Ecclesiastes 2:7 Study Bible: I bought male servants and female servants, and had servants born in my house. I also had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all who were before me in Jerusalem;

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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,

Study Bible

I acquired
The Hebrew root for "acquired" is "קָנָה" (qanah), which means to purchase or possess. This term reflects the active pursuit and accumulation of wealth and resources. In the context of Ecclesiastes, it underscores the Preacher's (traditionally understood as Solomon) deliberate efforts to amass material wealth and status, highlighting the human tendency to seek fulfillment through possessions.

male and female servants
The mention of "male and female servants" indicates a structured household with a significant workforce. In ancient Israel, servants were often part of a household's wealth and status. This phrase reflects the societal norms of the time, where owning servants was a sign of prosperity and power. It also points to the hierarchical nature of ancient societies, where social status was often measured by the number of servants one possessed.

and I had other slaves who were born in my house
The phrase "born in my house" suggests a generational aspect to servitude, where slaves were not only acquired but also born into the household. This indicates a stable and enduring wealth, as the household was self-sustaining in its labor force. It also reflects the patriarchal structure of ancient households, where the head of the house had absolute authority over those born within it.

I also owned more herds and flocks
Herds and flocks were primary indicators of wealth in ancient agrarian societies. The ownership of "more herds and flocks" signifies not just wealth, but also the ability to sustain and grow that wealth through agriculture and animal husbandry. This phrase highlights the Preacher's extensive resources and his ability to surpass others in material accumulation.

than anyone in Jerusalem before me
This phrase emphasizes the unparalleled nature of the Preacher's wealth and achievements. Jerusalem, as the center of Israelite life and worship, serves as a benchmark for comparison. By stating that his wealth exceeded that of anyone before him, the Preacher underscores the futility of seeking satisfaction in material abundance, as even the greatest accumulation does not lead to lasting fulfillment.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Solomon
The traditionally accepted author of Ecclesiastes, known for his wisdom, wealth, and extensive building projects. He reflects on his life experiences and the pursuit of meaning.

2. Jerusalem
The capital city of Israel, where Solomon reigned as king. It serves as a backdrop for his reflections on wealth and accomplishments.

3. Servants
Individuals who worked for Solomon, both those acquired and those born in his household, symbolizing his wealth and status.

4. Herds and Flocks
Representations of wealth in ancient times, indicating Solomon's prosperity and success in agricultural endeavors.

5. The Preacher (Qoheleth)
The voice in Ecclesiastes, often identified with Solomon, who explores the meaning of life and the futility of earthly pursuits.

Teaching Points

The Futility of Earthly Wealth
Solomon's accumulation of wealth and servants highlights the temporary satisfaction of material possessions. True fulfillment cannot be found in earthly abundance.

The Illusion of Security
Despite having more herds and flocks than anyone before him, Solomon recognizes that such wealth does not provide lasting security or peace.

Contentment in God
The pursuit of wealth and status often leads to emptiness. True contentment is found in a relationship with God, not in material possessions.

Reflecting on Priorities
Solomon's reflections encourage us to evaluate our own priorities and consider whether we are seeking fulfillment in temporary things or in eternal values.

The Role of Stewardship
While wealth itself is not condemned, the way we use our resources is important. We are called to be good stewards of what God has entrusted to us.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does Solomon's experience with wealth and possessions challenge our modern views on success and fulfillment?

2. In what ways can we apply the lessons from Solomon's life to our own pursuit of contentment and purpose?

3. How do the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament provide a different perspective on wealth compared to Solomon's reflections?

4. What practical steps can we take to ensure that our priorities align with God's values rather than the world's standards?

5. How can we practice good stewardship of our resources in a way that honors God and benefits others?

Connections to Other Scriptures

1 Kings 10:23-25
This passage describes Solomon's wealth and wisdom, providing context for his reflections in Ecclesiastes.

Matthew 6:19-21
Jesus teaches about storing treasures in heaven rather than on earth, offering a contrast to Solomon's earthly acquisitions.

Philippians 4:11-13
Paul speaks about contentment in all circumstances, which can be seen as a counterpoint to Solomon's pursuit of wealth.

