Tag Archives: Ecclesiastes 10:19

Wisdom Discourse and Literary Ambiguity in Qohelet Ecclesiastes 10:19 is a compact yet theologically and grammatically dense aphorism. As with much of Qohelet, its ambiguity is deliberate, and its grammar is tightly structured to allow multiple interpretive layers. The verse reads: לִשְׂחֹוק֙ עֹשִׂ֣ים לֶ֔חֶם וְיַ֖יִן יְשַׂמַּ֣ח חַיִּ֑ים וְהַכֶּ֖סֶף יַעֲנֶ֥ה אֶת־הַכֹּֽל׃ Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life, and money answers everything. This verse concludes a section reflecting on folly and wisdom in political and social life. It is syntactically structured in a triadic form: each clause presents a subject, a verb, and an object or complement.… Learn Hebrew