ECCLESIASTES 6-7

Subject-wise, this section appears to be somewhat more of a miscellany than those preceding it, but it still has a very ordered structure:

A. Observation (6:1-2a)

    B. Conclusion: "this is vanity" (6:2b)

A. Observation (6:3)

    B. Conclusion: "for it comes into vanity" (6:4-6)

A. Observation (6:7-9a)

    B. Conclusion: "this also is vanity and a striving after wind" (6:9b)

A. Observation (6:10)

    B. Conclusion: "the more words, the more vanity" (6:11-12)

        C. Proverbs (7:1-13)

            D. Conclusion--Positive (7:14a)

                E. Qualifier (7:14b)

The mention of “possessions /prosperity” in 6:2 and 7:14 acts as an inclusio, or bracket, to this section with the interesting reversal between the lack of enjoyment in the first verse and the admonition to rejoice in the last. A similar inclusio with a reversal can be seen in the contrast between “those who have not seen the sun” (i.e., have not yet been born) in 6:5 and “those who see the sun” in 7:11. The proverbs in Unit C contain exactly seven beginning with “good.”

Ecclesiastes 6:1-6

6:1-2 Because they die early, presumably. Here the inability of wealthy people to enjoy their riches is blamed on God. Why would God not enable them to enjoy their riches? Perhaps because they refuse to recognize that God has blessed them. Instead they credit it all to their own skills. This is like Jesus' story of the man who kept building new barns and died in the middle of it. Those workaholics who never enjoy their blessings. The case is even worse than that in 2:18 where a family member inherits it; here a stranger takes it over.

6:3 This is the case of someone who has everything and does have a long life. Compare translations. A stillborn one has no burial. Another possibility is that this phrase belongs to verses 4 or 5 instead. Note in NRSV says, “and yet he complains that the days of his years will come to pass and worries whether he will have a proper burial” as a possibility. It would have been better for him never to have been born. Howard Hughes as a possible example.

6:4-6 Covering the name with darkness is an idiom for non-existence. Perhaps a comment on the advantages of the stillborn over a rich man thwarted in his desires. A similar verse in Ecclesiastes reads in TEV, “No matter how long you live, you will be dead a whole lot longer.”

Ecclesiastes 6:7-12

6:7-9 I use to say that my salary was more than I was worth, but not enough to live on. The Hebrew word for soul and appetite is the same. It appears in verse 7 as “the soul/appetite is not satisfied” and in v. 9 as the soul/appetite for wandering. Verse 8a was answered earlier — there is still an advantage.

6:8b The author has looked at the rich and now he looks at the poor; neither has captured the secret of joy.

6:9 What does “sight of the eyes” mean? It is like “A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.”

6:10-12 Who are those stronger? God? The gist of the passage is that man's vision is limited so that we can't see what is ahead and plan for it. By contrast, only God can see future events (10a). The same point is made at 7:14. Verse 12 introduces the next passage, which contain ten uses of the word “good/better” and shows what is good for man, not on an absolute basis (good vs. bad) but on a relative basis only. The author squarely faces the fact of death only because he has faith in what lies beyond it. By contrast, modern man does not like to even talk about death because it is looked on as an interruption of all his plans.

Ecclesiastes 7:1-6 are proverbs showing the benefit that may be gained from suffering.

7:1 There is a pun on similarity between “name” and “ointment” in Hebrew. Attempts to translate this pun have yielded “Better is name than nard” and “Fair fame is better than fine perfume.”

7:2 “Every funeral anticipates our own.”

7:3 The final word in this verse may be translated “right” rather than “glad.”

7:4 The heart was the center of intellect/thought in Jewish thinking.

7:6 There is a pun in Hebrew between “thorns” and “pot.” Moffett translates it as “like nettles crackling under kettles.”

Proverbs 7:7-10 are proverbs showing the less beneficial results of trials in our lives.

7:8 “End” = outcome. Therefore this verse urges patience and waiting for God's timing, in contrast to the proud in spirit who want things done according to their timing.

7:9 “Anger” also contains the idea of exasperation with the problems of life. The root cause of anger is usually fear, according to psychologists.

7:10 Dave Moore relates this verse to older people who are always dwelling on the “good old days” rather than on the present and future.

Proverbs 7:11-14

7:11-12 An inheritance is useful to one who also has wisdom. Or it may mean, “wisdom is as good as an inheritance.”

7:14 This is similar to Paul's saying, “I have learned the secret of being content in adversity and prosperity.” There is a useful place for both blessings and adversity. For the believer, this is a reminder that we will never reach the point where we understand God fully and it is not necessary for faith. John Collins ( The God of Miracles) says that in place of faith we should “think instead of trust in a relationship: Trust is built on some experience, but trust always outruns the evidence and finds confirmation in further experience.”