Sermons

The Trial of Pleasure	W. Clarkson	Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
The Vanity of Wealth, Pleasure, and Greatness	D. Thomas	Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
A Strange Experiment	C. L. Thompson, D. D.	Ecclesiastes 2:1-26
The Pleasures of Sin and the Pleasures of Christ's Service Contrasted	J. M. Sherwood, D. D.	Ecclesiastes 2:1-26
The Threefold View of Human Life	W. L. Watkinson.	Ecclesiastes 2:1-26
Another Experiment: Refined Voluptuousness	J. Willcock	Ecclesiastes 2:4-11

People

Argob, Solomon

Places

Jerusalem

Topics

Acquired, Anyone, Birth, Born, Bought, Cattle, Daughters, Female, Flock, Flocks, Got, Herd, Herds, Homeborn, Jerusalem, Larger, Maidens, Maid-servants, Male, Men-servants, Owned, Possessed, Possessions, Preceded, Procured, Servants, Slaves, Sons, Substance, Wealth, Women-servants

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Ecclesiastes 2:7

7447 slavery, in OT

Ecclesiastes 2:1-8

5716 middle age
5853 experience, of life

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

5940 searching

Ecclesiastes 2:4-9

5776 achievement

Library

Of Spiritual Aridity
Of Spiritual Aridity Though God hath no other desire than to impart Himself to the loving soul that seeks Him, yet He frequently conceals Himself that the soul may be roused from sloth, and impelled to seek Him with fidelity and love. But with what abundant goodness doth He recompense the faithfulness of His beloved? And how sweetly are these apparent withdrawings of Himself succeeded by the consoling caresses of love? At these seasons we are apt to believe, either that it proves our fidelity, and …
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

A Prayer for Cleansing of the Heart and for Heavenly Wisdom
4. Strengthen me, O God, by the grace of Thy Holy Spirit. Give me virtue to be strengthened with might in the inner man, and to free my heart from all fruitless care and trouble, and that I be not drawn away by various desires after any things whatsoever, whether of little value or great, but that I may look upon all as passing away, and myself as passing away with them; because there is no profit under the sun, and all is vanity and vexation of spirit.(1) Oh how wise is he that considereth thus! …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Chronology of the Life of Ephraim.
Thus the fixed points for determining the chronology of Ephraim's life are: 1. The death of his patron, St. Jacob, Bishop of Nisibis, in 338, after the first siege of that city. 2. The third siege, in which he was among the defenders of the city, in 350. 3. The surrender of Nisibis by Jovian, and its abandonment by its Christian inhabitants, 363; followed by Ephraim's removal to Edessa. 4. The consecration of Basil to the see of Cæsarea, late in 370, followed by Ephraim's visit to him there. …
Ephraim the Syrian—Hymns and Homilies of Ephraim the Syrian

Introduction to the "Theological" Orations.
"It has been said with truth," says the writer of the Article on Gregory of Nazianzus in the Dictionary of Christian Biography, "that these discourses would lose their chief charm in a translation....Critics have rivalled each other in the praises they have heaped upon them, but no praise is so high as that of the many Theologians who have found in them their own best thoughts. A Critic who cannot be accused of partiality towards Gregory has given in a few words perhaps the truest estimate of them: …
St. Cyril of Jerusalem—Lectures of S. Cyril of Jerusalem

But Now I Will Proceed with what I have Begun...
14. But now I will proceed with what I have begun, if I can, and I will so treat with you, as not in the mean while to lay open the Catholic Faith, but, in order that they may search out its great mysteries, to show to those who have a care for their souls, hope of divine fruit, and of the discerning of truth. No one doubts of him who seeks true religion, either that he already believes that there is an immortal soul for that religion to profit, or that he also wishes to find that very thing in this …
St. Augustine—On the Profit of Believing.

