Ecclesiastes 9:15

Ecc 9:15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.

Ver. 15. Now there was found in it a poor wise man.] Such as was Anaximenes at Lampsacum, {a} and Archimedes at Syracuse, of whose wisdom Plutarch testifieth, that it was above the ordinary possibility of a man, it was divine. {b} And of whose poverty Silius assures us, that he was

“ Nadus opum, sed cui coelum terraeque paterent. ”

By his warlike devices and engines he so defended his city against Marcellus, the Roman general, that the soldiers called him Briareus and Centimanus, a giant invincible; there was no taking of the town, as Livy relates it. The city of Abel was delivered by a wise woman that was in it. {2Sa 20:16-22} The city of Coecinum in the isle of Lemnos, by Marulla, a maiden of that city. {c} Hippo could not be taken while Augustine was in it; nor Heidelberg, while Pareus lived. Elisha preserved Samaria from the Syrians; and the prophet Isaiah, Jerusalem from the Assyrians. "They shall not shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast a bank against it," saith the Lord. {Isa 37:33} Jeremiah had preserved it longer, but that his counsel was slighted. Indeed he was a physician to a dying state,

“ Tunc etenim docta plus valet arte malum. ”

Yet no man remembered that same poor man.] Had he been some Demetrius Phalereus, or suchlike magnifico, he should have had a hundred statues set up in honour of his good service. He should have heard, Saviour, saviour, as Flaminius the Roman general did, or, Father, father, as Huniades, after he had defeated Mesites the Turk. But being poor, he is soon set aside, and neither succoured nor honoured. This is merces mundi, the world’s wages. The Dutch have a proverb, that a man should bow to the tree that hath sheltered him in a storm. But many well deserving persons have cause to complain, as Elijah did when he sat under the juniper; or as Themistocles did when he compared himself to a plane tree, whereunto his countrymen, in a tempest, would run for refuge; but when once took up, they would not only leave him, but pull the leaves from him. {d} Are you weary, said he once to them, of receiving so many good turns from one man?

{a} Val. Max.

{b} Oνομα εχε, δαμονιου τινος, συνεσεως. - Plut., lib: xiv.

{c} Turkish History, 413.

{d} Sed restituta serenitate abeuntes vellicarent.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

poor--as to the temporal advantages of true wisdom, though it often saves others. It receives little reward from the world, which admires none save the rich and great.

no man remembered-- (Gen 40:23).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15. and he by his wisdom delivered the city] The history of the siege of Abel-beth-Maachah in 2Sa_20:14-20 presents a suggestive parallel, but there the wisdom that delivered the city was that of a woman.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now there was found in it a poor wise man,.... Christ, who is man, though not a mere man, but God as well as man; who was so in purpose, covenant, and promise, before his incarnation, since truly and really so; and "poor", as it was foretold he should be, and who became so for the sake of his church and people, Zac 9:9; yet "wise", even as man, being filled with wisdom, in which he increased, and gave such evident proofs of; on whom the spirit of wisdom rested, and in whom the treasures of it were hid, Luk 2:40, Col 2:3; he was found here by God his Father, who exalted one chosen out of the people, and made him Head over the church, who is the firstborn among many brethren, Psa 89:19; Or "and", or "but he found in it" (i); that is, Satan, the great king, found him here, contrary to his expectation, and to his great regret;

and he by his wisdom delivered the city; the church, from all enemies; from Satan and all his principalities and powers; from the world, the men and things of it; from sin, and all its sad consequences; from the law, its curse and condemnation; and from the second death, ruin and destruction: and though this deliverance was both by power and by price, yet also by wisdom; for the deliverance and redemption of the church by Christ is the fruit of infinite wisdom; it is a wise scheme to glorify all the divine perfections; to mortify Satan, and save sinners, and yet condemn sin; see Eph 1:7;

yet no man remembered that same poor man: before the deliverance wrought, as Aben Ezra and others; it never once entered into their thoughts that he could ever be their deliverer; they never imagined he had a capacity to advise, direct, or assist, in such service, or bring about such an affair: so Christ, when he appeared in the world, the Jews saw nothing that was promising in him; they could not believe that he was sent to be the Saviour and deliverer of them, and therefore rejected him, Isa 3:2; Or, "after it", so the Vulgate Latin version, "no man hereafter remembered", &c. took no notice of him after he had wrought this deliverances; bestowed no honour upon him, nor returned him thanks for what he had done; but he continued to live and die in obscurity and meanness: thus Christ, though he ought to be remembered and spoken well of, and the glory of salvation should be ascribed unto him, and thanks should be given him for it; yet there are none comparatively, or; but a few, who, like the Samaritan, glorify him on account of it. But if any choose to understand these words of political wisdom, and the use of it, by which sometimes a mean and obscure person does more good than others can by their power and strength, though he meets with no reward for it, I am not averse to it; and which agrees with what follows.

(i) "et invenit in ea", Mercerus, Drusius, Amama; "sed invenit in ea", Rambachius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Afterward, is not in Hebrew. The poor man was unnoticed before. (Calmet) --- Vulgate insinuates that he met with no return of gratitude, which is but too common; (Haydock) and this shews the vanity of the world.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

He was soon neglected, and his great service so far from being recompensed according to its merit, that both it and he were quite forgotten; which may be noted as another great vanity.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. Poor wise man, etc. — Events like this are not very rare. Cooper’s “Naval History of the United States” relates, that the sailing-master of the flagship in the battle of Plattsburg, (Lake Champlain,) quietly arranged a cable before the action, by which alone it was afterward possible to bring the ship about, so that its remaining broadside could be brought to bear. The opening of this broadside turned the battle both on lake and shore. Yet the modest and skilful hero — though thanked by his commodore — received no public reward or recognition for nearly thirty years, when his widow was granted an ample pension. “Republics,” it is said, “are ungrateful;” rather, often unmindful.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now there was found in it a poor wise man. The verb, regarded as impersonal, may be thus taken. Or we may continue the subject of the preceding verse and consider the king as spoken of: "He came across, met with unexpectedly, a poor man who was wise." So the Septuagint. The word for "poor in this passage is misken, for which see note on Ecc_4:13. He by his wisdom delivered the city. When the besieged city had neither soldiers nor arms to defend itself against its mighty enemies, the man of poor estate, hitherto unknown or little regarded, came forward, and by wise counsel relieved his countrymen from their perilous situation. How this was done we are left to conjecture. It may have been by some timely concessions or negotiations; or by the surrender of a chief offender as at Abel-Beth-maachah; or by the assassination of a general, as at Bethulia; (Jud_1:13:8) or by the clever application of mechanical arts, as at Syracuse, under the direction of Archimedes (Livy, 24:34; Plutarch, "Marcell.," 15-18.). Yet no man remembered that same poor man. As soon as the exigence which brought him forward was past, the poor man fell back into his insignificance, and was thought of no more; he gained no personal advantage, by his wisdom; his ungrateful countrymen forgot his very existence. Thus Joseph was treated by the chief butler. (Gen_40:23) Classical readers will think of Coriolanus, Scipio Africanus, Themistocles, Miltiades, who for their services to the state were rewarded with calumny, false accusation, obloquy, and banishment. The author of the Book of Wisdom gives a different and ideal experience. "I," he says, "for the sake of wisdom shall have estimation among the multitude, and honor with the elders, though I be young.... By the means of her I shall obtain immortality, and leave behind me an everlasting memorial". (RAPC Wis 8:10-13)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Yet - He was soon neglected and his great service forgotten.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

but no man remembered No one attributed any importance to him.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.