Ecclesiastes 11:2

Give a portion to seven, and also to eight,.... Or, a "part" (q); not the whole of a man's substance, for he must have to support himself and his family; he that does not take care of that is worse

Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. Portion - of thy bread. To seven - the perfect number.

Give a portion; a part of thy estate or provisions. He alludes to the ancient custom, whereby the master of the feast did distribute several parts to each guest, and withal sent portions to the poor; of which custom see ,12 Es 9:22. To seven, and also to eight; to as many as thou art able; a certain number for an uncertain, as , and oft elsewhere. Thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth; great calamities may come, whereby thou mayst be brought to poverty, and so both utterly lose that blessed opportunity of doing good, which now thou hast in thine hands, whereby thou mayst gain unspeakable honour, and comfort, and advantage to thyself, and moreover need the charity of others, which thou mayst comfortably expect, either from men, or at least from the powerful providence of God, disposing the hearts of men to pity and help thee, if thou hast been kind and merciful to others; as, on the contrary, they can expect no mercy from God or men, who have showed no mercy to others. Thus he not only answers, but retorts, the argument by which the covetous man excuseth his uncharitableness, because he must lay up against a rainy day.

Ecclesiastes 11:2 Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.Ver. 2. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight.] A portion - i.e., a good deal, a fair proportion - to a good many; as B. Hooper did to his board of beggars, whom he fed every day by course, serving them by four at a mess, with whole and wholesome food. Or give a portion, i.e., a part, such as thou canst well part with, not stretching beyond the staple, lest ye mar all, while "others are eased, and you burdened, but by an equality," &c. Give to him that asketh, saith our Saviour - scil., according to his necessity, and thine ability. Give with discretion. Have a special respect to the family of faith, those "excellent ones of the earth," in whom was David’ s "delight." The Jews, from this text, grounded a custom of giving alms to seven poor people every day, or to eight at utmost, if they saw cause. But here is a finite number put for an infinite, as when Christ bade Peter forgive his brother "seventy times seven times," and as "seven shepherds and eight principal men" signify so many shepherds, both teachers and rulers, as shall sufficiently feed the flock of Christ, and defend it from enemies. For thou knowest not what evll shall be upon the earth.] Therefore lay in lustily; or rather, lay out liberally, and so lay up for a rainy day. Thou mayest be soon shred of thy goods, and as much need other men’ s mercy as they now need thine. Sow, therefore, while thou hast it, that thou mayest "reap again in due season." "Water, that thou mayest be watered again." "Lay up for thyself a good foundation against the time to come." Lay out thy talent; work while the tool is in thine hand. Make friends with thy mammon. Say not, as one rich churl did, when requested to do somewhat toward his minister’ s maintenance, The more I give, the less I have. Another answered that he knew how to bestow his money better. A third old man said, I see the beginning of my life, but I see not my latter; I may come to want that which I now give. Thou mayest do so, saith Solomon here, and by thy tenacity thou art very likely to do so; but wilt thou know, O man! how thou mayest prevent this misery, and not feel what thou fearest "Give a portion to seven," &c. Part, therefore, freely with that which thou art not sure to keep, that thou mayest gain that which thou art sure never to Lose."he that giveth to the poor shall not lack." Acts and Mon., fol. 1368.

(2) To seven, and also to eight.—Quite similar forms of expression occur in Job 5:19; Proverbs 30:21; Amos 1:3; Micah 5:4. The numbers seven and eight are used indefinitely in the advice to multiply our modes of exertion, ignorant as we are which may miscarry.

Verse 2. Give a portion to seven] Never cease giving while thou seest a person in distress, and hast wherewithal to relieve him. Thou knowest not what evil] Such may be the change of times, that thou mayest yet stand in need of similar help thyself. Do as thou wouldst be done by.

2. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight] The precept is clearly a pendant to Ecclesiastes 11:1 and has received the same variety of interpretations. Following the same line of thought as before, we find in it the counsel to give freely as opportunities present themselves. The combination of “to seven and also to eight,” is, like that of “six and seven” in Job 5:19, of “three and four” in Amos 1, 2, like the “seventy times seven” of Matthew 18:22, a Hebrew form of the definite for the indefinite. There is, in our acts of kindness, to be no grudging narrowness. In such things “Kind heaven disdains the loreOf nicely calculated less or more.”And the reason given fits in with the counsel, “Thou knowest not what evil shall be on earth.” “Hard times may come, when thou shalt have no means for giving; therefore waste not the present opportunity. Help those to whom thou givest to meet the hazards of the uncertain future.” Here again men interpret according to their character, and so, we have, as before, the licentious moralist finding a plea for unlimited voluptuousness, while the prudential adviser sees in the precept, which he renders “Divide the portion into seven, yea eight parts,” a caution like that which led Jacob to divide his caravan into two portions for the sake of safety (Genesis 32:7-8). Taken in this last sense the precept stands on a level with the current saying of the Stock Exchange that it isn’t wise to “put all your eggs into one basket,” with the “hedging” of those who bet on more than one horse at the Derby and other races. It may well be left to the student to decide which of these interpretations has most to commend it. It may be admitted, however, as it is the enigmatic form of the precept which has given rise to these discordant views as to its meaning, that the grave irony of the writer, which we have already traced in ch. Ecclesiastes 10:4; Ecclesiastes 10:20 may have led him to adopt that form because it served as a test of character, each scholar finding what he sought. Here also it might be added “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:9).

The verse means: “Let your hospitality and your alms be extensive: for you know not what reverses may befall either that person who by your liberality will be strengthened to meet them, or yourself

2. Give a portion — That is, of thy bread. To seven, and also to eight — Meaning to no limited and selected number, but donating it widely and generously. “Seven” is often used in Scripture to suggest an exclusive number.