I bought male servants and female servants, and had servants born in my house. I also had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all who were before me in Jerusalem.
Parallel Translations
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I bought male servants and female servants, and had servants born in my house. I also had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all who were before me in Jerusalem.
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I got me servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:
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I acquired men-servants and maid-servants, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, above all that were before me in Jerusalem;
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to Ecclesiastes 2:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 13:2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
- Genesis 14:14 When Abram heard that his relative was taken captive, he led out his three hundred eighteen trained men, born in his house, and pursued as far as Dan.
- Genesis 15:3 Abram said, “Behold, you have given no children to me: and, behold, one born in my house is my heir.”
- Genesis 17:12-13 He who is eight days old will be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he who is born in the house, or bought with money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your money, must be circumcised. My covenant will be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
- 1 Kings 4:23 ten head of fat cattle, twenty head of cattle out of the pastures, and one hundred sheep, in addition to deer, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fattened fowl.
- 1 Kings 9:20-22 As for all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel; their children who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, of them Solomon raised a levy of bondservants to this day. But of the children of Israel Solomon made no bondservants; but they were the men of war, his servants, his princes, his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen.
- 2 Kings 3:4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder; and he supplied the king of Israel with the wool of one hundred thousand lambs, and of one hundred thousand rams.
- 1 Chronicles 27:29-31 and over the herds that fed in Sharon was Shitrai the Sharonite; and over the herds that were in the valleys was Shaphat the son of Adlai; and over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite; and over the donkeys was Jehdeiah the Meronothite; and over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagrite. All these were the rulers of the property which was king David’s.
- 2 Chronicles 26:10 He built towers in the wilderness, and dug out many cisterns, for he had much livestock; in the lowland also, and in the plain. He had farmers and vineyard keepers in the mountains and in the fruitful fields, for he loved farming.
- 2 Chronicles 32:27-29 Hezekiah had exceedingly much riches and honor. He provided himself with treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of valuable vessels; also storehouses for the increase of grain, new wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of animals, and flocks in folds. Moreover he provided for himself cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him abundant possessions.
- Ezra 2:58 All the temple servants, and the children of Solomon’s servants, were three hundred ninety-two.
- Nehemiah 7:57 The children of Solomon’s servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida,
- Job 1:3 His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east.
- Job 42:12 So Yahweh blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Meaning, of the servants or slaves, which he had…
Meaning, of the servants or slaves, which he had bought: so the children born in their servitude, were the masters.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Ecc 2:7 I got [me] servants and maidens, and…
Ecc 2:7 I got [me] servants and maidens, and had servants born in my house; also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me:
Ver. 7. I got me servants, &c.] Too many by one, viz., Jeroboam, who rent ten tribes from his son. It is well observed by an interpreter, that Solomon, among all his delights, got him not a fool or jester, which some princes cannot be without, no, not when they should be most serious. It is recorded of Henry III, king of France, that in a solemn procession at Paris, he could not be without his jester, who, walking between the king and the cardinal, made mirth to them both. {a} There was sweet devotion the while.
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I had great possessions of great and small cattle.] Mηλα, {b} pecudes, et postea synechdochicos, opes significant: sic pecunia a pecude. So chesita signifies in Hebrew both money and a lamb.
{a} Epit. Hist. Gallica.
{b} Melanch., in Hesiod.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Born in my house, of my bond-servants, which therefore…
Born in my house, of my bond-servants, which therefore were a part of my possessions: see 1Ki 10:8; Ezr 2:55.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain I got me servants and maidens,.... Menservants, and maidservants;…
I got me servants and maidens,.... Menservants, and maidservants; the Targum adds,
"of the children of Ham, and of the rest of the strange people;''
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these were such as he hired, or bought with his money;
and had servants born in my house; and these were all employed by him; either as his retinue and equipage, his attendants and bodyguards; or to take care of his household, his gardens, and pools; or for his horses and chariots, and for various offices; see Kg1 4:26, Ezr 2:58. Villalpandus computes the number of his servants to be forty eight thousand; if there were any pleasure and happiness in such a numerous attendance, Solomon had it;
also I had great possessions of great and small cattle above all that were in Jerusalem before me; oxen, cows, horses, asses, camels, mules, &c. also sheep and goats; which, as they were profitable, so it was pleasant to see them grazing on the hills and valleys, in the fields, mountains, and meadows.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 7. Servants and maidens] For my works, fields,…
Verse 7. Servants and maidens] For my works, fields, folds, and various domestic labors.
