Qoheleth’s great wealth was also shown in the way he purchased slaves. Although most societies today do not permit buying another individual for slavery, the custom was accepted in Old Testament times. However, the legal rights of Hebrew slaves were guaranteed; they had the choice of complete freedom after seven years’ service. Translators may find it difficult to locate a term that matches the Hebrew concept of “slave,” since cultural patterns are different. “Servant” may be less problematic. Children born to the slaves are literally “children of the house.” They legally belonged to Qoheleth and were furthermore a sign of divine blessing. Owning slaves was a sign of his high social position. For translation: “I acquired [male and female] servants; others were born in my home” or “I bought men and women slaves, and acquired the children born to them.”

I had also great possessions of herds and flocks: as was the case with slaves, cattle was a sign of wealth. Great possessions is a rather awkward construction and may be expressed more naturally by modifiers such as “a lot of,” “many,” or “numerous.” The Hebrew word for herd indicates domesticated animals and is a generic term. It is then described by two additional terms, “oxen” and “sheep.” These appear to be particular types of animals, though the term “oxen” may also be used generally for different kinds of cattle. Good News Translation overcomes this problem of generic terms and names for individual types of animals by the collective form “livestock.” Many language groups will have their own way of naming these types of livestock, and the most natural expressions should be used. If particular types of livestock are mentioned by name, the generic term may be dropped. We note that there is a play on words here between the word “cattle” in this clause and “buy” in the previous clause, since both words come from the same root in Hebrew. This wordplay is almost impossible to render in translation, however.

More than any who had been before me in Jerusalem: the idea that Qoheleth was greater in every way than all previous residents of Jerusalem is one he mentions several times in the opening autobiography (see 1.16; 2.9). He does not actually say here that he was a king. This description of his wealth and achievements is important. Qoheleth needs to impress on his readers that, whatever conclusions he draws or whatever advice he offers, it is all based on his full experience of the very best life has to offer. It means readers can accept his conclusions as valid. In translation this may be expressed as “I possessed more than any other previous resident of Jerusalem” or “I had more than anyone who lived before me in Jerusalem.”

A model for translation of the whole verse:

• I bought male and female slaves and acquired the children born to them. I had great herds of livestock. I owned more than anyone who lived before me in Jerusalem.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Zogbo, Lynell. A Handbook on the Book of Ecclesiates. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .