Ecclesiastes 3:1–10

Footnotes

1. 1 Verse 1 is arranged in an ABB′A′ chiasm (לַכֹּל זְמָן וְעֵת לְכָל־חֵפֶץ, lakkol zéman vé’et lékhol-khefets): (A) “for everything”; (B) “a season”; (B′) “a time”; (A′) “for every matter.” The terms “season” (זְמָן, zéman) and “time” (עֵת, ’et) are parallel. In the light of its parallelism with “every matter” (כָל־חֵפֶץ, khol-khefets), the term “everything” (כָל, khol) must refer to events and situations in life.
2. 2 The noun זְמָן (zéman) denotes “appointed time” or “appointed hour” ( זְמָן; 273 זְמָן; see Eccl 3:1; Esth 9:27, 31; Neh 2:6; Sir 43:7), e.g., the appointed or designated time for the Jewish feasts (Esth 9:27, 31), the length of time that Nehemiah set for his absence from Susa (Neh 2:6), and the appointed times in the Jewish law for the months to begin (Sir 43:7). It is used in parallelism with מועד (“appointed time”), i.e., מועד ירח (“the appointed time of the moon”) parallels זמני חק (“the appointed times of the law”; Sir 43:7). The related verb, a Pual of זָמַן (zaman), means “to be appointed” ( זְמָן); e.g. Ezra 10:14; Neh 10:35; 13:31. These terms may be related to the noun I זִמָּה (zimmah, “plan; intention”; Job 17:11; I זִמָּה) and מְזִמָּה (mézimmah, “purpose; plan; project”), e.g., the purposes of God (Job 42:2; Jer 23:20; 30:24; 51:11) and man’s plan (Isa 5:12); see מְזִמָּה; 273 מְזִמָּה. Verses 1–8 refer to God’s appointed time-table for human activities or actions whose most appropriate time is determined by men. Verses 9–15 state that God is ultimately responsible for the time in which events in human history occur. This seems to provide a striking balance between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. Man does what God has willed, but man also does what he “pleases” (see note on the word “matter” in ).
3. 3 The noun עֵת (’et, “point in time”) has a basic two-fold range of meanings: (1) “time of an event” and (2) “time for an event” ( 773 עֵת). The latter has subcategories: (a) “usual time,” (b) “the proper, suitable or appropriate time,” (c) “the appointed time,” and (d) “uncertain time” (Eccl 9:11). Here it connotes “a proper, suitable time for an event” ( עֵת 6; עֵת 2.b). Examples: “the time for rain” (Ezra 10:13), “a time of judgment for the nations” (Ezek 30:3), “an appropriate time for every occasion” (Eccl 3:1), “the time when mountain goats are born” (Job 39:1), “the rain in its season” (Deut 11:14; Jer 5:24), “the time for the harvest” (Hos 2:11; Ps 1:3), “food in its season” (Ps 104:27), “no one knows his hour of destiny” (Eccl 9:12), “the right moment” (Eccl 8:5); cf. עֵת 6.
4. 4 The noun חֵפֶץ (khefets, here “matter, business”) has a broad range of meanings: (1) “delight; joy,” (2) “desire; wish; longing,” (3) “the good pleasure; will; purpose,” (4) “precious stones” (i.e., jewelry), i.e., what someone takes delight in, and (5) “matter; business,” as a metonymy of adjunct to what someone takes delight in (Eccl 3:1, 17; 5:7; 8:6; Isa 53:10; 58:3, 13; Pss 16:3; 111:2; Prov 31:13); see חֵפֶץ 4; 343 חֵפֶץ 4. It is also sometimes used in reference to the “good pleasure” of God, that is, his sovereign plan, e.g., Judg 13:23; Isa 44:28; 46:10; 48:14 ( 343 חֵפֶץ). While the theme of the sovereignty of God permeates Eccl 3:1–4:3, the content of 3:1–8 refers to human activities that are planned and purposed by man. The translated it with πράγματι (pragmati, “matter”). The term is translated variously by modern English versions: “every purpose” (, ), “every event” (), “every delight” ( margin), “every affair” (), “every matter” (, ), “every activity” (, ), “every project” (), and “every experience” ().
5. 5 Heb “under heaven.”
6. 6 The verb יָלָד (yalad, “to bear”) is used in the active sense of a mother giving birth to a child ( ילד; 408 יָלָד). However, in light of its parallelism with “a time to die,” it should be taken as a metonymy of cause (i.e., to give birth to a child) for effect (i.e., to be born).
7. 7 In 3:2–8, Qoheleth uses fourteen sets of merisms (a figure using polar opposites to encompass everything in between, that is, totality), e.g., Deut 6:6–9; Ps 139:2–3 (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, ).
8. 8 The term לְאַבֵּד (lé’abbed, Piel infinitive construct from אָבַד, ’avad, “to destroy”) means “to lose” (e.g., Jer 23:1) as the contrast with בָּקַשׁ (baqash, “to seek to find”) indicates ( I אבד; 2 אבד 3). This is the declarative or delocutive-estimative sense of the Piel: “to view something as lost” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 28, §145; §24.2g).
9. 9 The term הָעוֹשֶׂה (ha’oseh, article + Qal active participle from עָשַׂה, ’asah, “to do”) functions substantively (“the worker”); see 794 עָשַׂה II.1. This is a figurative description of man (metonymy of association), and plays on the repetition of עָשַׂה (verb: “to do,” noun: “work”) throughout the passage. In the light of God’s orchestration of human affairs, man’s efforts cannot change anything. It refers to man in general with the article functioning in a generic sense (see §13.5.1f; 2: §137.m).
10. 10 This rhetorical question is an example of negative affirmation, expecting a negative answer: “Man gains nothing from his toil!” (see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, ). Any advantage that man might gain from his toil is nullified by his ignorance of divine providence.
11. 11 Heb “the sons of man.”