Eclesiastes 8

Eclesiastes 8

THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES The Search for Significance The Quest for Contentment The Pursuit of Purpose Exploration Exhortation All is Vanity Vanity of Doing Vanity of Having Vanity of Being Using Life Well Source of True Living Eccl 1:1-18 Eccl 2:1-26 Eccl 3:1-6:12 Eccl 7:1-9:18 Eccl 10:1-11:10 Eccl 12:1-14 Declaration of Vanity Demonstration of Vanity Deliverance from Vanity Subject Sermons Summary Fickleness of Life Versus Fear of the Lord Place: "Under the Sun" Decades of Searching (in the days of King Solomon) circa 936BC King Solomon Author Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man's wisdom illumines him and causes his stern face to beam KJV Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed. NKJ Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is like a wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, And the sternness of his face is changed. NET Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is a wise person? Who knows the solution to a problem? A person's wisdom brightens his appearance, and softens his harsh countenance. BGT Ecclesiastes 8:1 τίς οἶδεν σοφούς καὶ τίς οἶδεν λύσιν ῥήματος σοφία ἀνθρώπου φωτιεῖ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀναιδὴς προσώπῳ αὐτοῦ μισηθήσεται LXE Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who knows the wise? and who knows the interpretation of a saying? A man's wisdom will lighten his countenance; but a man of shameless countenance will be hated. CSB Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is like the wise person, and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man's wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed. ESV Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. NIV Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is like the wise man? Who knows the explanation of things? Wisdom brightens a man's face and changes its hard appearance. NLT Ecclesiastes 8:1 How wonderful to be wise, to analyze and interpret things. Wisdom lights up a person's face, softening its harshness. YLT Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is as the wise? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? The wisdom of man causeth his face to shine, and the hardness of his face is changed. NJB Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who compares with the sage? Who else knows how to explain things? Wisdom lights up the face, enlivening a grim expression. NRS Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? Wisdom makes one's face shine, and the hardness of one's countenance is changed. NAB Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is like the wise man, and who knows the explanation of things? A man's wisdom illumines his face, but an impudent look is resented. GWN Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is really wise? Who knows how to explain things? Wisdom makes one's face shine, and it changes one's grim look. BBE Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is like the wise man? and to whom is the sense of anything clear? A man's wisdom makes his face shining, and his hard face will be changed. RSV Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his countenance is changed. as the: Ec 2:13,14 1Co 2:13-16 who knoweth: Ge 40:8 41:15,16,38,39 Job 33:23 Pr 1:6 Da 2:28-30,47 4:18,19 2Pe 1:20 a man's: Ex 34:29,30 Pr 4:8,9 17:24 24:5 Mt 17:2 Ac 6:15 and the: De 28:50 Ac 4:13,29 Eph 6:19 boldness: Heb. strength, 2Ti 4:17 Related Passages: Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day. Numbers 6:25 The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; Psalms 67:1 God be gracious to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us– Selah. Daniel 2:21-23 “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding. 22 “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him. 23 “To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, For You have made known to us the king’s matter.” Psalm 34:5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces will never be ashamed. James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. Proverbs 24:21-22 My son, fear the LORD and the king; Do not associate with those who are given to change, 22 For their calamity will rise suddenly, And who knows the ruin that comes from both of them? Proverbs 14:35 The king’s favor is toward a servant who acts wisely, But his anger is toward him who acts shamefully. Proverbs 16:14 The fury of a king is like messengers of death, But a wise man will appease it. Proverbs 20:2 The terror of a king is like the growling of a lion; He who provokes him to anger forfeits his own life. THE FACE OF WISDOM LIGHT ON THE COUNTENANCE Ecclesiastes 8:1 is a transitional verse—it both reflects on the preceding reflections on wisdom’s rarity (Ec 7:23–29) and introduces a new theme of wisdom and authority, especially concerning how to live wisely under imperfect rulers (Ec 8:2–9). Solomon begins by exalting the rare and beautiful quality of true wisdom—its rarity (v.1a) and its transformative power (v.1b). This verse is difficult to interpret, but I think Glenn gives help in this regard. Donald Glenn notes that "The key to interpreting this chapter properly is seeing how its two parts are related. The chapter begins with a question and a statement that magnify the value of wisdom (Ec 8:1) and closes with an acknowledgment of wisdom's limitations (Ec 8:17). Wisdom enables a wise man to avoid the king's wrath (Ec 8:2-9), but not even a wise man can figure out the enigmas in God's distribution of justice (Ec 8:10-17).The background for this section is the recognition of the absolute authority of the king (cf. Prov. 24:21-22) and the need for proper decorum to avert his wrath (cf. Prov. 14:35; 16:14; 20:2). (See The Bible Knowledge Commentary Wisdom - Page 278) Michael Eaton adds that "This verse belongs more to what precedes than to what follows, for it forms a fitting conclusion to proverbs which