Ecclesiastes - GA Barton - 1908.pdf

REFLECTIONS ON DESPOTISM [CH.8'- 151
Qoheleth illustrates the powerlessness of man to know the future
by examples of his powerlessness in other respects. He cannot
control the winds. The wind is one of God's grandest creations
(Am. 4 13
), and a symbol of his power (Na. i 3
),
4
which is in his own hands (Pr. 3o ).
the control of
Nor is he ruler in the day of
death}, a second example of man's powerlessness. Nor is there
6 - 8
This statement seems to contradict Dt. 2o
furlough in war].
25*. According to i Mac. 3 58
Judas Maccabseus conformed to
one of these laws. John Hyrcanus (135-104 B.C.) employed
foreign mercenaries (cf. Jos. Ant. xiii, 8 4
). No soldier in such
ranks could obtain a discharge when his employer had a war on
hand. Such mercenaries had been employed freely in Egypt
from the time of the XXVIth dynasty (cf. Breasted's History
of Egypt, p. 569 ff.}, and by the Persians in all periods of their
history; so that it was in Qoheleth's day no new thing. The
allusion is probably to such soldiers, and thus becomes a third
illustration of Qoheleth's point. 9. All this I have seeri\,t\\e power
of the despot described in vvs. 1-8. Applied my heart to all the
work], thoughtfully considered, or investigated. When man has
power over man to his hurt]. This is an apt description of the in-
justices of an Oriental despotism. Such injustice has existed
under every Oriental monarchy, the allusion accordingly affords
no clue to the date.
" To his hurt " is ambiguous. (&, & and ,
which are followed by Kn., Gins., Z6., Del. and Wild., make it
refer to the second man. 2 and Hitzig and Ha. take it to refer
to the first man. The first of these views is the correct one. The
retribution to which allusion is made at the end of vs. 9 is often
delayed, and meantime the subjects of the tyrant suffer.
8 l . oonna] for the more common DSHD. The full writing of the article
occurs not infrequently in later Hebrew, cf. Ges. K -
3Sn. ~^o], an
Aram, loan word, occurring only here in BH., but frequently in Aram.
(cf. Dn. 2 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 9 - 16 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 30 - 36 45 4 - 6 - 15 - 16 - 21
A s 12 - 16 , etc. "'3"'] here
= " thing," "matter," as in i 8 8 and .
7 I^D "^n], cf. Nu. 6 25 Ps. 4*
Job 29 2< Pr. i6 15 25
and BS. I3 (Heb.) for -\w with O'rp, Ps. 199. D'JD Tj?].
The Versions read T>? the adj., not tj? the noun. This should be
adopted. It is used of "shamelessness," "impudence,"
ness," cf. Dt. 2850 Pr. 7 13 2i Dn. 8 23 . N.4&"]
verbs are often confused in the later books, cf. Ges.K-
or "coarse-
for n:\ N"S and n'">
75rr and 2 K.