“I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.”
Qohelet's comment that God's design demonstrates the bestial nature of humanity, or tests humanity's similarity to beasts, suggests a humbling recognition of human kinship with animals. The shared mortality and fate of humans and beasts, discussed in the following verse, undermines human pretensions to superiority and dignity. Yet this humbling also protects against pride; recognition of human limitation and kinship with the created order may be necessary for genuine wisdom.
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a note on this verse
0/2000
No notes on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!