Ecclesiastes 1:14

1:14 I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man ¹  on earth, ² 

and I concluded: Everything ³  he has accomplished ⁴  is futile ⁵  – like chasing the wind! ⁶ 

Genesis 1:31

1:31 God saw all that he had made – and it was very good! ⁷  There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

Exodus 39:43

39:43 Moses inspected ⁸  all the work – and ⁹  they had done it just as the Lord had commanded – they had done it exactly – and Moses blessed them. ¹⁰ 

Exodus 39:1

The Making of the Priestly Garments

39:1 From the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for serving in the sanctuary; they made holy garments that were for Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ¹¹ 

Exodus 2:16-17

2:16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and began to draw ¹²  water ¹³  and fill ¹⁴  the troughs in order to water their father’s flock. 2:17 When some ¹⁵  shepherds came and drove them away, ¹⁶  Moses came up and defended them ¹⁷  and then watered their flock.

[1:14]  ¹ tn The phrase “by man” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ² tn Heb “under the sun.”

[1:14]  ³ tn As mentioned in the note on “everything” in 1:2, the term הַכֹּל (hakkol, “everything”) is often limited in reference to the specific topic at hand in the context (e.g., BDB 482 s.v. כֹּל 2). The argument of 1:12-15, like 1:3-11, focuses on secular human achievement. This is clear from the repetition of the root עָשַׂה (’asah, “do, work, accomplish, achieve”) in 1:12-13.

[1:14]  ⁴ tn The phrase “he has accomplished” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ⁵ tn This usage of הֶבֶל (hevel) denotes “futile, profitless, fruitless” (e.g., 2 Kgs 17:15; Ps 78:33; Prov 13:11; 21:6; Eccl 1:2, 14; 2:1, 14-15; 4:8; Jer 2:5; 10:3; Lam 4:17; see HALOT 236–37 s.v. I הֶבֶל; BDB 210–11 s.v. I הֶבֶל). The term is used with the simile “like striving after the wind” (רְעוּת רוּחַ, rÿ’ut ruakh) – a graphic picture of an expenditure of effort in vain because no one can catch the wind by chasing it (e.g., 1:14, 17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16; 6:9; 7:14). When used in this sense, the term is often used with the following synonyms: לְתֹהוּ (lÿtohu, “for nothing, in vain, for no reason”; Isa 49:4); רִיק (riq, “profitless; useless”; Isa 30:7; Eccl 6:11); לֹא הוֹעִיל (“worthless, profitless”; Is 30:6; 57:12; Jer 16:19); “what profit?” (מַה־יִּתְרוֹןֹ, mah-yyitron); and “no profit” (אֵין יִּתְרוֹן, en yyitron; e.g., 2:11; 3:19; 6:9). It is also used in antithesis to terms connoting value: טוֹב (tov, “good, benefit, advantage”) and יֹתְרוֹן (yotÿron, “profit, advantage, gain”). Despite everything that man has accomplished in history, it is ultimately futile because nothing on earth really changes.

[1:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “striving of wind.” The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text; it has been added in the translation to make the comparative notion clear.

[1:31]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text again uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) for the sake of vividness. It is a particle that goes with the gesture of pointing, calling attention to something.

[39:43]  ⁸ tn Or “examined” (NASB, TEV); NCV “looked closely at.”

[39:43]  ⁹ tn The deictic particle draws attention to what he saw in such a way as to give the reader Moses’ point of view and a sense of his pleasure: “and behold, they…”

[39:43]  ¹⁰ sn The situation and wording in Exod 39:43 are reminiscent of Gen 1:28 and 31, with the motifs of blessing people and inspecting what has been made.

[39:1]  ¹¹ sn This chapter also will be almost identical to the instructions given earlier, with a few changes along the way.

[2:16]  ¹² tn The preterites describing their actions must be taken in an ingressive sense, since they did not actually complete the job. Shepherds drove them away, and Moses watered the flocks.

[2:16]  ¹³ tn The object “water” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[2:16]  ¹⁴ tn This also has the ingressive sense, “began to fill,” but for stylistic reasons is translated simply “fill” here.

[2:17]  ¹⁵ tn The definite article here is the generic use; it simply refers to a group of shepherds.

[2:17]  ¹⁶ tn The actions of the shepherds are subordinated to the main statement about what Moses did.

[2:17]  ¹⁷ sn The verb used here is וַיּוֹשִׁעָן (vayyoshi’an, “and he saved them”). The word means that he came to their rescue and delivered them. By the choice of words the narrator is portraying Moses as the deliverer – he is just not yet ready to deliver Israel from its oppressors.