Servants born in any house] Besides those hired from without, he had married couples in the precincts of his grounds, palaces, etc., who, when their children grew up, got them employment with themselves.
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Great and small cattle] Oxen, neat, horses, asses, mules, camels, and such like; with sheep and goats. And multitudes of most of these he needed, when we are told that his household consumed daily ten stall-fed oxen, with twenty from the pasture, with a hundred sheep; besides harts, roebucks, fallow deer, fatted fowls, and other kinds of provision. Probably, such another court for splendor and expense was not in the universe.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain I got - Rather, I bought, in distinction from…
I got - Rather, I bought, in distinction from those born in the house. The “children of Solomon’s servants” (compare Ezr 2:55, Ezr 2:58) were more probably of Canaanite origin 1Ki 9:20-21; 1Ki 5:15 than Hebrews 1Ki 9:22.
Possessions of great and small cattle - Rather, herds of oxen and sheep.
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All ... before me - King David’s herds and flocks are mentioned in 1Ch 27:29, 1Ch 27:31 : but we have no specific account of the wealth of other Canaanite or Hebrew inhabitants of Jerusalem before Solomon.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Family of slaves, "born in my house," (Protestants) distinct…
Family of slaves, "born in my house," (Protestants) distinct from those whom I got for money. (Haydock) --- There were generally procured from foreign nations, as the Hebrews obtained their liberty on the sabbatic year. --- Sheep. David had the like; but Solomon had also horses, 3 Kings x. 21.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain born in my house--These were esteemed more trustworthy servants…
born in my house--These were esteemed more trustworthy servants than those bought (Gen 14:14; Gen 15:2-3; Gen 17:12-13, Gen 17:27; Jer 2:14), called "songs of one's handmaid" (Exo 23:12; compare Gen 12:16; Job 1:3).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 7. Solomon had need of a vast amount of…
7. Solomon had need of a vast amount of labour.
Got me servants — Hebrew, bought. He who studies the laws of Moses will see that such provision was made for servants that their condition was not one of slavery in its more objectionable sense. In fact, there is no Hebrew word for slave. The Hebrew bondman lost no right but that of the recompense of his own labour. If he was maimed by his master he became free. If he was killed by him, his master was slain by the sword. Greek, Roman, and American slavery was very different from this. The slave was, also, taught in the law; could not be delivered up if he ran away; could marry a daughter of his master; and a maidservant could be the lawful wife of her master or her master’s son. Servants, then, either purchased or born on the place, were not what we call slaves.
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Great and small cattle — Hebrew, oxen and sheep. See the sacrifices at the dedication of the temple. 1Ki_8:63. Above all that were… before me — See remarks on Ecc_1:16.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 7. I got me servants and maidens] Better, I…
7. I got me servants and maidens] Better, I bought. The picture of Oriental state was incomplete without this element, and the slave trade, of which the Midianites were the chief representatives in the patriarchal history. (Gen_37:28), had probably been carried on without intermission, and supplied both the household and the harem of Solomon. In the Cushi of 2Sa_18:21, in his namesake of Jer_36:14, in Ebedmelech, the Cushite, or Ethiopian, of Jer_38:7, we have instances of the presence of such slaves in the royal households. The history of every ancient nation shews the universality of the traffic. Of these slaves each great household had two classes: (1) those “bought with money,” men of other races, captives in war, often, probably, negroes (Jer_38:7) who were employed in the more menial offices (Gen_11:11-12; Gen_11:23), and (2) those born in the house (Gen_14:14; Gen_15:3; Jer_2:14), the ‘sons of the handmaids’ (Exo_23:12), who rose into more confidential service, the οἰκογενεῖς of the Greeks, the vernae of the Latins. On the assumption that the book was written under the Ptolemies, their court would present the same features in an even more conspicuous manner.
