a (female) assembler (i.e. lecturer) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
king
מֶ֛לֶךְMe.lekh
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine singular absolute
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
Jerusalem
בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽםbi.ru.sha.Lim
H3389
Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · preposition + proper noun, a place name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ecclesiastes 1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
1 Kings 4:1-19 So king Solomon was king over all Israel.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 1:12–end
Solomon, having asserted in general that all is vanity, and having given some general proofs of it, now takes the most effectual method to evince the truth of it, 1. By his own experience; he tried them all, and found them vanity. 2. By an induction of particulars; and here he begins with that which bids fairest of all to be the happiness of a reasonable creature, and that is knowledge and learning; if this be vanity, every thing else must needs be so. Now as to this,
I. Solomon tells us here what trial he had made of it, and that with such advantages that, if true satisfaction could have been found in it, he would have found it. 1. His high station gave him an opportunity of improving himse…
Resumption of Ecc 1:1, the intermediate verses being the introductory statement of his thesis. Therefore, "the Preacher" (Koheleth) is repeated.
was king--instead of "am," because he is about to give the results of his past experience during his long reign.
in Jerusalem--specified, as opposed to David, who reigned both in Hebron and Jerusalem; whereas Solomon reigned only in Jerusalem. "King of Israel in Jerusalem," implies that he reigned over Israel and Judah combined; whereas David, at Hebron, reigned only over Judah, and not, until he was settled in Jerusalem, over both Israel and Judah.
John Gill on Ecclesiastes 1:12
I the preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. Solomon having given a general proof of the vanity of all things here below, and of the insufficiency of them to make men happy, proceeds to particular instances, and begins with human wisdom and knowledge, which of all things might be thought to be most conducive to true happiness; and yet it falls short of it: he instances in himself for proof of it; and he could not have pitched on anyone more proper and pertinent to the purpose, who had all the advantages of obtaining wisdom, was assiduous in his pursuit of it, and made a proficiency in it above all mankind; wherefore he must be owned to be a proper judge, and whatever is concluded by him…
"I, Ecclesiastes, was King over Israel in Jerusalem. "Until now the preface has spoken only generally about all arguments; but here he returns to the subject of himself, and reveals who he was, and how he knew and experienced all things. The Hebrews say that Solomon, who was doing repentance, wrote this book, and who, having put his trust in wisdom and riches, failed God because of his wives.
We now learn the identity of Ecclesiastes who gathers into one what is scattered and dispersed. He makes one flock and church in order that everyone may hear the Shepherd's lovely voice who bestows life to all. "The words that I speak are spirit and life." [Christ] calls himself Ecclesiastes that he might be doctor, life, resurrection, light, way, gate, truth and any other benevolent name for humankind. What does he say? "I have been king over Israel in Jerusalem." At what time? Was it not when God set up a king in holy Mount Zion to proclaim his precepts? Of him the Lord says "You are my son; today I have begotten you." The Maker of all things, the eternal Father, said that he begot him today. Thus this temporal name does not refer to [Christ's] eternal essence but to a birth through the flesh in time for man's salvation.
We have learned who the Ecclesiast is, he who unites what has gone astray and has been scattered abroad, and makes it all one church and one flock, that none may be deaf to the shepherd's kindly voice, which gives life to all. For "the words which I speak," he says, "are spirit and are life." This is the one who calls himself Ecclesiast, just as he calls himself "Physician," and "Life," and "Resurrection," and "Light," and "Way," and "Door," and "Truth," and all the names of his love for humankind. … What does the Ecclesiast say? "I have become King over Israel in Jerusalem." When is this? Surely when "he was set up as king by him on Mount Zion, his holy mountain, proclaiming the Lord's commandment." To him the Lord said, "You are my Son," and "Today I have begotten you." He says that today he has begotten the Maker of all, the Father of the ages, so that by applying a temporal term to the moment of his birth, the text might demonstrate not his existence before the ages but his fleshly birth in time, for the salvation of humankind.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Angel (Holy Trinity) · . — .
Preaching · General references — General references
Seventy · The Jews in — The Jews in
Solomon · Succeeds David to the throne of Israel — Succeeds David to the throne of Israel
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Keil & Delitzsch on Ecclesiastes 1:12
"Is there anything whereof it may be said: See, this is new? - it was long ago through the ages (aeons) which have been before us." The Semit. substantive verb ישׁ (Assyr. isu) has here the force of a hypothetical antecedent: supposing that there is a thing of which one might say, etc. The זה, with Makkeph, belongs as subject, as at Ecc 7:27, Ecc 7:29 as object, to that which follows. כּבר (vid., List, p. 193) properly denotes length or greatness of time (as כּברה, length of way). The ל of לע is that of measure: this "long ago" measured (Hitz.) after infinitely long periods of time. מלּ, ante nos, follows the usage of מלּף, Isa 41:26, and lpaa', Jdg 1:10, etc.; the past time is spoken of as…
The Teacher explores the relationships among wisdom, work, and pleasure.
Rashi on Ecclesiastes 1:12
I, Koheles, have been king. Over the whole world, and later, over Yisroel, and then, over Yerusholayim alone, and finally, over my staff,39See Maseches Sanhedrin 20b. for it says, “[I] have been king ... in Yerusholayim,” but now, I am no longer king.40Koheles exemplifies the absurdity of being proud, regardless of one’s position in society. For time gives rise to many changes; Koheles went from reigning over the whole world to being dethroned.
