Text -- Ecclesiastes 1:16 (NET)

Futility of Secular Wisdom

1:16 I thought to myself, “I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Ecc 1:16

¹ tn Heb “I spoke, I, with my heart.”

² tn Heb “I, look, I have made great and increased wisdom.” The expression הִגְדַּלְתִּי וְהוֹסַפְתִּי (higdalti vÿhosafti) is a verbal hendiadys; it means that Qoheleth had become the wisest man in the history of Jerusalem.

³ tn The phrase “who ruled” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

⁵ tn Heb “my heart” (לִבִּי, libbi). The term “heart” is a metonymy of part for the whole (“my heart” = myself).

⁶ tn Heb “My heart has seen much wisdom and knowledge.”