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Before the silver cord is severed

Jethro Bodine

Jethro Bodine

Member
"Remember him-before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken." (Ecclesiastes 12:6 NIV)

In context, this is talking about death.

What is the silver cord? What is the golden bowl?
 
Jethro Bodine said:
"Remember him-before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken." (Ecclesiastes 12:6 NIV)

In context, this is talking about death.

What is the silver cord? What is the golden bowl?
Click to expand...
When I went back and read from verse 1, it's talking about a funeral, the end of life and the advise seems to be going to young adults. I see it saying that they need to harvest the knowledge, care and love of their elders before they pass into eternity.

God bless, brother.
 
I know some believe the silver cord is reference to the spine. But, when I read the verses, I believe the silver cord is a metaphor for the connection between our earthly physical body and our eternal soul. At the time of natural death the physical body dies, our immortal soul lives, and the bond between the two is broken, the silver cord is loosed.
 
Jethro Bodine said:
"Remember him-before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken." (Ecclesiastes 12:6 NIV)

In context, this is talking about death.

What is the silver cord? What is the golden bowl?
Click to expand...
Dear Brother Jethro, I'll just give the excerpt I transcribed from our Youth camp given by Gene Hawkins; I hope it helps.

Ecclesiastes 12:6. "Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern." The silver cord is the spinal cord, "Or the golden bowl be broken;" that's the head. "Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain," That's the heart, the fountain. "Or the wheel broken at the cistern." The word "Wheel" means whirlwind, and so it speaks of the lungs and all parts of the body necessary for breath, and that's the last thing; then shall the dust return when you have taken your last breath, then it's all over.

Ecclesiastes 12:7. "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it," and as we contrasted yesterday in Ecclesiastes 3:21 the spirit of the beast goes downward to the earth, but the spirit as we find here is ascending, and as it tells us here it goes back to God who gave it.

Blessings in Christ Jesus.
 
the "silver cord" is the privilege to know by one or another sense/perception, while the "golden bowl" is the privilege to be able for one or another thing

Blessings
 
Ecc 12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.


Rich man poor man we all die...
 
The silver cord is the connection between your spirit and body. When the silver cord is cut, you die.
 
Jethro,

Thanks for the post. It forced me to do some studying and I actually learned something.

Following is what I found:

Ecclesiastes 12:6

A double image, to represent death, as in Eccl 12:1-5 old age was symbolically represented.

(1) A lamp of frail material, but gilded over, often in the East hung from roofs by a cord of silk and silver interwoven: as the lamp is dashed down and broken when the cord breaks; so man's life, as it were let down from above, is snapped at death. "The golden bowl" of the lamp answers to the skull, which, from the vital preciousness of its contents, may be called "golden;" "the silver cord" is the spinal marrow, which is white and precious as silver, and is attached to the brain.

(2) A fountain, from which water is drawn by a pitcher let down by a rope wound round a wheel; as when the pitcher and wheel are broken, water can no more be drawn, so life ceases when the vital energies are gone. The "fountain" may mean the right ventricle of the heart; the "cistern," the left; the pitcher, the veins; the wheel, the aorta, or great artery. The circulation of the blood, whether known or not to Solomon, seems to be implied in the language put by the Holy Spirit into his mouth. Hengstenberg explains the pitcher as the image of the individual life, the fountain the image of the general life: God supplying the great general treasure from which all individuals take to themselves what is needful to their subsistence. The wheel expresses life in its rapid motion (James 3:6; literally, the 'wheel of nature.') This gloomy picture of old age applies to those who have not 'remembered their Creator in youth.' They have none of the consolations of God, which they might have obtained in youth: it is now too late to seek them. A good old age is a blessing to the godly (Gen. 15:15; Job 5:26; Prov. 16:31; 20:29).

(From Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Be Blessed.

Toby
 
tandemcpl said:
Jethro,

Thanks for the post. It forced me to do some studying and I actually learned something.

Following is what I found:

Ecclesiastes 12:6

A double image, to represent death, as in Eccl 12:1-5 old age was symbolically represented.

(1) A lamp of frail material, but gilded over, often in the East hung from roofs by a cord of silk and silver interwoven: as the lamp is dashed down and broken when the cord breaks; so man's life, as it were let down from above, is snapped at death. "The golden bowl" of the lamp answers to the skull, which, from the vital preciousness of its contents, may be called "golden;" "the silver cord" is the spinal marrow, which is white and precious as silver, and is attached to the brain.

