Ecc 2:7 | KD | STEP | “I procured servants and maidens, and also I obtained servants born in the house; also the possession of flocks; I obtained many horned and small cattle before all who were in Jerusalem before me.” The obtaining of these possessions is, according to Gen 17:12., to be understood of purchase. There is a distinction between the slaves, male and female ( mancipia ), obtained by purchase, and those who were home-born ( vernae ), the בּית (ילידי) בּני, who were regarded as the chief support of the house ( ), on account of their attachment to it, and to this day are called (Arab.) fada wayyt, as those who offer themselves a sacrifice for it, if need be. Regarding לי היה, in the sense of increasing possession; and regarding היה for היוּ, vid ., at , ; at all events, the sing. of the pred. may be explained from this, that the persons and things named are thought of in the mass, as at Zec 11:5; (although the idea there may be also individualizing); but in the use of the pass., as at ; , the Semite custom is different, inasmuch as for it the passive has the force of an active without a definite subject, and thus with the most general subject; and as to the case lying before us in , we see from , cf. , that היה (יהיה) in such instances is thought of as neut. According to and the passage before us, מקנה lay nearer than מקנה, but the primary form instead of the connecting form is here the traditional reading; we have thus apposition ( Nebenordnung ) instead of subordination ( Annexion ), as in zevahim shelamim, , and in habbaqar hannehhosheth, 2Ki 16:17, although vaqar vatson may also be interpreted as the accus. of the more accurate definition: the possession of flocks consisting in cattle and sheep. But this manner of construction is, for a book of so late an origin, too artificial. What it represents Solomon as saying is consistent with historical fact; at the consecration of the temple he sacrificed hecatombs, 1Ki 8:63; and the daily supply for the royal kitchen, which will at the same time serve to show the extent of the royal household, was, according to 1Ki 5:2., enormous. There now follows the enumeration of riches and jewels which were a delight to the eye; and finally, the large provision made for revelling in the pleasures of music and of sensual love.

‏ Ecclesiastes 2:7

Ecc 2:7 “I procured servants and maidens, and also I obtained servants born in the house; also the possession of flocks; I obtained many horned and small cattle before all who were in Jerusalem before me.” The obtaining of these possessions is, according to Gen 17:12., to be understood of purchase. There is a distinction between the slaves, male and female (mancipia), obtained by purchase, and those who were home-born (vernae), the בּית (ילידי) בּני, who were regarded as the chief support of the house (Gen 14:14), on account of their attachment to it, and to this day are called (Arab.) fada wayyt, as those who offer themselves a sacrifice for it, if need be. Regarding לי היה, in the sense of increasing possession; and regarding היה for היוּ, vid., at Ecc 1:10, Ecc 1:16; at all events, the sing. of the pred. may be explained from this, that the persons and things named are thought of in the mass, as at Zec 11:5; Joe 1:20 (although the idea there may be also individualizing); but in the use of the pass., as at Gen 35:26; Dan 9:24, the Semite custom is different, inasmuch as for it the passive has the force of an active without a definite subject, and thus with the most general subject; and as to the case lying before us in Ecc 2:7, we see from Exo 12:49, cf. Gen 15:17, that היה (יהיה) in such instances is thought of as neut. According to Gen 26:14 and the passage before us, מקנה lay nearer than מקנה, but the primary form instead of the connecting form is here the traditional reading; we have thus apposition (Nebenordnung) instead of subordination (Annexion), as in zevahim shelamim, Exo 24:5, and in habbaqar hannehhosheth, 2Ki 16:17, although vaqar vatson may also be interpreted as the accus. of the more accurate definition: the possession of flocks consisting in cattle and sheep. But this manner of construction is, for a book of so late an origin, too artificial. What it represents Solomon as saying is consistent with historical fact; at the consecration of the temple he sacrificed hecatombs, 1Ki 8:63; and the daily supply for the royal kitchen, which will at the same time serve to show the extent of the royal household, was, according to 1Ki 5:2., enormous.

There now follows the enumeration of riches and jewels which were a delight to the eye; and finally, the large provision made for revelling in the pleasures of music and of sensual love.