[[Eccles-02]] Prev: [[Prophecies in Eccles-01]] | Next: [[Prophecies in Eccles-03]] --- ### I made myself great works. I built myself houses. I planted myself vineyards... I also gathered silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and of the provinces... So I was great, and increased more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. *Type*: fulfillment *Summary*: Solomon documents the vastness of his wealth, building projects, and status, which served as the tangible fulfillment of God's specific promise to him. *Historical context*: [[In|In 1]] [[Kin-03#v12|Kings 3:12]]–13, God promised Solomon 'both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like you all your days.' Historical and archaeological records (such as the Solomonic gate complexes at Megiddo and Hazor) and the biblical accounts in [[1 Kings|1 Kings 10]] and [[2 Chron|2 Chronicles 9]] detail the fulfillment of this promise through the massive tribute, trade, and architectural achievements of the United Monarchy. *Related to*: [[1 Kings-03#v13|1 Kings 3:13]] ### I must leave it to the man who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have rule over all of my labor in which I have labored, and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. *Type*: prophecy *Summary*: Solomon predicts that the total control of his life's work will pass to a successor whose character—potentially foolish—will determine the fate of his kingdom. *Historical context*: Theologians identify the fulfillment of this concern in Solomon's son, Rehoboam. According to [[1 Kings|1 Kings 12]], Rehoboam's 'folly' in rejecting the counsel of the elders led directly to the rebellion of the ten northern tribes and the permanent division of the United Monarchy into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, effectively dismantling the political labor and stability Solomon had established. *Related to*: ### to the sinner he gives travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him who pleases God. *Type*: prophecy *Summary*: A prophetic declaration that the labor and accumulation of the wicked are ultimately intended for the benefit of the righteous. *Historical context*: Scholars view this as a divine law or prophetic pattern. Historical fulfillments are often cited in the 'Spoiling of the Egyptians' ([[Exod-12#v35|Exodus 12:35]]–36), where the wealth of Egypt was given to the Israelites, and in the recurring biblical theme found in [[Prov-13#v22|Proverbs 13:22]] ('the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just'). It is also interpreted eschatologically as the 'meek inheriting the earth.' *Related to*: --- #ai_prophecy