Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters: Counsel on Risk and Generosity
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6
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Ecc.11.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שלח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לחמך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUF,2,m,sg
- על: PREP
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- המים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- כי: CONJ
- ברב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הימים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- תמצאנו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg,suff-3ms
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 11:2 (structural): Immediate context/continuation: advises dividing and giving portions to many (seven or eight), reflecting the same impulse to distribute resources despite uncertainty.
- Proverbs 11:25 (thematic): Both celebrate generosity: 'the generous soul will be made rich'—the idea that giving (watering/bread) results in later blessing.
- 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (thematic): Uses sowing-and-reaping imagery to teach that generous giving leads to future return; echoes the delayed reward implied by 'you will find it after many days.'
- Luke 6:38 (verbal): Jesus' rule of reciprocity—'Give, and it will be given to you'—parallels the promise that liberally sending (casting bread) leads to receiving in due time.
Alternative generated candidates
- Send your bread upon the surface of the waters; for in many days you will find it.
- Cast your bread upon the waters; for after many days you will find it.
Ecc.11.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תן: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- חלק: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- לשבעה: PREP+NUM,m,sg
- וגם: CONJ
- לשמונה: PREP+NUM,card,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- תדע: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms,sg
- מה: PRON,int
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 11:1 (verbal): Immediate parallel in same context: both verses urge giving/diversifying ("cast your bread upon the waters" and "give a portion to seven, yes to eight") because the future is uncertain.
- Ecclesiastes 9:11 (thematic): Both passages stress the unpredictability of events ('time and chance happen to them all'), providing the rationale for broad distribution and prudent action.
- Genesis 41:34-36 (thematic): Joseph's plan to store and allocate grain across seven years of plenty and famine mirrors the idea of preparing/distributing resources in view of future disasters; the numerical element (seven) reinforces the connection.
- 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (thematic): Paul's teaching on generous sowing and readiness to share (sowing bountifully, God providing) resonates with Ecclesiastes' advice to distribute resources widely because one cannot predict future need.
Alternative generated candidates
- Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for you do not know what evil may come upon the earth.
- Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for you do not know what evil may be on the earth.
Ecc.11.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אם: CONJ
- ימלאו: VERB,qal,imperf,3,m,pl
- העבים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- גשם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- יריקו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ואם: CONJ
- יפול: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בדרום: PREP
- ואם: CONJ
- בצפון: PREP
- מקום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שיפול: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- העץ: NOUN,m,sg,def
- שם: ADV
- יהוא: NOUN,prop,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 55:10 (verbal): Rain/snow coming from heaven to water the earth and not return — parallels the image of clouds full of rain emptying upon the earth (inevitability and purpose of precipitation).
- Job 36:27-28 (verbal): Describes God drawing up drops of water and the clouds pouring down moisture — closely echoes the cloud/rain imagery and divine ordering of rainfall.
- Matthew 7:24-27 (thematic): The house-tested-by-rain-and-floods parable (esp. v.25: rain and floods expose foundations) — parallels the idea that falling rain (and events) produce inevitable effects and reveal outcomes.
- Jonah 4:6-8 (thematic): A plant grows to give shade and then withers where it stood — parallels the tree imagery (if a tree falls to the south or north, there it will lie), both highlighting the fate of vegetation remaining where change occurs.
Alternative generated candidates
- If the clouds are full of rain they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree falls toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falls there it will lie.
- If the clouds are full they pour out rain upon the earth; if a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where the tree falls there it lies.
Ecc.11.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- יזרע: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- וראה: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- בעבים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- יקצור: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Eccl.11.6 (structural): Immediate internal parallel in the same chapter urging action despite uncertainty: ‘In the morning sow your seed…’ counters the paralysis of waiting for perfect conditions.
- Prov.20.4 (thematic): Similar proverb linking failure to sow or plow in season with absence at harvest: the sluggard who does not plow finds nothing at harvest.
