8/14/2019 The Meaning of Ḥēpeṣ in Ecclesiastes.pdf

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The Meaning of Ḥēp̱ eṣ in EcclesiastesAuthor(s): W. E. StaplesReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 24, No. 1/2 (Jan. - Apr., 1965), pp. 110-112Published by: The University of Chicago PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/543102 .Accessed: 04/09/2012 15:55

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8/14/2019 The Meaning of Ḥēpeṣ in Ecclesiastes.pdf

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THE MEANING OF HEPES IN ECCLESIASTES1

W. E. STAPLESt, Victoria College, Toronto 5, Canada

TOIL is of prime importance inhuman affairs. The attitude of Kohelethto labor is closer to the sophisticatedview-point of Genesis 2 than to the primi-tive one of Genesis 1: man was created to

toil, to till the soil rather than to act asruler of all living things. He is a fellowcreature with the beasts of the earthrather than their master (Eccles. 3:18

ff.).Only from toil does man derive any satis-faction (2:10), and even it produces no

tangible results. Nevertheless, in a theo-centric universe, whatever is, is right,because it is the will of God. This outlookis illustrated by the use of the word

hpes,in Ecclesiastes.

The word usually means delight,pleasure, from the verbal idea to be

pleased with. In Ecclesiastes howeverthe meaning cause, business, affair

(LXX, wrpa-yua; Vulgate, negotium) isattested (e.g. 5:7, 8:6), foreshadowing thelater Mishnaic meaning, thing. A sense

midway between pleasure and affairoccurs in Prov. 3:5 and 8:11, where the

plural is used of desirable things.These various meanings imply a logicalprogression, from desire to desirable

thing to thing ; a progression, however,which is logical only in a theistic society.God has only to desire a thing for it tobecome reality; God wishes (ya4 ps), andthat wish becomes a thing

(4.pes).In like

manner the meanings word and thingare merged in dhb tr; God has only to say

Let there be light and there is light.

So too in Islam, ?d'7 ( he willed ) and

gay un ( a thing ) are closely related.The Koran often emphasizes the im-

portance of DAllah as the prime mover ofhistorical events; thus, If God hadwilled they had not fought with one

another; God is wont to do whatever hewishes (II, 254). These words recallEccles. 8:2-4, where however it is seem-

ingly the king who is the completely free

agent:

Keep the commandment of the king, andbecause of your oath to God (or, because ofa very important oath) hasten not to leavehis presence. Stand not in an unprofitablematter (i.e. do not be stubborn where theking is concerned), for whatever he pleaseshe is wont to do (kickol- ader

yahp6s,yaca e[h]).

Because the word of theking

ispower,

whocan say to him: What are you doing?

It is probably pointless to preoccupyoneself with finding a specific historicalreference to a particular king in this

passage. Nevertheless it is always possiblethat Koheleth had in mind some earthlyking; if so, he was king by the grace ofGod and accordingly ruled as a voice ofGod. This relationship between God and

ruler is specified in Eccles. 5:7: Ifoppression of the poor and rape of properconduct you should see in the province, benot dismayed about the affair (h pes), fora high one keeps watch over a high one,and the most high (geb&him) over them

(so Ewald and ZSckler). The oppressedones too were doubtless created by God;and he was the oppressor (plural of

majesty) in 4:1, for there was no one to

comfort them.

1 In an earlier form this paper was read to thejoint session of the Canadian Society of BiblicalStudies and the Canadian Section of the Society ofBiblical Literature, on 16 May 1963 at Waterloo,Ontario.

110

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THE MEANING OF HEPES IN ECCLESIASTES 111

To return to 8:4, the word of the kingis power

(8ilt.6n).In 5:18 and 6:2

8idlat, the corresponding verb, is used inthe hiphil with God as the subject: God

gives man power to enjoy his possessions.As a commentary on 8:4, Jastrow citesMidrash Tanhuma, Vayera 19: God is

power and one cannot protest againsthim. 2 Elsewhere in the Old Testamentwhen the verbs c'ad(h) and hapes arejuxtaposed their close association explainsGod's role as a historical force. Thus,Isa. 55: 11: Surely it (sc. my word) shallhave done what I wished (kN im-'d~c[h]'et-'ader hdpasti), and it shall make to

prosper that for which I have sent it ; sotoo Jonah 1:14: For thou, 0 Yahweh,like as thou hast pleased thou hast done

(ka1aderh.pasta

•'at•i) ; and Ps. 115:3:Our God is in the heavens. Whatever he

has pleased, he has made (kl1las'er-h.apl~d[h]). In the light of this discussion, it

seems quite likely that Eccles. 8:2-4 isanother reference to God's activity in

history. The divine will becomes fact,negotium. It is thus no accident that

h4pes is used to mean a thing, an eventin Ecclesiastes.

In Eccles. 3:1h.pes

is used in parallelconstruction with kll, everything : To

everything there is a season, and a time to

every purpose (hipes) under the heaven.God is the agent. There follows in vss.2-8 an enumeration of the constituents of

4hpes; they consist of human activitieswhose times are assigned by God. None isprofitable to man; they simply make upthe tasks (Cinyan) which God gives manto do. Vs. 11 is but the summation ofthese ventures of man: and all of them(hakkll) God has made seemly in theirtime (becittS).' It will be noted that

4hpes in vs. 1 likewise has a time in whichto take place.

In Eccles. 3:17 hipes is used in parallelconstruction with hammacade(h), thework : God has put in proper order

(yisp&6t,rules ) the righteous and the

wicked; for he has set a time for everyincident (4hpes) and for every work.It seems obvious from this that God is theactive agent in history, and that right-eous and wicked are simply humanlabels, with no validity before God; at anyrate each is seemly in its own time. In Eccl.8:6, every incident (h4pes) has a propertime (Cit) and practice (migpvdt). InEccles. 5:7

h.pesis defined as oppression

of the poor and rape of proper and legalconduct. Like the hipes of 3:1 ff., 17,this oppression and rape, being divinelyinspired, are a part of God's plan. Theytherefore have their proper place in anordered world.

In three other passages commentatorshave been at one in rendering h4pes as

delight or the like. If the word be givena more materialistic sense, these passagesall gain added point.

Eccles. 5:3: According as thou makesta vow to God, pay immediately, for thereis no h•pes in fools; what you vow, pay.The third stichos is usually taken to mean

God hath no pleasure in fools (so e.g.AV). But this does not harmonize with theview that God made the fool as well as thewise man and that both have a commonfate (2:14 ff.). Just as wisdom or humanexperience may be defined in the OldTestament as good and evil, so human-ity as a whole is defined by the expression

wise man and fool. The actual meaningof this verse is suggested by Eccles. 4:17:

The keeping of your feet as though youwere going to the house of God is nearer toobedience than that fools give sacrifice,for they do not know that what they aredoing is profitless. The paying of vows

and the offering of sacrifice are evidentlyrelated acts; yet fools give sacrifice, even

2 Marcus Jastrow, A Dictionary of the Targumim. and the Midrashic Literature, p. 1581, s.v. Jilt6n.

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