Ecclesiastes 2:7 BSB

Ecclesiastes 2:7

I acquired menservants and maidservants, and servants were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me,

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

I bought men-servants and maid-servants, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that were before me in Jerusalem;

KJV

I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:

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Commentary

4 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

I got me servants and maidens,.... Menservants, and maidservants; the Targum adds, "of the children of Ham, and of the rest of the strange people;'' these were such as he hired, or bought with his money; and had servants born in my house; and these were all employed by him; either as his retinue and equipage, his attendants and bodyguards; or to take care of his household, his gardens, and pools; or for his horses and chariots, and for various offices; see 1Ki 4:26, Ezr 2:

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

He enjoyed, more than ever any man did, a composition of rational and sensitive pleasures at the same time. He was, in this respect, great, and increased more than all that were before him, that he was wise amidst a thousand earthly enjoyments. It was strange, and the like was never met with, (1.) That his pleasures did not debauch his judgment and conscience.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

I got - Rather, I bought, in distinction from those born in the house. The “children of Solomon’s servants” (compare Ezr 2:55, Ezr 2:58) were more probably of Canaanite origin 1Ki 9:20-21; 1Ki 5:15 than Hebrews 1Ki 9:22. Possessions of great and small cattle - Rather, herds of oxen and sheep. All ... before me - King David’s herds and flocks are mentioned in 1Ch 27:29, 1Ch 27:31: but we have no specific account of the wealth of other Canaanite or Hebrew inhabitants of Jerusalem before Solomon.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

18 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
קָנִ֙יתִי֙	ka.Ni.ti	I acquired	H7069 →
עֲבָדִ֣ים	'a.va.Dim	[male] slaves	H5650 →
וּשְׁפָח֔וֹת	u.she.fa.Chot	and female slaves	H8198 →
וּבְנֵי־	u.ve.nei-	and sons of	H1121 →
בַ֖יִת	Va.yit	house	H1004 →
הָ֣יָה	Ha.yah	he belonged	H1961 →
לִ֑י	Li	to <the> me
גַּ֣ם	gam	also	H1571 →
מִקְנֶה֩	mik.Neh	livestock	H4735 →
בָקָ֨ר	va.Kar	herd[s]	H1241 →
וָצֹ֤אן	va.Tzon	and flock[s]	H6629 →
הַרְבֵּה֙	har.Beh	[surely] a multitude	H7235 →
הָ֣יָה	Ha.yah	<it> belonged	H1961 →
לִ֔י	Li	to <the> me
מִכֹּ֛ל	mi.Kol	more than all	H3605 →
שֶֽׁהָי֥וּ	she.ha.Yu	who <they> were	H1961 →
לְפָנַ֖י	le.fa.Nai	<to> before me	H6440 →
בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם׃	bi.ru.sha.Lim	in Jerusalem	H3389 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

H7235harbeh[surely] a multitude227×

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Job 42:12
So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.
leads to
- Job 8:7
  Though your beginnings were modest, your latter days will flourish.
- Ecclesiastes 7:8
  The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.
- Proverbs 10:22
  The blessing of the LORD enriches, and He adds no sorrow to it.
- Psalms 144:13–15
  Our storehouses will be full, supplying all manner of produce; our flocks will bring forth thousands, tens of thousands in our fields.
- Genesis 24:35
  “The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, camels and donkeys.
Through
Genesis 15:3
Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
leads to
- Genesis 14:14
  And when Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men born in his household, and they set out in pursuit as far as Dan.
- Proverbs 29:21
  A servant pampered from his youth will bring grief in the end.
Through
Nehemiah 7:57
The descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth, the descendants of Perida,
leads to
- Ezra 2:55
  The descendants of the servants of Solomon: the descendants of Sotai, the descendants of Sophereth, the descendants of Peruda,