ECCLESIASTES 10:2

Q: I know that Solomon was not making a political statement, but I'm curious about the verse that reads, "The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." In biblical terms, what do "right" and "left" mean?

You bring up a very good point – When you run into an idiom or figure of speech in the Bible that is similar to one we use today, you shouldn't assume that the Biblical authors understood it in the same manner.

In most ancient cultures, “right” was associated with skill, approval, correctness and good fortune; whereas “left” indicated awkwardness, disapproval, error and bad fortune. (The International Bible Commentary, p. 699) However, The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (p. 499-500) notes that in the vast majority of references in the Bible to right and left there is no suggestion that one direction or the other is to be preferred. But there are a few places where “left” indicates the less desirable alternative. There is Genesis 48:13-14 in which Jacob puts his right hand on Ephraim, indicating that he will receive a greater blessing than the older brother Manasseh, on whom he has placed his left hand. Also, Jesus' division of the goats on the left and the sheep on the right clearly indicates preference for the latter group (Matt. 25:33,41-46).

Tremper Longman (The Book of Ecclesiastes, p. 240) suggests that going to the right means going in the direction of power and strength, citing as examples the Genesis passage above and Isaiah 41:10 (“I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”).

The general image in Ecclesiastes 10:2 stems from the common picture of one's life as a journey along a path (see the closely related verse 3). Several passages of this sort picture a path of life that is not to be deviated from, either to the left or the right (for example, Deuteronomy 5:32). However, the imagery in Ecclesiastes 10:2 is of a road that suddenly forks. One can go either way, but which is the correct way? The context indicates that to go right is obviously a wiser move than heading left on a foolish path.

As a “leftie” myself, I should probably be offended with the occasional derogatory use of “left” in the Bible. But I can console myself with the fact that left-handed people are sometimes pointed to as positive examples. There is the left-handed judge (and part-time assassin) Ehud in the Judges 3; the 700 left-handed soldiers in Judges 20:16 who were especially adept at slinging stones; and the ambidextrous soldiers in I Chronicles 12:2. Apparently God can even use us “lefties” on occasion.