Ecclesiastes 4:12
“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
ABSTRACT:
If you have attended any wedding in the last several years you have probably heard a pastor refer to the cord of 3 strands mentioned in Ecclesiastes 4. There is a lot more to this than what you likely heard at the wedding though.
The English word for cord is Biblically rooted in the Hebrew word tiqvah, which has a subtly different meaning/translation in every one of its thirty-one English occurrences. It signifies something deeply longed for or set apart… hope.
In Joshua 2:14 we get a bit of a wordplay in the way that Tiqvah is also translated as “hope.” Rahab is saved by hope, but she “saved” the spies. There is another word play later when the text says that Rahab is brought “into the midst” of Israel. In Hebrew the dual meaning of “into the midst” also are the words for the womb or “inner part” in Hebrew. The imagery is that Rahab is a harlot involved in “inner parts” sin but is transferred into communal salvation, redemption, and deliverance, an exodus motif again. This is the contronym of hope in the Bible, that your worst curse might be given to God and the result might be transformed into the greatest blessing of your life.
THREEFOLD CORD – HACHUT HAMESHULASH החוט המשׁלשׁ
At face value Ecclesiastes 4:12 is a strange verse to apply to a wedding. The immediate context is defense of an attack, but the greater context is of intimate love and marriage.
The word withstand in Hebrew is ‘amed which means taking a firm position, but it’s a strange choice for the word. It isn’t a “stand and fight” word… it’s a building word that describes a foundation; building on a firm foundation. It carries the notion of a strong fortress in unity rather than a “fight.” It is one of the many passages painting a backward kingdom idea that paves the way for the messiah’s core message of the ultimate humility in servanthood.
In ancient times a threefold cord was a measuring tape. Equal lengths of a cord were tied together; most of the Hebrew culture thrived on building. If you remember, the Hebrew temple was formed together like a puzzle (with no fasteners) they were craftsman very different than the rest of the world. In order to form the best built (and strongest) items in the world (without using fasteners) foundationally they had to measure things well. This is where a cord of three comes in. It was the basic tool that most craftsman used to fashion something that the entire community could be proud of. It reminded them constantly of who they represented. They weren’t like the world, they were to be unified in their body and fit together like a puzzle with each part serving a purpose.
In many ways it became a mosaic of freedom, heritage, and calling that served as a reminder that all of their “work” should be fully devoted to the Lord.
The craftsmen’s cord was typically 3 strands measuring 6 palms or what was more commonly referred to as a cubit. 1 ell [cubit] (amah) = 2 spans (zeret), or 6 palms [handbreadths]
What you “made” was representative of who your people “were.” It also continually reminded you that you were linked to a higher power. The foundation was based on the brotherhood of mediation founded in covenant calling. Your part of something much greater than yourself.
Every time you built something you were representing the “father” but also the covenant “brotherhood.” That’s where we get that (UNION) term today.
If your core (foundation was off or missing the measured mark) or your covenant was not correct, nothing else could “square” up or be measured correctly. It would all be wrong.
Are we are letting the world measure our lives? Have we lost our covenant cord? Have we forgotten who we represent?
DIVING DEEPER: For those willing to be “challenged”
It is no secret that I often feel like the church is off course (hamartia / missing the mark) compared to what Jesus asks of us. Our basis of measurement for determining where we have been and are headed seems skewed between the world and the kingdom of Jesus. Some argue that the church looks nothing like the intentions of the first century apostles or what Jesus sought to build. Many would even say that the church often does as much harm as good. That we are enabling the world in the name of Jesus and have wondered far from the call of discipleship in the very name of it.
Jesus says to check your possessions on the beach, Christian Americans have just as many possessions as their worldly counterparts. Jesus tells us (the church) to care for the poor and weak, yet our worldly government does a far better job of this than any church I have witnessed. Jesus tells us to live in humility even to death, but the church doesn’t resemble servanthood or martyrdom much anymore. Sexual perversion within the ranks of church leadership are all too common. There are several reasons for these things but one of them is that our standard of measurement is long lost or forgotten.
