Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ecclesiastes 1:5
The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
5. The sun also ariseth ] From the standpoint of modern thought the sun might seem even more than the earth to be the type of permanent existence, but with the Hebrew, who looked on it in its phenomenal aspect, it was not so, and the sun accordingly appears as presenting not a contrast, but a parallel, to human mutability and resultless labour. We are reminded of the Rabbinic legend of Abraham’s looking on the sun, and, when half tempted to adore it, repressing the temptation by watching its going down and saying “The God whom I worship must be a God that does not set.” Koran, Sur. 6. Stanley’s Jewish Church, 1. Lect. 1.
hasteth to his place where he arose ] The primary meaning of the first of the two verbs is that of the panting of one who travels quickly. Here again we have to think of the belief that, between the sunset and the sunrise, the sun had a long journey to perform, as the Greeks thought, by the great Ocean river, till it returned to the point where it had risen the day before. Possibly the clouds and mists of the morning were thought of as the panting of the sun, as of “the strong man” who “runs his race” (Psa 19:5).
Parallels present themselves in Psa 19:5 (“rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race”) and yet more strikingly in Virgil, Georg. i. 250,
Nosque ubi primus equis Oriens adflavit anhelis,
Illic sera rubens accendit lumina Vesper.
“And when to us the sun with panting steeds
Hastens at dawn, far off the star of eve
There lights her glowing lamp.”
Comp. also n. xii. 113.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Hasteth … – literally, at his place panting (in his eagerness) riseth he there.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 5. and Eccl 1:6. These verses are confused by being falsely divided. The first clause of the sixth should be joined to the fifth verse.
“The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he ariseth; going to the south, and circulating to the north.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The sun is in perpetual motion, sometimes arising, and sometimes setting, and then arising again, and so constantly repeating its courses in all succeeding days, and years, and ages; and the like he observes concerning the winds and rivers, Ecc 1:6,7. And the design of these similitudes seems to be, either,
1. That by representing the constant changes and restless motions of these particular things he might intimate that it is so with all other earthly things; and therefore no man can expect satisfaction from them. Or,
2. That by comparing the sun, and wind, and rivers, as, Ecc 1:4, he compared the earth with man, he might show that man, considered as mortal, is in a more unhappy condition than these things, because when the earth abides, man goes; and when the sun sets, he riseth again; and so the wind and rivers return to their former place and state, but man, when once he dies, he never returns again to this life; of which comparison see Job 14:7,12. Or,
3. To show the vanity of all worldly things, and that mans mind can never be satisfied with them, because there is nothing in the world but a constant repetition of the same things, which is so irksome a thing, that the consideration thereof hath made some persons weary of their lives; and there is no new thing under the sun, as is added in the foot of the account, Ecc 1:9, which seems to me to be given as a key to understand the meaning of the foregoing passages. And this is manifest and certain from experience, that the things of this world are so narrow, and the mind of man so vast, that there must be something new to satisfy the mind; and even delightful things, by too frequent repetition or long continuance, are so far from yielding satisfaction, that they grow tedious and troublesome.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. (Psa 19:5;Psa 19:6). “Panting” asthe Hebrew for “hasteth”; metaphor, from a runner(Ps 19:5, “a strong man”)in a “race.” It applies rather to the rising sun,which seems laboriously to mount up to the meridian, than tothe setting sun; the accents too favor MAURER,”And (that too, returning) to his place, where panting heriseth.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The sun rises in the morning and sets at evening in our hemisphere, according to the appearance of things; and then it makes haste to go round the other hemisphere in the night: it “pants”, as the word t signifies; the same figure is used by other writers u; like a man out of breath with running; so this glorious body, which rejoiceth as a strong man to run his race, and whose circuit is from one end of the heavens to the other, Ps 19:5; is in haste to get to the place where he rose in the morning, and there he makes no stop, but pursues his course in the same track again. By this instance is exemplified the succession of the generations of men one after another, as the rising and setting of the sun continually follows each other; and also sets forth the restless state of things in the world, which, like the sun, are never at a stand, but always moving, and swiftly taking their course; and likewise the changeable state of man, who, like the rising sun, and when at noon day, is in flourishing circumstances, and in the height of prosperity, but as this declines and sets, so he has his declining times and days of adversity. Moreover, like the rising sun, he comes into this world and appears for a while, and then, like the setting sun, he dies; only with this difference, in which the sun has the preference to him, as the earth before had; the sun hastens and comes to its place from whence it arose, but man lies down and rises not again till the heavens be no more, and never returns to his place in this world, that knows him no more, Job 7:10. The Jews w say, before the sun of one righteous, man sets, the sun of another righteous man rises.
