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Ecclesiastes 12 Bible study: The end of the matter
The book's close gives two commands, "Fear God and keep his commandments" (12:13), and in Hebrew both verbs are already in the pictures just before it: "the keepers of the house" (12:3) and "they shall be afraid of heights" (12:5). And the matter of "the end of the matter" is davar, the book's first word: "The words of the Preacher" (1:1).
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“This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.”
Try it · Did you catch it?
“Ecclesiastes 12:1 says to remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come.”
Is that in Ecclesiastes 12, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Remember, before
The chapter opens with a command: "Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth" (12:1) (tap Remember, Creator). The words pick up the young man's verse, "and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth" (11:9): in Hebrew the days of your youth is the same two words in both verses, as chapter 11's study of youth shows. Then comes a word the chapter says three times: before. "before the evil days come, and the years draw near, when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them;”" (12:1) (tap pleasure). "Before the sun, the light, the moon, and the stars are darkened" (12:2). "before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken" (12:6). Here is what almost everyone misses: all three are the same three Hebrew words, ad asher lo, and in the WEB 12:1-7 is one long sentence, hanging on the one command at the start. Your Creator is a form of bara', the verb of "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1), and this is its only time in Ecclesiastes.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Ecclesiastes 12
- After all the Preacher's words, the book ends, "Fear God and keep his commandments" (12:13). How do these closing words stand to what the Preacher said?
- "the keepers of the house shall tremble … and the grinders cease because they are few" (12:3). What are the keepers, the grinders and the silver cord?
- "which are given from one shepherd" (12:11). Who is the one shepherd?
- "of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh" (12:12). Is the book saying not to study?
That was a taste
The rest of Ecclesiastes 12 is waiting in Favor
- The sun, darkened
- The dust returns
- The end of the matter
- Words gathered at the end
- Every hidden thing, in Paul's words
- 11 questions as you read
- 13 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Ecclesiastes 12 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
זָכַרzakharsay za-KHAR
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "remember". "Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth" (12:1): the command zekhor. Ecclesiastes has the verb four times. Just before this chapter the Preacher says of a man who lives many years, "let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many" (11:8), with the same verb (chapter 11's catch Rejoice, and remember). It is the verb of "yet no man remembered that same poor man" (9:15), and of reflect in "For he shall not often reflect on the days of his life" (5:20). Here, at the book's end, the one to remember is "your Creator" (12:1).
For your group
Ecclesiastes 12 Bible study questions
- 1"Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come" (12:1). What helps you remember God in an ordinary week, whatever your age?
- 2"The words of the wise are like goads" (12:11). When has a wise word that was hard to hear moved you in a direction you needed to go?
- 3"This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments" (12:13). Now that you have read the whole of Ecclesiastes, what do you take from the way it ends?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Ecclesiastes 12 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home