Biblical Hebrew Forum

[K Randolph <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

George:

2011/3/17 George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>

> Qohelet 9.7 reads:
>
>
> ‏‏ לֵ֣ךְ אֱכֹ֤ל בְּשִׂמְחָה֙ לַחְמֶ֔ךָ וּֽשֲׁתֵ֥ה בְלֶב־ט֖וֹב יֵינֶ֑ךָ
> כִּ֣י כְבָ֔ר רָצָ֥ה הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶֽת־מַעֲשֶֽׂיךָ׃
>
> I'm interested to hear from others about how they see the final clause
> working here.


You really need to go back to at least verse 4 if not the beginning of the
chapter to get the context of the clause.


> Almost all English versions go for something like '…for God has already
> accepted your works'. This understands the verb רצה as meaning 'to accept',
> or 'to approve'. However, this seems to go against the context in my
> opinion. Qohelet is known for producing tensions in his discussion, but they
> are usually contextual and can be upheld. This one seems to defy that
> principle.
>

I read this as fatalism, that nothing really matters. Even God is not
judgmental, he is already satisfied with anything that you do. It doesn’t
matter what you do, you’ll die no matter if you are wise or foolish, good or
bad, or whatever. So grab what little pleasures you find in life to relieve
the trouble and futility of life.

>
> The idea I'm toying with is that the verb רצה indicates the subject making
> a decision for something—wanting something. The verb makes no express
> statement about the objective merit of an external thing that would cause
> the subject to make a decision, even though it might be used in a situation
> where an external object impels the subject to 'like' or 'accept' it. But
> that is beside the point. The point of the verb is to focus on the subject's
> positive decision about something. In this case, it would read something
> like '…for God has already decided your works'. This would be an expression
> of divine determinism, which in the context would be entirely appropriate.
>

I don’t see what you see, rather it appears to me that it doesn’t matter
either way. Just my understanding of the verse. I see RCH in this context as
referring to a non-judgmental satisfaction “he did the best he could”
concept.

>
> Thoughts?
>
>
> GEORGE ATHAS
> Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
> www.moore.edu.au
>

Karl W. Randolph.