Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ecclesiastes 7:23
All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it [was] far from me.
23. I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me ] The words express at once the high aim of the seeker and his sense of incompleteness. Wisdom in its fulness was for him, as for Job (chap. 28) far above out of his reach. He had to give up the attempt to solve the problems of the Universe, and to confine himself to rules of conduct, content if he could find guidance there.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I will be – Or, I am. There was a time when Solomon thought himself wise enough to comprehend the work of God, and therefore needed for himself the self-humbling conviction declared in this verse.
It – i. e. Wisdom. Compare Ecc 8:17.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 23. All this have I proved by wisdom] These rules I have laid down for my own conduct, and sought after more wisdom; but have fallen far short of what I wished to be.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
All this, or all these things, of which I have here discoursed,
have I proved, I have diligently examined and found all this to be true, by wisdom; by the help of that singular wisdom which God had given me.
I said, I will be wise; I determined within myself that I would by all possible means seek to attain perfection of wisdom, and I persuaded myself that I should attain to it.
But it was far from me; I found myself greatly disappointed, and the more I knew, the more I saw mine own folly and misery.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. All thisresuming the”all” in Ecc 7:15;Ecc 7:15-22 is therefore thefruit of his dearly bought experience in the days of his “vanity.”
I will be wiseI triedto “be wise,” independently of God. But true wisdom wasthen “far from him,” in spite of his human wisdom,which he retained by God’s gift. So “over wise” (Ec7:16).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
All this have I proved by wisdom,…. Referring either to all that he had been discoursing of hitherto in this book, concerning the vanity of natural wisdom and knowledge, of pleasure, power, and riches; or to the several useful instructions given in this chapter, particularly concerning patiently bearing everything from the hands of God or men, Ec 7:8. This, by the help and use of that wisdom which God had given him, he had made trial of, and found it to be right, and therefore recommended it to others; though he acknowledges that, with all his wisdom, he was from perfection;
I said, I will be wise; but it [was] far from me; he determined, if possible, to attain to the perfection of wisdom, and made use of all means to come at it; that he might know all the works of God in creation, the nature, use, and excellency of them; in providence, his different dispensations towards the sons of men, and the causes of them; and in grace, the redemption and salvation of men, and the mysteries thereof; but the more he knew, the more he was convinced of his own ignorance, and seemed further off from the summit of knowledge than he was before; and plainly saw, that perfection in wisdom is not attainable in this life. The Targum restrains this to the wisdom of the law; but it is better to understand it in a more general sense.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“All this have I proved by wisdom: I thought, Wise I will become; but it remained far from me.” The in is, as at Ecc 1:13, that designating the organon, the means of knowledge. Thus he possessed wisdom up to a certain degree, and in part; but his purpose, comprehended in the one word , was to possess it fully and completely; i.e., not merely to be able to record observations and communicate advices, but to adjust the contradictions of life, to expound the mysteries of time and eternity, and generally to solve the most weighty and important questions which perplex men. But this wisdom was for him still in the remote distance. It is the wisdom after which Job, chap. 28, made inquiry in all regions of the world and at all creatures, at last to discover that God has appointed to man only a limited share of wisdom. Koheleth briefly condenses Job 28:12-22 in the words following:
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| The Evil of Sin. | |
23 All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. 24 That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find it out? 25 I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness: 26 And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her. 27 Behold, this have I found, saith the preacher, counting one by one, to find out the account: 28 Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found. 29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.
Solomon had hitherto been proving the vanity of the world and its utter insufficiency to make men happy; now here he comes to show the vileness of sin, and its certain tendency to make men miserable; and this, as the former, he proves from his own experience, and it was a dear-bought experience. He is here, more than any where in all this book, putting on the habit of a penitent. He reviews what he had been discoursing of already, and tells us that what he had said was what he knew and was well assured of, and what he resolved to stand by: All this have I proved by wisdom, v. 23. Now here,
I. He owns and laments the deficiencies of his wisdom. He had wisdom enough to see the vanity of the world and to experience that that would not make a portion for a soul. But, when he came to enquire further, he found himself at a loss; his eye was too dim, his line was too short, and, though he discovered this, there were many other things which he could not prove by wisdom.
1. His searches were industrious. God had given him a capacity for knowledge above any; he set up with a great stock of wisdom; he had the largest opportunities of improving himself that ever any man had; and, (1.) He resolved, if it were possible, to gain his point: I said, I will be wise. He earnestly desired it as highly valuable; he fully designed it as that which he looked upon to be attainable; he determined not to sit down short of it, Prov. xviii. 1. Many are not wise because they never said they would be so, being indifferent to it; but Solomon set it up for the mark he aimed at. When he made trial of sensual pleasures, he still thought to acquaint his heart with wisdom (ch. ii. 3), and not to be diverted from the pursuits of that; but perhaps he did not find it so easy a thing as he imagined to keep up his correspondence with wisdom, while he addicted himself so much to his pleasures. However, his will was good; he said, I will be wise. And that was not all: (2.) He resolved to spare no pains (v. 25): “I applied my heart; I and my heart turned every way; I left no stone unturned, no means untried, to compass what I had in view. I set myself to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, to accomplish myself in all useful learning, philosophy, and divinity.” If he had not thus closely applied himself to study, it would have been but a jest for him to say, I will be wise, for those that will attain the end must take the right way. Solomon was a man of great quickness, and yet, instead of using that (with many) as an excuse for slothfulness, he pressed it upon himself as an inducement to diligence, and the easier he found it to master a good notion the more intent he would be that he might be master of the more good notions. Those that have the best parts should take the greatest pains, as those that have the largest stock should trade most. He applied himself not only to know what lay on the surface, but to search what lay hidden out of the common view and road; nor did he search a little way, and then give it over because he did not presently find what he searched for, but he sought it out, went to the bottom of it; nor did he aim to know things only, but the reasons of things, that he might give an account of them.
2. Yet his success was not answerable or satisfying: “I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me; I could not compass it. After all, This only I know that I know nothing, and the more I know the more I see there is to be known, and the more sensible I am of my own ignorance. That which is far off, and exceedingly deep, who can find it out?” He means God himself, his counsels and his works; when he searched into these he presently found himself puzzled and run aground. He could not order his speech by reason of darkness. It is higher than heaven, what can he do? Job xi. 8. Blessed be God, there is nothing which we have to do which is not plain and easy; the word is nigh us (Prov. viii. 9); but there is a great deal which we would wish to know which is far off, and exceedingly deep, among the secret things which belong not to us. And probably it is a culpable ignorance and error that Solomon here laments, that his pleasures, and the many amusements of his court, had blinded his eyes and cast a mist before them, so that he could not attain to true wisdom as he designed.
