Pengkhotbah 2:7

2:7 I purchased male and female slaves,

and I owned slaves who were born in my house; ¹ 

I also possessed more livestock – both herds and flocks –

than any of my predecessors in Jerusalem. ² 

Pengkhotbah 9:1

Everyone Will Die

9:1 So I reflected on all this, ³  attempting to clear ⁴  it all up.

I concluded that ⁵  the righteous and the wise, as well as their works, are in the hand of God;

whether a person will be loved or hated ⁶  –

no one knows what lies ahead. ⁷ 

[2:7]  ¹ tn The phrase “sons of a house” (בְנֵי בַיִת, vÿne vayit) appears to be parallel to “a son of my house” (בֶן־בֵּיתִי, ven-beti) which refers to a person born into slavery from male and female servants in the master’s possession, e.g., Eleazar of Damascus (Gen 15:3). The phrase appears to denote children born from male and female slaves already in his possession, that is, “homeborn slaves” (NASB) or “other slaves who were born in my house” (NIV). Apparently confusing the sense of the phrase with the referent of the phrase in Gen 15:3, NJPS erroneously suggests “stewards” in Eccl 2:7.

[2:7]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[9:1]  ³ tn Heb “I laid all this to my heart.”

[9:1]  ⁴ tn The term וְלָבוּר (velavur, conjunction + Qal infinitive construct from בּוּר, bur, “to make clear”) denotes “to examine; to make clear; to clear up; to explain” (HALOT 116 s.v. בור; BDB 101 s.v. בּוּר). The term is related to Arabic baraw “to examine” (G. R. Driver, “Supposed Arabisms in the Old Testament,” JBL 55 [1936]: 108). This verb is related to the Hebrew noun בֹּר (bor, “cleanness”) and adjective בַּר (bar, “clean”). The term is used in the OT only in Ecclesiastes (1:13; 2:3; 7:25; 9:1). This use of the infinitive has a connotative sense (“attempting to”), and functions in a complementary sense, relative to the main verb.

[9:1]  ⁵ tn The words “I concluded that” do not appear in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “whether love or hatred.”

[9:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “man does not know anything before them.”