Ecclesiastes 7:29

“Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright, etc.] The first man Adam, as the Targum and Jarchi interpret it; and not Adam only, but Eve also with him; for these were both made by the Lord, and on the same day, and in the same image, and had the same common name of Adam given them, (<010127>Genesis 1:27 5:2); And they were both made “upright”; which is to be understood, not of the erectness of their bodies, but of the disposition of their minds; they were “right and innocent before him,” or in the sight of God, as the Targum; which is best explained by their being made in the image and likeness of God, (<010126>Genesis 1:26,27); and which, according to the apostle, lay in…”

“The "only" way of accounting for the scarcity of even comparatively upright men and women is that, whereas God made man upright, they (men) have, &c. The only account to be "found" of the origin of evil, the great mystery of theology, is that given in Holy Writ (Gen. 2:1-3:24). Among man's "inventions" was the one especially referred to in Ecc 7:26, the bitter fruits of which Solomon experienced, the breaking of God's primeval marriage law, joining one man to "one" woman (Mat 19:4-6). "Man" is singular, namely, Adam; "they," plural, Adam, Eve, and their posterity. Next: Ecclesiastes Chapter 8”

“God hath made - Rather, God made. A definite allusion to the original state of man: in which he was exempt from vanity. return to 'Top of Page' Footnotes: Copyright Statement These files are public domain. Bibliographical Information Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on Ecclesiastes 7". "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bnb/ecclesiastes-7.html. 1870. StudyLight.org &copy;&#160;2001-2026 Powered by Lightspeed Technology”

“Lo, this - Though I could not find out all the streams of wickedness, and their infinite windings and turnings, yet I have discovered the fountain of it, Original sin, and the corruption of nature, which is both in men and women. That - God made our first parents, Adam and Eve. Upright - Heb. right: without any imperfection or corruption, conformable to his nature and will, after his own likeness. They - Our first parents, and after them their posterity. Sought out - Were not contented with their present state, but studied new ways of making themselves more wise and happy, than God had made them. And we, their wretched children, are still prone to forsake the certain rule of God's word, and…”

“7:29 After much searching, the Teacher did find that humanity’s downward path from God’s created order (Gen 1:27-28; 2:23-25; 3:1-19) was repeated by Adam and Eve’s descendants (cp. Rom 3:10-18, 23).”

“God: Gen 1:26, Gen 1:27, Gen 5:1 they: The descendants of Adam have sought out an immense number of inventions, in order to find happiness in the world, without God, which have only proved so many variations of impiety and iniquity. Gen 3:6, Gen 3:7, Gen 6:5, Gen 6:6, Gen 6:11, Gen 6:12, Gen 11:4-6; Psa 99:8, Psa 106:29, Psa 106:39; Jer 2:12, Jer 2:13; Jer 4:22; Eze 22:6-13; Mar 7:8, Mar 7:9; Act 7:40-43; Rom 1:21-32, Rom 3:9-19; Eph 2:2, Eph 2:3; Tit 3:3 Next: Ecclesiastes Chapter 8”

“"Lo, this only have I found, that God created man upright; but they seek many arts." Also here the order of the words is inverted, since זה, belonging as obj. to מץ (have I found), which is restricted by לבד, is amalgamated with ראה (Lo! see!). The author means to say: Only this (solummodo hocce) have I found, that ...; the ראה is an interjected nota bene. The expression: God has made man ישׁר, is dogmatically significant. Man, as he came from the Creator's hand, was not placed in the state of moral decision, nor yet in the state of absolute indifference between good and evil; he was not neither good nor bad, but he was טוב, or, which is the same thing, ישׁר; i.e., in every respect normal,…”