Ecclesiastes 2 4-8 Experiment Part 3 Vanity of Increasing Wealth
4a I enlarged my works: Having explored actions of the mind and then actions of pleasure and stimulation, the collector of sentences advances to part 3 of the experiment, growing his property. גָּדַל gaw-dal’ – grow, advance, became greater, enlarge מַעֲשֶׂה mah-as-eh’ = work, property, business, possession 4b I built houses for myself, I […]
Vanity of Physical Stimulation – Ecclesiastes 2:1-3
In Part two of the experiment, the collector of sentences explores physical stimulation and it’s work and deeds. Again the preacher found physical pleasure to הָ֫בֶל – hā·ḇel – emtiness, vanity, transitory, unsatisfactory.
Ecclesiastes 1:16-18 Experiment Part 1 Vanity of Wisdom, Knowledge, Madness, and Folly
16 I said to myself, “Behold, I have magnified and increased wisdom more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.” As the collector set out of this experiment, to learn wisdom in all actions under the sun, the first area of actions the […]
Ecclesiastes 1:13b – 15 Experiment Result Abstract – All Is Vanity
13b It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with. The depth of information, the gather of information, and the desire to gain information is emotionally taxing. It a burden that can bend us over with its weight. We have a desire to learn and know and it can […]
Ecclesiastes 1:12-13b – The Experiment – Exploring Value in What Can Be Done
12 I, the Preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. Authority to speak, to be heard as a counselor, is reasserted. Solomon was said to have “32 … spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.” Solomon’s wisdom and discernment were in the mind in post exilic Israel. Referring to Solomon grabs the attention […]
Overview – Uselessness, Authority, Fleeting Life, and Cycles of Life Ecclesiastes 1 1-11
Here the speaker asks a question that many have asked, “What is of value? What have I done of value?”