- Prov.24.30-34 (thematic): Parable of the sluggard’s neglected field—overgrown and unharvested—illustrates the consequences of failing to act agriculturally (sow/plow) in due time.
- Gal.6.7 (verbal): Uses the same sowing/reaping imagery to express a moral principle: what one sows one will also reap, connecting action and consequence.
- Isa.28.24-26 (thematic): Agricultural wisdom on proper timing and practice of plowing and sowing; like Eccl.11:4 it frames proactive, skilled farming as necessary rather than waiting on uncertain signs.
Alternative generated candidates
- He who watches the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
- Whoever watches the wind will not sow; whoever regards the clouds will not reap.
Ecc.11.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כאשר: CONJ
- אינך: PART_NEG,2,m,sg
- יודע: VERB,qal,ptc,ms,sg
- מה: PRON,int
- דרך: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הרוח: NOUN,f,sg,def
- כעצמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בבטן: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- המלאה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ככה: ADV
- לא: PART_NEG
- תדע: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- מעשה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- האלהים: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- יעשה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הכל: PRON,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Job 38:4-7 (thematic): God's interrogation of human ignorance about the foundations and processes of creation parallels Ecclesiastes' claim that human beings do not know the ways of the Creator.
- Psalm 139:13-14 (verbal): The imagery of formation in the womb ('You formed my inward parts') echoes Ecclesiastes' reference to bones in the womb as a mystery of God's work.
- Isaiah 55:8-9 (thematic): God's declaration that his thoughts and ways are higher than human thoughts directly parallels the theme that God's works are beyond human understanding.
- Deuteronomy 29:29 (quotation): The statement that 'the secret things belong to the LORD' corresponds closely to Ecclesiastes' point that certain divine actions are hidden from human knowledge.
- Romans 11:33 (allusion): Paul's praise of the depth and unsearchable nature of God's judgments and ways echoes the biblical motif that God's works are beyond human comprehension.
Alternative generated candidates
- As you do not know the way of the wind, nor how the bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the work of God who makes all things.
- As you do not know the way of the wind—how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman—so you do not know the work of God who makes all things.
Ecc.11.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בבקר: PREP
- זרע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- זרעך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- ולערב: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- תנח: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- ידך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss:2,f,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אינך: PART_NEG,2,m,sg
- יודע: VERB,qal,ptc,ms,sg
- אי: PRON,interrog
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- יכשר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- או: CONJ
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- ואם: CONJ
- שניהם: PRON,3,m,pl
- כאחד: PREP
- טובים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Ecclesiastes 11:4 (thematic): Contrast within the same passage: warns against waiting for perfect conditions (watching the wind) and reinforces the call to act—don’t delay sowing.
- Galatians 6:7-9 (verbal): Uses the same sowing-and-reaping metaphor to urge persistent, right action despite uncertain immediate results: what one sows one will reap.
- 2 Corinthians 9:6 (verbal): Direct teaching using the sowing image to encourage generous, continual giving, with an expected harvest—parallels the advice to keep sowing rather than ceasing.
- Luke 8:5-8 (Parable of the Sower) (thematic): Parable about sowing seed and varied outcomes depending on conditions—connects to Ecclesiastes’ admission that one cannot know which sowing will prosper.
- Psalm 126:5-6 (thematic): Speaks of persevering in sowing (even in tears) with confidence in eventual harvest—echoes the encouragement to keep working despite uncertainty about results.
Alternative generated candidates
- In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not let your hand be idle; for you do not know which will prosper—this or that—or whether both alike will be good.
- In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike are good.
Cast your bread upon the waters; for in many days you will find it.
Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for you do not know what misfortune may come upon the earth.
When the clouds are full they pour out rain upon the earth; and when a tree falls to the south, or when it falls to the north, wherever the tree falls, there it will lie.
He who watches the wind will not sow; and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.
Just as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in the mother's womb, so you do not know the work of God who makes all things.
Sow your seed in the morning, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper — this or that — or whether both alike will be good.