Hebrew word · H3788

כִּשְׁרוֹן

kishron

skill

A late word, found only in Ecclesiastes (2:21; 4:4; 5:11 [Eng. 5:10]). It comes from the root kšr, 'to be fit, proper, succeed' (Esth 8:5; Eccl 10:10; 11:6), the same root behind later Hebrew kāšēr, 'fit, proper' (English 'kosher'). It means skill, competence, success, profit: ability that pays off.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) success, skill, profit

1a) skill

1b) success, profit

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Ecclesiastes 4:4

Range of meaning

A late word, found only in Ecclesiastes (2:21; 4:4; 5:11 [Eng. 5:10]). It comes from the root kšr, 'to be fit, proper, succeed' (Esth 8:5; Eccl 10:10; 11:6), the same root behind later Hebrew kāšēr, 'fit, proper' (English 'kosher'). It means skill, competence, success, profit: ability that pays off.

Against the English

KJV's 'every right work' follows the root sense 'proper, fit' and so sounds moral, as if it meant 'good deeds.' Modern versions are closer: 'skill' (ESV), 'achievement' (NIV, WEB), 'success' (BSB). In 2:21 kišrôn stands next to wisdom and knowledge as the means of gain, and in 5:11 it means 'advantage, profit' to an owner. So the sense is practical, not moral.

How it drifted

KJV's 'right work' was a fair attempt from the root, but modern readers tend to hear 'righteous deeds.' That would change the verse into a claim that even good works come from envy, which Qohelet is not saying.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ecclesiastes 2:21 ('with wisdom, knowledge and kišrôn'); 5:11. The root is common in Mishnaic Hebrew for 'fit, valid.' The Septuagint renders it here andreia ('manliness, vigor, prowess').

Where it appears

Ecclesiastes · 3

  1. Ecclesiastes 2:21 וּבְכִשְׁר֑וֹן and with skill

    When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil.

  2. Ecclesiastes 4:4 כִּשְׁר֣וֹן [the] skill of

    I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

    Here: A late Hebrew word, found only in Ecclesiastes, from the root 'to succeed, be fit.' It means skill that works and the success it brings: competence, achievement.

  3. Ecclesiastes 5:11 כִּשְׁרוֹן֙ profit

    When good things increase, so do those who consume them; what then is the profit to the owner, except to behold them with his eyes?

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.