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Introduction
to Ecclesiastes
INTRODUCTION TO ECCLESIASTES
This
book has been universally received into the canon of the Scriptures, by Jews
and Christians. The former, indeed, had once some controversyF1Misn.
Yadaim, c. 3. s. 5. T. Bab. Megilia, fol. 7. 1. about it; and they thought to
have hid it, or put it among the apocryphal books; because, at first sight,
some things seemed contradictory to each otherF2T. Bab. Sabbat, fol.
30. 2. , and to incline to heresyF3Midrash Kohelet, fol. 60. 4.
Vajikra Rabba, s. 28. "in principio", fol. 168. 4. , atheism, and
epicurism, and to assert the eternity of the worldF4Maimon. Moreh Nevochim,
c. 28. p. 262. : but they better considered of it; and when they observed those
passages were capable of a good sense, and that the whole agreed with the law
of God, they changed their mindsF5T. Bab. Sabbat, ut supra. (fol.
30. 2.) . And so likewise it has been rejected by some heretical persons, of
the Christian name, as Theodore and Mopsuest, and others; and by deists, and
some deistically inclined. But it carries in it such internal evidences of a
divine original, as cannot well be denied; it delivers out and inculcates such
divine instructions, concerning the duties of men to God, and one another;
concerning the contempt of the world, and the carnal pleasures of it; the fear
and worship of God, and a future judgment; as none but the wisdom of God could
suggest. There are various things in it which seem to be referred to by Christ
and his apostles; at least there is an entire agreement between them: among the
many things that might be observed, compare Ecclesiastes 11:5
with John 3:8; and Ecclesiastes 11:9
with 2 Corinthians 5:10;
and Ecclesiastes 7:20
with 1 John 1:8. As to
the author of it, there are evident marks of its being written by Solomon; yet,
by some Jewish writers, it is ascribed to IsaiahF6R. Gedaliah in
Shalshelt. Hakabala, fol. 55. 1. R. Moses Kimchi & alii. , which seems
exceeding strange; for though he was a great prophet, and an evangelical
preacher, yet no king in Jerusalem; whatever may be said for his being of the
house of David, and of the royal family, as some have thought: and, besides,
there is no agreement in style between this book and the writings of Isaiah.
Others of them ascribe it to Hezekiah and his menF7T. Bab. Bava
Bathra, fol. 15. 1. : Hezekiah was indeed the son of David, and David in
expressly called his father; and he was a prince of great character, both with
respect to religion, and to wealth and grandeur; see 2 Chronicles 29:2;
which might induce them to such a conceit; though it seems to take its rise
from Hezekiah's men being the copiers of some of Solomon's proverbs, Proverbs 25:1; but
the proof from thence must be exceeding weak; that because they were the
transcribers of some of his proverbs, therefore were the writers of this book;
and especially King Hezekiah; for, whatever may be said of his character, it
falls greatly short of Solomon's wisdom or riches; and such things are said,
with for respect to both, in this book, as cannot agree with him: and, on the
other hand, it does not appear that he was addicted to wine and women, and gave
himself a loose to carnal pleasures, as the writer of this book had formerly
done. Grotius thinks it was written by some persons in the times of Zerubbabel,
and published under the name of Solomon, as a penitent; which is quite
shocking, that an inspired writing should have a false title put to it, and be
imposed upon the church of God under a wrong name: besides, the name of Solomon
is never mentioned in it; though this, by the way, betrays a conviction that he
is intended in the title of it: nor are many persons concerned in it; it
appears throughout the whole to be the work of a single person, who often
speaks as such in it. That Zerubbabel should be meant by the one shepherd, Ecclesiastes 12:11,
is a mere fancy; it is better interpreted, as by many, of Jesus Christ: his
chief argument for this conjecture is, because there are three or four Chaldee
words in it, as he supposes; which yet does not appear, and are nowhere to be
found but in Daniel, Ezra, and the Chaldee interpreter: and so there are in the
book of Proverbs, Proverbs 31:2; but
it does not follow, that because these words, or others, are but once used in
Scripture, that they are not originally Hebrew; since the language was more
extensive and better understood in Solomon's time than now, when we have only
the copy of the Old Testament in which it is preserved. In short, what is said
of the descent and dignity of the writer of this book, of his wisdom, wealth,
riches, and grandeur, of his virtues and of his vices, agrees with none as with
Solomon; to which may be added, that there is one passage in it, the same he
used in his prayer at the dedication of the temple, Ecclesiastes 7:20;
compared with 1 Kings 8:46. As to
the time in which it was written by him, it seems to have been in his old age,
as the Jewish writers observeF8Peskita Rabbati apud Yalkut in
Kohelet, l. 1. Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 2. 3. Seder Olam Rabba, c. 15. p. 41.