t “anhelus”, Montanus, Tigurine version; “anhelat”, Drusius, Piscator, Cocceius, Amama; “anhelaus est”, Rambachius; “doth he breathe”, Broughton. u “Placebits anhelat”, Claudian. Epigrarm. “Equis oriens afflavit anhelis”, Virgil. Georgic. l. 1. v. 250. Aeneid, l. 5. w Apud R. Joseph. Titatzak in loc. Midrash Kohelet in loc.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“And the sun ariseth, the sun goeth down, and it hasteth (back) to its place, there to rise again.” It rises and sets again, but its setting is not a coming to rest; for from its place of resting in the west it must rise again in the morning in the east, hastening to fulfil its course. Thus Hitzig rightly, for he takes “there to rise again” as a relative clause; the words may be thus translated, but strictly taken, both participles stand on the same level; (panting, hastening) is like in Ecc 1:4, the expression of the present, and that of the fut. instans: ibi ( rursus) oriturus; the accentuation also treats the two partic. as co-ordinate, for Tiphcha separates more than Tebir; but it is inappropriate that it gives to the greater disjunctive Zakef Quaton (with Kadma going before). Ewald adopts this sequence of the accents, for he explains: the sun goes down, and that to its own place, viz., hastening back to it just by its going down, where, panting, it again ascends. But that the sun goes down to the place of its ascending, is a distorted thought. If “to its place” belongs to “goeth,” then it can refer only to the place of the going down, as e.g., Benjamin el-Nahawendi (Neubauer, Aus der Petersb. Bibl. p. 108) explains: “and that to its place,” viz., the place of the going down appointed for it by the Creator, with reference to Psa 104:19, “the sun knoweth his going down.” But the , which refers back to “its place,” opposes this interpretation; and the phrase cannot mean “panting, rising,” since in itself does not signify to pant, but to snatch at, to long eagerly after anything, thus to strive, panting after it (cf. Job 7:2; Psa 119:131), which accords with the words “to its place,” but not with the act of rising. And how unnatural to think of the rising sun, which gives the impression of renewed youth, as panting! No, the panting is said of the sun that has set, which, during the night, and thus without rest by day and night, must turn itself back again to the east (Psa 19:7), there anew to commence its daily course. Thus also Rashi, the lxx, Syr., Targ., Jerome, Venet., and Luther. Instead of , Grtz would read , redit ( atque ) etiam ; but is as characteristic of the Preacher’s manner of viewing the world as , Ecc 1:6, and , Ecc 1:8. Thus much regarding the sun. Many old interpreters, recently Grtz, and among translators certainly the lxx, refer also Ecc 1:6 to the sun. The Targ. paraphrases the whole verse of the state of the sun by day and night, and at the spring and autumn equinox, according to which Rashi translates , la volont ( du soleil). But along with the sun, the wind is also referred to as a third example of restless motion always renewing itself. The division of the verses is correct; Ecc 1:6 used of the sun would overload the figure, and the whole of Ecc 1:6 therefore refers to the wind.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verses 5-7 suggest that even nature repeats its function of sunrise, sunset, wind circuits and flow of waters, with monotonous regularity, Ecc 11:5; Psa 19:4-6; Joh 3:8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(5) Hasteth.Heb., panteth. The word is used of eager desire (Job. 7:2; Psa. 119:131).
Where he arose.Better, there to rise again.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. The sun also ariseth Not only giving light to man, but, unwearied, never dwindling, it shows as if even superior to him.