Whether the Church Observes a Suitable Rite in Baptizing?
Objection 1: It seems that the Church observes an unsuitable rite in baptizing. For as Chrysostom (Chromatius, in Matth. 3:15) says: "The waters of Baptism would never avail to purge the sins of them that believe, had they not been hallowed by the touch of our Lord's body." Now this took place at Christ's Baptism, which is commemorated in the Feast of the Epiphany. Therefore solemn Baptism should be celebrated at the Feast of the Epiphany rather than on the eves of Easter and Whitsunday. Objection …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

A Discourse of the House and Forest of Lebanon
OF THE HOUSE OF THE FOREST OF LEBANON. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. That part of Palestine in which the celebrated mountains of Lebanon are situated, is the border country adjoining Syria, having Sidon for its seaport, and Land, nearly adjoining the city of Damascus, on the north. This metropolitan city of Syria, and capital of the kingdom of Damascus, was strongly fortified; and during the border conflicts it served as a cover to the Assyrian army. Bunyan, with great reason, supposes that, to keep …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Eternity of Heaven's Happiness.
Having endeavored, in the foregoing pages, to form to ourselves some idea of the glorious happiness reserved for us in heaven, there still remains to say something of its crowning glory--the eternity of its duration. This is not only its crowning glory, but it is, moreover, an essential constituent of that unspeakable joy which now inebriates the souls of the blessed. A moment's reflection will make this evident. Let us suppose, for the sake of illustration, that on the last day, God should thus …
F. J. Boudreaux—The Happiness of Heaven

The Outbreak of the Arian Controversy. The Attitude of Eusebius.
About the year 318, while Alexander was bishop of Alexandria, the Arian controversy broke out in that city, and the whole Eastern Church was soon involved in the strife. We cannot enter here into a discussion of Arius' views; but in order to understand the rapidity with which the Arian party grew, and the strong hold which it possessed from the very start in Syria and Asia Minor, we must remember that Arius was not himself the author of that system which we know as Arianism, but that he learned the …
Eusebius Pamphilius—Church History

Paul's Missionary Labors.
The public life of Paul, from the third year after his conversion to his martyrdom, a.d. 40-64, embraces a quarter of a century, three great missionary campaigns with minor expeditions, five visits to Jerusalem, and at least four years of captivity in Caesarea and Rome. Some extend it to a.d. 67 or 68. It may be divided into five or six periods, as follows: 1. a.d. 40-44. The period of preparatory labors in Syria and his native Cilicia, partly alone, partly in connection with Barnabas, his senior …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

James the Brother of the Lord.
He pistis choris ergon nekra estin.--James 2:26 Sources. I. Genuine sources: Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; 1 Cor. 15:7; Gal. 1:19; 2:9, 12. Comp. James "the brother of the Lord," Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3; Gal. 1:19. The Epistle of James. II. Post-apostolic: Josephus: Ant. XX. 9, 1.--Hegesippus in Euseb. Hist. Ecc. II. ch. 23.--Jerome: Catal. vir. ill. c. 2, under "Jacobus." Epiphanius, Haer. XXIX. 4; XXX. 16; LXXVIII. 13 sq. III. Apocryphal: Protevangelium Jacobi, ed. in Greek by Tischendorf, in "Evangelia …
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

"And These Things Write we unto You, that Your Joy May be Full. "
1 John i. 4.--"And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." All motions tend to rest and quietness. We see it daily in the motions below, and we believe it also of the circular revolutions of the heavens above, that there is a day coming in which they shall cease, as having performed all they were appointed for. And as it is in things natural, so it is in things rational in a more eminent way. Their desires, affections, and actions, which are the motions and stretches of the soul …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers.
1. His Early Years.--Ephraim, according to this biography, was a Syrian of Mesopotamia, by birth, and by parentage on both sides. His mother was of Amid (now Diarbekr) a central city of that region; his father belonged to the older and more famous City of Nisibis, not far from Amid but near the Persian frontier, where he was priest of an idol named Abnil (or Abizal) in the days of Constantine the Great (306-337). This idol was afterwards destroyed by Jovian (who became Emperor in 363 after the …
Ephraim the Syrian—Hymns and Homilies of Ephraim the Syrian

