Ecclesiastes 4 Study Notes

4:1-3 Returning to the topic of oppression (see note at 3:16-17), Ecclesiastes asserts that political corruption is terrible precisely because it does not allow common people to do the thing the book recommends—to enjoy their days under the sun. Oppression is innately wrong, and it also deprives its victims of the freedom to partake of the ordinary pleasures of life.

4:3 This verse is “hyperbole,” the use of exaggeration for rhetorical effect. Someone who says, “I wish I had never been born,” rarely means it literally. When Ecclesiastes declares that one who has not yet existed is the most fortunate of all, it is merely saying in an emphatic way that the corruption practiced under the sun is a cause for great sorrow.

4:4-8 Ecclesiastes returns to the theme of wealth, describing how foolish it is to spend one’s life in the pursuit of riches. First, Solomon declares that people work hard not out of love for the task but out of a desire to do better than their peers. The work and the wealth it brings give no satisfaction; there is only the pathetic pleasure of beating others in a race for success. Second, a conventional proverb declares that laziness brings on poverty. Against this, v. 6 gives a counter lesson—that it is better to have little with peace than to have much with a constant hunger for more. A strong work ethic is not wrong, but it needs to be balanced with an appreciation for the joys of life. In v. 8, the example of the person who works ceaselessly to acquire but who has no one with whom to share it shows how sad is the life that is governed by a desire for more.

4:9-12 Friendship is the theme of this section. The advantages of friends are that they help one another get work done, that one friend sustains another when disaster strikes, that they give comfort to one another against the bitterness of life, and that they protect one another from enemies. Interestingly, friendship is one area of life that Ecclesiastes never calls “futile.”

4:11-12 These verses do not refer to lying together sexually. It is an image of travelers sleeping outdoors in the desert; they must huddle together to keep warm. The fact that v. 12 asserts that three are better than two makes clear that these are friends, not lovers.

4:13-16 This section illustrates how fleeting political power is. There are two people here. The first person is an old king, who in his youth was poor but rose to power through skill and perseverance. This king is now old but foolish. He has been in power for so long that he has lost touch with changing political circumstances. The second person is a youth who, possessing the political skills the old king once had but lost, is now ready and able to usurp him (this is the youth of v. 13, who is called the second youth in v. 15). But even though the second youth is successful for a time and pleases the crowd, he will also eventually get old, lose touch, and be abandoned. He is just the latest in a long line of kings who come and go. Political power and popularity are by nature fleeting.