, “a feast characterized by strife.” Abundance often brings deterioration of moral and ethical standards as well as an increase in envy and strife.

[2:11]  ²² tn This sentence in Greek involves an object-complement construction. The force can be either “Jesus did this as,” or possibly “Jesus made this to be.” The latter translation accents not only Jesus’ power but his sovereignty too. Cf. also 4:54 where the same construction occurs.

[2:11]  ²³ map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[2:11]  ²⁴ tn Grk “in Cana of Galilee, and he revealed.”

[2:11]  ²⁵ tn Or “his disciples trusted in him,” or “his disciples put their faith in him.”