there is or are (or any other form of the verb to be · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
good
ט֖וֹבTov
H2896
good (as an adjective) in the widest sense · adjective, masculine singular absolute
reward
שָׂכָ֥רsa.Khar
H7939
payment of contract · noun, common masculine singular absolute
labour
בַּעֲמָלָֽםba.'a.ma.Lam
H5999
toil · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
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
Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
1 Corinthians 12:18-21 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
Numbers 11:14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.
Mark 6:7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;
John 4:36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice togethe…
Ruth 2:12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
Exodus 4:14-16 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And al…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Ecclesiastes 4:7-12
Here Solomon fastens upon another instance of the vanity of this world, that frequently the more men have of it the more they would have; and on this they are so intent that they have no enjoyment of what they have. Now Solomon here shows,
I. That selfishness is the cause of this evil (Ecc 4:7, Ecc 4:8): There is one alone, that minds none but himself, cares for nobody, but would, if he could, be placed alone in the midst of the earth; there is not a second, nor does he desire there should be: one mouth he thinks enough in a house, and grudges every thing that goes beside him. See how this covetous muckworm is here described. 1. He makes himself a mere slave to his business. Though he has no…
Two--opposed to "one" (Ecc 4:8). Ties of union, marriage, friendship, religious communion, are better than the selfish solitariness of the miser (Gen 2:18).
reward--Advantage accrues from their efforts being conjoined. The Talmud says, "A man without a companion is like a left hand without the right.
John Gill on Ecclesiastes 4:9
Two are better than one,.... The wise man takes occasion, from the solitariness Of the covetous man before described, to show in this and some following verses the preferableness and advantages of social life; which, as it holds true in things natural and civil, so in things spiritual and religious; man is a sociable creature, was made to be so; and it was the judgment of God, which is according to truth, and who can never err, that it was not good for man to be alone, Genesis 2:18. It is best to take a wife, or at least to have a friend or companion, more or less to converse with. Society is preferable to solitariness; conversation with a friend is better than to be always alone; the Targum…
"Better are two together than one, seeing they have a good reward in their labour." By hashshenaim, the author refers to such a pair; haehhad is one such as is just described. The good reward consists in this, that each one of the two has the pleasant consciousness of doing good to the other by his labour, and especially of being helpful to him. In this latter general sense is grounded the idea of the reward of faithful fellowship:
The Church Fathers
"Two are better than one, for they get a greater return for their labour. For should they fall, one can raise the other; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and there is no one to raise him! Also, if two sleep together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? Where one can be overpowered, two can resist attack; A three-ply cord is not easily severed!" After the misfortunes of loneliness in which he has been seized, and he who torments himself in acquiring wealth without a definite heir, now the subject of companionship is treated. And it asks what good ther is in a tent of friends and what comfort there is in company, since one man's distress or domestic strife is lifted by another's help, (any man who has a faithful friend will sleep better all that night, than he who sleeps only with his wealth which he has amassed. And if a stronger enemy rises up against one man, the weakness of one is sustained by the comfort of friends. And just as two differ from one if they are joined in love, so the tent of three is stronger. For even true charity, which has been violated by no envy increases as much in number as it grows in strength. And this idea is conveyed in relatively few words. But since previously we have placed the discussion of the intelligence of certain men before Christ, those things which are still left must be discussed by the same order. It is better for two to be equal, than one. For it is better for a man who lives alone to have Christ, than alone to leave himself vulnerable to ill-intentioned plots. Since the reward of the tent is shown at once in the very usefulness of society. For if one man fell, Christ would raise up his partner. Woe indeed to him who collapses, he will not have Christ rising up in him. For if one sleeps, that is, if he had been dissolved by death and had Christ with him, he will revive more quickly having been made warm and given life once again. And if the devil, being stronger in his attack, should attack a man, the man will stand, and Christ will stand in place of this man, in place of his companion. Not because virtue is weak (the virtue of Christ alone) against the devil, but because the decision of man is left free and for us, who are dependent, but virtue itself will become stronger through fighting. And even if the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit should come, that friendship is not broken easily.…
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
Fellowship · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Friendship · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Olive · SYMBOLI — SYMBOLI
Union · Advantages of — Advantages of
Zerubbabel · Prophecies relating to — Prophecies relating to
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).
Tyndale Open Study Notes on Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two people are better off than one: The solitary man (4:8) brings to mind the advantages of partnerships for business and for personal well-being.
Rashi on Ecclesiastes 4:9
Two are better. In all aspects.
Than one. Therefore, a person should acquire for himself a companion and marry a woman, for they have a greater return in their labor. Much work is accomplished by two, because [there are tasks that] an individual would not start on his own.
