Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ecclesiastes 2:7
I got [me] servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:
7. I got me servants and maidens ] Better, I bought. The picture of Oriental state was incomplete without this element, and the slave trade, of which the Midianites were the chief representatives in the patriarchal history. (Gen 37:28), had probably been carried on without intermission, and supplied both the household and the harem of Solomon. In the Cushi of 2Sa 18:21, in his namesake of Jer 36:14, in Ebedmelech, the Cushite, or Ethiopian, of Jer 38:7, we have instances of the presence of such slaves in the royal households. The history of every ancient nation shews the universality of the traffic. Of these slaves each great household had two classes: (1) those “bought with money,” men of other races, captives in war, often, probably, negroes (Jer 38:7) who were employed in the more menial offices (Gen 11:11-12; Gen 11:23), and (2) those born in the house (Gen 14:14; Gen 15:3; Jer 2:14), the ‘sons of the handmaids’ (Exo 23:12), who rose into more confidential service, the of the Greeks, the vernae of the Latins. On the assumption that the book was written under the Ptolemies, their court would present the same features in an even more conspicuous manner.
great and small cattle ] Better, oxen and sheep. The daily provision for Solomon’s household (1Ki 4:22) gives some idea of the magnitude of his flocks and herds. See also 1Ch 27:29; 1Ki 5:3.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I got – Rather, I bought, in distinction from those born in the house. The children of Solomons servants (compare Ezr 2:55, Ezr 2:58) were more probably of Canaanite origin 1Ki 9:20-21; 1Ki 5:15 than Hebrews 1Ki 9:22.
Possessions of great and small cattle – Rather, herds of oxen and sheep.
All … before me – King Davids herds and flocks are mentioned in 1Ch 27:29, 1Ch 27:31 : but we have no specific account of the wealth of other Canaanite or Hebrew inhabitants of Jerusalem before Solomon.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 7. Servants and maidens] For my works, fields, folds, and various domestic labors.
Servants born in any house] Besides those hired from without, he had married couples in the precincts of his grounds, palaces, etc., who, when their children grew up, got them employment with themselves.
Great and small cattle] Oxen, neat, horses, asses, mules, camels, and such like; with sheep and goats. And multitudes of most of these he needed, when we are told that his household consumed daily ten stall-fed oxen, with twenty from the pasture, with a hundred sheep; besides harts, roebucks, fallow deer, fatted fowls, and other kinds of provision. Probably, such another court for splendor and expense was not in the universe.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Born in my house, of my bond-servants, which therefore were a part of my possessions: see 1Ki 10:8; Ezr 2:55.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. born in my houseThese wereesteemed more trustworthy servants than those bought (Gen 14:14;Gen 15:2; Gen 15:3;Gen 17:12; Gen 17:13;Gen 17:27; Jer 2:14),called “songs of one’s handmaid” (Ex23:12; compare Gen 12:16;Job 1:3).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I got [me] servants and maidens,…. Menservants, and maidservants; the Targum adds,
“of the children of Ham, and of the rest of the strange people;”
these were such as he hired, or bought with his money;
and had servants born in my house; and these were all employed by him; either as his retinue and equipage, his attendants and bodyguards; or to take care of his household, his gardens, and pools; or for his horses and chariots, and for various offices; see 1Ki 4:26 Ezr 2:58. Villalpandus computes the number of his servants to be forty eight thousand; if there were any pleasure and happiness in such a numerous attendance, Solomon had it;
also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me; oxen, cows, horses, asses, camels, mules, c. also sheep and goats which, as they were profitable, so it was pleasant to see them grazing on the hills and valleys, in the fields, mountains, and meadows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“I procured servants and maidens, and also I obtained servants born in the house; also the possession of flocks; I obtained many horned and small cattle before all who were in Jerusalem before me.” The obtaining of these possessions is, according to Gen 17:12., to be understood of purchase. There is a distinction between the slaves, male and female ( mancipia ), obtained by purchase, and those who were home-born ( vernae ), the ( ) , who were regarded as the chief support of the house (Gen 