Ecclesiastes 7:28

“Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not, etc.] He was very earnest and diligent in his inquiry; he took a great deal of pains, and was exceedingly solicitous; he sought with great intenseness of mind, and with an eager desire, to find out a chaste and virtuous woman among them all, but could not; one man among a thousand have I found; it is a great rarity to find a good manf184, truly wise and gracious; there are many that walk in the broad way, and but few that find the strait gate and narrow way, and are saved; they are but as one to a thousand; (see <240501>Jeremiah 5:1 <400713>Matthew 7:13,14). Or rather, by this one of a thousand, is meant the, Messiah, the Wisdom of God, he sought…”

“Rather, referring to his past experience, "Which my soul sought further, but I found not." one man--that is, worthy of the name, "man," "upright"; not more than one in a thousand of my courtiers (Job 33:23; Psa 12:1). Jesus Christ alone of men fully realizes the perfect ideal of "man." "Chiefest among ten thousand" (Sol 5:10). No perfect "woman" has ever existed, not even the Virgin Mary. Solomon, in the word "thousand," alludes to his three hundred wives and seven hundred concubines. Among these it was not likely that he should find the fidelity which one true wife pays to one husband. Connected with Ecc 7:26, not an unqualified condemnation of the sex, as Pro 12:4; Pro 31:10, &c., prove.”

“One man - One whose good qualities quite satisfy our expectation. Compare the expression “one among a thousand” (marginal reference). A woman - The number of Solomon’s wives and concubines 1 Kings 11:3 was a thousand. return to 'Top of Page'”

“Yet seeketh - I returned to search again with more earnestness. I find not - That it was so, he found, but the reason of the thing he could not find out. One man - A wise and virtuous man. A woman - One worthy of that name; one who is not a dishonour to her sex. Among - In that thousand whom I have taken into intimate society with myself. Ecclesiastes 7:29”

“7:28 The NLT adds the phrase is virtuous (based on 7:29) to give the sense of the verse. Virtue is extremely rare: In his own experience, the Teacher found only a few men, and no women, with that quality.”

“yet: Ecc 7:23, Ecc 7:24; Isa 26:9 one: Job 33:23; Psa 12:1 but: Solomon, instead of seeking one rational, virtuous woman, had collected an immense multitude, of various countries and religions, for magnificence and indulgence; among whom, as might have been expected, he had not found one who was thoroughly faithful, upright, and pious. He here uses the language of a penitent, warning others of the errors into which he had been led; and not that of a wasphish satirist, lashing indiscriminately one half of the human species. Kg1 11:1-3 Ecclesiastes 7:29”