Pengkhotbah 2:9

2:9 So ¹  I was far wealthier ²  than all my predecessors in Jerusalem,

yet I maintained my objectivity: ³ 

Pengkhotbah 1:16

Futility of Secular Wisdom

1:16 I thought to myself, ⁴ 

“I have become much wiser ⁵  than any of my predecessors who ruled ⁶  over Jerusalem; ⁷ 

I ⁸  have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.” ⁹ 

[2:9]  ¹ tn The vav prefixed to וְגָדַלְתִּי (vÿgadalti, vav + Qal perfect first common singular from גָּדַל, gadal, “to be great; to increase”) functions in a final summarizing sense, that is, it introduces the concluding summary of 2:4-9.

[2:9]  ² tn Heb “I became great and I surpassed” (וְהוֹסַפְתִּי וְגָדַלְתִּי, vÿgadalti vÿhosafti). This is a verbal hendiadys in which the second verb functions adverbially, modifying the first: “I became far greater.” Most translations miss the hendiadys and render the line in a woodenly literal sense (KJV, ASV, RSV, NEB, NRSV, NAB, NASB, MLB, Moffatt), while only a few recognize the presence of hendiadys here: “I became greater by far” (NIV) and “I gained more” (NJPS).

[2:9]  ³ tn Heb “yet my wisdom stood for me,” meaning he retained his wise perspective despite his great wealth.

[1:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”

[1:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “I, look, I have made great and increased wisdom.” The expression הִגְדַּלְתִּי וְהוֹסַפְתִּי (higdalti vÿhosafti) is a verbal hendiadys; it means that Qoheleth had become the wisest man in the history of Jerusalem.

[1:16]  ⁶ tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:16]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).

[1:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”