וְרָאִיתִי֮ אֶת־כָּל־מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה הָאֱלֹהִים֒ כִּי֩ לֹ֨א יוּכַ֜ל הָאָדָ֗ם לִמְצֹוא֙ אֶת־הַֽמַּעֲשֶׂה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נַעֲשָׂ֣ה תַֽחַת־הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ בְּ֠שֶׁל אֲשֶׁ֨ר יַעֲמֹ֧ל הָאָדָ֛ם לְבַקֵּ֖שׁ וְלֹ֣א יִמְצָ֑א וְגַ֨ם אִם־יֹאמַ֤ר הֶֽחָכָם֙ לָדַ֔עַת לֹ֥א יוּכַ֖ל לִמְצֹֽא׃
Stepping into the Paradox
Ecclesiastes 8:17 is a labyrinth of pursuit and limitation. The Preacher looks into the works of God and arrives not at discovery, but at layered frustration. Though man toils to know, and though even the wise claim understanding, the grammar undoes them all. The verse is built on repeated negations, fractured causality, and recursive syntax — a structure that mirrors the theological message: human limitation in the face of divine action. In this meditation, we explore how Hebrew uses repetition of negative result clauses to express not mere failure, but cosmic inaccessibility.
The Hidden Grammar
The verse contains three distinct negative result clauses, each built on a form of the verb מָצָא (to find):
- לֹא יוּכַל הָאָדָם לִמְצֹוא — “Man is not able to find”
- וְלֹא יִמְצָא — “and he will not find”
- לֹא יוּכַל לִמְצֹא — “he is not able to find”
This triplet is not redundant. It reflects a growing crescendo: from general inability, to the failure of labor, to the undoing of wisdom. The clause וְגַם אִם־יֹאמַר הֶחָכָם לָדַעַת (“Even if the wise man says he knows…”) is a conditional illusion — the grammar affirms the claim, only to deny it immediately: לֹא יוּכַל לִמְצֹא. This is a prime example of structured futility in Hebrew: where verbs are grammatically active but semantically silenced by negation.
Echoes Across the Tanakh
Job 11:7 — הַחֵ֣קֶר אֱלֹ֣והַ תִּמְצָ֑א אִם־עַד־תַּכְלִ֖ית שַׁדַּ֣י תִּמְצָֽא — “Can you find the deep things of God? Can you find the limit of the Almighty?” Like Ecclesiastes, Job’s syntax doubles the question to emphasize inaccessibility through repetition.
Psalm 139:6 — פִּלְאָ֥יָה דַֽעַת֘ מִמֶּ֪נִּי֫ נִשְׂגְּבָ֥ה לֹא־אוּכַ֥ל לָֽהּ — “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.” The same combination of inability verb לֹא אוּכַל plus infinitive creates a poetic echo of human limit.
Proverbs 30:4 — מִ֥י עָלָ֣ה שָׁמַ֣יִם וַיֵּרַ֑ד… מַה־שְּׁמ֥וֹ וּמַה־שֶּׁם־בְּנ֖וֹ כִּֽי תֵדָֽע — A rhetorical list of unreachable knowledge capped with a taunt: “What is His name or His Son’s name — surely you know?” The irony echoes Qoheleth’s cynicism.
Syntax in Motion
The verse is structured in cyclical waves of attempt and negation. Diagrammatically, it looks like this:
וְרָאִיתִי — I have seen
|
→ לֹא יוּכַל לִמְצֹוא — man cannot find
|
→ יַעֲמֹל... לְבַקֵּשׁ — even though he labors to seek
|
→ וְלֹא יִמְצָא — he will not find
|
→ אִם־יֹאמַר הֶחָכָם לָדַעַת — even if the wise says he knows
|
→ לֹא יוּכַל לִמְצֹא — he cannot find
This is not linear progression — it is grammatical recursion, a Hebrew style of thematic layering by syntactic repetition. The choice of לוֹא (not) throughout — instead of בַּל or אַיִן — reinforces an active process halted by divine boundaries.
When Words Create Worlds
Qoheleth is not merely describing epistemological failure — he is weaving it through Hebrew syntax. Every clause that seems to advance collapses into negation. Every effort, every verb of seeking, of speaking, of knowing — ends in grammatical futility. The verse does not drift — it spirals, and its spiraling is formed in the repetitions of לֹא יוּכַל לִמְצֹוא.
This is Biblical Hebrew’s way of enshrining mystery. Not by stating “we cannot know,” but by grappling with the act of trying to know — and showing, grammatically, how knowledge recedes as one approaches it. Here, theology and language are inseparable. The structure of the sentence is the message: wisdom bows before the unsearchable.
| Hebrew Feature | Description | Example from Tanakh |
|---|---|---|
| Negative Result Clauses | Layered negation showing persistent failure | Ecclesiastes 8:17 — לֹא יוּכַל… וְלֹא יִמְצָא… לֹא יוּכַל |
| Infinitive with Verb of Ability | Using יוּכַל + infinitive to express epistemological limits | Psalm 139:6 — לֹא אוּכַל לָהּ |
| Recursive Syntax | Repeating grammatical structures for thematic emphasis | Job 11:7 — הַחֵקֶר תִּמְצָא… תִּמְצָא |
Horizons That Recede
Sometimes, the most profound truths lie not in what is said, but in how syntax unravels around what cannot be said. Ecclesiastes 8:17 does not merely report ignorance; it dramatizes the collapse of certainty through grammatical echoes. Every “seek” becomes a “not find.” Every “say” becomes “you cannot.” It is a verse haunted by boundaries — and the Hebrew itself becomes the voice of unreachable wonder.