II. He owns and laments the instances of his folly in which he had exceeded, as, in wisdom, he came short. Here is,
1. His enquiry concerning the evil of sin. He applied his heart to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness. Observe, (1.) The knowledge of sin is a difficult knowledge, and hard to be attained; Solomon took pains for it. Sin has many disguises with which it palliates itself, as being loth to appear sin, and it is very hard to strip it of these and to see it in its true nature and colours. (2.) It is necessary to our repentance for sin that we be acquainted with the evil of it, as it is necessary to the cure of a disease to know its nature, causes, and malignity. St. Paul therefore valued the divine law, because it discovered sin to him, Rom. vii. 7. Solomon, who, in the days of his folly, had set his wits on work to invent pleasures and sharpen them, and was ingenious in making provision for the flesh, now that God had opened his eyes is as industrious to find out the aggravations of sin and so to put an edge upon his repentance. Ingenious sinners should be ingenious penitents, and wit and learning, among the other spoils of the strong man armed, should be divided by the Lord Jesus. (3.) It well becomes penitents to say the worst they can of sin, for the truth is we can never speak ill enough of it. Solomon here, for his further humiliation, desired to see more, [1.] Of the sinfulness of sin; that is it which he lays the greatest stress upon in this inquiry, to know the wickedness of folly, by which perhaps he means his own iniquity, the sin of uncleanness, for that was commonly called folly in Israel,Gen 34:7; Deu 22:21; Jdg 20:6; 2Sa 13:12. When he indulged himself in it, he made a light matter of it; but now he desires to see the wickedness of it, its great wickedness, so Joseph speaks of it, Gen. xxxix. 9. Or it may be taken there generally for all sin. Many extenuate their sins with this, They were folly; but Solomon sees wickedness in those follies, an offence to God and a wrong to conscience. This is wickedness,Jer 4:18; Zec 5:8. [2.] Of the folly of sin; as there is a wickedness in folly, so there is a folly in wickedness, even foolishness and madness. Wilful sinners are fools and madmen; they act contrary both to right reason and to their true interest.
2. The result of this enquiry.
(1.) He now discovered more than ever of the evil of that great sin which he himself had been guilty of, the loving of many strange women, 1 Kings xi. 1. This is that which he here most feelingly laments, and in very pathetic expressions. [1.] He found the remembrance of the sin very grievous. O how heavily did it lie upon his conscience! what an agony was he in upon the thought of it–the wickedness, the foolishness, the madness, that he had been guilty of! I find it more bitter than death. As great a terror seized him, in reflection upon it, as if he had been under the arrest of death. Thus do those that have their sins set in order before them by a sound conviction cry out against them; they are bitter as gall, nay, bitter as death, to all true penitents. Uncleanness is a sin that is, in its own nature, more pernicious than death itself. Death may be made honourable and comfortable, but this sin can be no other than shame and pain, Pro 5:9; Pro 5:11. [2.] He found the temptation to the sin very dangerous, and that it was extremely difficult, and next to impossible, for those that ventured into the temptation to escape the sin, and for those that had fallen into the sin to recover themselves by repentance. The heart of the adulterous woman is snares and nets; she plays her game to ruin souls with as much art and subtlety as ever any fowler used to take a silly bird. The methods such sinners use are both deceiving and destroying, as snares and nets are. The unwary souls are enticed into them by the bait of pleasure, which they greedily catch at and promise themselves satisfaction in; but they are taken before they are aware, and taken irrecoverably. Her hands are as bands, with which, under colour of fond embraces, she holds those fast that she has seized; they are held in the cords of their own sin, Prov. v. 22. Lust gets strength by being gratified and its charms are more prevalent. [3.] He reckoned it a great instance of God’s favour to any man if by his grace he has kept him from this sin: He that pleases God shall escape from her, shall be preserved either from being tempted to this sin or from being overcome by the temptation. Those that are kept from this sin must acknowledge it is God that keeps them, and not any strength or resolution of their own, must acknowledge it a great mercy; and those that would have grace sufficient for them to arm them against this sin must be careful to please God in every thing, by keeping his ordinances, Lev. xviii. 30. [4.] He reckoned it a sin that is as sore a punishment of other sins as a man can fall under in this life: The sinner shall be taken by her. First, Those that allow themselves in other sins, by which their minds are blinded and their consciences debauched, are the more easily drawn to this. Secondly, it is just with God to leave them to themselves to fall into it. See Rom 1:26; Rom 1:28; Eph 4:18; Eph 4:19. Thus does Solomon, as it were, with horror, bless himself from the sin in which he had plunged himself.
(2.) He now discovered more than ever of the general corruption of man’s nature. He traces up that stream to the fountain, as his father had done before him, on a like occasion (Ps. li. 5): Behold, I was shapen in iniquity. [1.] He endeavoured to find out the number of his actual transgressions (v. 27): “Behold, this have I found, that is, this I hoped to find; I thought I could have understood my errors and have brought in a complete list, at least of the heads of them; I thought I could have counted them one by one, and have found out the account.” He desired to find them out as a penitent, that he might the more particularly acknowledge them; and, generally, the more particular we are in the confession of sin the more comfort we have in the sense of the pardon; he desired it also as a preacher, that he might the more particularly give warning to others. Note, A sound conviction of one sin will put us upon enquiring into the whole confederacy; and the more we see amiss in ourselves the more diligently we should enquire further into our own faults, that what we see not may be discovered to us, Job xxxiv. 32. [2.] He soon found himself at a loss, and perceived that they were innumerable (v. 28): “Which yet my soul seeks; I am still counting, and still desirous to find out the account, but I find not, I cannot count them all, nor find out the account of them to perfection. I still make new and amazing discoveries of the desperate wickedness that there is in my own heart,” Jer 17:9; Jer 17:10. Who can know it? Who can understand his errors? Who can tell how often he offends? Ps. xix. 12. He finds that if God enters into judgment with him, or he with himself, for all his thoughts, words, and actions, he is not able to answer for one of a thousand, Job ix. 3. This he illustrates by comparing the corruption of his own heart and life with the corruption of the world, where he scarcely found one good man among a thousand; nay, among all the thousand wives and concubines which he had, he did not find one good woman. “Even so,” says he, “When I come to recollect and review my own thoughts, words, and actions, and all the passages of my life past, perhaps among those that were manly I might find one good among a thousand, and that was all; the rest even of those had some corruption or other in them.” He found (v. 20) that he had sinned even in doing good. But for those that were effeminate, that passed in the indulgence of his pleasures, they were all naught; in that part of his life there did not appear so much as one of a thousand good. In our hearts and lives there appears little good, at the best, but sometimes none at all. Doubtless this is not intended as a censure of the female sex in general; it is probable that there have been and are more good women than good men (Act 17:4; Act 17:12); he merely alludes to his own sad experience. And perhaps there may be this further in it: he does, in his proverbs, warn us against the snares both of the evil man and of the strange woman (Pro 2:12; Pro 2:16; Pro 4:14; Pro 5:3); now he had observed the ways of the evil women to be more deceitful and dangerous than those of the evil men, that it was more difficult to discover their frauds and elude their snares, and therefore he compares sin to an adulteress (Prov. ix. 13), and perceives he can no more find out the deceitfulness of his own heart than he can that of a strange woman, whose ways are movable, that thou canst not know them. [3.] He therefore runs up all the streams of actual transgression to the fountain of original corruption. The source of all the folly and madness that are in the world is in man’s apostasy from God and his degeneracy from his primitive rectitude (v. 20): “Lo, this only have I found; when I could not find out the particulars, yet the gross account was manifest enough; it is as clear as the sun that man is corrupted and revolted, and is not as he was made.” Observe, First, How man was made by the wisdom and goodness of God: God made man upright; Adam the first man, so the Chaldee. God made him, and he made him upright, such a one as he should be; being made a rational creature, he was, in all respects, such a one as a rational creature should be, upright, without any irregularity; one could find no fault in him; he was upright, that is, determined to God only, in opposition to the many inventions which he afterwards turned aside to. Man, as he came out of God’s hands, was (as we may say) a little picture of his Maker, who is good and upright. Secondly, How he was marred, and in effect unmade, by his own folly and badness: They have sought out many inventions–they, our first parents, or the whole race, all in general and every one in particular. They have sought out great inventions (so some), inventions to become great as gods (Gen. iii. 5), or the inventions of the great ones (so some), of the angels that fell, the Magnates, or many inventions. Man, instead of resting in what God had found for him, was for seeking to better himself, like the prodigal that left his father’s house to seek his fortune. Instead of being for one, he was for many; instead of being for God’s institutions, he was for his own inventions. The law of his creation would not hold him, but he would be at his own disposal and follow his own sentiments and inclinations. Vain man would be wise, wiser than his Maker; he is giddy and unsettled in his pursuits, and therefore has many inventions. Those that forsake God wander endlessly. Men’s actual transgressions are multiplied. Solomon could not find out how many they are (v. 28); but he found they were very many. Many kinds of sins, and those often repeated. They are more than the hairs on our heads, Ps. xl. 12.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
SOLOMON’S WISDOM LIMITED
Verses 23-24 acknowledge the limitations of Solomon’s wisdom. There were matters known by God that were beyond his comprehension, Rom 11:33-34.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Ecc. 7:27. Counting one by one, to find out the account] Collecting the results of many observationsthus forming an opinion carefully and slowly.