Joshua 2 describes the cord as a scarlet line in a window that would give deliverance, it takes on the continued exodus motif of the Israelite people into their promised land. You also might remember the Mishnah when talking about the bloody tie cord of the sacrifice placed on the head of a scapegoat then hung on the curtain of the holy of holies.
Scarlet is a Biblical metaphor for things that are lost in the world but have been regained at great cost. It sometimes can carry sexual connotation because of the intimacy inferred. It is the closest metaphor we may have on this earth to the intimacy our father in Heaven desires with us on a spiritual level. Sex is also a contronym in the Bible showing something that can be the furthest from God’s plan for you and the closest when performed in the right or wrong context of the heart.
The English word for cord in Hebrew is the word tiqvah, which has a subtly different meaning/translation in every one of its thirty-one English occurrences. It signifies something deeply longed for or set apart and poetically displays a great dynamic range. This is one of the greatest themes of the Bible & a great study on what covenant means. I referenced Joshua 2:18 because I wanted to point out an intentional word-play; a great example of the elaborate interconnections found in the Hebrew Scripture that are invisible to us in English. I say this a lot, but the ancient scriptures weren’t written to us in our modern church (but they are for us); they are clearly written in Hebrew to Hebrew readers because Hebrew readers can read between the lines. Foundationally we have to understand what is going on here before we can apply it to ourselves today.
The wordplay comes in the way that Tiqvah is also translated “hope.” Think of it as a deeply desired lifeline in the story of Rahab and how she is “linked” to the Messiah. Rahab is saved by hope, but she “saved” the spies. There is another word play later when the text says that Rahab is brought “into the midst” of Israel. In Hebrew the dual meaning of “into the midst” also are the words for the womb or “inner part” in Hebrew. The imagery is that Rahab is a harlot involved in “inner parts” sin but is transferred into a sign of salvation, redemption, and deliverance, the exodus motif again. This is the contronym of hope in the Bible, that your worst curse might be given to God and the result might be transformed into the greatest blessing of your life. The red cord protected Rahab’s family as a similar sign of a red Passover offering for them. Notice the communal focus of salvation. The individual affects the whole community. (Today we think me-istic in terms of church rather than see the results of the whole fellowship foundationally missing the mark.) Rahab should be someone that Israel is told not to associate with, but instead grace leads way to hope and even links her to the line of the Messiah. We are “the line” of Rahab as Gentiles grafted into the faith and offered a lifeline to the Father to be restored in hope through grace to be a royal chosen priesthood. We are offered the scarlet line of grace but asked to foundationally follow what is asked of us… one of the related problems today is that as a whole the evangelical church has welcomed uncleanliness into the church and communally caused us to miss the foundation given to us. We have fallen out of the line of grace but expect what is offered with the covenant of three strands we have rejected.
At face value Ecclesiastes 4:12 is a strange verse to apply to a wedding. The immediate context is defense of an attack, but the greater context is of intimate love and marriage.
As we exegetically analyze the verse we need to first ask who is prevailing, the attacker or the attacked? In English it’s a hot mess, in Hebrew it is clear. The syntax shows that the pronoun is an “inseparable pronoun” that is attached to the verb teqepo (prevail) so it is the attacker overcoming the one being attacked. If it were a separable pronoun then it would be the other way around. The word withstand is ‘amed which means taking a firm position, but it’s a strange word. It isn’t a “stand and fight” word… it’s a building word that describes a foundation; building on a firm foundation. The word two is hashamin literally the two. There is a definite article in front of that too signifying that a very specific person will stand against this one prevailing. The word for prevail is teqepo, which signifies the strongest of resistance can be won or overcome. There is also an inference in the unity of the body being stronger together.
Threefold cord in Hebrew is hachut hameshulash. In ancient times a threefold cord was a measuring tape. Equal lengths of a cord were tied together; most of the Hebrew culture thrived on building. If you remember, the Hebrew temple was formed together like a puzzle (with no fasteners) they were craftsman very different than the rest of the world. In order to form the best built items in the world foundationally they had to measure things well. This is where a cord of three comes in. It was the basic tool that most craftsman used to fashion something that the entire community could be proud of. Often times, it was a rite of passage for a young man to take time to fashion an incredible cord of three strands. It would identify him and his family. In many ways it became a mosaic of freedom, heritage, and calling that served as a reminder that all of their “work” should be fully devoted to the Lord.
