Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ecclesiastes 12:2
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
2. while the sun, or the light ] The imagery falls in naturally with the thought that the approach of death is represented by the gathering of a tempest. It does not follow, however, that this excludes the thought of a latent symbolism in detail as well as in the general idea. The thought that man was as a microcosm, and that each element in the universe had its analogue in his nature, was a familiar one to the Greek and Oriental mind, and was susceptible of many applications. So, to take an instance belonging to a different age or country, we find an Eastern poet thus writing, circ. a. d. 1339,
“Of all that finds its being in the world
Man in himself the symbol true may find.
His body is as earth, and as the Heaven
His head, with signs and wonders manifold,
And the five senses shine therein as stars.
The Spirit, like the sun, pours light on all.
The limbs, that bear the body’s burden up,
Are as the hills that raise their height to heaven.
Hair covers all his limbs, as grass the earth,
And moisture flows, as flow the streams and brooks.
So on the day when soul and body part,
And from the body’s load the soul is freed,
Then canst thou see the body all a-tremble,
As earth shall tremble at the last great day;
The Spirit with its senses fall away,
As stars extinguished fall on earth below;
The last death-sigh with which the body dies
Thrill through the bones, like tempest-blast and storm.
As on that day the hills shall pass away,
So does death’s storm break up our mortal frame.
A sea of death-damps flows from every pore:
Thou plungest in, and art as drowned therein:
So is thy dying like the great world’s death;
In life and death it is thy parallel.”
From the Gulschen Ras of Mahmud, quoted in Tholuck’s Blthen-Sammlung aus der morgenlndischen Mystik, p. 213.
It will be admitted that the parallelism is singularly striking and suggestive. With this clue to guide us we may admit all that has been urged by Umbreit, Ginsburg and others in favour of the “storm” interpretation and yet not reject the more detailed symbolic meaning of Jewish and other commentators. We may have the broad outline of the phenomena that precede a tempest, sun, moon and stars, hidden by the gathering blackness. A like imagery meets us as representing both personal and national calamity in Isa 13:10; Jer 15:9; Amo 8:9. The sun may be the Spirit, the Divine light of the body, the moon as the Reason that reflects that light, the stars as the senses that give but a dim light in the absence of sun and moon. The clouds that return after rain are the natural symbol of sorrows, cares, misfortunes, that obscure the shining of the inward light, perhaps of the showers of tears which they cause, but after which in the melancholy and gloom of age and weakness they too commonly “return.” The mere anatomical interpretation which interprets the first four symbols as referring to the eyes, the brow, the nose, the cheeks, and finds in the “clouds after rain” the symptoms of the catarrh of old age, may be looked upon as a morbid outgrowth of prosaic fancy in men in whom the sense of true poetic imagination was extinct.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
While … not – Or, Before. The darkening of the lights of heaven denotes a time of affliction and sadness. Compare Eze 32:7-8; Job 3:9; Isa 5:30. Contrast this representation of old age with 2Sa 23:4-5.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Ecc 12:2
The clouds return after the rain.
Sorrow unspeakable
Coming home from the burial of his little Agnes, the late Nehemiah Adams, D.D., of Boston, drew out of his pocket the ribbon-tied key of her casket. I thought for a few minutes that I should lose my reason, he writes. The clouds returned after the rain, and they were very dark and distressing. And who has not had similar experiences! And sometimes they are exquisitely painful as well as sorrowful, as when conscience reproaches us for unkindness, or remissness, or for hasty words and cruel alienation, or neglect of duty, as we hang over the coffin of a husband or wife, or parent or child, or friend, or come back from the new-made grave. The unnamed, unspeakable agony of a reproving conscience, when all redress or confession is impossible, is harder to bear than the blow itself. The after-cloud has no silver lining: it is murky, dismal, and almost unbearable, for it abides, and there is no relief from it. Let us be careful in life to give no occasion for such return of the clouds after the rain.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 2. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened] i.e., in the SPRING, prime, and prosperity of life.
Nor the clouds return] The infirmities of old age of which WINTER is a proper emblem, as spring is of youth, in the former clause of this verse.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars be not darkened, Heb. While the sun, and the light, and the moon, &c. That clause, and the light, seems to be added to signify that he speaks of the darkening of the sun, and moon, and stars, not in themselves, or in their own bodies, but only in respect of that light which they afford to men. And therefore the same clause which is expressed after the sun, is to be understood after the moon and stars, as is very usual in Scripture in like cases. And those expressions are to be understood either,
1. Literally, of the dim-sightedness of old men, by reason whereof the light of the sun, &c. seems dark to them; which seems not to agree with the context, partly because the dimness of their sight is expressed in the next verse, and partly because both his and the following verses are wholly allegorical. Or rather,
2. Figuratively, and that either,
1. Of the outward parts of the body, and especially of the face, the beauty of the countenance, the lightsome and pleasant complexion of the cheeks, the liveliness of the eyes, which are compared to the sun, and moon, and stars, and which are obscured in old age, as the Chaldee paraphrast understands it. Or,
2. Of the inward parts of the mind, the understanding, fancy, memory, which may not unfitly be resembled to the sun, and moon, end stars, and all which are sensibly decayed in most old men. For it may seem improbable that Solomon in his description of the infirmities of old age should omit the decays of the most noble part of man, which are commonly incident to old age. And yet, with submission to those worthy persons who think otherwise, it seems not necessary that he should here speak of those inward decays, partly, because they are not so general in old men as the decays of the body are; partly, because he here directeth his speech to sensual men, who are more affected with corporal than with intellectual maladies; and partly, because both the foregoing and following passages concern the state of mens bodies, and their outward condition. Or rather,
3. Of external things, and of the great change of their joy and prosperity, which they had in their youthful time, into sorrow and manifold calamities, which are usually the companions of old age; for this interpretation seems best to agree both with the foregoing verse, in which he describes the miseries of old age, and with the following clause, which is added to explain and determine those otherwise ambiguous expressions; and with the Scripture use of this phrase, which is the best key for the understanding of Scripture; for a state of comfort and happiness is oft described by the light of the sun, &c., as Jdg 5:31; 2Sa 23:4; Isa 30:26; 60:20, and a time and state of great trouble is set forth by the darkening of the light of the sun, &c., as Isa 13:9, &c.; Isa 24:23; Joe 2:10; 3:15; Mat 24:29, and oft elsewhere.
Nor the clouds return after the rain: this phrase notes a perpetual succession and reciprocation of rain, and clouds bringing rain, and then rain and clouds again, and so without end; whereby he expresseth either,
1. The rheums or deflutions which do abundantly and incessantly flow in and from old men, for want of natural heat and strength to prevent or remove them. Or rather,
2. The continual vicissitude of infirmities, diseases, and griefs in old men, one deep calling upon another, and one affliction beginning at the end of another; whereas in young men after rain the clouds are dispersed, and fair weather succeeds.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. Illustrating “the evildays” (Jer 13:16).”Light,” “sun,” c., express prosperity“darkness,” pain and calamity (Isa 13:10;Isa 30:26).
