Ecclesiastes 1:7

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:4-8

To prove the vanity of all things under the sun, and their insufficiency to make us happy, Solomon here shows, 1. That the time of our enjoyment of these things is very short, and only while we accomplish as a hireling his day. We continue in the world but for one generation, which is continually passing away to make room for another, and we are passing with it. Our worldly possessions we very lately had from others, and must very shortly leave to others, and therefore to us they are vanity;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:7

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full ,.... Which flow from fountains or an formed by hasty rains; these make their way to the sea, yet the sea is not filled therewith, and made to abound and overflow the earth, as it might be expected it would. So Seneca says F26 Nat. Quaest. l. 3. c. 4. we wonder that the accession of rivers is not perceived in the sea; and Lucretius F1 De Rerum Natura, l. 6. observes the same, that it is wondered at that the sea should not... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:7

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full - The reason is, nothing goes into it either by the; rivers or by rain, that does not come from it: and to the place whence the rivers come, whether from the sea originally by evaporation, or immediately by rain, thither they return again; for the water exhaled from the sea by evaporation is collected in the clouds, and in rain, etc., falls upon the tops of the mountains; and, filtered through their fissures, produce streams, several... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:2-11

PROLOGUE . The vanity of all human and mundane things, and the oppressive monotony of their continued recurrence. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:7

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full. Here is another instance of unvarying operation producing no tangible result. The phenomenon mentioned is often the subject of remark and speculation in classical authors. Commentators cite Aristophanes, 'Clouds,' 1293— αὕτη μὲν (sc. ἡ θάλαττα ) οὐδὲν γίγνεται ἐπιῤῥεόντων τῶν ποταμῶν πλείων , "The sea, though all the rivers flow therein, Waxeth no greater." Lucretius attempts to account for the fact,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:7

The place - i. e., The spring or river-head. It would seem that the ancient Hebrews regarded the clouds as the immediate feeders of the springs (Proverbs 8:28, and Psalms 104:10, Psalms 104:13). Genesis 2:6 indicates some acquaintance with the process and result of evaporation. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 1:7

Ecclesiastes 1:7. The sea is not full So as to overflow the earth, which might be expected from such vast accessions of waters to it. Whereby also he intimates the emptiness of men’s minds, notwithstanding the abundance of creature comforts. Unto the place from whence the rivers come Unto their springs or fountains; thither they return By secret passages of the earth: or their waters, after flowing into the sea, and being mixed with its waters, are exhaled by the heat of the sun, become... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

1:1-4:16 ACCEPT THE LIFE GOD GIVES AND ENJOY ITIs there a purpose to life? (1:1-11)At times life does not appear to have much meaning. People have to work to keep themselves alive, but in the end they lose everything they have worked for. Generation after generation passes, but the same things still happen (1:1-4). The sun rises and sets, then the next day the cycle is repeated. The wind blows and circles around, coming back to begin its course all over again. Rivers flow unceasingly into the... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 1:7

they return again. This is the point of the illustration. Compare Job 36:27 . read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:7

7. By subterraneous cavities, and by evaporation forming rain clouds, the fountains and rivers are supplied from the sea, into which they then flow back. The connection is: Individual men are continually changing, while the succession of the race continues; just as the sun, wind, and rivers are ever shifting about, while the cycle in which they move is invariable; they return to the point whence they set out. Hence is man, as in these objects of nature which are his analogue, with all the... read more

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