Meaning of Ecclesiastes 11:1

Posted by Woodchuck on August 28, 2002

In Reply to: Origin of Ecclesiastes 11:1 posted by ESC on August 28, 2002

: : : What is the origin of the phrase, "cast your bread/food upon the waters" as found in Ecclesiastes 11:1?

: : Your question was so daunting it made me choke on my Diet Pepsi. I've provided a link to the origins of Ecclesiastes as researched by Cecil Adams' Straight Dope staff, but I think you will find that if Ecclesiastes was not the first usage any pre-biblical source of the phrase has likely been lost to time.

: It seems to me we addressed the meaning of the phrase here recently. But I couldn't find it.

From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:

"Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days (Eccles. xi. 1). When the Nile overflows its banks the weeds perish and the soil is disintegrated. The rice-seed being cast into the water takes root, and is found in due time growing in healthful vigour. "

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon is addressing the preachers. "The running waters are the people running towards death." His intended harvest is in the afterlife.

• Cast your bread... ESC 08/29/02
  • Cast your bread... Bill 09/07/02
  • Cast your bread... Bill 09/07/02
  • Cast your bread... R. Berg 08/29/02
    • Cast your bread... TheFallen 08/29/02
      • Not by bread alone Word Camel 08/29/02
      • Cast your whole wheat (rice, rye, etc.) bread... Woodchuck 08/29/02