Friday 10 February 2023

Another conversation with chatGPT about Ecclesiastes 3:11 (Qohelet)

What languages can you read?

As a language model AI, I have been trained on a diverse range of languages and can generate text in many of them, including but not limited to: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, and many more.

I have been trained on a large corpus of text from the internet, so I can also respond to questions and generate text in many other languages, although my accuracy may be lower for languages that I have not been specifically trained on.

However, it's worth noting that my abilities in each language vary and may not be equivalent to that of a native speaker. Additionally, my training data may not be up-to-date with the most recent developments in a language or cultural context, so my responses may not always be fully accurate or culturally appropriate.


Can you make something from this? אֶת־הַכֹּ֥ל עָשָׂ֖ה יָפֶ֣ה בְעִתּ֑וֹ גַּ֤ם אֶת־הָעֹלָם֙ נָתַ֣ן בְּלִבָּ֔ם מִבְּלִ֞י אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹא־יִמְצָ֣א הָאָדָ֗ם אֶת־הַֽמַּעֲשֶׂ֛ה אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֥ה הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים מֵרֹ֥אשׁ וְעַד־סֽוֹף

This is a verse from the Bible in Hebrew, which comes from the book of Ecclesiastes (3:11) in the Old Testament. The verse can be translated to English as follows:

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end."

The verse reflects the idea that God has created everything in the world with purpose and in its own time, and has placed within us a sense of eternity, a longing for something beyond this world. The idea is that no one can fully understand the magnitude of God's work, from the beginning of creation to its end.


I'm sure you know that מִבְּלִ֞י אֲשֶׁ֧ר is a hapax. Why is it not something like 'without which' a rendering that reverses the simple meaning with 'yet' as you have given it.

Yes, you are correct. "מִבְּלִ֞י אֲשֶׁ֧ר" is a hapax legomenon, which is a term used to refer to a word or phrase that occurs only once in a text. In this case, "מִבְּלִ֞י אֲשֶׁ֧ר" is a unique expression that has not been found elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible.

Regarding the translation of this phrase, "without which" is a possible alternative to the rendering "yet no one can fathom." Both translations aim to convey the idea that the human mind is unable to fully understand the extent of God's work, but they differ in their emphasis.

The translation "without which" focuses on the missing element or condition that makes it impossible for humans to comprehend God's work, while the translation "yet no one can fathom" emphasizes the inability of the human mind to grasp the magnitude of God's work.

Ultimately, the choice of translation depends on the translator's interpretation of the text and their goals for the translation. In my previous answer, I aimed to provide a faithful and understandable rendering of the verse while keeping the intended meaning and flow of the text.


If it is 'without which', as a language processor you will know that the relative pronoun requires an antecedent. What is the antecedent in this phrase? The word 'yet' does not require an antecedent.

You are correct. "Without which" would require an antecedent, which is the word or phrase that the relative pronoun refers to. In this case, it is not entirely clear what the antecedent of "which" is referring to.

It is possible that the antecedent is implied and refers to the "eternity in the human heart" that was mentioned earlier in the verse. However, the exact meaning and intended antecedent of this phrase is open to interpretation and may depend on the context and the larger literary and theological context of the book of Ecclesiastes as a whole.

This ambiguity in the text highlights the difficulties that can arise when translating ancient texts, and why multiple translations of the same text often exist. Each translator may have different interpretations and goals for their translation, and these can influence the choices they make in their rendering of the text.

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