Ecclesiastes 2:5
in Ecclesiastes 2I made gardens and parks for myself, where I planted all kinds of fruit trees.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I made me gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit;
KJV
I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits:
⋯
This verse in Ecclesiastes 2
Commentary
10 notes on this verseI made me gardens and orchards,.... Of the king's garden, we read Jer 39:4. Adrichomius (b) makes mention of a royal garden in the suburbs of Jerusalem, fenced with walls; and was a paradise of fruit trees, herbs, spices, and flowers; abounded with all kind of fruit, exceeding pleasant and delightful to the senses: and, as Solomon was so great a botanist, and knew the nature and use of all kinds of trees and herbs, 1Ki 4:33; no doubt but he has a herbal garden, well stocked with everything of that kind, curious and useful; see 1Ki 21:
This site's exposition
I sought to cheer my body with wine
on Ecclesiastes 2:3-6
The wine test follows the same design, I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly, my mind guiding me with wisdom. From wine he moves to building: houses, vineyards, gardens and parks, fruit trees and reservoirs to water my groves of flourishing trees.
This site's exposition
I made gardens and parks
The word for parks is pardesim, which gives English its word paradise, and Clarke finds it in Persian for a pleasant garden. Barnes places one of these royal gardens at Jerusalem near the pool of Siloam, called the king's garden. To Henry, garden work was the work of Adam.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"I made for myself gardens and orchards and planted in them every kind of fruit tree. "In my treasure house are not only gold and silver dishes but even some that are made from wood and pottery. And even the gardens therefore are made on account of certain weaker and sick men, for anyone who is sick will eat vegetables. Trees are planted, not all of them fruit-bearing as we have in the Latin manuscripts, but of all fruits, that is of varied fruits and fruit-trees, because the grace of the Church is also varied.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCommentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
"I made gardens and orchards and planted them with trees of every kind," for food: Song of Songs 6: "I went down into my garden to see the fruits of the valleys and to look whether the vineyard had flourished and the pomegranates had budded." …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
), and perhaps the art of gardening was no way inferior then to what it is now. He had not only forests of timber-trees, but trees of all kinds of fruit, which he himself had planted; and, if any worldly business would yield a man happiness, surely it must be that which Adam was employed in while he was in innocency.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Orchards - literally, “paradises,” i. e., parks or pleasure-grounds (compare Neh 2:8 note). Indications of at least three of these have been pointed out; one at Jerusalem near the pool of Siloam, called “the king’s garden” Neh 3:15; Jer 52:7; a second near Bethlehem (compare Ecc 2:6); and a third in the remote north, on the heights of Hermon Son 4:8; Son 8:11.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
1Co 12:2); or, one "allured" (2Pe 2:18, 19). yet acquainting . . . wisdom--literally, "and my heart (still) was behaving, or guiding itself," with wisdom [GESENIUS]. MAURER translates: "was weary of (worldly) wisdom." But the end of Ec 2:9 confirms English Version. folly--namely, pleasures of the flesh, termed "mad," Ec 2:2. all the days, &c.--(See Margin and Ec 6:12;
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
gardens--Hebrew, "paradises," a foreign word; Sanskrit, "a place enclosed with a wall"; Armenian and Arabic, "a pleasure ground with flowers and shrubs near the king's house, or castle." An earthly paradise can never make up for the want of the heavenly (Re 2:7).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
I made one gardens and orchards - פרדסים pardesim, “paradises.” I doubt much whether this be an original Hebrew word. ferdoos, is found in the Persian and Arabic; and signifies a pleasant garden, a vineyard. Hence our word paradise, a place full of delights. How well Solomon was qualified to form gardens, orchards, vineyards, conservatories, etc., may be at once conceived when we recollect his knowledge of natural history; and that he wrote treatises on vegetables and their properties, from the cedar to the hyssop.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עָשִׂ֣יתִי | ʾasiti | I made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לִ֔י | li | for <the> myself | ||
| גַּנּ֖וֹת | ganot | gardens | H1593 → | |
| וּפַרְדֵּסִ֑ים | ufardesim | and parks | H6508 → | |
| וְנָטַ֥עְתִּי | venata'ti | and I planted | H5193 → | 58 times |
| בָהֶ֖ם | vahem | in <the> them | ||
| עֵ֥ץ | ʾetz | tree[s] of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| פֶּֽרִי׃ | peri | fruit | H6529 → |
עָשִׂ֣יתִיI made
ʾasitiH6213 →2628 times
לִ֔יfor <the> myself
li
גַּנּ֖וֹתgardens
ganotH1593 →
וּפַרְדֵּסִ֑יםand parks
ufardesimH6508 →
וְנָטַ֥עְתִּיand I planted
venata'tiH5193 →58 times
בָהֶ֖םin <the> them
vahem
עֵ֥ץtree[s] of
ʾetzH6086 →328 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
פֶּֽרִי׃fruit
periH6529 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Song of Solomon 6:2My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies.
it leads to
- Song of Solomon 5:13
His cheeks are like beds of spice, towers of perfume. His lips are like lilies, dripping with flowing myrrh.
- Song of Solomon 5:13
Through
Song of Solomon 4:12My sister, my bride, you are a garden locked up, a spring enclosed, a fountain sealed.
it leads to
- Proverbs 5:15–18
Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.
- Revelation 21:27
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
- Isaiah 61:10–11
I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…
- 1 Corinthians 6:13
“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy them both. The body is not intended for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19–20
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
- Proverbs 5:15–18
Through
Jeremiah 39:4When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled. They left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and they…
it leads to
- Amos 2:14
Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.
- 2 Chronicles 32:5
Then Hezekiah worked resolutely to rebuild all the broken sections of the wall and to raise up towers on it. He also built an outer wall and reinforced the supporting terraces of the City…
- Amos 2:14
Where this verse is studied
About Ecclesiastes
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bonaventure, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 2; Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ecclesiastes; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.