Ecclesiastes 5:10 Komentář

Solomon, in this chapter, discourses, I. Concerning the worship of God, prescribing that as a remedy against all those vanities which he had already observed to be in wisdom, learning, pleasure, honour, power, and business. That we may not be deceived by those things, nor have our spirits vexed with the disappointments we meet with in them, let us make conscience of our duty to God and keep up our communion with him; but, withal, he gives a necessary caution against the vanities which are to often found in religious exercises, which deprive them of their excellency and render them unable to help against other vanities. If our religion be a vain religion, how great is that vanity! Let us therefore take heed of vanity, 1. In hearing the word, and offering sacrifice (Ecc 5:1). 2. In prayer (Ecc 5:2, Ecc 5:3). 3. In making vows (Ecc 5:4-6). 4. In pretending to divine dreams (Ecc 5:7). Now, (1.) For a remedy against those vanities, he prescribes the fear of God (Ecc 5:7). (2.) To prevent the offence that might arise from the present sufferings of good people, he directs us to look up to God (Ecc 5:8). II. Concerning the wealth of this world and the vanity and vexation that attend it. The fruits of the earth indeed are necessary to the support of life (Ecc 5:9), but as for silver, and gold, and riches, 1. They are unsatisfying (Ecc 5:10). 2. They are unprofitable (Ecc 5:11). 3. They are disquieting (Ecc 5:12). 4. They often prove hurtful and destroying (Ecc 5:13). 5. They are perishing (Ecc 5:14). 6. They must be left behind when we die (Ecc 5:15, Ecc 5:16). 7. If we have not a heart to make use of them, they occasion a great deal of uneasiness (Ecc 5:17). And therefore he recommends to us the comfortable use of that which God has given us, with an eye to him that is the giver, as the best way both to answer the end of our having it and to obviate the mischiefs that commonly attend great estates (Ecc 5:18-20). So that if we can but learn out of this chapter how to manage the business of religion, and the business of this world (which two take up most of our time), so that both may turn to a good account, and neither our sabbath days nor our week-days may be lost, we shall have reason to say, We have learned two good lessons.

INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES 5 This chapter contains some rules and directions concerning the worship of God; how persons should behave when they go into the house of God; concerning hearing the word, to which there should be a readiness, and which should be preferred to the sacrifices of fools, Ecc 5:1. Concerning prayer to God; which should not be uttered rashly and hastily, and should be expressed in few words; which is urged from the consideration of the majesty of God, and vileness of men; and the folly of much speaking is exposed by the simile of a dream, Ecc 5:2. Concerning vows, which should not be rashly made; when made, should be kept; nor should excuses be afterwards framed for not performing them, since this might bring the anger of God upon men, to the destruction of the works of their hands, Ecc 5:4; and, as an antidote against those vanities, which appear in the prayers and vows of some, and dreams of others, the fear of God is proposed, Ecc 5:7; and, against any surprise at the oppression of the poor, the majesty, power, and providence of God, and his special regard to his people, are observed, Ecc 5:8. And then the wise man enters into a discourse concerning riches; and observes, that the fruits of the earth, and the culture of it, are necessary to all men, and even to the king, Ecc 5:9; but dissuades from covetousness, or an over love of riches; because they are unsatisfying, are attended with much trouble, often injurious to the owners of them; at length perish, and their possessors; who, at death, are stripped quite naked of all, after they have spent their days in darkness and distress, Ecc 5:10; and concludes, therefore, that it is best for a man to enjoy, in a free manner, the good things of this life he is possessed of, and consider them as the gifts of God, and be thankful for them; by which means he will pass through the world more comfortably, and escape the troubles that attend others, Ecc 5:18.

