to be (causatively make) large (in various senses · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
increased
וְהוֹסַ֔פְתִּיve.ho.Saf.ti
H3254
to add or augment (often adverbial · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
before
לְפָנַ֖יle.fa.Nai
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix
Jerusalem
בִּירוּשָׁלִָ֑םbi.ru.sha.Lim
H3389
Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · preposition + proper noun, a place name
wisdom
חָכְמָתִ֖יcha.khe.ma.Ti
H2451
wisdom (in a good sense) · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix
remained
עָ֥מְדָה'A.me.dah
H5975
to stand · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
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
1 Chronicles 29:25 And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king…
Ecclesiastes 1:16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in…
1 Kings 10:23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.
2 Chronicles 9:22-23 And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
1 Kings 3:12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before…
1 Kings 10:7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity…
2 Chronicles 1:1 And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Solomon here, in pursuit of the summum bonum - the felicity of man, adjourns out of his study, his library, his elaboratory, his council-chamber, where he had in vain sought for it, into the park and the playhouse, his garden and his summer-house; he exchanges the company of the philosophers and grave senators for that of the wits and gallants, and the beaux-esprits, of his court, to try if he could find true satisfaction and happiness among them. Here he takes a great step downward, from the noble pleasures of the intellect to the brutal ones of sense; yet, if he resolve to make a thorough trial, he must knock at this door, because here a great part of mankind imagine they have found that w…
So I was great,.... Became famous for the great works wrought by him before mentioned;
and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem; the Targum adds, "in riches"; but it seems rather to respect his fame and glory among men; though in general it may include his increase of wealth, power, and honour, and everything that contributed to his external happiness;
also my wisdom remained with me; the Targum adds, "and it helped me"; which he exercised and showed in the government of his kingdom, in the conduct of his family, in his personal deportment and behaviour; amidst all his pleasures, he did not neglect the study of natural knowledge, nor give himself up to sordid and sinful…
"And I became great, and was always greater than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And all that mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I refused not any kind of joy to my heart; for my heart had joy of all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. And I turned myself to all the works which my hands had done, and to the labour which I had laboured to accomplish: and, behold, all was vain, and windy effort, and there was no true profit under the sun." In vehosaphti there is here no obj. as at Ecc 1:16; the obj. is the gedullah, the greatness, to be concluded and thought of from vegadalti, "and I became great." To the impers. היה for היוּ, 7b, cf…
The Church Fathers
The wise person always finds himself "increasing" when he prospers. But in life, it is the last and the first thing to reach perfection. In Scripture it is said, "When human beings have finished, they are just beginning." Of course, even if human beings reach the perfection possible in this life, still, as it is said, "We know only in part." In the activity of "increasing" there is always something virtuous.… [The prophets and Moses] prophesied what Jesus would do and teach. But Jesus fulfilled the prophecy. The actualization of potentialities is always an "increase." These prepared the way, but he has perfected the way when he declared about himself: "I am the way, the truth." And he says to his disciples: "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees." In this you see that Jesus' disciples had more righteousness than the previous ones.
"Thus I grew and surpassed any of my predecessors in Jerusalem; still, my wisdom stayed with me." It seems to me that Ecclesiastes, acting grandly, agrees less with the Lord, unless by chance we adapt this to him: "He [Jesus] increased in wisdom and age and grace" [Luc. 2, 52.]. And, "on account of which God took him on high [Phil. 2, 9.]". He also says "those who were before me in Jerusalem" and is referring to those who, before he arrived, steered the congregation of holy men and the Church. If we explain the text in a spiritual way then Christ is richer than all men; and he only perceives the Synagogue better in bodily form than the Church. Therefore he wears a veil, because it was placed over the face of Moses and he let us see his face in daylight. [Cfr Ex. 34,33. ; II Cor. 3, 13.] More precisely "wisdom has stayed with me", means even in respect to the temptations of the body wisdom stayed with him. For he who receives a profit from his wisdom will not keep wisdom long, but he who does not receive a gain, nor grows through change, but always has plenty- he is able to say, "and wisdom has stayed with me".
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Epicureans · Doctrines propagated by, familiar to — Doctrines propagated by, familiar to
Investigation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Pleasure · WORLDLY — WORLDLY
Vanity · Worldly possessions are — Worldly possessions are
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).
I became greater: Cp. 1 Kgs 10:23. • Solomon’s wisdom enabled his successful rise in power and prosperity (see 1 Kgs 3:2-14; 4:20-34).
Rashi on Ecclesiastes 2:9
Also my wisdom. Also,12Alternatively, אף means “anger” and the verse is translated as, “only the [Torah] wisdom that I acquired through exertion [אף] is what remained with me.” The Gemara in Maseches Berachos 63b and in Maseches Eiruvin 54a indicates that the study of Torah during trying times is most commendable and will result in great success and will not soon be forgotten. Or, unlike some preachers who do not practice what they preach, I, says Koheles, internalized and conducted my life [עמדה לי] according to what I preached. (Yismach Moshe) I did not forsake my wisdom because of all these affairs, and it remained with me and I did not forget it. Another explanation, it stood by me to ai…