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Texts -- Ecclesiastes 4:4-6 (NET)
Pericope
NET
- Ecc 4:4-6 -- Labor Motivated by Envy
Bible Dictionary
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Philosophy
[nave] PHILOSOPHY The nature of things, Eccl. 1-7. A philosophical inquiry on wisdom, Job. 28. Philosophical inductions and deductions relating to God and his providence, Job 5:8-20; 9; 10:2-21; 12:6-24; 33:12-30; 37. Reveals th...
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Life
[nave] LIFE. Index of Sub-topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-topics; Brevity and Uncertainty of; Everlasting; From God; Long; Spiritual. Miscellany of Minor Sub-topics Breath of, Gen. 2:7. Called Spirit of God, Job 27:3. Tree of,...
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Instruction
[nave] INSTRUCTION From nature, Prov. 24:30-34; Eccl. 1:13-18; 3; 4:1; Matt. 6:25-30. See: Parables. From the study of human nature, Eccl. 3-12. By Object Lessons: The pot of maa, Ex. 16:32. The pillar of twelve stones at the f...
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Peace
[nave] PEACE. Exemplified By Abraham, Gen. 13:8, 9; Abimelech, Gen. 26:29; Mordecai, Esth. 10:3; David, Psa. 120:7. See: Charitableness; Nation, Peace of. Social Gen. 45:24; Lev. 26:6; Job 5:23, 24; Psa. 34:14 1 Pet. 3:11. Psa...
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HANDFUL
[isbe] HANDFUL - hand'-fool: There are five words in Hebrew used to indicate what may be held in the hand, either closed or open. (1) chophen, chophnayim. The fist or closed hand occurs in the dual in Ex 9:8, where it signifies wha...
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FOOL; FOLLY
[isbe] FOOL; FOLLY - fool nabhal, 'ewil, kecil, cakhal and forms; aphron, aphrosune, moros): I. In the Old Testament. 1. General: Taking the words generally, apart from the Wisdom literature, we find nabhal frequently translated "f...
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Poor
[nave] POOR Atonement money of, uniform with that of the rich, Ex. 30:15. Inexpensive offerings of the poor, Lev. 5:7; 12:8; 14:21, 22. See: Beneficence; Giving; Liberality; Orphans; Poverty; Widow. Also See: Rich; Riches. Uncl...
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Vanity
[nave] VANITY A consequence of the fall, Rom. 8:20. Every one is, Psa. 39:11. Every state of mankind is, Psa. 62:9. Mankind in his best estate is, Psa. 39:5. Mankind is like to, Psa. 144:4. The thoughts of mankind are, Psa. 94...
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Poverty
[nave] POVERTY. Prov. 6:11; Prov. 10:15; Prov. 15:16; Prov. 16:8 Eccl. 4:6. Prov. 20:13; Prov. 23:21; Prov. 24:33, 34; Prov. 28:19; Prov. 30:8, 9 See: Poor, The.
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Laziness
[nave] LAZINESS Prov. 6:6, 9-11 Prov. 24:33. Prov. 10:4, 5, 26; Prov. 12:9, 24, 27; Prov. 13:4; Prov. 14:23; Prov. 15:19; Prov. 18:9; Prov. 19:15, 24; Prov. 20:4, 13; Prov. 21:25, 26; Prov. 23:21; Prov. 24:30, 31, 33, 34; Prov. 26:...
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Jealousy
[nave] JEALOUSY. Prov. 6:34; 27:4; Eccl. 4:4; Song 8:6. Law concerning, when husband is jealous of his wife, Num. 5:12-31. Image of, Ezek. 8:3, 4. Forbidden, Rom. 13:13. Attributed to God, Ex. 20:5; 34:13, 14; Num. 25:11; Deut...
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Contentment
[nave] CONTENTMENT. Psa. 16:6; Psa. 37:7, 16; Prov. 14:14 v. 10.; Prov. 15:13, 15, 30; Prov. 16:8; Prov. 17:1, 22; Prov. 30:8; Eccl. 2:24 Eccl. 3:12, 13; 8:15. Eccl. 4:6; Eccl. 5:12; Eccl. 6:9 vs. 7,8.; Eccl. 9:7-9; Luke 3:14; 1 C...
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SKILL; SKILFUL
[isbe] SKILL; SKILFUL - skil, skil'-fool (forms of yadha` (2 Ch 2:14, etc.), bin (1 Ch 15:22), sakhal (Dan 1:4, etc.), lamadh (1 Ch 5:18), chakham (1 Ch 28:21), charash (Ezek 21:31), yaTabh (Ps 33:3); in Apocrypha empeiria (The Wis...
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Envy
[nave] ENVY See: Strife.Job 5:2, 3; Psa. 37:1, 7 Prov. 24:19. Psa. 49:16; Psa. 73:3 vs. 17-20.; Psa. 112:10; Prov. 3:31; Prov. 14:30; Prov. 23:17; Prov. 24:1; Prov. 27:4; Eccl. 4:4; Song 8:6; Isa. 26:11; Ezek. 35:11; Rom. 1:29; Rom...
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Fool
[nave] FOOL: Psa. 5:5; Psa. 14:1 Psa. 53:1. Psa. 74:18, 22; Psa. 107:17; Prov. 1:7, 22; Prov. 3:35; Prov. 9:6-8, 13-17; Prov. 10:1, 8 v. 10.13,14,18,23Prov. 14:1, 7-9, 15; Prov. 15:7, 20, 21; Prov. 17:24, 25; Prov. 18:2, 6, 7; Pro...
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FOLD; FOLDING
[isbe] FOLD; FOLDING - fold fold'-ing (verb; chabhaq, sabhakh; helisso): The verb occurs only 3 times in the King James Version, and in each instance represents a different word; we have chabhaq "to clasp" (Eccl 4:5), "The fool fol...
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RIGHT
[isbe] RIGHT - rit (yashar, mishpaT; dikaios, euthus): Many Hebrew words are translated "right," with different shades of meaning. Of these the two noted are the most important: yashar, with the sense of being straight, direct, as ...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)
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I believe that the message of Ecclesiastes is essentially a positive one. This may seem strange since the vanity of various human endeavors is such a major theme of this book. Nevertheless the total statement that Solomon mad...
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I. The introductory affirmation 1:1-11A. Title and theme 1:1-21. The title 1:12. The theme 1:2B. The futility of all human endeavor 1:3-111. The vanity of work 1:32. The illustrations from life 1:4-11II. The futility of work ...
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"Vanity"(Heb. hebel) means "meaningless."11As Solomon used this word in Ecclesiastes he meant lacking real substance, value, permanence, or significance. "All"in the context of what he proceeded to describe refers to all huma...
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Solomon had unique resources for investigating life. He was the king of Israel (v. 12), and he possessed superlative wisdom (v. 13; cf. v. 16; 1 Kings 4:26-34). He says he made a comprehensive study of all kinds of human acti...
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Thus far Solomon had reflected on the futility of all human endeavor generally (1:3-11) and the futility of human achievement (1:12-15) and his own achievements in particular (2:1-17). Next he turned to an evaluation of labor...
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The phrase "vanity and striving after wind"(vv. 4, 16) brackets this section. This structure emphasizes the relative futility of everything between these statements. The main theme seems to be "the power complex common among ...
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"Every labor and every skill"(v. 4) undoubtedly means every type of labor and skill rather than every individual instance of these things. This is hyperbole. Much achievement is the result of a desire to be superior. Verse 5 ...
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Again Solomon urged the enjoyment of life (v. 18; cf. 2:24-26; 3:12-13, 22), but he warned of some obstacles to that enjoyment. Solomon was not advocating hedonism but the simple enjoyment of life day by day (v. 18). In other...
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In 1:12-6:9, Solomon demonstrated that all work is ultimately futile for two reasons. It does not yield anything really permanent under the sun. Moreover we can never be sure we will enjoy the fruits of our labor before we di...
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In conclusion Solomon repeated his original thesis (v. 8; cf. 1:2) and his counsel in view of life's realities (vv. 13-14). In between these statements he set forth his source of authority for writing what we have in Ecclesia...