He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver,.... The tillage of the earth is necessary, a very laudable and useful employment, and men do well to busy themselves in it; without this, neither the common people nor the greatest personages can be supplied with the necessaries of life; but then an immoderate love of money is criminal, which is here meant by loving silver, one kind of money, which when loved beyond measure is the root of all evil; and besides, when a man has got ever so much of it, he is not satisfied, he still wants more, like the horse leech at the vein cries Give, give; or he cannot eat silver, so Jarchi; or be "fed with money", as Mr. Broughton renders it; and herein the fruits of the earth, for which the husbandman labours, have the preference to silver; for these he can eat, and be filled and satisfied with them, but he cannot eat his bags of gold and silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase; that is, he that coveteth a great deal of this world's things shall not be satisfied with the increase of them, let that be what it will; or, he shall have "no increase" (f), be ever the better for his abundance, or enjoy the comfort and benefit of it: or, "he that loveth abundance from whence there is no increase" (g); that loves to have a multitude of people about him, as manservants and maidservants; a large equipage, as Aben Ezra suggests, which are of very little use and service, or none at all; this is also vanity: the immoderate love of money, coveting large estates and possessions, and to have a train of servants. Jarchi allegorically interprets silver and abundance, of the commands, and the multitude of them. (f) "non erit proventus illi", Vatablus, Mercerus, Gejerus; "nullum fructum percipit", Tigurine version. (g) "Qui amat copiam, sc. multitudinem ex qua non est sperandus profectus", Schmidt, so Gussetius.

"A lover of money will never be satisfied with money; a lover of abundance has no wheat. This too, is futility! As goods increase, so do those who consume them; what advantage, then, has the owner except what hi eyes see?" Wherever we read 'silver', according to the ambiguity of the Greek term, it can be translated as 'money', since each has the meaning of the Greek "argurion. "More precisely Tullius is said to have called these men 'pecuniary', who have many small savings, that is wealth in cattle. [(because the Latin for cattle is pecus)] For they were called this in antiquity. But little by little the word devolved into the one used here through misuse. Therefore he is described as greedy because he is never sated by wealth, and the more he has, the more he desires. Horace also agrees with this sentiment, who says, "always the miser is wanting" [Horat. Epist. I. 2, 56.], and too the noble historian, since "avarice is diminished neither by possessions, nor by lack of them" [Sallust Catil. 11, 3.]. Nothing therefore, says Ecclesiastes can aid a man who possesses riches, unless only this: that he sees what he possesses. For the greater his wealth, the more he will have a larger number of servants, who use up his amassed wealth. But if he will only see what he has, he will be able to take more than the food of one man.

If, he says, you see among people those on the one hand who are oppressed and those on the other who do wrong in judgment, and still others who practice justice, do not be amazed that this occurs as if there were no divine foresight. Rather, know that God guards everything through Christ and that he also exercises his provision over everything through his holy angels, who excel in their knowledge of earthly events. God is the ruler of the world that he created, and he allots suffering to those who prefer greed and the vanity of this life to knowledge of Christ. But to those who live their lives in goodness, conduct themselves with courage and serve justly, he grants the knowledge of God and a peaceful rest. He grants this whether their knowledge was small or great here, for “we know in part and we prophesy in part.” But in the end, he will receive these, while those who were filled with wickedness will find no rest from the worm produced by their evil.

When they are intent on increasing money, let them hear what is written: “The covetous man is not filled with money, and he that loves riches shall not reap fruit thereof.” For indeed he would reap fruit of them, were he minded, not loving them, to disperse them well. But whoever in his affection for them retains them shall surely leave them behind here without fruit. When they burn to be filled at once with all manner of wealth, let them hear what is written: “He that makes haste to be rich shall not be innocent.” For certainly he who goes about to increase wealth is negligent in avoiding sin; and, being caught after the manner of birds, while looking greedily at the bait of earthly things, he is not aware in what a noose of sin he is being strangled.

