Ecclesiastes 4:8 - Exposition

There is one alone, and there is not a second ; or, without a second— a solitary being, without partner, relation, or friend. Here, he says, is another instance of man's inability to secure his own happiness. Wealth indeed, is supposed to make friends, such as they are; but miserliness and greed separate a man from his fellows, make him suspicious of every one, and drive him to live alone, churlish and unhappy. Yea, he hath neither child nor brother ; no one to share his wealth, or for whom to save and amass riches. To apply these words to Solomon himself, who had brothers, and one son, if not more, is manifestly inappropriate. They may possibly refer to some circumstance in the writer's own life; but of that we know nothing. Yet is there no sad of all his labor . In spite of this isolation he plies his weary task, and ceases not to hoard. Neither is his eye satisfied with riches ; so that he is content with what he has (comp. Ecclesiastes 2:10 ; Proverbs 27:20 ). The insatiable thirst for gold, the dropsy of the mind, is a commonplace theme in classical writers. Thus Horace, 'Caxm.,' 3.16. 17—

"Crescentem sequitur cura pecuniam, Majorumque fames."

And Juvenal, 'Sat.,' 14.138—

"Interea pleno quum turget sacculus ore,

Crescit amor nummi, quantum ipsa pecunia crevit."

Neither, saith he, For whom do I labor, and bereave my soul of good? The original is more dramatic than the Authorized Version or the Vulgate, Nec recogitat, dicens, Cui laboro , etc.? The writer suddenly puts himself in the place of the friendless miser, and exclaims, "And for whom do I labor," etc.? We see something similar in Ecclesiastes 4:15 and Ecclesiastes 2:15 . Here we cannot find any definite allusion to the writer's own circumstances. The clause is merely a lively personification expressive of strong sympathy with the situation described (comp. Ecclesiastes 2:18 ). Good may mean either riches, in which case the denial to the soul refers to the enjoyment which wealth might afford, or happiness and comfort. The Septuagint has ἀγαθωσύνης , "goodness," "kindness "—which gives quite a different and not so suitable an idea. Sore travail ; a sad business, a woeful employment.