have appealed for wisdom in relation to suffering and sin; it is reminiscent of a similar final challenge at the end of Hosea (Hos 14:9). (Borrow Ecclesiastes) Who is like the wise man - NET = "Who is a wise person?" This is the first of two rhetorical questions both expecting a negative answer (cf Ec 8:7) which emphasizes the rarity. Like the wise refers not just to intelligent, but those wise in living, morally discerning, and walking in the fear of the Lord. This opening phrase marvels at the rarity of men with true wisdom. Donald Glenn points out that "A wise man is able to practice proper decorum. In two rhetorical questions Solomon affirmed that only a wise man can size up situations properly and act accordingly." (See The Bible Knowledge Commentary Wisdom - Page 278) And who knows (yada) the interpretation of a matter? This is a rhetorical question expecting a negative answer (cf Ec 8:7). knows (yada) speaks of intimate knowledge. Interpretation (pēšer) means explanation or meaning. This word (pēšer) is rare in the OT and used prominently in it's Aramaic form (péshar) in Daniel to describe interpreting dreams and riddles. The implication is that the wise man can discern and interpret life’s complexities. He sees beneath the surface to understand God's purposes or the deeper meaning behind events. NET NOTE - interpretation - Or “the explanation.” The noun פֵּשֶׁר (pēšer ) denotes “solution; explanation; interpretation; meaning” (HALOT 982–83 s.v. פֵּשֶׁר; BDB 833 s.v. פֵּשֶׁר). The Hebrew term is an Aramaic loanword from פִּשְׁרָא (pishra’, “diagnosis; meaning; solution”). The Aramaic noun פְּשַׁר (péshar, “interpretation of a dream or prophecy”) and verb פְּשַׁר (péshar, “to interpret a dream or prophecy”) reflect a later meaning not present in Ecclesiastes, but current at the time of Daniel ("dream and interpretation [peshar] in Da 2:5-6, Da 2:7; Da 4:3, 15, 16; Da 5:12, 15, 16; 7:16) and Qumran. INTERPRETATION - PESHER A hapax legomenon, pfisher is found in Ecc. 8:1. This masculine noun occurs in the second of two queries, "Who is as the wise man?" and "Who knoweth the interpretation of a thing?" It refers to the intention and meaning of something, how it should be understood and acted on. The noun is derived from peshar , "to interpret." Wise men were often found in court settings. There, discretion was always in order, especially since the king's countenance was subject to change (Ecc. 8:1). A wise person possesses the ability to interpret a matter and its resulting calm assurance produces a radiant countenance -- William Barrick A man's wisdom (chokmah; Lxx - sophia) illumines him and causes his stern face to beam - NET = "softens his harsh countenance." This implies that such a wise man does exist, albeit rare. And because of this, some people feel the better answer to the rhetorical questions in Ec 8:1a is that wisdom is rare (one out of 1000 in Ec 7:28). True wisdom brings inner light, which shines outward. It changes how a person appears and reacts to the world. His face is symbolic of his countenance, mood, demeanor. The stern face which has a hard, harsh, or severe expression is transformed by wisdom. This verse celebrates the power of godly wisdom. Wisdom grants insight into life's riddles (cf. Pr 2:6–9). It transforms the inner person (Ps. 34:5). Wisdom radiates outward, making even one's appearance reflect God’s peace (cf Nu 6:25). Wisdom is not just intellect. It’s moral light, emotional balance, and spiritual beauty. It also subtly contrasts the rare wise person with the many confused or hardened ones (cf. Ec 7:28–29). Wisdom speaks of appearance versus essence for wisdom changes not just what you know, but who you are. Philip Ryken - The man who has the wisdom to solve such vexing problems is rare indeed. Yet some individuals do have the gift of interpretation. To give just one notable example, consider the life and ministry of the prophet Daniel. When he was a young man, Daniel was carried off to captivity in Babylon, where he was trained at the court of Nebuchadnezzar. Only Daniel (with a few of his friends) was wise enough not to eat the meat that the Babylonians offered to their gods. The Bible says further that "in every matter of wisdom and understanding" Daniel knew ten times as much as any of the scholars or magicians in Babylon (Daniel 1:20). Later on he turned out to be the only man in the entire kingdom who was wise enough to reveal and interpret the king's dream (Daniel 2). Not many people have as much wisdom as Daniel. He is such a glowing example that he matches the description given in the second half of Ecclesiastes 8:1. Wisdom made his face shine. In fact, even the Babylonians could see that his appearance was better than the appearance of their own young men (Daniel 1:15). It is strange but true: godly wisdom makes a difference in the way people look. People who live without God in the world often show the proud demeanor or stern expression that comes from a heart hardened by sin—what the Preacher called "hardness of... face." But the wisdom of the gospel turns the frown of sin into the smile of grace. Thus the Preacher contrasts the face of a hardened sinner with "the wise man who is visibly gracious in his demeanor, and whose gentleness is obvious in his facial expression." In saying this, he is not just telling us to "put on a happy face." Instead, he is saying what the psalmist said, that people who look to the Lord "are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed" (Psalm 34:5; cf. Exodus 34:29-35; Proverbs 15:13). This is more than a metaphor. True wisdom brings a joy to life that changes everything, including people's appearance. (See Ecclesiastes (Redesign): Why Everything Matters) NET NOTE - stern face to beam - Literally “the strength of his face is changed.” The expression עֹז פָּנָיו (’oz panayv, “strength of his face”) is an idiom for “boldness; impudence” (BDB 739 s.v. עֹז 4) or “hard face” = harsh countenance (HALOT 805 s.v. I עֹז 1.c). Bob