clouds . . . after . . .rainAfter rain sunshine (comfort) might be looked for, butonly a brief glimpse of it is given, and the gloomy clouds (pains)return.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened,…. The wise man proceeds to describe the infirmities of old age, and the troubles that attend it; in order to engage young men to regard God and religion, before these come upon them, which greatly unfit for his service. This the Targum and Midrash, and, after them, Jarchi, interpret of the splendour of the countenance of man, of the light of his eyes, and the beauty of his cheeks, and other parts of his face; which decrease and go off at old age, and paleness and wrinkles succeed: and others of the adversities and calamities which attend persons at such years; which are sometimes in Scripture signified by the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars, Isa 13:10; but some choose to understand this, more literally, of the dimness of sight in old men; by whom the light of the sun, moon, and stars, is scarcely discerned: but as this infirmity is afterwards described, I rather think with others, that by the “sun”, “light”, and “moon”, are meant the superior and inferior faculties of the soul, the understanding, mind, judgment, will, and affections; and, by the “stars”, those bright notions and ideas raised in the fancy and imagination, and fixed in the memory; all which are greatly impaired or lost in old age: so Alshech interprets the sun and moon of the soul and spirit, and the stars of the senses; “light” is not in the Syriac version;
nor the clouds return after the rain; which some understand of catarrhs, defluxions, and rheums, flowing at the eyes, nose, and mouth, one after another, which frequently attend, and are very troublesome to persons in years; but may be more generally applied to the perpetual succession of evils, afflictions, and disorders, in old age; as soon as one is got over, another follows, billow after billow; or, like showers in April, as soon as one is gone, another comes. The Targum paraphrases it of the eyebrows distilling tears, like clouds after rain.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“Ere the sun becomes dark, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain.” Umbreit, Elster, and Ginsburg find here the thought: ere death overtakes thee; the figure under which the approach of death is described being that of a gathering storm. But apart from other objections ( vid., Gurlitt, “zur Erlk. d. B. Koheleth,” in Sutd. u. Krit. 1865), this idea is opposed by the consideration that the author seeks to describe how man, having become old, goes forth ( , Ecc 12:5) to death, and that not till Ecc 12:7 does he reach it. Also Taylor’s view, that what precedes Ecc 12:5 is as a dirge expressing the feelings experienced on the day of a person’s death, is untenable; it is discredited already by this, that it confuses together the days of evil, Ecc 12:1, and the many days of darkness, i.e., the long night of Hades, Ecc 11:8; and besides, it leaves unanswered the question, what is the meaning of the clouds returning after the rain. Hahn replies: The rain is death, and the return is the entrance again into the nothingness which went before the entrance into this life. Knobel, as already Luther and also Winzer (who had made the exposition of the Book of Koheleth one of the labours of his life), sees in the darkening of the sun, etc., a figure of the decay of hitherto joyful prosperity; and in the clouds after the rain a figure of the cloudy days of sorrow which always anew visit those who are worn out by old age. Hitz., Ewald, Vaih., Zckl., and Tyler, proceeding from thence, find the unity of the separate features of the figure in the comparison of advanced old age, as the winter of life to the rainy winter of the (Palestinian) year. That is right. But since in the sequel obviously the marasmus senilis of the separate parts of the body is set forth in allegorical enigmatic figures, it is asked whether this allegorical figurative discourse does not probably commence in Ecc 12:2. Certainly the sun, moon, and stars occur also in such pictures of the night of judgment, obscuring all the lights of the heavens, as at Isa 13:10; but that here, where the author thus ranks together in immediate sequence … , and as he joins the stars with the moon, so the light with the sun, he has not connected the idea of certain corresponding things in the nature and life of man with these four emblems of light, is yet very improbable. Even though it might be impossible to find out that which is represented, yet this would be no decisive argument against the significance of the figures; the canzones in Dante’s Convito, which he there himself interprets, are an example that the allegorical meaning which a poet attaches to his poetry may be present even where it cannot be easily understood or can only be conjectured.
The attempts at interpreting these figures have certainly been wholly or for the most part unfortunate. We satisfy ourselves by registering only the oldest: their glosses are in matter tasteless, but they are at least of linguistic interest. A Barajtha, Shabbath 151-152 a, seeking to interpret this closing picture of the Book of Koheleth, says of the sun and the light: “this is the brow and the nose;” of the moon: “this is the soul;” of the stars: “this the cheeks.” Similarly, but varying a little, the Midrash to Lev. c. 18 and to Koheleth: the sun = the brightness of the countenance; light = the brow; the moon = the nose; the stars = the upper part of the cheeks (which in an old man fall in). Otherwise, but following the Midrash more than the Talmud, the Targum: the sun = the stately brightness of thy countenance; light = the light of thine eyes; the moon = the ornament of thy cheeks; the stars = the apple of thine eye. All the three understand the rain of wine (Talm. ), and the clouds of the veil of the eyes (Targ.: “thy eye-lashes”), but without doing justice to ; only one repulsive interpretation in the Midrash takes these words into account. In all these interpretations there is only one grain of truth, this, viz., that the moon in the Talm. is interpreted of the , anima , for which the more correct word would have been ; but it has been shown, Psychol. p. 154, that the Jewish, like the Arab. psychology, reverses terminologically the relation between ( ), spirit, and , soul.
The older Christian interpretations are also on the right track. Glassius (as also v. Meyer and Smith in “The portraiture of old age”) sees in the sun, light, etc., emblems of the interna microcosmi lumina mentis ; and yet better, Chr. Friedr. Bauer (1732) sees in Ecc 12:2 a representation of the thought: “ere understanding and sense fail thee.” We have elsewhere shown that ( ) and (from which nowhere ) are related to each other as the principium principians and principium principatum of life ( Psychol. p. 79), and as the root distinctions of the male and female, of the predominantly active and the receptive ( Psychol. p. 103). Thus the figurative language of Ecc 12:3 is interpreted in the following manner. The sun is the male spirit (which, like , is used in both genders) or , after Pro 20:27, a light of Jahve which penetrates with its light of self-examination and self-knowledge the innermost being of man, called by the Lord, Mat 6:23 (cf. 1Co 2:11), “the light that is in thee.” The light, viz., the clear light of day proceeding from the sun, is the activity of the spirit in its unweakened intensity: sharp apprehension, clear thought, faithful and serviceable memory. The moon is the soul; for, according to the Heb. idea, the moon, whether it is called or is also in relation to the sun a figure of the female (cf. Gen 37:9., where the sun in Joseph’s dream = Jacob-Israel, the moon = Rachel); and that the soul, viz., the animal soul, by means of which the spirit becomes the principle of the life of the body (Gen 2:7), is related to the spirit as female , is evident from passages such as Psa 42:6, where the spirit supports the soul ( animus animam ) with its consolation. And the stars? We are permitted to suppose in the author of the book of Koheleth a knowledge, as Schrader
(Note: Vid., “Sterne” in Schenkel’s Bibl Lex. and Stud. u. Krit. 1874.)
has shown, of the old Babyl.-Assyr. seven astral gods, which consisted of the sun, moon, and the five planets; and thus it will not be too much to understand the stars, as representing the five planets, of the five senses (Mish. ,
(Note: Thus the five senses are called, e.g., Bamidbar rabba, c. 14.)
later , cf. the verb, Ecc 2:25) which mediate the receptive relation of the soul to the outer world ( Psychol. p. 233). But we cannot see our way further to explain Ecc 12:2 patholo.-anatom., as Geier is disposed to do: Nonnulli haec accommodant ad crassos illos ac pituosos senum vapores ex debili ventriculo in cerebrum adscendentes continuo, ubi itidem imbres ( ) h.e. destillationes creberrimae per oculos lippientes, per nares guttatim fluentes, per os subinde excreans cet., quae sane defluxiones, tussis ac catharri in juvenibus non ita sunt frequentia, quippe ubi calor multo adhuc fortior, consumens dissipansque humores . It is enough to understand of cases of sickness and attacks of weakness which disturb the power of thought, obscure the consciousness, darken the mind, and which ahhar haggeshem , after they have once overtaken him and then have ceased, quickly again return without permitting him long to experience health. A cloudy day is = a day of misfortune, Joe 2:2; Zep 1:15; an overflowing rain is a scourge of God, Eze 13:13; Eze 38:22; and one visited by misfortune after misfortune complains, Psa 42:7: “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.”
