Ecclesiastes 10:1

Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. DEAD FLIES - literally, flies of death. THE OINTMENT - a costly and precious ointment. The more excellent is the ointment, the sadder it is that so little a thing as dead flies should be allowed to spoil it. Sin begins with little things. Little inconsistencies, if not checked at the beginning, undermine the whole character. Following up . HIM THAT IS IN REPUTATION - e.g., David (); Solomon (1 Kings 11:1); Jehoshaphat ...

1-3 Those especially who make a profession of religion, should keep from all appearances of evil. A wise man has great advantage over a fool, who is always at a loss when he has anything to do. Sin is the reproach of sinners, wherever they go, and shows their folly....

CHAPTER X _Observations on wisdom and folly_, 1-3. _Concerning right conduct towards rulers_, 4. _Merit depressed, and worthlessness exalted_, 5-7. _Of him who digs a pit and removes a landmark_, 8, 9. _The use of wisdom and experience_, 10. _Of the babbler and the fool_, 11-15. _The infant king_, 16. _The well-regulated court_, 17. _Of slothfulness_, 18. _Of feasting_, 19. _Speak not evil of the king_, 20. NOTES ON CHAP. X Verse...

This verse is by its meaning so closely connected with Ecclesiastes 9:18 that the selection of it for the beginning of a new chapter seems unfortunate. APOTHECARY - Rather: a dealer in spices and perfumes (compare Exodus 30:25). The swarms of flies in the East very soon corrupt and destroy any moist unguent or mixture left uncovered, and pollute a dish of food in a few minutes. SO DOTH ... - literally, more weighty than wisdom, than honor, is a little folly....

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 10:1 Section 11. _A little folly mars the effect of wisdom, _and is sure to make itself conspicuous. ECCLESIASTES 10:1 DEAD FLIES CAUSE THE OINTMENT OF THE APOTHECARY TO SEND FORTH A STINKING SAVOR. This is a metaphorical confirmation of the truth enunciated at the end of the last chapter, "One sinner destroyeth much good." It is like the apostle's warning to his converts, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6). The Hebrew expression is literally, "flies of death," which may mean either "dead flies," as in our version and the Vulgate (muse

DEAD FLIES CAUSE THE OINTMENT OF THE APOTHECARY TO SEND FORTH A STINKING SAVOUR,.... Such, as Jarchi observes, are in the winter season, which are weak and near to death, and get into precious ointment, prepared after the best manner, where they die, and corrupt and spoil it: or, "flies of deaths" m; deadly ones, which have something in their nature poisonous and pernicious; which, when they light upon the most sweet and savoury ointment, give it an ill smell; [SO DOTH] A LITTLE FOLLY HIM THAT IS IN REPUTATION FOR WISDOM [AND] HONOUR; a good name is like precious ointment, valuable and fragrant; sin, which is folly, is like a dead fly; not only light and mean, and base and worthless, but hurtful and pernicious, deadly, and the cause of death; and what may seem little, a peccadillo, or, however, one single act of sin, may injure the character of a wise and honourable man, and greatly exp...

CHAPTER 10 This chapter contains a series of proverbs, expressing the wisdom and prudence of the natural man. Here are a number of observations and all show that there is a practical value in wisdom and that it has certain advantages. These maxims are of a different kind than the proverbs in the preceding book. There we are face to face with the wisdom which is from above, here it is the wisdom of man. The name of the Lord is not mentioned once, Similar philosophic utterances can be traced in the literature of other ancient nations. They need no detailed annotations....

DEAD FLIES. Hebrew flies of death: i.e. flies that bring or produce death. Supply the Figure of speech _Ellipsis,_ "[as] dead". CAUSE. [are that which will] cause, &c. TO SEND FORTH. STINKING SAVOUR. to stink [and] fer-ment. Figure of speech _Hendiadys._ App-6. FOLLY. stupidity. Hebrew. _sakal._ Same root as in Ecclesiastes 10:6. See note on Proverbs 1:7. HIM. Note the Figure of speech _Ellipsis_ (App-6) _:_ "So doth stupidity [cause] him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour [to send forth an offensive savour]". WISDOM. Hebrew. _chakmah._ See note on Ecclesiastes 1:2....

_Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary_ The division of the Chapter s obscures the connexion. The maxim now before us is but the figurative expression of the fact stated, without a parable, in the last verse of ch. 9. The "dead flies" are, in the Hebrew, "flies of death," probably, _i.e._poisonous, or stinging flies of the dung-fly, or carrion-fly type. Such insects, finding their way into a vase of precious ointment, would turn its fragrance into a fœtid odour. The work of an "apothecary" or manufacturer of unguents was one held in honour in Jerusalem, and the guilds to which they belonged had a special street or bazaar. Few similitudes could describe more vividly the tainting influence of folly, moral or intellectual. It is to the full as expressive as "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" of 1 Corinthians 5:6. The experience of every day shews us, how little sins