The form of “your creator” is plural: בוראיך; it can be understood as a
plural of majesty or even explained as a singular (a ל״א verb vocalized as a ל״ה; so Gordis). The ancient versions have the singular. Many
commentators regard the reference to creator as unexpected and unlikely, and
propose other readings: (1) בְאֵרְךָ,
“your well/spring”; cf. Prov 5:15 where בְאר is a metaphor for one’s wife;
(2) בוֹרְךָ,
“your pit/grave,” suggested by the context of death; (3) בָרְיָךְ “vigor” (njv); (4) an understanding of the root ברא in the sense of healthy, not
creator; cf. J. R. Busto Saíz, Sef 46
(1986) 86–87. None of these interpretations has won general assent. (Roland
Murphy, Ecclesiastes [Word Biblical Commentary 23A; Dallas: Word,
Incorporated, 1992], note to Eccl 12:1)
12 1. your creator. BHS
has bore'eka, apparently a plural, but many MSS read the singular form br'k/bwr'k
"your creator." The former is, however, the lectio difficilior;
the latter may represent an attempt to correct the text. The form is sometimes
explained as th e "plural of majesty" (so Deli tzsch), but in Isa 43 :1
we find the form bora'aka "your creator" used of the deity; the
"plural of majesty" is not used there. It is better not to interpret
the form as a plural, but as the result of the frequent confusion in late Hebrew
of IIl-'Alep and III-Weak roots (see Notes at 2:26) . The form is, thus,
comparable with the participle 'oseh "maker" (used of God), which
is also attested with a pronominal suffix (see Isa 54:5; Ps 149:2; Job 35:10).
There is no need to emend the text or to interpret the form as a plural of
majesty. The more serious problem is with the meaning of the word.
All the ancient versions understand
the form (either reading bwr'k or bwr'yk) to mean "your creator,"
but not all commentators agree that "your creator" is best suited to the
context, especially since the deity is always called 'elohfm in Ecclesiastes.
Hence, instead of bore'eka or bora'aka, various alternatives have
been proposed. These include: (a) beru 'eka "your well-being" or
"your health" (Ehrlich); (b) boryak "your vigor" (Zimmermann);
(c) be'ereka or boreka "your well" (Graetz), a metaphor
for one's wife, as in Prov 5:15; (cl) boreka "your pit," a synonym
for the grave (Galling)
None of th ese explanations is
entirely satisfactory. Only bwr'k/bwr'yk is supported by the textual witnesses.
If th e consonantal text is correct, as all the witnesses attest, it is difficult
to think that something other than "creator" is the primary meaning. Certainly
by the time one gets to the end of the passage ( 12:7), with its allusion to the
creation of humanity (Gen 2:7; 3: 19), it is difficult not to think of the creator.
The author may indeed intend to evoke other connections in using this word. Given
his penchant for wordplays, it seems likely that he might have intended his audience
to hear more than one meaning in the word. An early interpreter, Rabbi Akabya ben
Mahallalel (first century C.E.), is said to have understood the text just so (m.
'Abot 3:1; Qoh. Rabb. on 12:l; Lev. Rabb. section 18). Said
the rabbi: "Consider three things and you will not come into the power of
sin: Know whence you came; where you are going; and before whom you are destined
to give an accounting." Rabbi Akabya's interpretation is based on three different
Hebrew words: b'rk "your source" (from whence you came), bwrk
"your pit" (whither you are going), and bwr'k "your creator."
Since the context has to do with
the enjoyment of life in one's youth (see 11:7-10), we may surmise that anyone first
hearing the exhortation, might easily have assumed that Qohelet meant b6reka
"your cistern." If so, the hearer might recall the proverb "drink
water from your own cistern (b6re ka ), streams from your own well (be
'ereka )," particularly since the passage in Proverbs continues to
say, "let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth"
(Prov 5: 15, 18; cf. Song 4: 15). But it is possible that the author also intends
for one to think of death . If not in 12: 1, certainly by the time one gets to
v 6, with its mention of the shattering of the pots at the pit (habb6r), the
grave comes to mind. In sum, the primary meaning is creator: the word is b6re'eka
"your creator," but it is also appropriate to think of enjoyment (b6reka
"your cistern" = "your wife") and/or death (b6reka "your
pit"). (Choon-Leong Seow, Ecclesiastes: A New Translation with
Introduction and Commentary [AYB 18C; New Haven: Yale University Press,
1997], 351-52)
