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Ecclesiastes

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4

:

8

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There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

Lexicon

Verse part Definition: Part of speech: Strong's: Hebrew: Transliteration:
There is there are sub H3426 יֵ֣שׁ yesh
one a Adjective H259 אֶחָד֩ e·chad
Analysis:

One: God

Refers to HaShem (God), Who is One. This number can also refer to unity. The first place the number "one" occurs is in Genesis 1:5. There one reads, "And there was an evening and there was a morning— one day". Later on in this same book of Genesis, it is stated concerning the man and his wife, "And they became one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). It is very significant that in both of these examples there was a multiplicity for the subject. In the first example, the evening and the morning became one day and in the second example, it was Adam and Eve who became one flesh.

One of the most famous passages in the Torah concerning HaShem is Deuteronomy 6:4 which states, "Hear O Israel the Lord your God the Lord is One." The question that a person must ask himself is what is the connection between the use of the Hebrew word אחד "one" which identifies a multiplicity being one and the fact that the Lord God of Israel is One? The answer is that the Hebrew word אחד can relate to the concept for one as in "unification". There is another Hebrew word that would have been possible to be used if the author wanted to refer to an absolute oneness or singleness. This is the Hebrew word יחיד. In fact, there is a well-known prayer in Judaism which states, "אחד ואין יחיד כיחודו". This phrase should be translated as, "(God is) One and there is no singularity as His singularity." The idea that is being expressed in this prayer is that the Lord God of Israel is One; but not an absolute One; rather there is a uniqueness and a complexity to His Oneness.

The number one is frequently employed to express in the Scriptures one object, such as one man or one tabernacle. This usage would be the simple or common purpose that the number one or for that matter any number, would appear in a Biblical text. Often the appearance of a number does not contain any of the significance that Hebrew numerology might offer. Therefore, the reader must always consider when coming across a verse which contains a number, that the number only expresses an amount and no additional significance. 

Because the number one is often associated with God, there is a unique phenomenon in the Scriptures concerning this number. Sometimes the number one is employed to express a unique relationship that the object has to HaShem. For example,

"And it will be one day, it will be known to HaShem..." Zechariah 14:7

In the text above, Zechariah could have stated simply, "And it will be a day…" The fact that the prophet said "one day" is to convey that this day is uniquely related to God. Similarly, it is stated by the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 37, "one King", "one nation" and "one Shepherd" (see Ezekiel 37:22, 24). Each of these objects—King, nation and Shepherd—has a connection to HaShem. The King and Shepherd is Messiah Yeshua, the Son of God and the one nation is Israel, the people of God.

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without else Particle H369 וְאֵ֨ין ve·'ein
[alone] and [there is] not a second again Noun H8145 שֵׁנִ֜י she·ni
having else Particle H369 אֵֽין־ ein-
Indeed again Adverb H1571 גַּ֣ם gam
yea he hath neither child afflicted Noun H1121 בֵּ֧ן ben
nor else Particle H369    
nor brother another Noun H251 וָאָ֣ח va·'ach
yet [is there] no end after Noun H7093 קֵץ֙ ketz
to all all manner Noun H3605 לְכָל־ le·chol-
of all his labour grievance Noun H5999 עֲמָלֹ֔ו a·ma·lov,
too again Adverb H1571 גַּם־ gam-
satisfied have enough Verb H7646 תִשְׂבַּ֣ע tis·ba
with riches far Noun H6239 עֹ֑שֶׁר o·sher;
whom any Pronoun H4310 וּלְמִ֣י u·le·mi
neither [saith he] For whom do I labour that labors Noun H6001 עָמֵ֗ל a·mel
and bereave be abated Verb H2637 וּמְחַסֵּ֤ר u·me·chas·ser
my soul any Noun H5315 נַפְשִׁי֙ naf·shi
he he Pronoun H2088 זֶ֥ה zeh
too again Adverb H1571 גַּם־ gam-
is vanity altogether Noun H1892 הֶ֛בֶל he·vel
yea it [is] a sore adversity Adjective H7451 רָ֖ע ra
travail business Noun H6045 וְעִנְיַ֥ן ve·'in·yan

Parallel Verses

Removed text
Added text
King James Bible There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.
Hebrew Greek English There is one alone, and there is not was a second; yea, he hath certain man without a dependent, having neither child a son nor brother: a brother, yet is there was no end of to all his labour; neither is labor. Indeed, his eye eyes were not satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For riches and he never asked, "And for whom do am I labour, laboring and bereave my soul depriving myself of good? pleasure?" This too is also vanity, yea, vanity and it is a sore travail.grievous task.
New American Standard Bible 1995 There is one alone, and there is not was a second; yea, he hath certain man without a dependent, having neither child a son nor brother: a brother, yet is there was no end of to all his labour; neither is labor. Indeed, his eye eyes were not satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For riches and he never asked, "And for whom do am I labour, laboring and bereave my soul depriving myself of good? pleasure?" This too is also vanity, yea, vanity and it is a sore travail.grievous task.