Hasteth Hebrew, panteth, as if ambitious to rise “another and the same,” and
“With new spangled eye,
Flame in the forehead of the morning sky.”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Three-fold Testimony of the Generations of the Earth to Man’s Subjection to Vanity Not only does man’s mortality testify to his subjection to travail and vanity until his future redemption (Ecc 1:4), but all of creation has been subjected to the same (Rom 8:18-23). The second greatest testimony to man’s subjection to travail and labour is characteristics of the earth, which was also cursed at the time of the Fall. Ecc 1:5-7 describes three primary characteristics of this temporal earth, the sun, wind and rain, which is also described in Gen 8:22. These three characteristics of nature have the most obvious, continuous movement on any aspect of creation, and may be representative of all the other characteristics of the earth. Because of the rotation of the earth, the sun, the wind and water are always in motion and determine weather patterns. Nothing else in nature moves as consistently and swiftly as do these three; yet they seem to go nowhere. Man has been given authority by God to dominate parts of this creation, in a limited capacity; however, he has not been given the power to rule over the sun, the wind, nor the rivers. These elements of earth’s creation behave as they desire, despite man’s knowledge and intervention of them. These movements describe the destiny of this temporal earth in which we must live our live under the sun. More specifically, they testify to the vanities of this mortal life. As all aspects of creation testify of the glory of God, the endless and seemingly purposeless movements of the sun, wind and rivers testify to us that God has subjected this temporal earth to vanity.
Gen 8:22, “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”
Ecc 1:5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
Ecc 1:5
Ecc 1:6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
Ecc 1:6
Ecc 1:7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
Ecc 1:7
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Ecc 1:5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
Ver. 5. The sun also ariseth. ] That sweet and swift creature (the Persians deified it); so sweet that Eudoxus professed himself willing to be burnt up by the sun presently, so he might be admitted to come so near it as to learn the nature of it; a so swift that the Persians dedicated a horse to their god the sun, as the swiftest on earth to the swiftest in heaven. b He courseth about the world with incredible speed, and “rejoiceth as a giant to run a race.” Psa 19:5 He exceedeth the eagle’s flight more than it goes beyond the slow motion of a snail. Whether it run nearer the earth now by 9976 German miles than it did in Ptolemy’s days, as some mathematicians affirm, I know not; but that, being of a fiery nature, it should, contrary to the nature of fire (which is to fly upward), send down its beams, its heat, light, and influence, this I admire, with Chrysostom, c as a gracious work of God, in making this great servant of the world – as his name in Hebrew d signifies – so sweetly serviceable.
And hasteth to the place.
“The sun doth set and rise,
But we contrariwise,
Sleep after one short light,
An everlasting night.” e
a Plutarch.
b , . – Paus.
c Hom. 8 Ad. Pop. Antioch.
d .
e Soles occidere et redire possuat,
Nobiscum semel! occidit brevis lux,
Nox est perpetua una dormienda. – Catull
The Hebrew pauses in this verse are remarkable, and need a semicolon between each clause.
sun: Gen 8:22, Psa 19:4-6, Psa 89:36, Psa 89:37, Psa 104:19-23, Jer 33:20
hasteth: Heb. panteth, Jos 10:13, Jos 10:14, Psa 42:1, Hab 3:11
Reciprocal: Psa 19:5 – rejoiceth Psa 19:6 – His going
Ecc 1:5-6. The sun also riseth The sun is in perpetual motion, rising, setting, and rising again, and so constantly repeating its course in all succeeding days, and years, and ages; and the like he observes concerning the winds and rivers, Ecc 1:6-7; and the design of these similitudes seems to be, to show the vanity of all worldly things, and that mans mind can never be satisfied with them, because there is nothing in the world but a constant repetition of the same things, which is so irksome, that the consideration thereof hath made some persons weary of their lives; and there is no new thing under the sun, as is added in the foot of the account, (Ecc 1:9,) which seems to be given us as a key to understand the meaning of the foregoing passages. And this is certain from experience, that the things of this world are so narrow, and the mind of man so vast, that there must be something new to satisfy the mind; and even delightful things, by too frequent repetition, are so far from yielding satisfaction, that they grow tedious and troublesome. The wind goeth, &c. The wind also sometimes blows from one quarter of the world, and sometimes from another; successively returning to the same quarters in which it had formerly been.
Science does not answer these questions either.
People’s work is similar to the aspects of nature cited in these verses. In nature there are many things that recur in a cyclical pattern. They are never complete. For example, we never have a rainstorm that makes it unnecessary to have any more rainstorms (cf. Job 36:27-28). Our work is never complete in the sense that we never finally arrive at a condition in which no more work is necessary. There is always the need to do more work. Any homeowner can testify to this!
One writer argued that the preacher did not intend Ecc 1:5-7 to show the futility of the phenomena he recorded. He intended to show only ". . . the limitations imposed on them by their allotted natures and functions, which necessitates their constant cyclical repetition." [Note: R. N. Whybray, "Ecclessiastes 1.5-7 and the Wonders of Nature," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 41 (June 1988):105.] These limitations reflect futility.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)