Ecclesiastes 7 Study Notes

7:15-18 These verses seem to say that a little sinning is acceptable. That is not the point; the passage is about an extreme zeal for religious duties that makes life unbearably harsh (an example would be constant fasting). In this context, excessively righteous refers to being unreasonably demanding on yourself about moral or religious duties.

7:19 Wisdom is a good thing, but a person can be overly zealous about attaining it and end up disappointed (v. 23).

7:20-24 Awareness that everyone has sinned should lead to forbearance and patience with others.

Matsa’ denotes find (Gn 8:9), discover, expose, and find or figure out. Trials happen or come to (Dt 31:21), confront, afflict, overtake, or overwhelm. Matsa’ means encounter (Ps 116:3), meet, see, reach, catch up with, or spread to. People obtain (Lv 25:26), acquire, get, reap, receive, take, or feel (Jr 10:18). They catch (Jr 2:34), seize, or reach out to seize. “Finding favor” involves pleasing (Nm 11:15), allowing, granting, approving, liking, or indulging. “Find hands” implies ability to act (Ps 76:5). “Hand finds” signifies have sufficient means (Lv 12:8) or afford. Passive verbs indicate be, be present (Est 1:5), live (Jr 5:26), or be enough. They suggest be verified (Est 2:23) or traced to. “Be found with” connotes belong to (Dt 21:17), possess, or have. The participle entails surviving (2Kg 19:4) or remaining. Causative verbs denote bring (Lv 9:12), hand or turn over, and cause to happen.

7:25-29 This passage seems to say that women are more evil than men. However, it needs to be understood in its context; this was a male sage giving advice to other male sages and to men generally. Because Ecclesiastes was originally intended for men (few women were literate), it predominantly reflects the man’s point of view. Furthermore, this text is a reflection on the fall into sin, alluded to in v. 29. The point is that because of sin, the fundamental relationship between male and female, especially husband and wife, is broken (as implied in Gn 3:16). This is why men often have better friendships with other men (in the sense that they encourage and accept one another) than they have with their own wives. The phrase none of those was a woman does not mean that women are intrinsically evil, but that Solomon, as a man, could not find a woman with whom his relationship was without guile, tension, or conflict. He also found that such honest friendships were extremely rare (I found one person in a thousand). If Ecclesiastes were written more for women, it would reflect their point of view, rightly stating that many women have more caring relationships with other women than they have with their husbands. As it stands, both genders benefit from the God-given wisdom found in this book.