Ecclesiastes 4:15 - Exposition

I considered all the living which walk under the sun ; or, I have seen all the population. The expression is hyperbolical, as Eastern monarchs speak of their dominions as if they comprised the whole world (see Daniel 4:1 ; Daniel 6:25 ). With the second child that shall stand up in his stead. "With" ( עִם ) means "in company with," "on the side of;" and the clause should be rendered, as in the Revised Version, That they were with the youth , the second , that stood up in his stead . The youth who is called the second is the one spoken of in the previous verses, who by general acclamation is raised to the highest place in the realm, while the old monarch is dethroned or depreciated. He is named second , as being the successor of the other, either in popular favor or on the throne. It is the old story of worshipping the rising sun. The verse may still be applied to Joseph, who was made second to Pharaoh, and was virtually supreme in Egypt, standing in the king's place ( Genesis 41:40-44 ).