H3504 H3504
Profit, advantage, gain — the net surplus or benefit from labor or wisdom; exclusively a Qoheleth term
Found only in Ecclesiastes, this noun captures Qoheleth's signature question: what lasting gain does a person achieve under the sun? It functions almost as a commercial accounting term — the net surplus after all effort is reckoned. Qoheleth deploys it ten times to interrogate every human endeavor, from back-breaking toil (1:3; 3:9) to the pursuit of wisdom itself (2:13; 7:12). The multilingual evidence is strikingly consistent: Spanish 'provecho/ventaja,' French 'profit,' German 'Vorteil' — all converging on material benefit, reinforcing that Qoheleth frames life's deepest questions in the language of the marketplace.
Senses
1. profit, advantage, gain — The noun yithrôn denotes profit, advantage, or surplus — what remains as net gain after exertion. Ecclesiastes alone uses it, making it a hallmark of Qoheleth's vocabulary. The recurring question mah-yithrôn lā'ādām ('what profit has a person?' Eccl 1:3; 5:16) frames the entire book's existential inquiry. It can take a comparative sense with min ('advantage over,' Eccl 2:13) or a construct ('advantage of knowledge,' 7:12; 'advantage of skill,' 10:10). Spanish 'ventaja' and 'provecho,' French 'profit,' and German 'Vorteil' all confirm the concrete economic flavor — a calculated remainder, not an abstract philosophical concept. 10×
AR["الحَمَاقَةِ", "الَّذِي-", "بَاطِلٌ", "فَائِدَةُ", "وَفَضْلُ", "وِ-يِتْرُون", "يُوجَدُ", "يِتْرُون"]·ben["এবং-লাভ", "এবং-সুবিধা", "যেমন-লাভ", "লাভ", "সুবিধা"]·DE["Vorteil", "[כיתרון]", "und-Vorteil"]·EN["advantage", "and-profit-of", "and-the-advantage-of", "like-profit-of", "profit"]·FR["comme-profit", "et-profit", "profit"]·heb["ו-יתרון", "יתרון", "כ-יתרון"]·HI["और-लाभ", "जैसे-लाभ", "लाभ"]·ID["Dan-keuntungan", "keuntungan", "seperti-keuntungan", "tetapi-keunggulan", "tetapi-keuntungan"]·IT["come-profitto", "e-profitto", "profitto"]·jav["kados-paédah", "lan-kauntunganipun", "lan-paédahipun", "paédah", "paédahipun"]·KO["같은-유익함", "그리고-유익함", "유익함"]·PT["E-vantagem-de", "como-vantagem", "e-vantagem-de", "proveito", "é-proveito"]·RU["И-выгода", "а-преимущество", "выгода", "выгоды", "и-преимущество", "как-преимущество", "польза", "пользы", "преимущество"]·ES["Y-ventaja-de", "como-ventaja-de", "provecho", "ventaja", "y-ventaja-de"]·SW["Na-faida-ya", "faida", "kama-faida", "lakini-faida-ya"]·TR["fayda", "faydasi-gibi", "ve-fayda", "ve-faydasi"]·urd["اور-فائدہ", "جیسا-فائدہ", "فائدہ"]
Related Senses
G2309 1. want, desire (166×)G0025 1. to love actively (133×)H0157 1. love (verb, active Qal) (129×)H8055 1. Qal: rejoice, be glad (123×)H7453 1. neighbor, fellow man (120×)G0026 1. of love (115×)H1058 1. Qal: to weep, cry (112×)H0954 1. to be ashamed, feel shame (Qal) (95×)H8057 1. joy, gladness, delight (90×)H2781 1. disgrace, shame, dishonor (68×)G2307 1. will, desire, purpose (63×)G5463 1. rejoice, be glad (63×)G0027 1. beloved (61×)H8130 1. Qal: to hate, detest (60×)G5479 1. (59×)G1680 1. (53×)H8130 2. Qal ptcp: hater, enemy (53×)H0014 1. be willing, want (51×)H0157 2. lover, friend (Qal participle substantive) (51×)H1945 1. woe (50×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† יִתְרוֹן n.[m.] advantage, profit, only Ec;—abs. Ec 1:3 + 4 times; cstr. Ec 2:13 + 4 times;—advantage to (ל) any one, מַה־יִתְרוֹן לָאָדָם Ec 1:3, i.e. what advantage hath a man? 5:15; 10:11; sq. מִן compar. = advantage beyond, more than 2:13(×2); cstr. יִתְדוֹן הָעוֹשֶׂה 3:9 advantage of (for) him that worketh; יִתְרוֹן אֶרֶץ 5:8; יִתְרוֹן דַּעַת 7:12 advantage of knowledge; וְיִתְרוֹן…