(Ecc. 5:1-20) From vanity connected with kings, he passes to vanities (Ecc 5:7) which may be fallen into in serving the King of kings, even by those who, convinced of the vanity of the creature, wish to worship the Creator. Keep thy foot--In going to worship, go with considerate, circumspect, reverent feeling. The allusion is to the taking off the shoes, or sandals, in entering a temple (Exo 3:5; Jos 5:15, which passages perhaps gave rise to the custom). WEISS needlessly reads, "Keep thy feast days" (Exo 23:14, Exo 23:17; the three great feasts). hear--rather, "To be ready (to draw nigh with the desire) to hear (obey) is a better sacrifice than the offering of fools" [HOLDEN]. (Vulgate; Syriac). (Psa 51:16-17; Pro 21:3; Jer 6:20; Jer 7:21-23; Jer 14:12; Amo 5:21-24). The warning is against mere ceremonial self-righteousness, as in Ecc 7:12. Obedience is the spirit of the law's requirements (Deu 10:12). Solomon sorrowfully looks back on his own neglect of this (compare Kg1 8:63 with Ecc 11:4, Ecc 11:6). Positive precepts of God must be kept, but will not stand instead of obedience to His moral precepts. The last provided no sacrifice for wilful sin (Num 15:30-31; Heb 10:26-29).

Not only will God punish at last, but meanwhile the oppressive gainers of "silver" find no solid "satisfaction" in it. shall not be satisfied--so the oppressor "eateth his own flesh" (see on Ecc 4:1 and Ecc 4:5). with increase--is not satisfied with the gain that he makes.

"He who loveth silver is not satisfied with silver; and he whose love cleaveth to abundance, hath nothing of it: also this is vain." The transition in this series of proverbs is not unmediated; for the injustice which, according to Ecc 5:7, prevails in the state as it now is becomes subservient to covetousness, in the very nature of which there lies insatiableness: semper avarus eget, hunc nulla pecunia replet. That the author speaks of the "sacra fames argenti" (not auri) arises from this, that not זהב, but כסף, is the specific word for coin. (Note: A Jewish fancy supposes that כסף is chosen because it consists of letters rising in value (20, 60, 80); while, on the contrary, זהב consists of letters decreasing in value (7, 5, 2).) Mendelssohn-Friedlnder also explains: "He who loveth silver is not satisfied with silver," i.e., it does not make him full; that might perhaps be linguistically possible (cf. e.g., Pro 12:11), although the author would in that case probably have written the words מן־הכּסף, after Ecc 6:3; but "to be not full of money" is, after Ecc 1:8, and especially Ecc 4:8, Hab 2:5, cf. Pro 27:20 = never to have enough of money, but always to desire more. That which follows, Ecc 5:9, is, according to Hitz., a question: And who hath joy in abundance, which bringeth nothing in? But such questions, with the answer to be supplied, are not in Koheleth's style; and what would then be understood by capital without interest? Others, as Zφckler, supply ישׂבּע: and he that loveth abundance of possessions (is) not (full) of income; but that which is gained by these hard ellipses is only a tautology. With right, the Targ., Syr., Jerome, the Venet., and Luther take lo tevuah as the answer or conclusion; and who clings to abundance of possessions with his love? - he has no fruit thereof; or, with a weakening of the interrog. pronoun into the relative (as at Ecc 1:9; cf. under Psa 34:13): he who ... clings has nothing of it. Hamon signifies a tumult, a noisy multitude, particularly of earthly goods, as at Psa 37:16; Ch1 29:16; Isa 60:5. The connection of אהב with ב, occurring only here, follows the analogy of חפץ בּ and the like. The conclusion is synon. with levilti ho'il; e.g., Isa 44:10; Jer 7:8. All the Codd. read לא; לו in this sense would be meaningless. (Note: In Maccoth 10a, לו is read three times in succession; the Midrash Wajikra, c. 22, reads לא, and thus it is always found without Kerı̂ and without variation.) The designation of advantage by tevuah, the farmer enjoys the fruit of his labour; but he who hangs his heart on the continual tumult, noise, pomp of more numerous and greater possessions is possible, to him all real profit - i.e., all pleasant, peaceful enjoyment - is lost. With the increase of the possessions there is an increase also of unrest, and the possessor has in reality nothing but the sight of them.