14:14), on account of their attachment to it, and to this day are called (Arab.) fada wayyt , as those who offer themselves a sacrifice for it, if need be. Regarding , in the sense of increasing possession; and regarding for , vid., at Ecc 1:10, Ecc 1:16; at all events, the sing. of the pred. may be explained from this, that the persons and things named are thought of in the mass, as at Zec 11:5; Joe 1:20 (although the idea there may be also individualizing); but in the use of the pass., as at Gen 35:26; Dan 9:24, the Semite custom is different, inasmuch as for it the passive has the force of an active without a definite subject, and thus with the most general subject; and as to the case lying before us in Ecc 2:7, we see from Exo 12:49, cf. Gen 15:17, that ( ) in such instances is thought of as neut. According to Gen 26:14 and the passage before us, lay nearer than , but the primary form instead of the connecting form is here the traditional reading; we have thus apposition ( Nebenordnung) instead of subordination ( Annexion), as in zevahim shelamim , Exo 24:5, and in habbaqar hannehhosheth , 2Ki 16:17, although vaqar vatson may also be interpreted as the accus. of the more accurate definition: the possession of flocks consisting in cattle and sheep. But this manner of construction is, for a book of so late an origin, too artificial. What it represents Solomon as saying is consistent with historical fact; at the consecration of the temple he sacrificed hecatombs, 1Ki 8:63; and the daily supply for the royal kitchen, which will at the same time serve to show the extent of the royal household, was, according to 1Ki 5:2., enormous.
There now follows the enumeration of riches and jewels which were a delight to the eye; and finally, the large provision made for revelling in the pleasures of music and of sensual love.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
(7) Got me.The servants acquired by purchase are distinguished from those born in the house. (Concerning the number of Solomons servants, see 1Ki. 4:27; 1Ki. 10:5; and of his cattle, 1Ki. 4:23, 1Ki. 8:63.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. Solomon had need of a vast amount of labour.
Got me servants Hebrew, bought. He who studies the laws of Moses will see that such provision was made for servants that their condition was not one of slavery in its more objectionable sense. In fact, there is no Hebrew word for slave. The Hebrew bondman lost no right but that of the recompense of his own labour. If he was maimed by his master he became free. If he was killed by him, his master was slain by the sword. Greek, Roman, and American slavery was very different from this. The slave was, also, taught in the law; could not be delivered up if he ran away; could marry a daughter of his master; and a maidservant could be the lawful wife of her master or her master’s son. Servants, then, either purchased or born on the place, were not what we call slaves.
Great and small cattle Hebrew, oxen and sheep. See the sacrifices at the dedication of the temple. 1Ki 8:63. Above all that were before me See remarks on Ecc 1:16.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ecc 2:7 I got [me] servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:
Ver. 7. I got me servants, &c. ] Too many by one, viz., Jeroboam, who rent ten tribes from his son. It is well observed by an interpreter, that Solomon, among all his delights, got him not a fool or jester, which some princes cannot be without, no, not when they should be most serious. It is recorded of Henry III, king of France, that in a solemn procession at Paris, he could not be without his jester, who, walking between the king and the cardinal, made mirth to them both. a There was sweet devotion the while.
I had great possessions of great and small cattle.
a Epit. Hist. Gallica.
b Melanch., in Hesiod.
got me servants = bought me servants. Hebrew bondage has nothing in common with Greek, Roman, or African slavery. There is no word for such slavery in Hebrew; ‘ebed = labourer, is the name of all Jehovah’s servants.
servants: 1Ki 9:20-22, Ezr 2:58, Neh 7:57
and had: Gen 17:12, Gen 17:13
servants born in my house: Heb. sons of my house
also: Gen 13:2, 2Ki 3:4, 1Ch 27:29-31, 2Ch 26:10, 2Ch 32:27-29, Job 1:3, Job 42:12
Reciprocal: Gen 14:14 – born Gen 15:3 – born Gen 30:43 – General Exo 21:4 – shall be her Jer 2:14 – he a homeborn
2:7 I procured [me] male and female servants, and had servants born in my {c} house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks above all that were in Jerusalem before me:
(c) Meaning, of the servants or slaves which he had bought, so the children born in their servitude, were the masters.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes