Ecclesiastes 11:7-8

Life Should Be Enjoyed Because Death is Inevitable

11:7 Light ¹  is sweet, ² 

and it is pleasant for a person ³  to see the sun. ⁴ 

11:8 So, if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all,

but let him remember that the days of darkness ⁵  will be many – all that is about to come is obscure. ⁶ 

Genesis 27:1

Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing

27:1 When ⁷  Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, ⁸  he called his older ⁹  son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau ¹⁰  replied.

Genesis 48:10

48:10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing ¹¹  because of his age; he was not able to see well. So Joseph ¹²  brought his sons ¹³  near to him, and his father ¹⁴  kissed them and embraced them.

Genesis 48:1

Manasseh and Ephraim

48:1 After these things Joseph was told, ¹⁵  “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.

Genesis 3:2

3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat ¹⁶  of the fruit from the trees of the orchard;

Genesis 4:15

4:15 But the Lord said to him, “All right then, ¹⁷  if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much.” ¹⁸  Then the Lord put a special mark ¹⁹  on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down. ²⁰ 

Genesis 4:18

4:18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father ²¹  of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.

[11:7]  ¹ tn The term “light” (הָאוֹר, ha’or) is used figuratively (metonymy of association) in reference to “life” (e.g., Job 3:20; 33:30; Ps 56:14). By contrast, death is described as “darkness” (e.g., Eccl 11:8; 12:6-7).

[11:7]  ² tn The Hebrew term מָתוֹק (matoq, “sweet”) is often used elsewhere in reference to honey. The point is that life is sweet and should be savored like honey.

[11:7]  ³ tn Heb “to the eyes.” The term “eyes” is a synecdoche of part (i.e., eyes) for the whole person. Used with the idiom “to see the sun” (i.e., to be alive), Qoheleth is simply saying that the experience of a life is a pleasant thing that should be savored.

[11:7]  ⁴ tn The idiom “to see the sun” (both רָאָה הָשָּׁמֶשׁ, ra’ah hashamesh, and חָזָה הַשָּׁמֶשׁ, khazah hashamesh) is an idiom meaning “to be alive” (e.g., Ps 58:9; Eccl 6:5; 7:11; 11:7); cf. BDB 1039 s.v. שֶׁמֶשׁ 4.b. The opposite idiom, “the sun is darkened,” refers to the onset of old age and death (Eccl 12:2).

[11:8]  ⁵ tn The phrase “the days of darkness” refers to the onset of old age (Eccl 12:1-5) and the inevitable experience of death (Eccl 11:7-8; 12:6-7). Elsewhere, “darkness” is a figure of speech (metonymy of association) for death (Job 10:21-22; 17:13; 18:18).

[11:8]  ⁶ tn The term הֶבֶל (hevel) here means “obscure,” that is, unknown. This sense is derived from the literal concept of breath, vapor or wind that cannot be seen; thus, the idea of “obscure; dark; difficult to understand; enigmatic” (see HALOT 236–37 s.v. I הֶבֶל; BDB 210–11 s.v. I הֶבֶל). It is used in this sense in reference to enigmas in life (6:2; 8:10, 14) and the future which is obscure (11:8).

[27:1]  ⁷ tn The clause begins with the temporal indicator (“and it happened”), making it subordinate to the main clause that follows later in the sentence.

[27:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “and his eyes were weak from seeing.”

[27:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “greater” (in terms of age).

[27:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Esau) is specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “heavy.”

[48:10]  ¹² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “them”; the referent (Joseph’s sons) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:10]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph’s father) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[48:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and one said.” With no expressed subject in the Hebrew text, the verb can be translated with the passive voice.

[3:2]  ¹⁶ tn There is a notable change between what the Lord God had said and what the woman says. God said “you may freely eat” (the imperfect with the infinitive absolute, see 2:16), but the woman omits the emphatic infinitive, saying simply “we may eat.” Her words do not reflect the sense of eating to her heart’s content.

[4:15]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term לָכֵן (lakhen, “therefore”) in this context carries the sense of “Okay,” or “in that case then I will do this.”

[4:15]  ¹⁸ sn The symbolic number seven is used here to emphasize that the offender will receive severe punishment. For other rhetorical and hyperbolic uses of the expression “seven times over,” see Pss 12:6; 79:12; Prov 6:31; Isa 30:26.

[4:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “sign”; “reminder.” The term “sign” is not used in the translation because it might imply to an English reader that God hung a sign on Cain. The text does not identify what the “sign” was. It must have been some outward, visual reminder of Cain’s special protected status.

[4:15]  ²⁰ sn God becomes Cain’s protector. Here is common grace – Cain and his community will live on under God’s care, but without salvation.

[4:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “and Irad fathered.”