complete verse (Ecclesiastes 2:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ecclesiastes 2:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “I bought slaves which were women and men and there were also some who were born in my home. I had herds of many cows, goats and sheep. Those animals were more than any other person who had earlier lived in Jerusalem.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “I bought male and female slaves and there were male and female slaves who were born in my house. I had more herds and flocks than any who came before me in Jerusalem.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “I bought male and female slaves, and I also have slaves who were born in my household. And I am the one who has the most-amount of animals of all who have-lived in Jerusalem.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I bought male and female slaves, and babies who later became my slaves were born in my palace. I also owned more livestock than any of the previous kings in Jerusalem had owned.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ecclesiastes 2:7

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Ecclesiastes 2:7

2:7a I acquired menservants and maidservants,

I acquired/purchased male slaves and female slaves.
-or-
I bought slaves, both men and women.

2:7b and servants were born in my house.

⌊Their⌋ children were ⌊born⌋ in my household, and were also my slaves.
-or-
Their sons and their daughters became my slaves too. (EASY2015)

2:7c I also owned more herds and flocks

I also had many livestock, both cattle and sheep.
-or-
Also I had lots of cattle, sheep and goats.

2:7d than anyone in Jerusalem before me,

⌊I owned⌋ more ⌊livestock⌋ than anyone ⌊who lived⌋ in Jerusalem before me did.
-or-

⌊I had more domestic animals⌋ than any other people who lived in Jerusalem before my time ⌊ever had⌋ .

2:7c-d (combined)

I was richer than all the people who ever lived in Jerusalem because I had lots of domestic animals.
-or-
Many people lived in Jerusalem before I did. And many of them had animals. But I had more cows and sheep than anyone else had. (EASY2015)

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Commentaire sur la traduction de l'Ecclésiaste 2.7

Après avoir décrit ses bâtiments et autres réalisations, Qohéleth parle de son personnel. Dans certaines langues, on commencera par un nouveau paragraphe ou une nouvelle strophe. Dans d’autres, par contre, la liste des réalisations continuera sans division du texte.

Au nombre de ses richesses et de ses biens figurent ses esclaves et ses domestiques. En effet certains Israélites (rois, prêtres, riches) avaient des esclaves, soit des étrangers (captifs de guerre), soit leurs propres frères juifs (endettés et réduits en esclavage). Mais ici Qohéleth dit qu’il a acheté des esclaves.

J’ai acheté des esclaves et des servantes, j’ai eu des domestiques : cette phrase est intéressante d’un point de vue socio-culturel car elle révèle différentes catégories de personnes travaillant au sein d’une famille (royale ou autre). esclaves rend le mot עֲבָדִים ʿavâdîm, qui est parfois rendu par le mot « serviteurs », parfois par le mot « esclaves ». Puisque Qohéleth les a achetés, il est clair qu’il s’agit d’esclaves. Certaines versions ont de la peine à reconnaître l’existence d’esclaves parmi le peuple de Dieu, mais il vaudrait mieux respecter l’historicité du texte. Il faudrait utiliser le terme qui désigne des êtres humains vendus en esclavage. Mis ensemble avec le mot שִׁפְחָה šefaḥot, servantes, ce premier semble désigner des esclaves mâles. Servantes semble renvoyer aux esclaves femmes. La Bible en français courant propose un bon modèle, « Je me suis procuré des esclaves, hommes et femmes ».

j’ai eu des domestiques est litt. « et des fils de maison était pour / à moi ». « fils de maison » semblent désigner une autre catégorie de domestiques, des « serviteurs » (Parole de Vie) ou « du personnel domestique » (La Bible du Semeur). Mais tout le monde n’est pas unanime sur ce point. Certains pensent que ces « fils de maison » étaient des esclaves déjà à la maison, c’est-à-dire, hérités. Ainsi la Bible en français courant dit « en plus de ceux que j’avais déjà ». La Nouvelle Bible Segond pense qu’il s’agit des enfants « nées dans la maison », ce qui semble plus probable. Effectivement les enfants des esclaves deviennent la propriété du maître. C’est aux traducteurs de faire leur choix d’interprétation.

et aussi du gros et du petit bétail en abondance et litt. « aussi troupeau du gros-bétail et du petit-bétail beaucoup étaient à moi ». Il est sous-entendu que Qohéleth a acquis ou acheté ces troupeaux. L’expression en hébreu suggère de « grands troupeaux » (Parole de Vie). Le mot hébreu בָּקָר bâqâr désigne des bœufs, tandis que le mot צֹאן çôʾn, le petit bétail comme les moutons et les chèvres. Ce ne sont pas toutes les langues qui font la même distinction entre les animaux domestiques. Les traducteurs devraient utiliser des expressions idiomatiques qui conviennent dans leur langue.

plus que tous mes prédécesseurs à Jérusalem : ce n’est ni la première ni la dernière fois que Qohéleth se vante de cette manière. Voir Ecc 1.16 ; Ecc 2.9. Le texte dit litt. « au-dessus de tous ceux qui étaient [sic] avant moi à [sic] Jérusalem ». Il est clair que, du point de vue matériel, Qohéleth dépasse tous les rois qui ont régné sur Jérusalem. L’allusion au roi Salomon est bien évidente.

Source: Zogbo, Lynell. L’Ecclésiaste – Manuel de traduction – Commentaire linguistique et exégétique de la Bible. Alliance biblique universelle, 2021.