Ecc. 7:29. Many inventions] Refers not so much to the devices of wickedness, but rather to evil arts, perverse thinkings, foolish and adventurous speculations.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Ecc. 7:23-29
THE CONFESSIONS OF A RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHER
The Royal Preacher, approaching religion from its speculative or philosophic side, has some sad confessions to make.
I. That the Search for Wisdom is Difficult. (Ecc. 7:23-24.) His search is represented as most complete, marked by earnestness, the Royal thinker urging himself to it by a strong effort of the will. I said I will be wise. The plan of procedure was most complete and exhaustive. It was no surface inspectionno mercenary work. He applied his heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom. He tried to discover what lay behind all appearances, the reason of thingsthat deep insight which would reveal to him perfect order and harmony. In his speculations, he used variety of method, approaching the subject from different sides. Virtues were contemplated in their opposites. With a painful revulsion of feeling, knowledge was obtained from the morbid anatomy of sin. Wickedness and folly, foolishness and madness, are not inviting subjects, but they are facts of human life, and must be investigated by all who would speculate upon the state of man. Here is a search after wisdom most energetic and complete. Whence does the difficulty arise? In general, it arises from the vast dimensions of the subject of investigation. But these dimensions are here contemplated in two directions.
1. In their surface. The knowledge of manhis duty and destiny, and of the mysteries of religionforms a subject extending far beyond our mental sight. We see and explore our narrow circle all around, but it is bounded by darkness, clouds, and shadows. If we adventure far, and the scene opens out before us, yet it closes behind us! We cannot chase the darkness away. The surface which we are permitted to explore is painfully limited. Like the end of the rainbow, where fancy has placed a golden cup, the prize of absolute wisdom is unattainable by man. The most successful explorer must make the confession, It was far from me.
2. In their depth. Exceeding deep, who can find it out? Even that which is before our eyes, when we attempt to fathom it, proves too deep to be sounded by our plummet. Great secrets lie there hidden from mortal sight. Even the commonest objects are mysterious, and lie on dark foundations, quite inaccessible by us; and therefore how remote from our reach must be the ultimate mystery of God and man!
II. That the Results of the Search are Humiliating. They are but poor, scanty, and unsatisfactory. And this,
1. In a speculative view. The gains of our search after wisdom, regarded as an intellectual effort, are but small. We meet with some success, and obtain considerable insight into mans life and destiny. But the goal of absolute wisdom is as far off as ever. We can only express the little that we know in broken accents. Cur different movements of thought come into frequent collision. Partial wisdommere fragments of knowledgeare all that we havecrumbs from the table.
2. In a practical view. In this direction, our search after wisdom is more plentiful in results. We gather more facts and principles. But how sad and humiliating are these! We have been investigating evil, disorder, the force and terrible complications of temptationall the melancholy facts of human nature under the influence of violent passions and unworthy motives. We have here a recital of some of these sad facts.
(1) That there are some special dangers to virtue. (Ecc. 7:26.) There are temptations in life which have elements of special danger. They deceive by treacherous arts, and the unsuspecting sinner, at first pleased with the siren song, delays, yields to the enchantment, and is lured to his destruction. That book of practical and prudential wisdom, the Proverbs of Solomon, is full of warnings against the seductive arts of women. Their lascivious looks and foul embrace are here described as snares, nets, and bands. An easy virtue is soon entrapped and overwhelmed. The Serpent first approached man through his weak side, and she who was first deceived more easily deceives others (1Ti. 2:14). This portion of humanity, when loosened from the restraints of social morality and religion, presents the most pitiable forms of degradation, and one of the chief dangers to virtue. Special help from God is needed to escape these dangers. Whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her.
(2) That the highest moral excellence is rare. (Ecc. 7:28.) The Royal Preacher professes an extensive knowledge of human nature. He is satisfied with no hasty glance, obeys not the impulse of first impressions, but acquires his knowledge by slow and painful steps. He searches out his facts one by one, summing them up with a cool and severe judgment. (Ecc. 7:27.) As a standard of comparison, he takes man as he came pure from the hands of his Maker, before his glory had fallenGods idea of humanity. He confesses that no one reaches this absolute standard of sinless purity and perfection. Among men, he had found one of a thousand, in some sense, worthy of the nameone who approached the Divine idea within some computable distance. But among women, he had not found one worthy of the name, in the primeval ideal. That he never found such a one, consequently that he considered the whole female sex as vicious, and highly corrupt, cannot possibly be his opinion, as appears from Ecc. 7:29, as also in Chap. Ecc. 9:9. But that moral excellence, taken as a whole, is much more rarely found than among men, that sin reigns more uncontrolled among the former than the latter, and in the forms of moral weakness and proneness to temptation, as well as in the inclination to seduce, to deceive, and ensnaresuch is clearly the sense of this passage [Lange].
3. That man must sigh in vain for a lost Paradise. (Ecc. 7:29.) That perfect uprightness, that moral integrity of man in his primeval state, is but a splendid fact of the past, a sad remembrance of what once was, but is now no longer. There will, indeed, be a restored Paradise for man, but it will not be the same as that which was lost. Fallen man may attain a better estate than that which he forfeited, yet his final honours and distinctions will be those of one whose fortunes have been repaired, and not of one who has preserved his inheritance as he received it from the beginning. The dispensation of mercy itself cannot obliterate the sad facts of sin. Surrounded and penetrated by evils, our spirit can only sigh for the past, God hath made man upright.
4. That man makes the evils which trouble him. They have sought out many inventions. The sad moral calamity of our race has not destroyed human activity. The powers of our nature still exert themselves with restless effort, but they have taken a wrong direction. They are fruitful in those inventions which, though marked by fertility of device and skill, are yet hurtful, and are but great powers altogether misused. The Religious Philosopher does not dwell here upon external actions, but goes rather to their spring in the perverse thinkings of the mind. The devices of natural reasonuseless or impious speculationshave often corrupted and confused the truth. Instead of receiving Divine wisdom with the simple instinct and faith of childhood, man follows his own dazzling speculations, and the higher knowledge is hidden from him. (Mat. 11:25.) These perverse thinkings are the seed from which the evil of the world springs, for sin works from within outwardly, from thought to act. The assumed superiority in moral strength and excellence, which man may have over the woman, is but a short-lived and unseemly boast in the presence of that sinfulness which belongs to all the race.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Ecc. 7:23. The true teacher must be a constant learner. He can only impart what he has gained by trial and exercise.
Though the effort is beset with tremendous difficulties, yet the resolve to be wise, at all hazards, is noble and praiseworthy.
Our study of the mysteries of God, man, and nature, is not altogether barren of results. We are able to know in part. We gather a few facts, and by a kind of prophetic insight, frame those portable and convenient statements of them called hypotheses and laws. But even the wisest must confess that the ultimate mystery is as far off as ever.
There are some fixed stars whose distance is so great, that when observed from the extremes of the diameter of the earths orbit, they show no change of direction; thus affording no data for the calculation of their distances. If we could get nearer to them, then we should discover how far off they are. He who has approached the nearest to the great secrets of God and this universe, is most of all conscious how distant he is from absolute wisdom.
The goal of intellectual wisdom lies so far off that the hope of attaining it can impart no solid satisfaction. But there is a Divine word which is ever nigh unto man; yea, in his heart, and ready to break forth from his mouth. We need not seek for it in the height of heaven or in the abyss (Rom. 10:6-8).
He had said, indeed, I will be wise. He had set his heart on understanding all mysteries and all knowledge. In that vain confidence to which at one time he had given way, he had imagined himself to be equal to the task of unlocking every secret, whether of nature or of Providence, and of leaving no difficulty unexplained. Time and the trial had undeceived him, and had taught him to form a humbler and juster estimate of the powers that are given to man. The dark problems which he had thought to solve remained, many of them as far from solution as ever. Such was the experience of Solomon, and such will, and must, be the experience of every finite mind [Buchanan].
Ecc. 7:24. Neither the wide range of subjects with which the intellect can grapple, nor its power of penetrating their depths, can put us into the possession of those secret things which God has reserved for Himself.
The infinite superiority of God renders it necessary that many things be concealed from man. Such mystery and reserve are the life of adoration.
Though Revelation is clear on all matters of practical duty, yet it presents truths whose mysterious depths it does not illumine. Such are the eternity and immensity of Godthe mystery of creationthe existence of evil under a holy and righteous governmentthe dealings of God with men in Providence and in grace.
We can have no true happiness if we wait for perfect satisfaction of the intellect. We can only comprehend God through love. Neither height nor depth can vanquish or distress him who has the love of God in his heart (Rom. 8:39).
Wisdom is so far off that it is not known from whence it cometh, nor where the place of it is (Job. 28:20). It is so deep that the depth saith it is not in me, and the sea saith it is not with me. It is so far, that the weakness of mans understanding is over-wearied before it can come unto it; so exceeding deep that the eyes of mans understanding is dazzled to look into it, and mans wit is endangered by venturing into it. It is deep and deep, as the original expresses itdeep to men, deep to angels [Jermin].
Ecc. 7:25. Wisdom does not yield her treasures to the indolent, but only to minds accustomed to earnest and patient toil.
Truth is so often mixed with error, so completely confused and disguised by that which has gathered around it, that it is only traced out with difficulty and cleared from the entanglement.
We must not be satisfied with the simple observation of facts; we should try to discover their causes, or the principles they illustrate. It is the glory of the human intellect that it can contemplate laws, and does not depend upon the limited information gained from passive impressions.
However painful the task may be, the great teachers of mankind must investigate the causes of the chief dangers to virtue.
There are some forms of human evil so bold, full of wild passion, and irrational, that they stand out like mountains on the scene of the worlds guilt.
That which is truly good is more clearly seen when we consider the evil that is contrary to it. The beauty of holiness, and excellency of saving knowledge, is illustrated, and best seen, when the deformity of sin, the madness and unreasonableness of those courses which natural men take to come at their imaginary happiness, are compared therewith [Nisbet].
Ecc. 7:26. To know the wickedness of folly, the wickedness and foolishness of madness, seems equivalent to knowing the worst species of it. In his own wild career he had come in contact with folly, and he had himself wrought folly of many sorts. And now, comparing all these one with another, so as to ascertain to which of them the pre-eminence of evil should be assigned, this was the conclusion at which he had arrived. These terribly significant words point plainly to the same seducer of whose base and destructive arts so startling a picture is given in Chap. 7 of the Book of Proverbs [Buchanan].
How strong the expressionwhose heart is snares and nets! signifying the multitude of her devices of temptation, and the consummate skill, the secrecy, the address, the guile, with which she uses them for the accomplishment of her purposes. Her very heart is snares and nets, in whose intricate and entangling meshes the fascinated and deluded soul is taken captive to its destruction. And her hands as bands. Her powers of detention are equal to her powers of allurement. Her heart is a net, to entangle the unwary; her hands as bands, to hold him fast when her wiles have proved successful. So irresistible is the power, operating like the spell of enchantment, by which she retains under her influence the hapless victim of her charms [Wardlaw].
The most pleasant fountains of sin turn, in the end, into the bitterness of long regret.
Education and culturethe restraints of human prudence, may do much to preserve the maintenance of the highest virtue, in the face of the most insidious allurements. But religion furnishes the highest motives, the most powerful restraints. The noble ambition to stand well in the sight of God is the only trustworthy sentinel of virtue.
By the sinner is meant one who is thoroughly viciouswith whom the practice of evil is habitual. With such the power to resist temptation grows less, and they become an easy prey to every pleasurable sin.
Ecc. 7:27. Sin cannot be treated by vague generalities, the forms of it are so many and diversified. We must descend to particulars in order to make a deep impression.
Even the most patent facts should not be treated as known upon a mere surface inspection. The real knowledge of them can only be gained by minute investigation.
Knowledge comes not to man by sudden irradiations, but by slow degreesby adding, arranging, and reflecting.
Ecc. 7:28. Much is gained by the diligent seeker after wisdommany facts, principles, lessons, and warnings; but the full possession of wisdom is not permitted to man.
Men of the highest qualities of mind and soul, powerful in word and influence, are but rarely found. There are but few stars of the first magnitude.
The strong expression of a truth brought home to the soul by sore experience, may easily wear the appearance of harshness and exaggeration.
The Preacher may refer to woman in regard to her attainments in Divine wisdom. The superior delicacy of her natural sensibilities often give her the advantage of an immediate and vivid perception of truth, to which man attains chiefly by the slow and laboured processes of the mind. Yet this power, when directed into wrong channels, shows a faculty just as strong in embracing error and superstition. It must be confessed that the natural weakness of woman has contributed, in no small measure, to the spread of these evils. They have too often been the natural home of frivolities both in life and religion. Though the Bible records the praise of many noble women, yet the fact remains that an inspired Apostle thought it necessary to warn the Church against dangers arising from this source (1Ti. 2:12. 1Co. 14:34). They are the easy dupes of false teachers (2Ti. 3:6).
Never, perhaps, has there been any period in the history of the visible Church of God, and certainly never in these more modern times, concerning which we are best informed, in which the majority of those who lived in the fear and love of God were not women. Solomon is here evidently speaking, and that as a humbled penitent, of his own particular case. He had loved many strange women, outdoing, in this respect, the laxity and the luxury of the heathen monarchs around him. Is it any wonder that in such a household, even among the thousand he had gathered into it, one solitary example of real goodness could not be found? Among his male attendants and courtiers, gay and dissolute as the society of the palace had become, one might now and then be met with who had not forgotten the piety and integrity of other and better days [Buchanan].
Ecc. 7:29. The present evils of man are not to be charged upon his Maker.
However rude and vague the commencement the Creator may have given to inanimate matter, as the God of souls He must needs produce His own image in fit perfection.
Upright,
1. As to his mind. It was a plain mirror wherein the images of truth were reflected without distortion. The knowledge he possessed was, in its kind, perfect and pure, unmixed with baser matter.
2. As to his affections. They were fixed on God. He was pleased and attracted only by what was noble and good.
3. As to his conscience. As an indicator, it was in a condition of perfect adjustment and delicacy. As an instrument of moral control, it had both the right and the power to rule.
4. As to his will. It had no perversity, no element of rebellion; but was easily determined to that which was right and good.
The hurtful inventionsthe evil arts and devices of the human intellect, are marked by endless complexity, variety, and skill. This is power ill-directed and misapplied; but still a power, great in its perversion and ruin.
The first Paradise will never return; for the past never returns to us, bringing the same features as those long since vanished. But by that Divine mercy which triumphs over all difficulties, and through them educes a greater good, there will be for man a better Paradise than the first.
We read that in the future Paradise there will be a tree of life, but no tree of knowledge. The glory of the Lord did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. The mind will then allow Gods light to shine upon it instead of working out its own devices.
The actual existence of moral evil is too notorious to admit of a moments question. The Bible account of its origin did not cause it; it existed independently of the revelation which informs us how it began; and the rejection of that revelation neither removes nor mitigates it, nor disencumbers it, in the slightest degree, of its embarrassing difficulties. On the contrary, revelation alone, whilst it assumes and proceeds upon the mournful fact, provides a remedy; all other systems, finding human nature in ruins, leave it as they find it. Revelation rears out of the ruins a magnificent and holy Temple to the God of purity and love [Wardlaw].
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
B. IMPORTANT LESSONS DRAWN FROM THESE OBSERVATIONS Ecc. 7:23-29
1. Practical lessons can be learned but the deeper things are unattainable. Ecc. 7:23-24
TEXT 7:2324
23
I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me.
24
What has been is remote and exceedingly mysterious. Who can discover it?
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 7:2324
213.
List the things that all this refers to if it has reference to the teaching found in Ecc. 7:1-22.
214.
Make a list of the things all this refers to if it has reference to the teaching found in Ecc. 7:25-29.
215.
What was the means by which Solomon tested everything?
216.
Identify the conclusion at which Solomon now arrives.
PARAPHRASE 7:2324
I have proved many things, and in each case I proved it by wisdom. However, I have not discovered all there is to know about anything. I became wise, but complete wisdom was far from me. What I have failed to discover is still remote and exceedingly deep. Is there anyone who can find it?
COMMENT 7:2324
Ecc. 7:23 What is the all this to which Solomon here refers? Whatever it is, he declares that he tested it with wisdom. One idea is that all this refers to everything written thus far in Ecclesiastes. This suggests that all of his previous experiments, observations and conclusions have been tested with wisdom. Others argue that all this is limited to the observations which pertain to a good name, and speak only to the material in the first twenty-two verses in chapter seven. On the other hand, there are those who believe that all this refers only to the final five verses of chapter seven, and not to any of the previous material. There is little doubt that Solomon claims that all of his activities were guided by wisdom. Examine the following random expressions: explore by wisdom (Ecc. 1:13) I set my mind to know wisdom (Ecc. 1:17); my mind was guiding me wisely (Ecc. 2:3); My wisdom also stood by me (Ecc. 2:9); I turned to consider wisdom (Ecc. 2:12); Wisdom is protection . . . wisdom preserves (Ecc. 7:12); wisdom strengthens (Ecc. 7:19). Similar references to the place of wisdom are found in eleven direct instances in chapters eight through twelve. Note: Ecc. 8:1; Ecc. 8:16; Ecc. 9:10; Ecc. 9:13; Ecc. 9:15-16; Ecc. 9:18; Ecc. 10:1; Ecc. 10:3; Ecc. 10:10; Ecc. 12:11.
What does this prove? First, it proves that one should not make too much of what all this refers to since everything in the book is tested by wisdom. Secondly, the emphasis is on the fact that wisdom is the tool used to test everything. Solomons stated purpose was to possess wisdom fully. He wanted to understand all the facets of lifethe perplexing contradictions as well as the transparent joyous experiences, the deep riddles along with the self-evident truths. There is now the obvious desire to probe deeper into the hitherto unexplored areas of life. His desire to know more concerning the deeper things of life is openly stated. He wishes to explore each nuance of every side of life, and yet his conclusion is almost a declaration of frustration: I will be wise, but it was far from me. The secret things of God are always a little distance from mans reach; at least until that time when God chooses to disclose the deep, deep mysteries. (Cf. Deu. 29:29; Col. 1:26-27). A parallel thought is found in Solomons own words: Man cannot find out the work that God does (Ecc. 3:11). The Bible receives a new dimension of appreciation from such a searcher for it holds numerous answers to what would otherwise be perplexing riddles of life. More than that, the Bible gives us the most important answer to the most important question of life: What will God do with my sins? What the Preacher of Ecclesiastes searched diligently to discover, the Christian knows about and gives thanks, for God teaches us that . . . the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (1Jn. 1:7).
A beautiful parallel passage to the two verses under discussion here is found in Job. 28:12-28. The reader would do well to look it up and read through it thoughtfully. One is immediately impressed with three conclusions: (1) Man is limited in his knowledge and understanding; (2) Wisdom is of the greatest premium; and (3) God is the only source of true wisdom and man must turn to Him for understanding.
Ecc. 7:24 Solomon set out to write about wisdom and in the midst of his adventure, he confesses his lack of it. He is wise but not fully wise. He can see the value of wisdom and extols it honestly and sincerely while at the same time humbly confessing that he is helpless before the infinite wisdom of God. He wants to know what is the actual essence of all things. Yet, he cannot discover it. He turns to a superlative which is variously translated but the impact is still felt. He states that it is remote and exceedingly mysterious; or that it is far from me and deep, deep. He wishes to impress upon the reader that such knowledge as he is seeking is beyond the grasp or understanding of man. He cannot discover it!
There is a wisdom which is discoverable by man but it lies under the sun. It is this wisdom that Solomon employs. However, there is a wisdom which God alone possesses and man cannot discover it. It is to Solomons credit that he perceives his limitations and is wise enough to admit to them.
What is the nature of the information he seeks? From the context, it is obviously the every-day entanglements of life with its recurring inequities which build a web of unexplained riddles to bind and limit the understanding. He is practical rather than philosophical. He wants answers to why things happen as they do rather than how did they come to be. He knows God is the Creator (Cf. Ecc. 8:15; Ecc. 8:17; Ecc. 11:5; Ecc. 12:1; Ecc. 12:7). He now wants to know the why behind the behavior of men. He is unable to explain it but he does draw a conclusion that temporarily satisfied him. He says, Behold, I have found only this, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices (Ecc. 7:29). Mans eyes are blinded by sin and the darkness is compounded because he lives in a sinful (dark) environment. Solomons conclusion is another way of saying that man is the author of his own blindness, while God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all (1Jn. 1:5).
FACT QUESTIONS 7:2324
386.
Identify three sections of Ecclesiastes that the all this of Ecc. 7:23 could possibly refer.
387.
Since there are numerous views as to what all this refers to, what two lessons should be drawn?
388.
Was Solomon determined to be wise? Explain.
389.
What kept Solomon from becoming completely wise?
390.
Write out the three obvious lessons found in Job. 28:12-28 which parallel the Ecc. 7:23-24 passage.
391.
What is the nature of the wisdom Solomon seeks? Explain.
392.
What is it that blinds the eyes of men and keeps them from seeing clearly?
393.
What compounds this darkness.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(23) The confession of failure to attain speculative knowledge gives energy to the preachers next following enunciation of the practical lesson which he has learned from his experience.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
23. This have I proved Simple common sense went thus far in this direction, but here reached its barrier. Koheleth hoped it would lead him further, so as to grasp the mysteries of providence, so often mentioned by him as inscrutable.
I will be wise It should be, “I will be” wiser. But in vain. The keenest sagacity cannot by searching find out the ways of the Almighty.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
His Search For Understanding Resulting from His Wisdom Has Made Him Aware Of Man’s Sinfulness And Folly ( Ecc 7:23-29 ).
Ecc 7:23-24
‘All this I have tested out in wisdom. I said, “I will be wise”, but it was far from me. That which is far off and extremely deep, who can find it out?’
But there are limits to wisdom. For he has tried to test out all that he has been talking about using wisdom, but has to admit that he has not fully found the truth. Final wisdom, the wisdom which is of God, the wisdom which might bring meaning to things, is beyond him, as it is beyond all men (compare Ecc 3:11; Ecc 7:14; Ecc 8:17). It is as though it was beyond the far horizon (far off), as though it was in the deepest depths of the sea, or some underground mining works (extremely deep). It is not discoverable.
Ecc 7:25-26
‘I turned about and my heart was set to know, and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the reason of things, and to know that wickedness is folly, and that foolishness is madness. And I find a thing more bitter than death, even the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands like bonds. The one who pleases God will escape from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.’
His search was a thorough one. He set his heart to know. He searched things out. He sought. And what he sought was wisdom and the reason of things. And the one thing that he did discover was that wickedness was folly and that foolishness was madness, that is, in the long term.
He has already indicated in Ecc 7:23-24 that there were limits on what he had discovered, and could discover, for the reason of things was at present beyond him. But he points out that at least he did learn about wickedness and folly, about downright evil and careless, unthinking behaviour, and that such was folly and madness (both because of its positive consequences and because it prevented a man from enjoying the lot of the godly (Ecc 5:19)).
One example of this, which he came across and which horrified his very soul, (and no doubt the soul of all his concubines), was the example of the scheming woman, which included the prostitute. He has the worst examples in mind. Possibly he had in mind Delilah (Jdg 16:4-22), and, depending on his era, Jezebel (1Ki 16:31; 1Ki 18:13 ; 1Ki 19:1-2; 1Ki 21:6-16), or possibly vivid examples he had seen in his own experience. Such a woman is described as having a heart which ensnares and nets, and hands which are bonds (the latter would fit Delilah admirably). That is, she plans her strategy to capture the unthinking male, and then binds him to her with her wiles and attractions (Pro 5:3-6; Pro 7:5-27). While he would certainly have included prostitutes in this description, his vision was probably wider as we have suggested. He was thinking of all women who led men astray. He had no doubt seen in court what such women could do through their scheming. (We must remember in fairness that in those days any woman who wanted to achieve anything – although there were notable but rare exceptions – had to do it through a man and therefore had to scheme).
‘The one who pleases God will escape from her, but the sinner will be taken by her.’ The writer never ceases to express his admiration for the truly godly. For ‘the ‘one who pleases God’ compare Ecc 2:26. Indeed in the end he seems to give the indication that he finally became one of them. The one who pleases God is the one who has a living relationship with God, and is committed to the covenant. He will escape because his mind is set to do good and will not have any truck with such women’s scheming. His obedience to God’s commandments will prevent him from being led astray. But the sinner, who is more casual with God’s commandments, will fall into her web.
Ecc 7:27-28
“Behold, this have I found,” says the preacher, “putting one thing to another to find out the reason of things, which in myself I am still trying to understand, but have not found, I have found one man among a thousand, but I have not found a woman among all those.”
He concludes this section by admitting that he has still not found the reason behind things, something which he is still striving for. But one thing he has discovered in his striving is the rarity of a good man. Such a man is ‘one among a thousand’. But all the women he had come across, he adds, could not be included as such. This was in fact not really surprising. He met his harem, who were all scheming against each other, and striving to be his favourite. He met the wives of courtiers, who were all doing the same with their men, and scheming for their advancement. He saw the prostitutes on the streets. But when the godly woman went out she would avoid drawing attention to herself, and would usually be safely at home out of men’s gaze . The last thing that such women would want was contact with the court. So he was judging only on the basis of those women that he had come across, which had given him a bad opinion of women. It did not refer to all women.
Ecc 7:29
“Behold this only have I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.”
This is his final comment. We have already seen earlier his awareness of the creation narratives (Ecc 6:10-12; Ecc 2:5; Ecc 3:11; Ecc 3:19). Thus his observations and reading have brought him to the conclusion that man was made upright but that men have since gone in all directions morally (the passage is emphasising morality), inventing different ways to enhance themselves and to secure their own situations, which has resulted in their present sinfulness.
So we can see that his knowledge of God’s ways is growing apace. God made man upright. Blessing comes to the one who pleases God (Ecc 2:26). He has given men a sense of everlastingness (Ecc 3:11). He will bring to account those who do evil (Ecc 3:17; Ecc 5:8). He watches over the godly who look to Him, worshipping truly (Ecc 5:1-2), waiting on Him and absorbing His everlastingness (Ecc 3:11). Those who live sober lives before Him (Ecc 3:12; Ecc 5:18) receive the wisdom and joy which He gives to His own in response to the fact that they are His (Ecc 2:26; Ecc 5:18-20).
