Quotation for Ecclesiastes 3:18
אָמַ֤רְתִּֽי אֲנִי֙ בְּלִבִּ֔י עַל־דִּבְרַת֙ בְּנֵ֣י הָאָדָ֔ם לְבָרָ֖ם הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וְלִרְא֕וֹת שְׁהֶם־בְּהֵמָ֥ה הֵ֖מָּה לָהֶֽם׃
I said in my heart: ‘It is because of the sons of men, that God may sift them, and that they may see that they themselves are but as beasts.’
Footnotes to Kohelet by Bruce Heitler
The Hebrew word behema refers to domesticated animals which serve man, not to wild beasts which would use the word chaya. The service of these beasts of nourishment and burden is an example for mankind, not an image of being dangerous to each other.
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