Ecclesiastes 4:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Ecclesiastes 4:1
So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.
to turn back (hence · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
considered
וָאֶרְאֶה֙va.'er.'Eh
H7200
to see · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 1st person common singular
oppressions
הָ֣עֲשֻׁקִ֔יםha.'a.shu.Kim
H6217
used in plural masculine as abstractly · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
done
נַעֲשִׂ֖יםna.'a.Sim
H6213
to do or make · verb, niphal active participle, masculine plural absolute
sun
הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁha.Sha.mesh
H8121
the sun · definite article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
tears
דִּמְעַ֣תdim.'At
H1832
weeping · noun, common feminine singular construct
oppressed
עֹֽשְׁקֵיהֶם֙'o.she.kei.Hem
H6231
to press upon · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
comforter
מְנַחֵ֔םme.na.Chem
H5162
properly · verb, piel active participle, masculine singular absolute
side
וּמִיַּ֤דu.mi.Yad
H3027
a hand (the open one (indicating power · conjunction + preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
oppressors
עָשַׁקʻâshaq
H6231
to press upon
power
כֹּ֔חַKo.ach
H3581
vigor · noun, common masculine singular absolute
comforter
מְנַחֵֽםme.na.Chem
H5162
properly · verb, piel active participle, 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
Ecclesiastes 3:16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there.
Ecclesiastes 5:8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he tha…
Isaiah 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behol…
2 Timothy 4:16-17 At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
Job 35:9 By reason of the multitude of oppressions they make the oppressed to cry: they cry out by reason of the arm of the mighty.
Psalms 12:5 For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffe…
Psalms 42:3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
Psalms 42:9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 4:1-3
Solomon had a large soul (Kg1 4:29) and it appeared by this, among other things, that he had a very tender concern for the miserable part of mankind and took cognizance of the afflictions of the afflicted. He had taken the oppressors to task (Ecc 3:16, Ecc 3:17) and put them in mind of the judgment to come, to be a curb to their insolence; now here he observes the oppressed. This he did, no doubt, as a prince, to do them justice and avenge them of their adversaries, for he both feared God and regarded men; but here he does it as a preacher, and shows,
I. The troubles of their condition (Ecc 4:1); of these he speaks very feelingly and with compassion. It grieved him, 1. To see might prevailin…
So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun,.... The wise man, according to Aben Ezra, returned from the thought, which he had expressed in the latter part of the preceding chapter, that it was good for a man to rejoice in his works, and called it in; since he could not rejoice, when he considered the oppression and violence that were in the world; but it does not appear that he did call it in, for he afterwards repeats it: or rather he returns to his former subject, the abuse of power and authority, mentioned Ecclesiastes 3:16; and from whence he had digressed a little by the above observation; and takes a review of all kinds of oppressions which are done,…
all the oppression: Abuse is rampant at many levels in society—in family, religion, the workplace, government, and foreign powers.
Rashi on Ecclesiastes 4:1
And I returned and considered. By means of the Holy Spirit.
All the oppressions. Who were made to be oppressed in Gehinnom for the deeds that were committed.1Alternatively, one cannot rejoice in view of the injustice and robbery committed in the world. (Ibn Ezra)
Under the sun. תַּחַת [meaning] in exchange for the Torah.2See above 2:18.
And behold, tears of the oppressed. Weeping for their souls, which are oppressed in the hand of the destructive and cruel angels, and similarly it says, “Transgressors in the valley of weeping, transform it into a fountain,”3Tehillim 84:7. these are the ones who descend to Gehinnom. And this verse too is expounded in this manner in Sifre.
And from the han…
The Church Fathers
He praised the innocent dead rather than the living because the latter were still engaged in the struggle but the former had been given their reward of everlasting happiness. He complained that he had seen deceit beneath the sun because he knew that above the sun there is a just judge "who dwells on high and looks down upon humble things." Above the sun there are dwelling places in which the righteous receive due rewards for their righteousness.
"And I returned and contemplated all the acts of oppression that are committed beneath the sun: Behold! Tears of the oppressed with none to comfort them, and their oppressors have the power - with none to comfort them. "After considering this I turned my eyes and attention to this, so that I saw the slanderers and those sustaining chicanery. And look on those who, oppressed unjustly by more powerful men, are not able to find a comforter for their tears. For this is only permitted in disasters and in protest at the ill will of the matter. And wherever there is more distress and inconsolable suffering they see the slanderers as stronger in their difficulties. And this is the cause: because they are not worthy of consolation. He describes this idea more fully in the seventy-second psalm of David, and Jeremiah in his own book.
We desire each day to know what is new, and what is knowledge itself but our daily sorrow and abasement? All things that are have already been, and "nothing is new under the sun," but "all is vanity. Therefore I hated the whole of this life," said Ecclesiastes. He who hated his life certainly commended death. And so he praised the dead rather than the living and judged him happy that did not come into this life nor take up this vain toil. "My heart took a circuit to know the joy of the impious man and to examine carefully and to seek wisdom and a mode of calculating and to know joy through the impious man and trouble and disquietude, and I find that it is bitterer than death"—not because death is bitter, but because it is bitter for the impious one. And yet life is bitterer than death. For it is a greater burden to live for sin than to die in sin, because the impious person increases his sin as long as he lives, but if he dies, he ceases to sin.
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
Affliction, Consolation Under · Is sought in vain from the world — Is sought in vain from the world
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).
