Bible HebrewWisdom Proverbs 1:7 · Ecclesiastes 1:2
The opening sayings of two wisdom books, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
Proverbs 1:7
יִרְאַת יְהוָה רֵאשִׁית דָּעַת חָכְמָה וּמוּסָר אֱוִילִים בָּזוּ
Yirʾath yəḥawwe rēshīth dāʿath ḥokhmā ūmūsār ʾĕwīlīm bāzū
“The fear of yəḥawwe is the beginning of knowledge; wisdom and discipline fools despise.”
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| יִרְאַת | yirʾath | the fear of |
| יְהוָה | yəḥawwe | yəḥawwe |
| רֵאשִׁית | rēshīth | the beginning of |
| דָּעַת | dāʿath | knowledge |
| חָכְמָה | ḥokhmā | wisdom |
| וּמוּסָר | ūmūsār | and discipline |
| אֱוִילִים | ʾĕwīlīm | fools |
| בָּזוּ | bāzū | despise |
- Whole verse: The first half has no verb: “The fear of yəḥawwe — the beginning of knowledge”.
- רֵאשִׁית: The same word as in Genesis 1:1 (בְּרֵאשִׁית). It can mean “beginning” or “first, best part”.
- חָכְמָה: The second half reverses the usual order: objects first (wisdom and discipline), then the subject (fools), then the verb (despise). Putting the objects first gives them emphasis.
- בָּזוּ: Perfect, third person plural (ending וּ). In proverbs the perfect often states what is generally true: “fools despise”.
Ecclesiastes 1:2
הֲבֵל הֲבָלִים אָמַר קֹהֶלֶת הֲבֵל הֲבָלִים הַכֹּל הָבֶל
Hăvēl hăvālīm ʾāmar qōheleth hăvēl hăvālīm hakkōl hāvel
“Vapor of vapors, said Qohelet, vapor of vapors; everything is vapor.”
Word by word
| Hebrew | Sounds | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| הֲבֵל | hăvēl | vapor of |
| הֲבָלִים | hăvālīm | vapors |
| אָמַר | ʾāmar | said |
| קֹהֶלֶת | qōheleth | Qohelet |
| הֲבֵל | hăvēl | vapor of |
| הֲבָלִים | hăvālīm | vapors |
| הַכֹּל | hakkōl | everything |
| הָבֶל | hāvel | (is) vapor |
- הֲבֵל: A noun joined to its own plural is Hebrew's way of saying “the most”: “vapor of vapors” means utter vapor. Compare “song of songs” and “holy of holies”.
- הָבֶל: הֶבֶל literally means “breath” or “vapor”, something brief or without substance. Translations render it “vanity”, “meaningless”, “fleeting” or “futile”, depending on how they read the book.
- קֹהֶלֶת: קֹהֶלֶת is a title, related to קָהָל, “assembly”: perhaps “the one who gathers” or “the teacher”. Its form looks feminine, but it takes a masculine verb here (אָמַר).
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