great and small cattle] Better, oxen and sheep. The daily provision for Solomon’s household (1Ki_4:22) gives some idea of the magnitude of his flocks and herds. See also 1Ch_27:29; 1Ki_5:3.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (7) Got me.—The servants acquired by purchase are distinguished…
(7) Got me.—The servants acquired by purchase are distinguished from those born in the house. (Concerning the number of Solomon’s servants, see 1Ki_4:27; 1Ki_10:5; and of his cattle, 1Ki_4:23, 1Ki_8:63.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain I got me I bought, procuredservants and maidens. These…
I got me I bought, procuredservants and maidens. These are distinct from those mentioned immediately afterwards, servants born in my house; Septuagint, oijkogeneiv: called in the Hebrew, "sons of the house". (Gen_15:3) They were much more esteemed by their masters, and showed a much closer attachment to the family than the bought slaves or the conquered aboriginals, who were often reduced to this. (1Ki_9:20, 1Ki_9:21) The number of Solomon"s attendants excited the wonder of the Queen of Sheba, (1Ki_4:26, etc.; 1Ki_10:5) and with good reason, if Josephus"s account is to be believed. This writer asserts that the king had some thousand or more chariots, and twenty thousand horses. The drivers and riders were young men of comely aspect, tall and well-made; they had long flowing hair, and wore tunics of Tyrian purple, and powdered their hair with gold dust, which glittered in the rays of the sun ("Ant.," 8:7. 3). Attended by a cavalcade thus arrayed, Solomon used to betake himself to his "paradise" at Etham, to enjoy the refreshing coolness of its trees and pools. Great and small cattle; oxen and sheep. The enormous amount of Solomon"s herds and flocks is proved by the extraordinary multitude of the sacrifices at the consecration of the temple, (1Ki_8:63) and the lavish provision made daily for the wants of his. (1Ki_4:22, 1Ki_4:23) The cattle of David were very numerous, and required special overlookers. (1Ch_27:29-31) Job (Job_1:3) had, before his troubles, seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and these items were all doubled at the return of his prosperity. Among Solomon"s possessions, horses are not here mentioned, though they formed no inconsiderable portion of his live stock, and added greatly to his magnificence. Koheleth, perhaps, avoided boasting of this extravagance in consideration of the religious sentiment which was strongly opposed to such a feature. That were in Jerusalem before me. (so ver. 9; see Ecc_1:16) But the reference here may not necessarily be to kings, but to chieftains and rich men, who were celebrated for the extent of their possessions.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 I had slaves born in my palace
I had slaves born in my palace
"I had slaves that were born in my palace" or "My slaves bore children and they also were my slaves"
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much more than any king
The understood verb may be supplied. AT: "much more than any other king had" (See: Ellipsis)
the treasures of kings and provinces
This refers to the gold and other wealth that neighboring countries were forced to pay to the king of Israel. AT: "that I acquired from the treasures of kings and the rulers of provinces" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
provinces
Here "provinces" represents the rulers of the provinces. AT: "the rulers of provinces" (See: Metonymy)
the delights of the children of humanity—and many concubines
This means that he had many concubines that he enjoyed sleeping with, as any man enjoys sleeping with women. AT: "I greatly enjoyed many concubines, as would delight any man" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
servant
palace
flocks
livestock
king
rule
Jerusalem
silver
gold
province
concubine
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 2:7 Solomon’s slaves, . . . large herds, and…
2:7 Solomon’s slaves, . . . large herds, and flocks were numerous, and caring for them consumed vast resources (1 Kgs 4:22-23; 9:20-21).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.