These in their turn fear Him, living lives of trust, and obedience to the covenant that God has made with Israel, with each man acknowledging and loving God with all his heart (Deu 6:4-6). While not being mentioned the covenant is assumed, for each man’s allotment and portion, which the godly enjoy (Ecc 5:18-19), actually came from the covenant with God. The Preacher has spoken of the ‘one in a thousand’ (Ecc 7:27), and he has these people in mind. Thus he is very much aware of the everlasting God at work, both in creation, in judgment, in revealing His everlastingness, and in His own, (those within Israel who are the true Israel, and men everywhere who will truly seek the living God).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ecc 7:23. All this have I proved by wisdom All this have I knowingly examined: I said, I will be wise; but wisdom went far from me: Ecc 7:24. Whatever is so far off, nay, removed to the greatest depth, who shall find it? Desvoeux.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Ecc 7:23 All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it [was] far from me.
Ver. 23. I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. ] Solomon here seems to say of wisdom, as Nazianzen doth of God the author of it, Tantum recedit, quantum capitur. Not that wisdom itself doth fly away, but because that they who have most of it do especially understand that it exceedeth the capacity of any one to be able to comprehend it (as Basil a gives the reason), so that they that think they have got demonstrations perceive afterwards that they are no more than topica aut sophisticae rationes, topical or sophistical arguments, as Lyra here noteth. Bonus quidam vir solebat esse solus, &c., saith Melanchthon: a certain well meaning man was wont to walk and study much alone, and lighting upon Aristotle’s discourse concerning the nature of the rainbow, he fell into many odd speculations and strange conceits; and, writing to a friend of his, told him that in all other matters, though dark and obscure, he had outdone Aristotle; but in the matter of the rainbow he had outdone himself. After this he came into the public schools, and disputed of that argument, Et tote prorsus coelo a veritate aberrabat suis phantasiis; b and then he came to see that he had been utterly out, and strangely miscarried by those phantasies which he had so strongly fancied.
a Basil., Tract de Fide.
b Joh. Manl., Loc. Com., 536.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Ecc 7:23-26
23I tested all this with wisdom, and I said, I will be wise, but it was far from me. 24What has been is remote and exceedingly mysterious. Who can discover it? 25I directed my mind to know, to investigate and to seek wisdom and an explanation, and to know the evil of folly and the foolishness of madness. 26And I discovered more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her.
Ecc 7:23-25 Where does the paragraph or stanza start and stop? Is the major point in Ecc 7:26 (i.e., NASB, NKJV) the evil woman? Or does this context run through Ecc 7:29 (cf. NRSV)? These kinds of questions are crucial, but often there are not textual markers, just the interpreter’s common sense and context!
Ecc 7:23 all this How far back does this phrase refer (i.e., Ecc 7:19-22; 15-22; 1-22; or earlier chapters)? Wisdom is hard to find (Ecc 3:11; Ecc 8:17), but must be sought (i.e., Proverbs 1-8).
I will be wise This VERB (BDB 314, KB 314, Qal COHORTATIVE) denotes a self determination. However, human effort cannot discover the mysteries of God or the mysteries of a fallen world (cf. Ecc 1:13-18)!
Ecc 7:24 Notice the parallel concepts about the difficulty in fallen humanity’s (women singled out in Ecc 7:28) search for wisdom:
1. remote, Ecc 7:23, BDB 935, far off
2. exceedingly mysterious, Ecc 7:24, BDB 771, deep, very deep (i.e., Job 5:9; Job 11:7; Job 15:8; Rom 11:33 (twice)
3. who can discover it, Ecc 7:24, BDB 592, KD 619, Qal IMPERFECT (cf. Job 11:7)
4. from Ecc 7:28, I am still seeking, but have not found (same verb as #3)
discover This VERB (BDB 592, KB 619) is used nine times in chapter 7:
1.-2. discover, Ecc 7:14; Ecc 7:24, Qal IMPERFECT
3. discovered, Ecc 7:26 Qal ACTIVE PARTICIPLE
4. discovered, Ecc 7:27, Qal PERFECT
5. to find, Ecc 7:27, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT
6.-8. have not found, Ecc 7:28 (thrice), Qal PERFECT
9. found, Ecc 7:29, Qal PERFECT
Qoheleth discovered he could not discover! The search was sincere, thorough, intensive. God has put in our hearts the desire to know, to understand, but it is beyond our current fallen ability. The desire probably comes from our being made in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen 1:26-27), but sin has damaged our ability (cf. Genesis 3). Yet we still seek, search, yearn, and strive (cf. 1Co 13:9-13)!
Ecc 7:25
NASBI directed my mind
NKJVI applied my heart
NRSVI turned my mind
TEVI devoted myself
LXXI and my heart went round about
REBI went on to reflect
Literally this is, I myself turned my heart. This same VERB (BDB 685, KB 738, Qal PERFECT) is used in Ecc 2:20. It denotes a point in Qoheleth’s thinking where he comes to a decision. Maybe we would say he got his mind around an issue.
The ancients thought the heart was the center of thinking, reasoning, feeling. See Special Topic at Ecc 1:13.
Notice the series of INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTS:
1. to know, BDB 393, KB 390, Qal
2. to investigate, BDB 1064, KB 1707, Qal
3. to seek, BDB 134, KB 152, Piel
4. to know, BDb 393, KB 390, Qal
He wanted to understand or posses:
1. wisdom, BDB 315
2. an explanation, BDB 363 I, lit. the sum of things, cf. Ecc 7:27; Ecc 9:10 (#1 and #2 are possibly a hendiadys)
The search from chapter 1 continues by means of
1. the evil of folly
2. the foolishness of madness
Alternately, since Qoheleth has just informed his readers of the impossibility of attaining wisdom (cf. Ecc 7:23-24; Ecc 7:27), this may mean he turned from the search.
Ecc 7:26 the woman This verse seems to be out of context, therefore, some have said the woman refers to (1) godless philosophy (i.e., wisdom personified, cf. Ecc 7:4; Ecc 9:10); (2) the foolishness (i.e., the word is FEMININE) of Ecc 7:25; or (3) the sin of Eve (cf. Genesis 3). Proverbs personifies both evil and wisdom in a woman (cf. Proverbs 1-8).
This verse has several metaphorical allusions to hunting animals or violence:
1. snares, BDB 844 II, cf. Job 19:6
2. nets, BDB 357 II
a. hunter, Mic 7:2
b. fisherman, Eze 26:5; Eze 26:14; Eze 32:3; Eze 47:10; Hab 1:15-17
3. chains, BDB 64 (usually referring to human bonds)
4. escape, BDB 572, KB 589, Niphal IMPERFECT (usually referring to human deliverance)
5. captured, BDB 539, KB 530, Niphal IMPERFECT (military metaphor)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Ecc 7:23-25
Ecc 7:23-25
SOLOMON’S DESIRE TO PROVE WHAT GOD HAD SAID
“All this have I proved in wisdom; I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me. That which is, is far off and exceeding deep; who can find it out? I turned about, and my heart was set to know and to search out, and to seek wisdom and the reason of things, and to know that wickedness is folly, and that foolishness is madness.”
