Ecclesiastes Chapter 3
-hebraicstudies.net-
Please do NOT visit this
site on שַׁבָּת - Shabbat or
on the מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim - Feasts!
Tanakh versions:
Throughout
this site I may use any of the following three versions of the TaNaKh: 1. “Jewish
Publication Society” (JPS-1917), 2. Mechon-Mamre.org” (MEC), and 3. “Sefaria.org” (SEF).
Colour coded
details of the - TaNaKh:
1. Torah =
History & Law, 2. Nevi’im =
The Prophets. 3. *Ketuvim = all other Writings.
*The Ketuvim - Includes, Poetical books -
Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Megillot, or
Scrolls - Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations of
Jeremiah, Ecclesiastes, and Esther, prophecy of Daniel, and
history of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles I & II.
Please Note: Some alterations or (additions) have been made relating to ‘Names’ and ‘Attributes’ having been corrected like it once was pre the now “Masoretic Text”.
YYYYYYY
Remember the following two
truth’s from our beloved Scriptures!
“Ye shall NOT ADD TO THE WORD which I command you, NEITHER SHALL YE DIMINISH FROM IT, that ye may keep the commandments of יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם - the
LORD your Eloleichem, which I command you”. Davarim -
Deuteronomy 4:2.
YYYYYYY
With
Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Davarim -
Deuteronomy Chapter 31, verse 6.
JPS-1917 version of the Torah.
חִזְקוּ וְאִמְצוּ, אַל-תִּירְאוּ וְאַל-תַּעַרְצוּ מִפְּנֵיהֶם: כִּי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, הוּא הַהֹלֵךְ עִמָּךְ-לֹא יַרְפְּךָ, וְלֹא יַעַזְבֶךָּ
“Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be affrighted at them; for יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ - the LORD thy Eloheycha, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee’”.
YYYYYYY
This passage of this study is a compact poem about the rhythms of life: it insists that human experience unfolds in appointed seasons, each with its proper time, and invites ‘acceptance’, ‘discernment’, and ‘wise action’ in the face of those rhythms.
Let us now read Qoheleth - Ecclesiastes Chapter 3: Vv 1 to 8: (JPS-1917 version of
the Tanakh).
1. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5. A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6. A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
YYYYYYY
Introduction:
Qoheleth’s list in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reads like a litany of opposites, which together describe the full range of human life. The poem frames life as governed by cycles and appointed times rather than by human control, a perspective that shifts ‘attention’ from ‘frantic striving’ to ‘sober observation’ as well as ‘humility’.
Explanations of the Text:
Structure and purpose.
The opening line, “To every thing there is a season”, sets the pattern: what follows is an exhaustive catalogue of paired ‘activities’ and ‘emotions’ that together portray ‘life’s balance’ ‘birth’ and ‘death’, ‘planting’ and ‘uprooting’, ‘weeping’ and ‘laughing’. The pairs are not moral judgments but observations about when things occur and how they belong to larger rhythms beyond our immediate preference!
Key pairs and their meanings:
Life and death; planting and plucking up: these pairs remind us of beginnings and endings, growth and removal, natural cycles that shape communities and landscapes.
Kill and heal; break down and build up: these contrasts acknowledge that destruction and restoration are both parts of history and human decision, sometimes necessary in different seasons.
Weep and laugh; mourn and dance: emotional life is seasonal; sorrow and joy each have their time, and neither should be forced into the other.
Silence and speech; seek and lose: the poem also attends to discernment—knowing when to act, when to refrain, when to speak and when to listen. Wisdom lies in timing as much as in action.
These observations function theologically and practically: they point to a supremacy of a larger order or divine control over human plans, urging acceptance without fatalism and engagement without illusion.
Practical takeaways:
Recognize seasons: pause to name what season you are in rather than pretending to be in another.
Respond appropriately: different seasons call for different virtues, patience in ‘loss’, ‘courage in rebuilding’, and ‘restraint in anger’.
Hold tension: the poem does not resolve opposites; it holds them together as part of a whole life!
My conclusion:
Reading these verses now, I hear a voice that both comforts and challenges. Comfort because the poem normalises ‘sorrow’, ‘loss’, and endings as part of a larger pattern; challenge because it asks me to live with attentiveness, to choose the right response for the season I inhabit. For someone who once moved constantly, ‘teaching’, ‘lecturing’, ‘travelling’ these lines was a wonderful time sharing with our people worldwide, many permit grief for what ‘was past’, ‘gratitude for what was’, and a steady, ‘patient’ ‘readiness’ for what comes next. In that steadiness there is a quiet dignity: to accept seasons, to act when called, and to wait when called to wait!
YYYYYYY
Please
Note: “hebraicstudies” links are located down the
page!
This site was originally created, for those who desired to return to our blessed and wonderful faith. Thus be wise and work on your faith and pray at least two or three times a day (if possible) and always seek our beloved אֱלֹהִים - Elohim’s guidance, for His love is always with us, especially when we seek Him, blessed be He! However this site has become very much a teaching site with hundreds of studies!
Remember what אֱלֹהִים - Elohim, blessed be
He, said the following, via several of our prophets...
“Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה- the LORD of hosts”. Mal’a’chi - Malachi 3:7. (JPS).
And Remember ...
Enjoy your Sabbath Rest, Shabbat Shalom!
אֲנִי
יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, בְּחֻקּוֹתַי
לֵכוּ; וְאֶת-מִשְׁפָּטַי
שִׁמְרוּ, וַעֲשׂוּ
אוֹתָם
וְאֶת-שַׁבְּתוֹתַי, קַדֵּשׁוּ; וְהָיוּ
לְאוֹת, בֵּינִי
וּבֵינֵיכֶם-לָדַעַת, כִּי
אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם
“I
am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloheichem; walk in My statutes,
and keep Mine ordinances, and do them; and hallow My Sabbaths, and they shall
be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am אֱלֹהֵיכֶם יְהוָה - the LORD your Eloheichem”. Yechezkel - Ezekiel 20:19-20. (JPS).
YYYYYYY
“Hebraic Studies” motto is as
follows;
“The More Torah, the
More Life”
For אֱלֹהִים יְהוָה - the LORD Elohim, Blessed be His Sanctified Name,
He
is the one who gave us our Life!”
May the שָׁלוֹם - Shalom = Peace of צְבָאוֹת- יְהוָה= the LORD of hosts. be with you, and please always uphold our blessed שַׁבָּת - Shabbat, as well as the מוֹעֲדִים - Mo’a’dim - Feasts, and continue saying your daily תְּפִלָּה - Tefeelah’s (Prayers) and regular בְּרָכָה - Be’ra’chah’s (blessings) before food and drinks, etc!
שָׁלוֹם
עֲלֵיכֶם - Shalom Aleichem - Peace be with you!
Rabbi, Dr. Reuven Ben Avraham-Goossens, PhD.
Enter ...
http://www.hebraicstudies.net/Site-Index.htm
Enter ...
https://www.hebraicstudies.net
-hebraicstudies.net-
Email the Rabbi
If the email link does not open - You can also copy the link
and use it.
Although the author does not believe in having
to copyright “Hebraic Studies” commenced in the mid 1980’,
but there have been occasions where there parts of his
studies have been taken and quoted out of context
under my name, and thus he has been misquoted by those who have
their own reasons for doing so.
Thus, it is only for this reason these
works are fully covered under strict ...
Copyright © 2025 - “Hebraic Studies” - All rights reserved.