a shower · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
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
Isaiah 5:30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the…
1 Samuel 3:2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
1 Samuel 4:15 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; and his eyes were dim, that he could not see.
1 Samuel 4:18 And it came to pass, when he made mention of the ark of God, that he fell from off the seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck b…
Genesis 27:1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto…
Genesis 48:10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
Psalms 42:7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
Psalms 71:20 Thou, which hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 12:1-7
Here is, I. A call to young people to think of God, and mind their duty to him, when they are young: Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. This is, 1. The royal preacher's application of his sermon concerning the vanity of the world and every thing in it. "You that are young flatter yourselves with expectations of great things from it, but believe those that have tried it; it yields no solid satisfaction to a soul; therefore, that you may not be deceived by this vanity, nor too much disturbed by it, remember your Creator, and so guard yourselves against the mischiefs that arise from the vanity of the creature." 2. It is the royal physician's antidote against the particular disea…
Illustrating "the evil days" (Jer 13:16). "Light," "sun," &c., express prosperity; "darkness," pain and calamity (Isa 13:10; Isa 30:26).
clouds . . . after . . . rain--After rain sunshine (comfort) might be looked for, but only a brief glimpse of it is given, and the gloomy clouds (pains) return.
John Gill on Ecclesiastes 12:2
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened,.... The wise man proceeds to describe the infirmities of old age, and the troubles that attend it; in order to engage young men to regard God and religion, before these come upon them, which greatly unfit for his service. This the Targum and Midrash, and, after them, Jarchi, interpret of the splendour of the countenance of man, of the light of his eyes, and the beauty of his cheeks, and other parts of his face; which decrease and go off at old age, and paleness and wrinkles succeed: and others of the adversities and calamities which attend persons at such years; which are sometimes in Scripture signified by the darkenin…
"Ere the sun becomes dark, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain." Umbreit, Elster, and Ginsburg find here the thought: ere death overtakes thee; the figure under which the approach of death is described being that of a gathering storm. But apart from other objections (vid., Gurlitt, "zur Erlk. d. B. Koheleth," in Sutd. u. Krit. 1865), this idea is opposed by the consideration that the author seeks to describe how man, having become old, goes forth (חלך, Ecc 12:5) to death, and that not till Ecc 12:7 does he reach it. Also Taylor's view, that what precedes Ecc 12:5 is as a dirge expressing the feelings experienced on the day of a person's death, is…
The Church Fathers
"While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain. "If we take this from the creation of the world, this chapter agrees with the words of the Lord, in which He says, "there will be trouble and difficulty as there has not been since the beginning of creation, but this will not happen. For the sun will grow dark and the moon will not shed light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the virtues of heaven will be moved" [Matth. 24, 21.19.]. Those things are the guardians of the house, as we understand the 'house' to be this world, and the strong men, deceived by wickedness and varied strengths must be dispersed. But if a particular consummation of any one person is kept to the end of his life, then the sun, the moon, and stars, clouds and rain will cease to be for him, who has died. Differently: enjoy youth, O Christian people, and enjoy the goodness which has been given to you by God, and know that God will judge you for all these. Do not think that, since the earlier branches have been broken, you will be placed in the root of a good olive tree, and therefore you will be without worry. But remove anger from your heart and desires from your body, and when you have left all other vices remember your Creator before the day of wickedness comes, the day of madness, in which punishments have been made for sinners. This is so that when you sin the sun of righteousness will set for you at midday, and the light of knowledge will die, and the brightness of the moon, (that is of the Church) will be taken away, and the stars will die, about which is written, "in which you shine like the lights in the world having reason of life" [Phil. 2, 15.]. And elsewhere: "star differs from star in glory. Before the clouds return after the rain" [I Cor. 15, 41.], lest the prophets, who have watered the hearts of believers by the rain of their speech, after they have seen you to be unworthy of their rain, return to their seat, clearly to Him from whom they were sent.
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
Allegory — Used only in Gal. 4:24, where the apostle refers to the history of Isaac the free-born, and Ishmael the slave-born, and makes use of it allegorically. Every parable is an allegory. Nathan (2 Sam.…
Cloud — The Hebrew so rendered means “a covering,” because clouds cover the sky. The word is used as a symbol of the Divine presence, as indicating the splendour of that glory which it conceals (Ex. 16:10;…
Moon — Heb. yareah, from its paleness (Ezra 6:15), and lebanah, the “white” (Cant. 6:10; Isa. 24:23), was appointed by the Creator to be with the sun “for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years”…
Moon · Its light — Its light
Old Age · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Readings, Select · OLD AGE — OLD AGE
Stars · Darkening of — Darkening of
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).
This beautiful prose poem, which uses many metaphors in Hebrew, describes the torturous deterioration of aging (in continuation of 11:7-10).
12:1-2 Don’t . . . forget your Creator: Reverence for God can give wisdom (Prov 1:7) and guidance as to what will be beneficial in this life and pleasing to God at the judgment (Eccl 12:13-14). It is better to remember God when young, when wisdom can make a real difference in life’s results.
Rashi on Ecclesiastes 12:2
Before the darkening of the sun. Our Rabbis said that this שֶׁמֶשׁ refers to the forehead, which gives light and shines on a young man,3See Rashi in Maseches Shabbos 151b. but as he grows older, it becomes wrinkled and does not shine.4Alternatively, before becoming ill and bedridden. (Metsudas Dovid)
The light. This refers to the nose, which is the form of the face’s features.
The moon. This refers to the soul, which provides a person with light, once it is taken away from him, his eyes cease to have light.
And the stars. These refer to the cheeks, the pomegranates of the face, called pomels [in O.F.] of the cheeks, which shine.
And the clouds return after the rain. The dimming of the li…