“But it was far from me” (Ecc 7:23). Why would the wisest man of his day have failed to find wisdom? He was searching for it by ‘experience,’ rather than trusting God for the truth. “This line is an honest confession of Solomon’s failure to find wisdom,” and the failure was due to his method of seeking it. “He found out here that wisdom (derived from earthly experience) cannot answer the ultimate questions.
“My heart was set to search out … and to know (find out) that wickedness is folly, etc.” (Ecc 7:24). Instead of taking God’s Word for it that the multiplication of wives to himself and the acquisition of horses from Egypt, and all such things, were both wickedness and folly, Solomon here announced his purpose of `proving’ whether or not all this was the truth. He found out, all right; but in doing so he lost his relationship with God, was seduced into paganism, and laid the foundation for the destruction of Israel. Today, there are men who take this same approach. They will try everything out for themselves; they will discover their own religion; they will choose what is wise, etc., etc. Barton, in these verses, credited the author of having actually found out that, “Wickedness is folly, and that folly is madness”; but that information came from God, not from Solomon’s experience.”
Ecc 7:23 What is the all this to which Solomon here refers? Whatever it is, he declares that he tested it with wisdom. One idea is that all this refers to everything written thus far in Ecclesiastes. This suggests that all of his previous experiments, observations and conclusions have been tested with wisdom. Others argue that all this is limited to the observations which pertain to a good name, and speak only to the material in the first twenty-two verses in chapter seven. On the other hand, there are those who believe that all this refers only to the final five verses of chapter seven, and not to any of the previous material. There is little doubt that Solomon claims that all of his activities were guided by wisdom. Examine the following random expressions: explore by wisdom (Ecc 1:13) I set my mind to know wisdom (Ecc 1:17); my mind was guiding me wisely (Ecc 2:3); My wisdom also stood by me (Ecc 2:9); I turned to consider wisdom (Ecc 2:12); Wisdom is protection . . . wisdom preserves (Ecc 7:12); wisdom strengthens (Ecc 7:19). Similar references to the place of wisdom are found in eleven direct instances in chapters eight through twelve. Note: Ecc 8:1; Ecc 8:16; Ecc 9:10; Ecc 9:13; Ecc 9:15-16; Ecc 9:18; Ecc 10:1; Ecc 10:3; Ecc 10:10; Ecc 12:11.
What does this prove? First, it proves that one should not make too much of what all this refers to since everything in the book is tested by wisdom. Secondly, the emphasis is on the fact that wisdom is the tool used to test everything. Solomons stated purpose was to possess wisdom fully. He wanted to understand all the facets of life-the perplexing contradictions as well as the transparent joyous experiences, the deep riddles along with the self-evident truths. There is now the obvious desire to probe deeper into the hitherto unexplored areas of life. His desire to know more concerning the deeper things of life is openly stated. He wishes to explore each nuance of every side of life, and yet his conclusion is almost a declaration of frustration: I will be wise, but it was far from me. The secret things of God are always a little distance from mans reach; at least until that time when God chooses to disclose the deep, deep mysteries. (Cf. Deu 29:29; Col 1:26-27). A parallel thought is found in Solomons own words: Man cannot find out the work that God does (Ecc 3:11). The Bible receives a new dimension of appreciation from such a searcher for it holds numerous answers to what would otherwise be perplexing riddles of life. More than that, the Bible gives us the most important answer to the most important question of life: What will God do with my sins? What the Preacher of Ecclesiastes searched diligently to discover, the Christian knows about and gives thanks, for God teaches us that . . . the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (1Jn 1:7).
A beautiful parallel passage to the two verses under discussion here is found in Job 28:12-28. The reader would do well to look it up and read through it thoughtfully. One is immediately impressed with three conclusions: (1) Man is limited in his knowledge and understanding; (2) Wisdom is of the greatest premium; and (3) God is the only source of true wisdom and man must turn to Him for understanding.
Ecc 7:24 Solomon set out to write about wisdom and in the midst of his adventure, he confesses his lack of it. He is wise but not fully wise. He can see the value of wisdom and extols it honestly and sincerely while at the same time humbly confessing that he is helpless before the infinite wisdom of God. He wants to know what is the actual essence of all things. Yet, he cannot discover it. He turns to a superlative which is variously translated but the impact is still felt. He states that it is remote and exceedingly mysterious; or that it is far from me and deep, deep. He wishes to impress upon the reader that such knowledge as he is seeking is beyond the grasp or understanding of man. He cannot discover it!
There is a wisdom which is discoverable by man but it lies under the sun. It is this wisdom that Solomon employs. However, there is a wisdom which God alone possesses and man cannot discover it. It is to Solomons credit that he perceives his limitations and is wise enough to admit to them.
What is the nature of the information he seeks? From the context, it is obviously the every-day entanglements of life with its recurring inequities which build a web of unexplained riddles to bind and limit the understanding. He is practical rather than philosophical. He wants answers to why things happen as they do rather than how did they come to be. He knows God is the Creator (Cf. Ecc 8:15; Ecc 8:17; Ecc 11:5; Ecc 12:1; Ecc 12:7). He now wants to know the why behind the behavior of men. He is unable to explain it but he does draw a conclusion that temporarily satisfied him. He says, Behold, I have found only this, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices (Ecc 7:29). Mans eyes are blinded by sin and the darkness is compounded because he lives in a sinful (dark) environment. Solomons conclusion is another way of saying that man is the author of his own blindness, while God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all (1Jn 1:5).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
I said: Gen 3:5, 1Ki 3:11, 1Ki 3:12, 1Ki 11:1-8, Rom 1:22, 1Co 1:20
Reciprocal: Job 28:12 – General Job 28:20 – General Ecc 1:17 – I gave Ecc 7:28 – yet Ecc 8:17 – that a man
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ecc 7:23-24. All this have I proved All these things, of which I have here discoursed, I have diligently examined and found to be true; by wisdom By the help of that singular wisdom which God had given me. I said, I will be wise I determined that I would, by all possible means, seek to attain perfection of wisdom, and I persuaded myself that I should attain it; but it was far from me I found myself greatly disappointed, and the more I knew the more I saw mine own folly. That which, is far off, &c. No human understanding can attain to perfect wisdom, or to the exact knowledge of Gods counsels and works, and the reasons of them, because they are unsearchably deep, and far above out of our sight; some of them being long since past, and therefore utterly unknown to us, and others yet to come, which we cannot foreknow.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ecc 7:23-29. In Dispraise of Women.All the foregoing maxims have been tested, yet Qoheleth has not attained wisdom (Ecc 7:23); the true inwardness of things, the ultimate reality, is beyond his efforts (Ecc 7:24; cf. Job 28:12-28, also Ec. If.). Yet he has learned that wickedness is folly and folly is madness, and has made the further discovery of something more bitter than death, a seductive woman (cf. Proverbs 5, 7). His investigation has been painstaking and thorough (Ecc 7:27), and with heart as well as head (Ecc 7:28), and his conclusion is that while perfect men are very scarce, perfect women are still scarcer. Whether Qoheleth has suffered some bitter personal experience or has in mind the intrigues of the harem in Persian and Greek life we cannot say. He (or more likely a glossator) however, acquits God of responsibility for human wrong-doing; it is mans inventive faculty that has too often taken the wrong course.