"For to be Carnally Minded is Death; but to be Spiritually Minded is Life and Peace. "
Rom. viii. 6.--"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." It is true, this time is short, and so short that scarce can similitudes or comparisons be had to shadow it out unto us. It is a dream, a moment, a vapour, a flood, a flower, and whatsoever can be more fading or perishing; and therefore it is not in itself very considerable, yet in another respect it is of all things the most precious, and worthy of the deepest attention and most serious consideration; …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Lii. Concerning Hypocrisy, Worldly Anxiety, Watchfulness, and his Approaching Passion.
(Galilee.) ^C Luke XII. 1-59. ^c 1 In the meantime [that is, while these things were occurring in the Pharisee's house], when the many thousands of the multitude were gathered together, insomuch that they trod one upon another [in their eagerness to get near enough to Jesus to see and hear] , he began to say unto his disciples first of all [that is, as the first or most appropriate lesson], Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. [This admonition is the key to the understanding …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Messiah's Easy Yoke
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. T hough the influence of education and example, may dispose us to acknowledge the Gospel to be a revelation from God; it can only be rightly understood, or duly prized, by those persons who feel themselves in the circumstances of distress, which it is designed to relieve. No Israelite would think of fleeing to a city of refuge (Joshua 20:2. …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

There is a Blessedness in Reversion
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Matthew 5:3 Having done with the occasion, I come now to the sermon itself. Blessed are the poor in spirit'. Christ does not begin his Sermon on the Mount as the Law was delivered on the mount, with commands and threatenings, the trumpet sounding, the fire flaming, the earth quaking, and the hearts of the Israelites too for fear; but our Saviour (whose lips dropped as the honeycomb') begins with promises and blessings. So sweet and ravishing was the doctrine of this …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

The Hindrances to Mourning
What shall we do to get our heart into this mourning frame? Do two things. Take heed of those things which will stop these channels of mourning; put yourselves upon the use of all means that will help forward holy mourning. Take heed of those things which will stop the current of tears. There are nine hindrances of mourning. 1 The love of sin. The love of sin is like a stone in the pipe which hinders the current of water. The love of sin makes sin taste sweet and this sweetness in sin bewitches the …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Exhortations to those who are Called
IF, after searching you find that you are effectually called, I have three exhortations to you. 1. Admire and adore God's free grace in calling you -- that God should pass over so many, that He should pass by the wise and noble, and that the lot of free grace should fall upon you! That He should take you out of a state of vassalage, from grinding the devil's mill, and should set you above the princes of the earth, and call you to inherit the throne of glory! Fall upon your knees, break forth into …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners Or, a Brief Relation of the Exceeding Mercy of God in Christ, to his Poor Servant, John Bunyan
In this my relation of the merciful working of God upon my soul, it will not be amiss, if in the first place, I do in a few words give you a hint of my pedigree, and manner of bringing up; that thereby the goodness and bounty of God towards me, may be the more advanced and magnified before the sons of men. 2. For my descent then, it was, as is well known by many, of a low and inconsiderable generation; my father's house being of that rank that is meanest, and most despised of all the families in …
John Bunyan—Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners

Christ's Prophetic Office
'The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet,' &c. Deut 18:85. Having spoken of the person of Christ, we are next to speak of the offices of Christ. These are Prophetic, Priestly, and Regal. 'The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet.' Enunciatur hic locus de Christo. It is spoken of Christ.' There are several names given to Christ as a Prophet. He is called the Counsellor' in Isa 9:9. In uno Christo Angelus foederis completur [The Messenger of the Covenant appears in Christ alone]. …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Comforts Belonging to Mourners
Having already presented to your view the dark side of the text, I shall now show you the light side, They shall be comforted'. Where observe: 1 Mourning goes before comfort as the lancing of a wound precedes the cure. The Antinomian talks of comfort, but cries down mourning for sin. He is like a foolish patient who, having a pill prescribed him, licks the sugar but throws away the pill. The libertine is all for joy and comfort. He licks the sugar but throws away the bitter pill of repentance. If …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Ecclesiastes
It is not surprising that the book of Ecclesiastes had a struggle to maintain its place in the canon, and it was probably only its reputed Solomonic authorship and the last two verses of the book that permanently secured its position at the synod of Jamnia in 90 A.D. The Jewish scholars of the first century A.D. were struck by the manner in which it contradicted itself: e.g., "I praised the dead more than the living," iv. 2, "A living dog is better than a dead lion," ix. 4; but they were still more …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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