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
THE INCREASING FRAILTY OF MAN
Verses 2-7 present a series of illustrations which portray the progressive frailty of the youth who becomes man; emphasizing the importance of remembering the creator in the time of youth before problems of advancing age hinder.
FADING HOPES AND INCREASING SORROWS
Verse 2 illustrates the fading hopes and repeated sorrows, accompanying advancing age, by the darkness that obscures the light of sun, moon or stars, and the dark clouds that repeatedly obscure the sky.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
G. DEATH COMES TO EVERY MAN. Ecc. 12:2-8
TEXT 12:28
2
before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain;
3
in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim;
4
and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly.
5
Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags himself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street.
6
Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed;
7
Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.
8
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, all is vanity!
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 12:28
407.
Identify all that will be withheld from the eyes when one finally loses his sight in old age (verse two)?
408.
If the darkness in verse two is the same as that of Ecc. 11:8, to what does it refer?
409.
After reading through verses three through five, find the corresponding word or phrase which best matches the following parts of the body: (1) white hair; (2) the eyes; (3) the molar teeth; (4) the feet and knees; (5) the hands and arms; (6) the voice and ears; (7) the lips. For additional explanation of these analogies, study the COMMENTS on Ecc. 12:3-5.
410.
What is mans eternal home (verse five)?
411.
When man has gone to his eternal home, who goes about in the streets?
412.
The two figurative descriptions presented in verses two-five and verses six-seven picture what stage or event in life?
413.
It is good for a man when he comes to the end of life if he remembered whom in the days of his youth?
414.
What happens to the physical body at death?
415.
What happens to the spirit of man when the body dies?
PARAPHRASE 12:28
The time will come when your sight will be diminished and you will no longer see the light from the sun, moon, or stars. At this time the clouds of sorrow return. When that day comes, the protectors of the house will tremble and the powerful, upright, strong men will be bent low, the grinders will have to stop because they are few, and they will see only darkness who look out through the windows. As the sound of the grinding mill fades away, the doors to the street will be closed. One will be surprised at the sound of a bird as all who sing songs will be hushed. Also, when the hair becomes as the blooms of the almond tree the old will fear high places and dangers along the way. The ability to move about as a grasshopper will fail. The appetite and drives of life will vanish. The reason for this inactivity is that man is nearing his final resting placehis everlasting home. Listen! The mourners go about the streets and into the market places. It is important, therefore, to remember God before the silver cord pulls apart or the golden bowl is broken, before the pitcher is broken at the spring or the water wheel breaks down at the cistern. At that time the body will return to the earth from which it originally came, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. Life is indeed transitory. Like a vapor of vapors, life quickly fades from view. All is futility and unfulfilling.
COMMENT 12:28
This section pictures the final evil days which await men. Death terminates the decaying process and the Preacher appropriately turns to the oft-repeated vanity of vanities. Nowhere in the book could the idea of transitoriness be more to the point than in verse eight.
Ecc. 12:2 This verse most logically represents the end of life under the sun. Light is used throughout the Bible for life and joy. In this context it undoubtedly refers to life. Just as mans life slowly slips toward the grave, so the light diminishes: first the sun and then the lesser light, the moon; finally the faintest light represented by the stars. The diminishing order of light is intentionally arranged to represent life from childhood to the prime of life until the evil days. Each light is finally extinguished and the darkness (death) comes. Clouds are symbolic of trouble and could refer to the judgment. Usually the clouds and rain pass and the sun shines to renew happiness and joy. This time, however, the storm continues with the threatening clouds returning after the rain. Although this interpretation is imaginative and without definite support, it fits the context of the book and the immediate context of this section.
Ecc. 12:3 This highly figurative language (verses three-five) has challenged the imagination and inventiveness of many. There is general unanimity, however, that regardless of the individual meaning given to each symbol, the passage is describing the frailties of old age, and ultimately of death itself.
The house represents the whole person while the watchmen would be the arms or hands. They are the protectors or guards of the house. They were mentioned first because they would be noticed first. They are also afflicted with palsy and thus tremble. Scriptural references of the body likened unto a house are found in 2Co. 5:1-4; 2Pe. 1:13-14.
The mighty men are the legs which now are bent and stooped. Man can no longer walk erectly. Formerly the legs carried the youth pillars of strength, but now they are feeble.
The grinding ones are the teeth. They cease to function and stand idle, because they are few and undoubtedly arranged in such a way that they are inefficient in the chewing process. The millers (grinders) is the feminine form. This is probably because women did the grinding. (Cf. Exo. 11:5; Job. 31:10; Isa. 47:2; Mat. 24:41)
Those who look through windows refer to the eyes. No longer will they see the light under the sun. The sun, moon and stars will only be a memory as they begin to experience total darkness.
Ecc. 12:4 The doors refer to the mouth. Such reference is given in Psa. 141:3 : Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. It is possible that since the teeth are nearly gone, the lips now shut more closely. The chewing is then described by a door opening onto a street so the sound inside could not be heard by those on the street.[24] Also, in Hebrew, the form is dual and may refer to the double door (lips). On the streets suggests communication with the world, but now such activity has ceased. In youth the appetite is keen and the mouth is employed in work and pleasure, but now the lips are drawn over the toothless gums and the sound of the grinding mill is low.
[24] E. M. Zerr. op. cit., p. 225.
The sound of the bird has numerous interpretations, but the one that appears most likely suggests that older people arise at the same time as the first sounds of birds in the morning. It does not follow that they are awakened by the chirping sparrow or crowing rooster, but they are anxious to start the day after restless and sometimes painful nights. The hearing is impaired and thus they would not be wakened by the faint chirp of the small bird.
The daughters of song represent the voice and ears of the aged when they no longer can produce melodious songs or discern those sung by others. When David offered to take Barzillai to Jerusalem and care for him in return for favors previously received, Barzillai answered him with the words: How long have I yet to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? I am now eighty years old. Can I distinguish between good and bad? Or can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Or can I hear any more the voice of singing men and women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? (2Sa. 19:34-35). To the elderly, the notes of song run together and the tones are in-distinct. On the basis of this, some interpret the former sound of the bird to be a description of the high, shrill voice of the older person when he arises at the early hour. The fact that the daughters of song will sing softly implies deafness and supports the interpretation that this section refers to the voice and ears.
Ecc. 12:5 Men are afraid of a high place is to be taken literally. The preacher departs from the highly figurative language and states a universal truth in simple language. When one grows old and his speech and hearing are dulled, he often finds difficulty in ascending steps or hills, and is often short of breath. The energy which such activity demands is now missing. The strong muscles are atrophied, and the bones, which carried him securely and confidently in his youth, are bowed and fragile.
Terrors on the road could refer to the obstacles over which they would stumble or wicked individuals against whom they would have little or no defense. The obvious interpretation, however, would be to simple travel on the way. Their bones are brittle, their muscles are weak, and they have difficulty ascending even the slightest incline. Narrow and crowded streets would enhance the difficulty.
The almond tree blossoms refers to the white hair which indicates he is come to the final stages of life and is ripening for the tomb. The almond tree first puts forth light, pink blossoms which turn snowy white before falling from the limbs to the ground.
