Ecclesiastes 12:5

“Also when they shall be afraid of [that which is] high, etc.] Not of the most high God, before whose tribunal they must shortly appear, as some; but rather of high places, as high hills, mountains, towers, etc. which aged persons are afraid to go up, because of the feebleness and weakness of their limbs, their difficulty of breathing, and the dizziness of their heads; and fears [shall be] in the way; they do not care: to go abroad, being afraid of every little stone that lies in the way, lest they should stumble at it, and fall: some understand this of their fears of spirits, good or bad; but the former sense is best; and the almond tree shall flourish; which most interpret of the hoary…”

“that which is high--The old are afraid of ascending a hill. fears . . . in the way--Even on the level highway they are full of fears of falling, &c. almond . . . flourish--In the East the hair is mostly dark. The white head of the old among the dark-haired is like an almond tree, with its white blossoms, among the dark trees around [HOLDEN]. The almond tree flowers on a leafless stock in winter (answering to old age, in which all the powers are dormant), while the other trees are flowerless. GESENIUS takes the Hebrew for flourishes from a different root, casts off; when the old man loses his gray hairs, as the almond tree casts its white flowers. grasshoppers--the dry, shrivelled, old man,…”

“High - The powerful and the proud, such persons as an old man in his timidity might shrink from opposing or meeting: or, high ground which old men would avoid ascending. Fears ... in the way - Compare Proverbs 26:13. The almond tree - The type of old age. Many modern critics translate “The almond shall be despised,” i. e., pleasant food shall no longer be relished. The grasshopper - Rather: “the locust.” The clause means, heaviness and stiffness shall take the place of that active motion for which the locust is conspicuous. Desire - literally, the caper-berry; which, eaten as a provocative to appetite, shall fail to take effect on a man whose powers are exhausted. Long home - literally,…”

“Afraid - The passion of fear is observed to be most incident to old men. High - When they walk abroad they dread to go up high or steep places. Fears - Lest as they are walking, they should stumble, or fall. The almond - tree - Their heads shall be as full of grey hairs, as the almond - tree is of white flowers. The grasshopper - They cannot endure the least burden, being indeed a burden to themselves. Desire - Of meats, and drinks, and music, and other delights, which are vehemently desired by men in their youth. Goeth - is travelling towards it, and every day nearer to it. Long home - From this place of his pilgrimage into the grave, from whence he must never return into this world, and…”

“12:5 The caperberry was well known in the ancient Near East as an aphrodisiac.”

“the almond: Gen 42:38, Gen 44:29, Gen 44:31; Lev 19:32; Job 15:10; Psa 71:18; Pro 16:31, Pro 20:29; Isa 46:4; Jer 1:11 because: Ecc 9:10; Job 17:13, Job 30:23; Psa 49:10-14; Heb 9:27 the mourners: Gen 50:3-10; Jer 9:17-20; Mar 5:38, Mar 5:39 Ecclesiastes 12:7”

“Ecc 12:5 From this his repugnance to singing, and music, and all loud noises, progress in the description is made to the difficulty such aged men have in motion: "Also they are afraid of that which is high; and there are all kinds of fearful things in the way ... ." The description moves forward in a series of independent sentences; that שׁ בּיּום to which it was subordinate in Ecc 12:3, and still also in Ecc 12:4, is now lost sight of. In the main it is rightly explained by the Talm., and with it the Midrash: "Even a little hillock appears to him like a high mountain; and if he has to go on a journey, he meets something that terrifies him;" the Targ. has adopted the second part of this…”