Discovery BoxEcclesiastes 5:18
Context5:18 I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: 1
to eat and drink, 2 and find enjoyment in all their 3 hard work 4 on earth 5
during the few days of their life which God has given them,
for this is their reward. 6
Ecclesiastes 8:16
Context8:16 When I tried 7 to gain 8 wisdom
and to observe the activity 9 on earth –
even though it prevents anyone from sleeping day or night 10 –
[5:18] 1 tn Heb “Behold, that which I have seen, I, good which is beautiful.” The phrase “for people” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
[5:18] 2 sn The phrase “to eat and to drink” is a common idiom in Ecclesiastes for a person enjoying the fruit of his labor (e.g., 2:24; 3:13).
[5:18] 3 tn Heb “his,” and three times later in the verse.
[5:18] 4 tn Heb “the toil which one toils.”
[5:18] 5 tn Heb “under the sun.”
[5:18] 6 tn The term חֵלֶק (kheleq, “lot”) has a wide range of meanings: (1) “share of spoils” (Gen 14:24; Num 31:36; 1 Sam 30:24), (2) “portion of food” (Lev 6:10; Deut 18:8; Hab 1:16), (3) “portion [or tract] of land” (Deut 10:9; 12:12; Josh 19:9), (4) “portion” or “possession” (Num 18:20; Deut 32:9), (5) “inheritance” (2 Kgs 9:10; Amos 7:4), (6) “portion” or “award” (Job 20:29; 27:13; 31:2; Isa 17:14) or “profit; reward” (Eccl 2:10, 21; 3:22; 5:17-18; 9:6, 9); see HALOT 323 s.v. II חֵלֶק; BDB 324 s.v. חֵלֶק. Throughout Ecclesiastes, the term is used in reference to man’s temporal profit from his labor and his reward from God (e.g., Eccl 3:22; 9:9).
[8:16] 7 tn Heb “I applied my heart.”
[8:16] 9 tn Heb “and to see the business which is done.”
[8:16] 10 tn Heb “for no one sees sleep with their eyes either day or night.” The construction גַם …כִּי (ki… gam) expresses a concessive sense: “even though” (e.g., Ps 23:4; Prov 22:6; Eccl 4:14; Isa 1:15; Lam 3:8; Hos 8:10; 9:16); cf. HALOT 196 s.v. גַּם 9; BDB 169 s.v. גַּם 6; 473 s.v. כִּי 2.c.
