Sorrow is better than laughter - The reason is immediately given; for by the sorrow of the countenance - the grief of heart that shows itself in the countenance: - The heart is made better - In such cases, most men try themselves at the tribunal of their own consciences, and resolve on amendment of life. read more
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning - A wise man loves those occasions from which he can derive spiritual advantage; and therefore prefers visiting the sick, and sympathizing with those who have suffered privations by death. But the fool - the gay, thoughtless, and giddy - prefers places and times of diversion and amusement. Here he is prevented from seriously considering either himself or his latter end. The grand fault and misfortune of youth. read more
For as the crackling of thorns - They make a great noise, a great blaze; and are extinguished in a few moments. Such indeed, comparatively, are the joys of life; they are noisy, flashy, and transitory. read more
Oppression maketh a wise man mad - This has been translated with good show of reason, "Surely oppression shall give lustre to a wise man: but a gift corrupteth the heart." The chief difference here is in the word יהולל yeholel , which, from the root הלל halal , signiffes to glister, irradiate, as well as to move briskly, to be mad, furious, in a rage; and certainly the former meaning suits this place best. We cannot think that the wise man - he that is truly religious, (for this is... read more
Ecclesiastes 12:8 .—Division II . DEDUCTIONS FROM THE ABOVE - MENTIONED EXPERIENCES IN THE WAY OF WARNINGS AND RULES OF LIFE . read more
A good name is better than precious ointment. The paronomasia here is to be remarked, tob ahem mishemen tob . There is a similar assonance in So Ecclesiastes 1:3 , which the German translator reproduces by the sentence, "Besser gut Gerucht als Wohlgeruch," or," gute Geruche," and which may perhaps be rendered in English, "Better is good favor than good flavor." It is a proverbial saying, running literally, Better is a name than good oil . Shem , "name," is sometimes used... read more
Section 1. Though no man knows for certain what is best, yet there are some practical rules for the conduct of life which wisdom gives . Some of these Koheleth sets forward in the proverbial form, recommending a serious, earnest life in preference to one of gaiety and frivolity. read more
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting. The thought in the last verse leads to the recollection of the circumstances which accompany the two events therein mentioned—birth and death, feasting and joy, in the first case; sorrow and mourning in the second. In recommending the sober, earnest life, Koheleth teaches that wiser, more enduring lessons are to be learned where grief reigns than in the empty and momentary excitement of mirth and joyousness.... read more
Sorrow is better than laughter . This is a further expansion of the previous maxim, כַּעַס ( kaas ), as contrasted with שְׂהוֹק , is rightly rendered "sorrow," "melancholy," or, as Ginsburg contends, "thoughtful sadness." The Septuagint has θυμός , the Vulgate ira ; but auger is not the feeling produced by a visit to the house of mourning. Such a scene produces saddening reflection, which is in itself a moral training, and is more wholesome and elevating than thoughtless... read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 7:2
It is better to go to the house of mourning - Birthdays were generally kept with great festivity, and to these the wise man most probably refers; but according to his maxim, the miseries of life were so many and so oppressive that the day of a man's death was to be preferred to the day of his birth. But, in dependently of the allusion, it is much more profitable to visit the house of mourning for the dead than the house of festivity. In the former we find occasion for serious and deeply... read more