The grasshopper drags himself along is clearly a vivid analogy of the inept physical condition of the dying man. Biblical analogy would point also to the symbol of smallness. (Cf. Num. 13:33; Isa. 40:22) In the light of this it would be understood that the message is, that to the elderly, even the most insignificant task becomes a burden. However, the comparison of the condition of the elderly with that of the appearance of the grasshopper best fits the context. Note the following description: The dry, shriveled, old man, his backbone sticking out, his knees projecting forwards, his arms backwards, his head down, and the apophyses enlarged, is like that insect.[25]
[25] Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, David Brown. A Commentary: Critical Experimental, and Practical on the Old and New Testaments, II (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1973), p. 542.
The caperberry is also translated desire and appetite. The difficulty in translation stems from the fact that the word appears only here in the entire Old Testament. Caperberry would necessitate a figurative meaning while desire or appetite would be literal. This does not aid the translation, however, as both figurative and literal terms are used in the Preachers picture of old age and death. The caperberry is considered a stimulant and the obvious meaning is that neither the appetite or sexual desire can be aroused. Since the caper-berry was not believed to be an aphrodisiac until the Middle Ages, the safe explanation, would be that the stimulant is to preserve life (through eating, which desire is often lost in old age) not propagate it. However, as Luther says, all desire fails, and again, an old man has pleasure in nothing.
The eternal home or house of eternity speaks more to duration than it does to the place. It is a future state of being as compared with the existence under the sun. Life here is transitory compared with eternal life there. The term eternal home is found only in Ecclesiastes. Characteristic of inspired literature, the meaning of certain terms often penetrate beyond the limits of mans present knowledge. Future revelation, on the same subject, often amplifies the meaning, and it becomes clear that God intended for the reader to look back and see that the term held the full-grown truth in seed form. The terms used by Solomon, who claims inspiration for his writing (Ecc. 12:11) are exact. However, the understanding of the terms, even by the author, is often very limited. Solomon says nothing to negate the richness of the full orb of the doctrine of eternal life taught by Jesus and the Apostles.
On the subject of the eternal home, read and study Job. 10:21; Job. 30:23; Psa. 49:11 and Joh. 14:1-6.
The mourners are, as tradition teaches, the paid wailers who prepare even before the death event to make loud lamentation in the streets and places of commerce. (Cf. 2Sa. 3:31; Jer. 9:17; Jer. 34:5; Amo. 5:16-17; Mat. 9:23; Mat. 11:17) The implication of such terms as silver and gold in the following verse would suggest affluency on the part of the one about to be mourned.
Ecc. 12:6 The translators add remember because the before of this verse refers one to Ecc. 12:1 where the Preacher is admonishing young men to live their lives in harmony with the designs of their Creator.
Two distinct figures are mentioned in this verse which speak to the final termination of life under the sun. The preceding detailed insights to the frailties of old age were intended to motivate young men to live their lives to the fullest joys (Cf. Ecc. 11:9-10) before the body breaks and the soul slips away.
The silver cord and golden bowl are to be considered together. They represent the lamp which hangs from the ceilings of oriental or near-eastern homes. The cord is interspersed with silver and the lamp itself is made of gold. Nothing is intended beyond the fact that life, like silver and gold, is valuable and much to be desired. The intention is to show that light, which is here symbolic of ones life, is going to be extinguished regardless of how fine it is. Death does not come because one terminates his own life, but the cord breaks allowing the bowl to fall to the floor and break and the oil to be released upon the floor. The separation of the oil from the container negates the utilitarian purpose of the lamp. The original design of the lamp has been thwarted; the value of the practical aspect of the lamp is now nullified. So when death comes, the body returns to its source and the spirit slips away.
The pitcher and the wheel illustrate the same truth as the cord and lamp. The symbol is different, however, as the lamp represents life as light and the pitcher represents life as water. Jesus took advantage of both physical symbols to demonstrate spiritual truths. (Cf. Joh. 8:12; Joh. 9:5 and Joh. 4:10-11; Joh. 7:38) The NASB mentions both well and cistern. The broken pitcher would render the well useless, while the wheel which falls into the cistern when it breaks, prevents the water from being drawn. The intent of both pictures painted by Solomon in this verse is intentionally clear in the following observation.
Ecc. 12:7 Throughout the book the Preachers emphasis has been on the transitory nature of man, and the fact that he, together with the world in which he lives, has been marked by vanity. (Cf. COMMENT Ecc. 6:10) The body of man returns to its primary sourcethe dust of the earth. The admonition to the young man to enjoy life in his youth is based on the fact that man will soon begin to die and move slowly toward the dust.
The dust will return to the earth as it was. This doctrine complements similar passages on the same subject. The Preacher has previously stated that all (men and beasts) came from the dust and all return to the dust (Ecc. 3:20). (Cf. Gen. 2:7; Gen. 3:19; Job. 34:14-15; Psa. 104:29) In this section (verses two-six) there has been strong emphasis upon the dust nature of men. When the spirit is released from the body through the death event, it does not join the process of decay and regression, but it returns to God.
The spirit will return to God who gave it. Solomons reference to God as Creator has established a principle of ownership. He now argues for right behavior on the basis of the certainty of final retribution. The judgment is a doctrine which has already been introduced but now takes on major intensity as the Preacher moves through the final stages of his arguments. There is no full doctrine of immortality taught here, but the fact of eternal life is not denied and the spirit is distinguished from the body with the emphasis upon the fact that it is the spirit that God receives. For the sinner, the ungodly person who has been described so often throughout the book, there is nothing for him to anticipate but the depressing picture of death and then the sudden and sure appearing before Gods judgment. Leupold wisely states that Solomon is teaching such a judgment as a motivating factor to lead all men to live righteously. He adds, You personally will at your death appear before the judgment seat of God, therefore get ready.[26]
[26] Leupold. op. cit., p. 287.
Ecc. 12:8 There is nothing new in this verse that has not already been thoroughly discussed, but the insertion of the subtheme of the book (Cf. Ecc. 1:2) at this particular place serves to prove that the Preacher believes that such vanity has been sufficiently demonstrated. It serves to terminate his discussion in the first part of this chapter, and also introduces the final section of the book. Hengstenberg offers a word of warning when he writes, The knowledge of the vanity of earthly things conducts to the fear of God afterwards recommended. Since all things are vain, man, who is subject to vanity, should do all in his power to enter into a living relation to Him who is the true absolute being, and through fellowship with him to participate, himself, in a true eternal being.[27]
[27] Hengstenberg. op. cit., p. 257.
The fact that Solomon once again refers to himself as the Preacher reflects upon the hortatory nature of the closing two chapters of the book. Especially is he eloquent in this final section. In the epilogue (verse nine through fourteen) he speaks of himself as the Preacher two more times. Never can a preacher reach a higher pinnacle of confidence than when he claims divine authority for his message. The following conclusion of the whole matter is driven to the heart with strong conviction.
FACT QUESTIONS 12:28
548.
Why is it appropriate that the oft-occurring vanity of vanities immediately follows this section?
549.
What is the significance of the light order of first the sun, then the moon and finally the stars?
550.
What is significant about the fact that the clouds return again after the rain? Explain.
551.
Although the language beginning in verse three is highly figurative, it is generally accepted that it has what meaning?
552.
Identify the house.
553.
What is the significance of the watchmen trembling?
554.
Why are the grinding ones in the feminine form in the original language?
555.
The doors refer to what part of the body? The Hebrew form is dual and implies what?
556.
If the elderly are not awakened by the sound of birds, what is the significance of mentioning the birds?
557.
Is verse five to be taken figuratively or literally? Explain.
558.
Why are elderly people afraid to travel on the road?
559.
Explain why the grasshopper is an appropriate symbol of the elderly.
560.
How does Luther translate the idea that the caperberry is ineffective?
561.
The eternal home suggests what primary lesson?
562.
Why are the mourners going about the streets prior to the death of the elderly person?
563.
The two figures in verse six suggest what event?
564.
Explain the lesson of the bowl.
565.
How does verse seven relate to the two symbols of verse six?
566.
Why say the body will return to dust?
567.
To what extent does Solomon explain the doctrine of immortality in verse seven? Discuss.
568.
Identify the sub-theme of the book.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(2) Here the style rises, and we have a figurative description of the evil days; but, as sometimes happens in the case of highly wrought poetry, it is much easier to perceive the general effect intended than to account for all the words which produce it. English readers generally have been deeply impressed by Ecc. 12:6-7, in a general way understanding them as speaking of the dissolution of the noble structure of the bodily frame; and they scarcely gain anything by the efforts of commentators to explain to them what exactly is meant by the silver cord and the golden bowl. After using all the help my predecessors have given me, I frankly own myself unable to give more than a vague account of the figures employed in this whole passage.
Darkened.See Ecc. 11:8. On darkness of the heavens as a symbol of calamity, comp. Isa. 13:10-11; Jer. 4:28-29; Eze. 32:7-9; Joe. 2:1-10; Amo. 8:9-10; and contrast Isa. 30:26; Isa. 60:10.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. The old age of the God-forgetter is a world with its lights, sun, moon, stars, all darkened. The night of the soul within sheds blackness on the world without.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Before the sun and the light and the moon are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain. In the day when the keepers of the house will tremble, and the strong men will bend themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look out of the windows are darkened.’
They are to make the most of their lives before they become old and feeble, as described here. For the vivid description that now follows is of old age. The first sentence refers to a heavy enduring storm, when the day goes dark, the sun is hidden by the clouds, the light is simply semi-darkness, the moon also cannot be seen at night behind the clouds, and the rain fails to clear the sky of clouds, thus it is describing the time of life which brings with it the sense of waning strength, when light is hidden by clouds, and all is dull, and promise for the future is no more.
The second sentence describes picturesquely the failing faculties of old age. The keepers of the house which tremble are probably the shaking hands, the strong men which bend are the legs which can longer fully bear their weight, and the grinders which cease or are few are the teeth which have mainly decayed or fallen out, and are no longer any use for grinding, and what looks out of the windows are the eyes whose sight is dimmed. If anything is to be accomplished it must be before this assails a man.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ecc 12:2-3. While the sun, or the light. Before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars be darkened, and the clouds return after the rain. Ecc 12:3. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, &c. Desvoeux; who renders the grinders, the grinding-maids, and observes, that whoever reads this description of old age with a tolerable degree of attention must observe, that the beginning of it consists of a double figure; namely, an allegory and a prosopopoeia;whereby the most visible infirmities attending the last stage of life are very elegantly set forth. The whole outward frame of the human body is allegorically represented as a house; and without departing from the allegory, the most remarkably active parts of the body are personified, and appear in the description as so many men or women, to whom the several employments belonging to the house are devised: The keepers of the house, &c. to the voice of the grinding-maid, is lowered. But all on a sudden Solomon leaves off that lofty figurative style; not to explain it by saying in plain literal terms what he had already expressed in those daring figures; but to go on with his description, in quite a different strain. There is no more mention of the house; the subject understood by the house comes in without any disguise, and is plainly called He:He shall rise up, &c. The infirmities of old age, or rather the alterations produced in our habits and inclinations through the bodily infirmities which generally attend that period of life, are recited in plain literal words, rather than described. If we find two figurative expressions in that part of the account, viz. the daughters of the song, and the grasshopper, the first was, either by use and custom, or at least by its analogy with other expressions of the same kind, equivalent to a proper one; and the second, which, for aught we know, may also have been in the same case, was chosen for decency’s sake, to avoid an obscure word. But it is very remarkable, that, figurative as that expression is, the figure is confined within the word, and does not extend to the sentence; for what is said of the grasshopper, that it shall become a burden, nec quicquam nisi pondus iners, is an accident belonging to that which is meant by the grasshopper, but in no way to that insect itself; whereas it should belong to both, if the sentence was allegorical. This part of the description, therefore, may be truly called literal; And he shall rise at the crowing of the cock, and all the singing-women shall be dismissed, &c. Ecc 5:4-5. One would imagine that the description, if it be not complete, must proceed in the same way; but the author changes his style again, and abruptly resumes the allegory; yet not the same that he had already employed, but a new one, in order to describe the inward disorders under the weight of which an old man must sink at last, and be brought to his grave. Here there is no more mention of a man; nothing offers itself to a reader who looks no farther than the literal sense, except a well, once richly furnished with whatever was necessary for drawing water out of it, but now becoming useless through the decay of the several parts of the engine.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: (3) In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, (4) And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low; (5) Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
I detain the Reader to admire the wonderful beauty, as well as the great elegance in stile and figure, of those several expressions in the description of the desolated winter of old age. The sun, and moon, and stars of heaven, how bright soever they shine, have no lustre to the blind eyes of the aged. The clouds returning after the rain, is uncommonly striking to denote that unceasing infirmity of the aged, where, when one disease somewhat abates, there is a return, and the recurrence of another. The trembling of the head, the weakness of the limbs, and the tottering state of decrepit nature, through all, are strikingly represented under these several images. It would be to hold a faint taper of the night to aid the light of the sun, the attempt to heighten the beauties by description. What I beg the Reader to observe with me in the perusal, and which the Preacher seems particularly to have had in view, is, that if age be thus necessarily oppressed from the common and unavoidable infirmities incident to such seasons, what must it be to have the pressure of unpardoned sin, an unawakened state of unrenewed nature added to the load. Oh! what a wretched old age is that which is full of transgression, without God and without Christ: ignorant of Jesus and his salvation , unregenerated, unwashed in Christ’s blood, and, as to any saving knowledge, of his grace and power, unconscious whether there be any Holy Ghost. Isa 65:20 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Ecc 12:2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
Ver. 2. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, &c., ] i.e., While greater and lesser comforts fail not; or before the sight of thine eyes grow dim, and as unfit to let in light as an old dusty window. The air to aged eyes seemeth dusty and misty, and the sun wadeth as the moon in a foggy evening, and the stars are out of sight; they “see through a glass darkly,” as the apostle speaks in another case, 1Co 13:12 they can know no kin without spectacles; the defluxion of rheum, a which trickleth down the nose and cheeks, being as it were the rain, the gathering of new matter, which continually distilleth, being as it were the returning of the clouds after the rain in a moist season, and waters into an emptied fountain. Some, with relation to the former verse, interpret the words thus: Let thy Creator be remembered while the “sun is not darkened” – that is, while youth continueth; or if not so, while “the light of the sun” is not gone – that is, while thy manhood lasteth; or if not so, while the “moon is not darkened,” – that is, while thine elder years are not spent; or if not so, while the “stars are not shut up,” while the worst of old age hath not seized upon thee; for then “the clouds will return after the rain,” – that is, one grief comes upon the neck of another, “as deep calleth upon deep at the noise of the waterspouts.” Psa 42:7 One affliction followeth and occasioneth another, without intermission of trouble, as one billow comes wallowing and tumbling upon another, or, as in April weather, one shower is unburdened, another is brewed. Hence some of the ancient patriarchs are said to have died old men, and full of years, – they had enough of this world, and desired to depart, as Abraham, Simeon, others. Hence the poets feign that Tithonus, when he might have had immortality here, he would not. And Cato protested, that if when old he might be made young again, he would seriously refuse it. b
a Watery matter secreted by the mucous glands or membranes, such as collects in or drops from the nose, eyes, and mouth, etc., and which, when abnormal, was supposed to cause disease; hence, an excessive or morbid ‘defluxion’ of any kind.
b Cic. de Senectute.
