Ecclesiastes 7:28
which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This verse isn't a general swipe at women, but a deeply personal lament from Solomon about his own disastrous choices. He's not just failing to find any good woman, but specifically among the vast number he brought into his life through polygamy.
After searching exhaustively for wisdom and understanding, Solomon laments that he couldn't find a truly upright person, and especially struggled to find a virtuous woman. This verse reflects his personal, perhaps jaded, experience, particularly in the context of his many wives and concubines, hinting at the corruption he encountered. While not a blanket condemnation of women, it reveals his profound disappointment and the difficulty he faced in finding integrity in his vast, and likely morally compromised, social circle.
Understand the original words
nephesh · Hebrew Noun
The inner self or the living, breathing essence of a person; the seat of life and deep longing.
This passage echoes the sentiment of finding a rare and exceptional individual, speaking of 'one in a thousand' as an interpreter or messenger, highlighting the profound scarcity of true wisdom and virtue.
Proverbs 31:10-31This detailed portrait of a virtuous wife stands in stark contrast to the experience described in Ecclesiastes, showcasing the ideal of a capable and godly woman that the Preacher, in his personal experience, failed to find.
Jeremiah 5:1This verse describes a similar search for righteousness in a populace, finding that if only one righteous person could be found in Jerusalem, the city might be spared, underscoring the extreme rarity of those who are truly just.
Romans 3:10-12This passage describes the universal depravity of humanity, stating 'none is righteous, no, not one; no one is circumspect and acts wisely, no one seeks God. No one does good, not even one!' This theological perspective helps explain the Preacher's deep disillusionment with finding true virtue in anyone, man or woman.
pooleEcclesiastes 7:28: "Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not: one man among a thousand have I found; but a woman among all those have I not found."
My soul seeketh; it seemed so wonderful to me, that I suspected I had not made a sufficient inquiry, and therefore I returned to search again with more earnestness and accurateness. I find not; that it was so he found out, as he now said, Ecclesiastes 7:27 but the whole truth and reason of the thing he could not find out. One man; one worthy of the…
henryEcclesiastes 7:23-29: "All this have I proved by wisdom: I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me."
7:23-29 Solomon, in his search into the nature and reason of things, had been miserably deluded. But he here speaks with godly sorrow. He alone who constantly aims to please God, can expect to escape; the careless sinner probably will fall to rise no more. He now discovered more than ever the evil of the great sin of which he had been guilty, the loving many strange women,
This verse isn't a general swipe at women, but a deeply personal lament from Solomon about his own disastrous choices. He's not just failing to find any good woman, but specifically among the vast number he brought into his life through polygamy.
After searching exhaustively for wisdom and understanding, Solomon laments that he couldn't find a truly upright person, and especially struggled to find a virtuous woman. This verse reflects his personal, perhaps jaded, experience, particularly in the context of his many wives and concubines, hinting at the corruption he encountered. While not a blanket condemnation of women, it reveals his profound disappointment and the difficulty he faced in finding integrity in his vast, and likely morally compromised, social circle.
After searching exhaustively for wisdom and understanding, Solomon laments that he couldn't find a truly upright person, and especially struggled to find a virtuous woman. This verse reflects his personal, perhaps jaded, experience, particularly in the context of his many wives and concubines, hinting at the corruption he encountered. While not a blanket condemnation of women, it reveals his profound disappointment and the difficulty he faced in finding integrity in his vast, and likely morally compromised, social circle.
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"which my soul has sought repeatedly, but I have not found. One man among a thousand I found, but a woman among all these I have not found." — This verse isn't a general swipe at women, but a deeply personal lament from Solomon about his own disastrous choices. He's not just failing to find any good woman, but specifically among the vast…