R. Gedaliah in Shalshelet Hakabala, fol. 8. 2. ; after his sin and fall, and
recovery out of it, and when he was brought to true repentance for it: it was
after he had made him great works, and built houses, his own house and the
house of God, which were twenty years in building; it was after he had acquired
not only vast riches and treasures, which must require time, but had gotten
knowledge of all things in nature; and had seen all the works that are done
under the sun, and had made trial of all pleasures that were to be enjoyed; see
Ecclesiastes 1:1;
it was after he had been ensnared by women, which he confesses and laments, Ecclesiastes 7:26;
and his description of old age seems to be made, not merely upon the theory of
it, but from a feeling experience of the evils and infirmities of it, Ecclesiastes 12:1.
The general scope and design of it is to expose the vanity of all worldly
enjoyments; to show that a man's happiness does not lie in natural wisdom and
knowledge; nor in worldly wealth; nor in civil honour, power, and authority;
nor in the mere externals of religion; but in the fear of God, and the worship
of him. It encourages men to a free use of the good things of life in a
moderate way, with thankfulness to God; to submit with cheerfulness to adverse
dispensations of Providence; to fear God and honour the king; to be dutiful to
civil magistrates, and kind to the poor; to expect a future state, and an awful
judgment; with many other useful things.
Commentator
John Gill (November 23, 1697-October 14,
1771) was an English Baptist, a biblical scholar, and a staunch Calvinist.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism is a matter of academic debate.
He was born in Kettering, Northamptonshire.
In his youth, he attended Kettering Grammar School, mastering the Latin
classics and learning Greek by age eleven. The young scholar continued
self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew. His love for Hebrew would follow
Gill throughout his life.
At the age of about twelve, Gill heard a
sermon from his pastor, William Wallis, on the text, "And the Lord called
unto Adam, and said unto him, where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). The message
stayed with Gill and eventually led to his conversion. It was not until seven
years later that young John made a public profession when he was almost
nineteen years of age.
His first pastoral work was as an intern
assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age twenty one. He was
subsequently called to pastor the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel,
Horsleydown, Southwark in 1719. In 1757, his congregation needed larger
premises and moved to a Carter Lane, St. Olave's Street, Southwark. His
pastorate lasted 51 years. This Baptist Church was once pastored by Benjamin Keach
and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the Metropolitan
Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.
During Gill's ministry the church strongly
supported the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.
In 1748, Gill was awarded the honorary degree
of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. He was a profound scholar
and a prolific author. His most important works are:
John Gill is the first major writing Baptist
theologian. His work retains its influence into the twenty-first century.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism in English Baptist life is a matter of
debate. Peter Toon has argued that Gill was himself a hyper-Calvinist, which
would make Gill the father of Baptist hyper-Calvinism. Tom Nettles has argued
that Gill was not a hyper-Calvinist himself, which would make him merely a precursor
and hero to Baptist hyper-Calvinists.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James Version
Bible, NKJV
The
NKJV was commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.
One-hundred-and-thirty respected Bible scholars, church leaders, and lay
Christians worked for seven years with the goal of updating the vocabulary and
grammar of the King James Version, while preserving the classic style of the of
the 1611 version.
The
task of updating the English of the KJV involved many changes in word order,
grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. One of the most significant features of the
NKJV was its removal of the second person pronouns "thou",
"thee", "ye," "thy," and "thine." Verb
forms were also modernized in the NKJV (for example, "speaks" rather
than "speaketh").
Young’s
Literal Translation was completed in 1898 by Robert Young, who also compiled
Young’s Analytical Concordance. It is an extremely literal translation that
attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek
and Hebrew writings. The online text is from a reprint of the 1898 edition as
published by Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Obvious errors in
spelling or inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the
online edition of the text. This text is Public Domain in the United States.