Ecc 12:2-8
Ecc 12:2-8
“Before the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars are darkened, and the clouds return after the rain; in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows shall be darkened, and the doors shall be shut in the street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; yea, they shall be afraid of that which is high, and terrors shall be in the way; and the almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail; because man goeth to his everlasting home, and the mourners go about the streets: before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity.”
“This passage (Ecc 12:2-8) has one of the most striking and beautiful allegories in the literature of mankind. Every phrase describes with a vivid metaphor, a symptom of the infirmities of old age.
There have been many efforts to literalize what is meant by the beautiful metaphors here. Barton cited no less than seven systems of interpreting all these; but one of the most beautiful of the renditions we have seen is this:
Ecc 12:2-5 a “That is when the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars shall grow dim for you, and the rain clouds will never pass away. Then your arms, that have protected you, will tremble, and your legs, now strong, will grow weak. Your teeth will be too few to chew your food, and your eyes too dim to see clearly. Your ears will be deaf to the noise of the street. You will barely be able to hear the mill as it grinds or music when it plays, but even the song of a bird shall wake you from sleep. You will be afraid of high places, and walking will be dangerous. Your hair will turn white; you will hardly be able to drag yourself along, and all desire will be gone.”
“Nevertheless, this remarkable passage is best taken in its entirety, not broken down into teeth, legs, arms, etc., which doubtless are intended.” This amazing passage, as a whole, without being broken down reveals a picture of us in our old age that is plain enough, much plainer than any itemized inventory of our infirmities could possibly be.
“The grinders cease …” (Ecc 12:3). “This no doubt refers to arms, legs, teeth, and eyes.
In spite of the emphasis upon old age and death in this chapter, Solomon shows his real conviction in the very first verse. “He does not say, `Remember you must die,’ but, `Remember thy Creator.’ In this Solomon clearly distinguishes himself from all skeptics, cynics and Epicureans. with whom he has often been confused.
“All the daughters of music shall be brought low” (Ecc 12:4). “He has not only lost his ability to sing, but the loss of hearing means he cannot even appreciate music”!
“And one shall rise up at the voice of a bird” (Ecc 12:4). Despite the beauty of the @@GNP rendition, we cannot agree that the song of a bird would awaken an old man who could barely hear the sound of a mill or the street noises. Birds sing quite early in the morning, at the break of day; and what is meant is that old people wake up early. However, this writer (who is an old man) would like to go on record with the testimony that the song of a bird never wakes up anybody who is wearing a hearing aid!
“Afraid of that which is high” (Ecc 12:5). Here is the reason why old men do not like to climb ladders.
“Terrors shall be in the way” (Ecc 12:5). For example, when the Doctor says of the cancer test, “Yes, it’s positive,” one will know about those “terrors … in the way.”
“The almond tree shall blossom” (Ecc 12:5). Cook rendered this, “The almond tree shall be despised,” and interpreted it to mean that pleasant food would be despised by the aged. However, most scholars take it as an emblem of gray hair. “The blooms of the almond tree are a brilliant pink; but in time turn snow white; it is a fit metaphor of the gray headed old man.
“The grasshopper shall be a burden” (Ecc 12:5). “The point here is that the lightest load is a burden to the aged. It means what we would say if we remarked, “Why, that old man couldn’t even carry a grasshopper.”
“And desire shall fail” (Ecc 12:5). The Septuagint renders this, “The caper berry shall fail. “This berry was widely used in the East as an aphrodisiac (sexual stimulant), or, “As a provocative of the appetite. In this light, we may say that the old man’s desire shall fail, all of it, whether for sex or for food.
“Man goeth to his everlasting home” (Ecc 12:5). Without a doubt the best rendition of this is, “Man goeth to his eternal home. What a glorious pronouncement is this! An eternal home? That most certainly teaches immortality, otherwise man would have no use whatever for an eternal home. It also teaches the doctrine of the resurrection, because, by no other means than that of a resurrection, would the dying sons of Adam ever enter such a home.
“And the mourners go about the streets” (Ecc 12:5). This is a reference to the paid mourners employed in ancient times to bewail the departed. The New Testament mentions these in connection with the raising of the daughter of Jairus. Here, their going about the streets was explained by Deane: “These were getting ready to ply their trade, expecting the death of the old man hourly.
“Before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern” (Ecc 12:6) We cannot pretend to know with dogmatic certainty what is meant here. There are two ways of explaining it, (1) after the manner of the 19th century commentators, and (2) after the opinion of recent writers. Here are the two views:
(1) “The silver cord is the spinal cord, so called from the spinal nerve’s likeness to a cord. Just as the previous verses have described the external evidences of old age, these explain the internal changes that bring death to the body itself. The golden bowl (so called from its priceless value) is the container for the brain itself. When the one is loosed and the other broken, death ensues.
(2) “The golden bowl and the silver cord here are a lamp. The silver cord held the bowl. When the cord broke, the bowl fell putting out the light. Light is, of course, a Biblical symbol of life.
Both of these explanations mean the same thing. They both refer to death. The second explanation fails to explain why the cord that held the lamp was “the silver cord.”
“Or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern” (Ecc 12:6). “In the Bible, both light and water symbolize life; and in the metaphor here, either a broken pitcher at the fountain or a broken wheel at the cistern would cut off the supply of water. Thus all four of the things in this verse are metaphorical references to death.
“And the dust returneth to the earth as it was, and the spirit returneth to God who gave it” (Ecc 12:7). This verse indicates a phenomenal change in Solomon, exactly as does the statement in. Ecc 12:5, that, “Man goeth to his eternal home.” See comment above.
“And the dust returneth to the earth as it was” (Ecc 12:7). This clear reference to the Creation of man (Genesis) is not the only allusion to the fall of man that soon followed, `You are dust, etc’ (Gen 3:21). In Ecc 7:29, he contrasted man’s uprightness (as God created him) with what followed in the invention of human devices for evil.
“Solomon at this point had found his spiritual footing. While estranged from God and depending upon human wisdom, he asked, `Who knoweth the spirit of man, whether it goeth upward, or the spirit of a beast, whether it goeth downward’? (Ecc 3:21). Here he confidently affirmed that man’s spirit returns to God who gave it. Faith had won the victory over doubt. Murphy, and others, deny what the sacred text clearly says here, asserting that, “Solomon had no knowledge of a blessed immortality. Such false opinions are effectively refuted by what is said here and in Ecc 12:5.
“This verse says that man’s spirit is immortal; it does not die nor sleep in the grave. The New Testament tells us clearly that there is consciousness after death (Luk 16:19-31). In this verse the writer (Solomon) rises above the doubt expressed in Ecc 3:21. He did not contradict himself in the two passages, as some suppose, and on that false supposition call Ecc 12:7 an interpolation. No. Solomon here is saying that after examining all the doubts and perplexities, “He has now reached the firm conclusion that there is indeed a future for the individual soul.
Barton also agreed that it is totally unnecessary to view this and Ecc 3:21 as contradictions. “It is possible for any man to have pessimistic doubts in which he questions whether a man’s spirit differs from that of a beast, while still holding belief in God.
“Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity” (Ecc 12:8). Why does this statement appear just here? This is somewhat of a signature, indicating that Solomon himself is the author of these final verses just as he was the author of the rest of Ecclesiastes. No other person could possibly have inserted this here. The words stand, not only as a signature, but also, “As an introduction to the final verses.
“Saith the Preacher …” (Ecc 12:8). Radical critics, ever eager to find fault, suppose that the introduction of the third person at this point indicates a different writer. Ridiculous. Paul often lapsed into the third person, as did many other ancient writers. Cook pointed out that, “This epilogue makes the author to be (Solomon) the same as the author of Proverbs.
This section pictures the final evil days which await men. Death terminates the decaying process and the Preacher appropriately turns to the oft-repeated vanity of vanities. Nowhere in the book could the idea of transitoriness be more to the point than in verse eight.
Ecc 12:2 This verse most logically represents the end of life under the sun. Light is used throughout the Bible for life and joy. In this context it undoubtedly refers to life. Just as mans life slowly slips toward the grave, so the light diminishes: first the sun and then the lesser light, the moon; finally the faintest light represented by the stars. The diminishing order of light is intentionally arranged to represent life from childhood to the prime of life until the evil days. Each light is finally extinguished and the darkness (death) comes. Clouds are symbolic of trouble and could refer to the judgment. Usually the clouds and rain pass and the sun shines to renew happiness and joy. This time, however, the storm continues with the threatening clouds returning after the rain. Although this interpretation is imaginative and without definite support, it fits the context of the book and the immediate context of this section.
Ecc 12:3 This highly figurative language (verses three-five) has challenged the imagination and inventiveness of many. There is general unanimity, however, that regardless of the individual meaning given to each symbol, the passage is describing the frailties of old age, and ultimately of death itself.
The house represents the whole person while the watchmen would be the arms or hands. They are the protectors or guards of the house. They were mentioned first because they would be noticed first. They are also afflicted with palsy and thus tremble. Scriptural references of the body likened unto a house are found in 2Co 5:1-4; 2Pe 1:13-14.
The mighty men are the legs which now are bent and stooped. Man can no longer walk erectly. Formerly the legs carried the youth pillars of strength, but now they are feeble.
The grinding ones are the teeth. They cease to function and stand idle, because they are few and undoubtedly arranged in such a way that they are inefficient in the chewing process. The millers (grinders) is the feminine form. This is probably because women did the grinding. (Cf. Exo 11:5; Job 31:10; Isa 47:2; Mat 24:41)
Those who look through windows refer to the eyes. No longer will they see the light under the sun. The sun, moon and stars will only be a memory as they begin to experience total darkness.
Ecc 12:4 The doors refer to the mouth. Such reference is given in Psa 141:3 : Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips. It is possible that since the teeth are nearly gone, the lips now shut more closely. The chewing is then described by a door opening onto a street so the sound inside could not be heard by those on the street.” Also, in Hebrew, the form is dual and may refer to the double door (lips). On the streets suggests communication with the world, but now such activity has ceased. In youth the appetite is keen and the mouth is employed in work and pleasure, but now the lips are drawn over the toothless gums and the sound of the grinding mill is low.
The sound of the bird has numerous interpretations, but the one that appears most likely suggests that older people arise at the same time as the first sounds of birds in the morning. It does not follow that they are awakened by the chirping sparrow or crowing rooster, but they are anxious to start the day after restless and sometimes painful nights. The hearing is impaired and thus they would not be wakened by the faint chirp of the small bird.
The daughters of song represent the voice and ears of the aged when they no longer can produce melodious songs or discern those sung by others. When David offered to take Barzillai to Jerusalem and care for him in return for favors previously received, Barzillai answered him with the words: How long have I yet to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? I am now eighty years old. Can I distinguish between good and bad? Or can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Or can I hear any more the voice of singing men and women? Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? (2Sa 19:34-35). To the elderly, the notes of song run together and the tones are in-distinct. On the basis of this, some interpret the former sound of the bird to be a description of the high, shrill voice of the older person when he arises at the early hour. The fact that the daughters of song will sing softly implies deafness and supports the interpretation that this section refers to the voice and ears.
Ecc 12:5 Men are afraid of a high place is to be taken literally. The preacher departs from the highly figurative language and states a universal truth in simple language. When one grows old and his speech and hearing are dulled, he often finds difficulty in ascending steps or hills, and is often short of breath. The energy which such activity demands is now missing. The strong muscles are atrophied, and the bones, which carried him securely and confidently in his youth, are bowed and fragile.
Terrors on the road could refer to the obstacles over which they would stumble or wicked individuals against whom they would have little or no defense. The obvious interpretation, however, would be to simple travel on the way. Their bones are brittle, their muscles are weak, and they have difficulty ascending even the slightest incline. Narrow and crowded streets would enhance the difficulty.
The almond tree blossoms refers to the white hair which indicates he is come to the final stages of life and is ripening for the tomb. The almond tree first puts forth light, pink blossoms which turn snowy white before falling from the limbs to the ground.
The grasshopper drags himself along is clearly a vivid analogy of the inept physical condition of the dying man. Biblical analogy would point also to the symbol of smallness. (Cf. Num 13:33; Isa 40:22) In the light of this it would be understood that the message is, that to the elderly, even the most insignificant task becomes a burden. However, the comparison of the condition of the elderly with that of the appearance of the grasshopper best fits the context. Note the following description: The dry, shriveled, old man, his backbone sticking out, his knees projecting forwards, his arms backwards, his head down, and the apophyses enlarged, is like that insect.
The caperberry is also translated desire and appetite. The difficulty in translation stems from the fact that the word appears only here in the entire Old Testament. Caperberry would necessitate a figurative meaning while desire or appetite would be literal. This does not aid the translation, however, as both figurative and literal terms are used in the Preachers picture of old age and death. The caperberry is considered a stimulant and the obvious meaning is that neither the appetite or sexual desire can be aroused. Since the caper-berry was not believed to be an aphrodisiac until the Middle Ages, the safe explanation, would be that the stimulant is to preserve life (through eating, which desire is often lost in old age) not propagate it. However, as Luther says, all desire fails, and again, an old man has pleasure in nothing.
The eternal home or house of eternity speaks more to duration than it does to the place. It is a future state of being as compared with the existence under the sun. Life here is transitory compared with eternal life there. The term eternal home is found only in Ecclesiastes. Characteristic of inspired literature, the meaning of certain terms often penetrate beyond the limits of mans present knowledge. Future revelation, on the same subject, often amplifies the meaning, and it becomes clear that God intended for the reader to look back and see that the term held the full-grown truth in seed form. The terms used by Solomon, who claims inspiration for his writing (Ecc 12:11) are exact. However, the understanding of the terms, even by the author, is often very limited. Solomon says nothing to negate the richness of the full orb of the doctrine of eternal life taught by Jesus and the Apostles.
On the subject of the eternal home, read and study Job 10:21; Job 30:23; Psa 49:11 and Joh 14:1-6.
The mourners are, as tradition teaches, the paid wailers who prepare even before the death event to make loud lamentation in the streets and places of commerce. (Cf. 2Sa 3:31; Jer 9:17; Jer 34:5; Amo 5:16-17; Mat 9:23; Mat 11:17) The implication of such terms as silver and gold in the following verse would suggest affluency on the part of the one about to be mourned.
Ecc 12:6 The translators add remember because the before of this verse refers one to Ecc 12:1 where the Preacher is admonishing young men to live their lives in harmony with the designs of their Creator.
Two distinct figures are mentioned in this verse which speak to the final termination of life under the sun. The preceding detailed insights to the frailties of old age were intended to motivate young men to live their lives to the fullest joys (Cf. Ecc 11:9-10) before the body breaks and the soul slips away.
The silver cord and golden bowl are to be considered together. They represent the lamp which hangs from the ceilings of oriental or near-eastern homes. The cord is interspersed with silver and the lamp itself is made of gold. Nothing is intended beyond the fact that life, like silver and gold, is valuable and much to be desired. The intention is to show that light, which is here symbolic of ones life, is going to be extinguished regardless of how fine it is. Death does not come because one terminates his own life, but the cord breaks allowing the bowl to fall to the floor and break and the oil to be released upon the floor. The separation of the oil from the container negates the utilitarian purpose of the lamp. The original design of the lamp has been thwarted; the value of the practical aspect of the lamp is now nullified. So when death comes, the body returns to its source and the spirit slips away.
The pitcher and the wheel illustrate the same truth as the cord and lamp. The symbol is different, however, as the lamp represents life as light and the pitcher represents life as water. Jesus took advantage of both physical symbols to demonstrate spiritual truths. (Cf. Joh 8:12; Joh 9:5 and Joh 4:10-11; Joh 7:38) The NASB mentions both well and cistern. The broken pitcher would render the well useless, while the wheel which falls into the cistern when it breaks, prevents the water from being drawn. The intent of both pictures painted by Solomon in this verse is intentionally clear in the following observation.
Ecc 12:7 Throughout the book the Preachers emphasis has been on the transitory nature of man, and the fact that he, together with the world in which he lives, has been marked by vanity. (Cf. COMMENT Ecc 6:10) The body of man returns to its primary source-the dust of the earth. The admonition to the young man to enjoy life in his youth is based on the fact that man will soon begin to die and move slowly toward the dust.
The dust will return to the earth as it was. This doctrine complements similar passages on the same subject. The Preacher has previously stated that all (men and beasts) came from the dust and all return to the dust (Ecc 3:20). (Cf. Gen 2:7; Gen 3:19; Job 34:14-15; Psa 104:29) In this section (verses two-six) there has been strong emphasis upon the dust nature of men. When the spirit is released from the body through the death event, it does not join the process of decay and regression, but it returns to God.
The spirit will return to God who gave it. Solomons reference to God as Creator has established a principle of ownership. He now argues for right behavior on the basis of the certainty of final retribution. The judgment is a doctrine which has already been introduced but now takes on major intensity as the Preacher moves through the final stages of his arguments. There is no full doctrine of immortality taught here, but the fact of eternal life is not denied and the spirit is distinguished from the body with the emphasis upon the fact that it is the spirit that God receives. For the sinner, the ungodly person who has been described so often throughout the book, there is nothing for him to anticipate but the depressing picture of death and then the sudden and sure appearing before Gods judgment. Leupold wisely states that Solomon is teaching such a judgment as a motivating factor to lead all men to live righteously. He adds, You personally will at your death appear before the judgment seat of God, therefore get ready.
Ecc 12:8 There is nothing new in this verse that has not already been thoroughly discussed, but the insertion of the subtheme of the book (Cf. Ecc 1:2) at this particular place serves to prove that the Preacher believes that such vanity has been sufficiently demonstrated. It serves to terminate his discussion in the first part of this chapter, and also introduces the final section of the book. Hengstenberg offers a word of warning when he writes, The knowledge of the vanity of earthly things conducts to the fear of God afterwards recommended. Since all things are vain, man, who is subject to vanity, should do all in his power to enter into a living relation to Him who is the true absolute being, and through fellowship with him to participate, himself, in a true eternal being.”
The fact that Solomon once again refers to himself as the Preacher reflects upon the hortatory nature of the closing two chapters of the book. Especially is he eloquent in this final section. In the epilogue (verse nine through fourteen) he speaks of himself as the Preacher two more times. Never can a preacher reach a higher pinnacle of confidence than when he claims divine authority for his message. The following conclusion of the whole matter is driven to the heart with strong conviction.
the sun: Ecc 11:7, Ecc 11:8, Gen 27:1, Gen 48:10, 1Sa 3:2, 1Sa 4:15, 1Sa 4:18
nor: Psa 42:7, Psa 71:20, Psa 77:16
Reciprocal: Psa 90:10 – yet Ecc 12:3 – and those Jer 13:16 – before Jer 25:10 – the sound
Ecc 12:2. While the sun, or the light, &c. Hebrews While the sun, and the light, and the moon, &c. That clause, and the light, seems to be added to signify, that he speaks of the darkening of the sun, and moon, and stars, not in themselves, but only in respect of that light which they afford to men. And therefore the same clause which is expressed after the sun, is to be understood after the moon and stars. And those expressions may be understood of the outward parts of the body, and especially of the face, the beauty of the countenance, the pleasant complexion of the cheeks, the liveliness of the eyes, which are compared to the sun, and moon, and stars, and which are obscured in old age, as the Chaldee paraphrast understands it. Or of the inward faculties of the mind, the understanding, fancy, memory, which may not improperly be resembled to the sun, moon, and stars, and all which are sensibly decayed in most old men. Or of external things, of the change of their joy, which they had in their youth, into sorrow, and manifold calamities, which are usually the companions of old age. This interpretation agrees both with the foregoing verse, in which he describes the miseries of old age, and with the following clause, which is added to explain those otherwise ambiguous expressions; and with the Scripture use of this phrase; for a state of comfort and happiness is often described by the light of the sun, and a state of trouble is set forth, by the darkening of the light of the sun. Nor the clouds return after the rain This phrase denotes a perpetual succession of rain, and clouds bringing rain, and then rain and clouds again. Whereby he expresses either the rheums or defluctions which incessantly flow in old men; or the continual vicissitude of infirmities, diseases, and griefs; one deep calling upon another.
12:2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, are not darkened, nor the {a} clouds return after the rain:
(a) Before you come to a continual misery: for when the clouds remain after the rain, man’s grief is increased.
The coming of old age 12:2-5
Ecc 12:2-7 are full of figures of speech that picture old age and death. [Note: See G. A. Barton, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes, pp. 186-91; Harry Torcszyner, "The Riddle in the Bible," Hebrew Union College Annual 1 (1924):125-49; Michael Leahy, "The Meaning of Ecclesiastes 12:1-5," Irish Theological Quarterly 19 (1952):297-300, reprinted in Zuck, ed., Reflecting with . . ., pp. 375-79; and Michael V. Fox, "Aging and Death in Qoheleth 12," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 42 (1988):55-77, reprinted in Zuck, ed., Reflecting with . . ., pp. 381-99.] Some interpreters believed the writer was describing the aging process, [Note: E.g., Creshaw, "Youth and . . ."; Eaton; et al.] and others believed death is the emphasis. [Note: E.g., Hubbard, Ogden, et al.] Perhaps old age leading to death is the best option.
Solomon likened the evil days first to an approaching rainstorm (Ecc 12:2) that is fearful and uncertain (cf. Ecc 11:7-8). The Hebrews regarded any decline in a person’s vital energy as a sign that death was beginning to set in (cf. 1Ki 1:1-4; Psa 18:4-5; Psa 88:3-5).
The "watchmen of the house" (Ecc 12:3) probably refer to one’s arms and hands, and the "mighty men" to the legs. The "grinding ones" are probably the teeth, and "those who look through windows" the eyes.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)