|
Eccl 9:14
There was a little city, and few men within it;
and there came a great king against it, and
besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it:
15
Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he
by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man
remembered that same poor man.
16 Then
said I, Wisdom is better than strength:
nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised,
and his words are not heard.
This insight brings
to mind the latter saying by Yeshua
Messiah, “And he said, Verily
I
say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his
own country.” (Luke
4:24) [Matt 13:57;
Mark 6:4; John 4:44]. Solomon
continues,
17 The words of
wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of
him that ruleth among fools.
18 Wisdom is better
than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth
much good. (Aved)
There was a
little city, and few men within it,.... Which
some take to be a piece of history, a real
matter of fact; that as the city of Abel, when
besieged by Joab, was delivered by the counsel
of a wise woman, 2Sam
20:15…. some think it is only a fiction,
fable, or parable; the moral of which is, that
political wisdom, even in a poor mean person, is
sometimes very useful and serviceable, though it
does not meet with its proper merit. (Gill, 1779)
Note
that in Ecclesiastes
the word man
is used; whereas Solomon’s retelling neglects to
mention the person as a ‘poor wise woman’ as written in 2Sam
20:15. As is often the
case, many scriptural allegories make neutral
any gender references with the simple
use of the term ‘man’.
In vs.
17-18… The Preacher
returns to a placid, philosophic mood again,
in the cautious praise of wisdom. To note is a
form of parallelism with the terms ‘fool and sinner’ in
this narrative. The
scriptures will sometimes use such a narrative to
emphasize a point. The Solomon’s
choice of words reveal
the moral to the story, to those who
have an ear to hear.
The words
of wise men are [to
be] heard
in quiet... that is, to be heard
quietly and patiently, without any tumult and
contradiction, being delivered with a low and
submissive voice, without any noise, blustering
pride, or passion, sedately and with great
humility, submitting them to the judgment of
others. The Targum interprets it of the silent
prayer of the wise being received by the Lord,
more than the clamour of the wicked.
more than
the cry of him that ruleth among fools;
more than the noisy words of a foolish ruler or
the dictates of a clamorous and blustering man,
who are influenced more by the pomp and noise of
words than by the force of true wisdom and reason.
But, all right judges will give the preference to
wisdom.
May Yahweh bless your
understanding.
TTSAOY
|