The craftsmen’s cord was typically 3 strands measuring 6 palms or what was more commonly referred to as a cubit. But they likely had cords of three strands for other common units too… but always a cord of three strands. Interesting that today 6 palms is around 16 on center.
The Israelite measurements were related as follows:
- 1 palm [handbreadth] (tefach) = 4 digit (etzba’ot)
- 1 span (zeret) = 3 palms (tefahim)
- 1 ell [cubit] (amah) = 2 spans (zeret), or 6 palms [handbreadths]
- 1 mil (mil) = 2000 ells [cubits] (amot)
- 1 parasang (parasa) = 4 mils (milin)
These three strands represented a few things. It first represented your trust in covenant community, it was more than about just you. What you “made” was representative of who your people “were.” it also continually reminded you that you were linked to a higher power. The foundation was based on the brotherhood of mediation founded in covenant calling.
So how do we get to a wedding union out of this? Well, that’s what Ecclesiastes is about… but not entirely. Essentially, the Hebrew understood that God was the foundation of every relationship that they represented in. This cord was a tool to measure. It would remind them every day that their measurements in life should be weighed with God’s ideals, and not by the rest of the world. The Hebrews had their own unit of measurements that were different from the rest of the world, and those very units reminded them of the one who gave them redemption. Every time you built something you were representing the “father” but also the covenant “brotherhood.” That’s where we get that (UNION) term in modern today.
If your core (foundation was off or missing the measured mark) or your covenant was not correct, nothing else could “square” up or be measured correctly. It would all be wrong.
Tying the Knot? Hebrew?
I bet your wondering if this is where we get the slogan “tying the knot” for marriage. yes and no. To the Hebrew the answer is no. You see the cord of three strands is specifically “fitted or formed,” (today we say braided together); it was not tied or knotted up. In fact, a knot is what you “don’t” want. In an ancient context if something was knotted up that was symbolic of a problem. In this example if there was a not in your cord of three strands that links you to God in marriage it meant something was broken or clogged up. For instance, if you tie a knot in a rope and apply pressure guess where the rope breaks? At the knot, you theoretically created a weak spot. Those who “tie” knots actually realize that splicing a rope together in a braid like fashion actually creates strength unlike a knot. The Hebrews understood this and would have never said that we are “tying a knot” in marriage. That would have implied something negative not positive. However, the rest of the world observed the Hebraic braid of the marriage ceremony and called it tying the knot. In essence, that saying does come from this Hebraic act, it just isn’t really accurate in the Hebraic or biblical sense. It is actually the opposite!
In the modern evangelical wedding, there’s an emphasis to start things off on the right foot in covenant with God. But it means so much more than this, it means that every single thing that we do needs to be with the “measurement” of the Lord in mind first and foremost. In ancient Hebraic mindset, sinners (or those that were not set apart) were not to be part of the community (assembly-ekklesia) until they had converted. Today our modern thought of inviting anyone, and everyone to church in hopes of converting them has lost the foundation of covenant, and led to defilement… it is inviting what is unholy not holy. We are letting the world measure our lives and tie the church in knots. This is just a simple example of many areas that have gotten off or skewed because foundationally we have lost our covenant cordage. In some cases we have gotten so far off that I am not sure we are even recognizable as the disciples Jesus intended us to be in terms of representing HIS IMAGE.
It isn’t too late to return to the mindset of measuring everything by what Jesus says matters, but it will likely take a community that is in covenant together to get there!
SOURCE LIST:
-The Source of Measures by James Ralston Skinner
-The Cubit: A History and Measurement Commentary by Mark H. Stone
-Cube, Gate, and Measuring Tools: A Biblical Pattern by Matthew B. Brown
-Marital Relations in Ancient Judaism (review) by Dvora E. Weisberg
Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies
-TEMPORARY MARRIAGE: A COMPARISON OF THE JEWISH AND ISLAMIC CONCEPTIONS
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 July 2018
EXPEDITION 44 