(2) A fountain, from which water is drawn by a pitcher let down by a rope wound round a wheel; as when the pitcher and wheel are broken, water can no more be drawn, so life ceases when the vital energies are gone. The "fountain" may mean the right ventricle of the heart; the "cistern," the left; the pitcher, the veins; the wheel, the aorta, or great artery. The circulation of the blood, whether known or not to Solomon, seems to be implied in the language put by the Holy Spirit into his mouth. Hengstenberg explains the pitcher as the image of the individual life, the fountain the image of the general life: God supplying the great general treasure from which all individuals take to themselves what is needful to their subsistence. The wheel expresses life in its rapid motion (James 3:6; literally, the 'wheel of nature.') This gloomy picture of old age applies to those who have not 'remembered their Creator in youth.' They have none of the consolations of God, which they might have obtained in youth: it is now too late to seek them. A good old age is a blessing to the godly (Gen. 15:15; Job 5:26; Prov. 16:31; 20:29).

(From Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Be Blessed.

Toby
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This is as good an explanation as I've heard. Thank you for the post.
 
Angel said:
The silver cord is the connection between your spirit and body. When the silver cord is cut, you die.
Click to expand...

I read a book on astral projection. The author said that there was a silver cord connected from his soul to his body. In his accounts, he would always try to literally stretch the boundaries of this cord. At one time he mentions it breaking. He says he, at this point returned to his body and laid into it and eventually was able to get back into it. I think there was several hours of paralysis before he was able to successfully return. Also he mentions a point where he could no longer leave his body later in his life. I read the book about 19 years ago, can't remember the title now.
 
Knotical said:
Please elaborate.
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it is about the chance to get up in the Kingdom of God, because when a human still has an opportunity to do so, it can still realize it before losing its chance in the true Lord God

Blessings
 
King James said:
I read a book on astral projection. The author said that there was a silver cord connected from his soul to his body. In his accounts, he would always try to literally stretch the boundaries of this cord. At one time he mentions it breaking. He says he, at this point returned to his body and laid into it and eventually was able to get back into it. I think there was several hours of paralysis before he was able to successfully return. Also he mentions a point where he could no longer leave his body later in his life. I read the book about 19 years ago, can't remember the title now.
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Okay, I'm glad I waited to chime back in (I almost did earlier this morning).

My sister, who is not a Christian, used to say she had an out of body experience in her teens. Maybe more than one, I don't know. She was a hippie, so we all kind of understood what that could be all about, lol.

The other day I was talking to my daughter, who is interested in the spirit realm but who is not a Christian, about when my mom died. I told her my sister was in the room when she died and she said she saw my mom's spirit lift up out of her body and float around the room. I told her I didn't give it much credence. Then my daughter, who is not a Christian, asked if she said anything about A SILVER CORD CONNECTING HER SPIRIT TO HER BODY.

You see, through the conversation, like always, I confirmed things she said by pointing out what the Bible also says about those things (like the fact that the Bible says we all have a 'spirit body', and that it probably 'looks' like us). I do this in the hope of showing her that the Bible has relevant knowledge about these things, too, and that perhaps she'd consider the Bible in her quest to understand the universe and the nature of life and maybe come to faith in Christ.

She explained to me that it is believed that the spirit is joined to the body by a silver cord. I was shocked! I told her that I was pretty sure the Bible talks about the 'silver cord' being broken at death, and that I suddenly knew (?) what Solomon was probably making reference to. I had always wondered and had kind of stashed it in the back of my mind until that day God would reveal it to me (like so many other things that he has done that about).

Having an unbelieving family that I don't want to alienate from me or the gospel, I've been forced to realize we can witness to people without offending them by finding the ground where we have some sense of agreement. That's the truly important thing about this. But it's cool that perhaps the silver cord that Solomon talks about is the cord that connects the spirit to the body and which gets broken at death, as a couple of you have pointed out.

Thank you all for your contributions.

(Oh, and King James, I like your avatar....I can relate, lol)
 
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the tether, I remember that. never noticed the color of that when projected. besides in jewish thought I was told that the soul has clothes and the nephesh is but one of five.
 
jasoncran said:
the tether, I remember that. never noticed the color of that when projected. besides in jewish thought I was told that the soul has clothes and the nephesh is but one of five.
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I always wondered why the 'Left Behind' series had everybody leaving their clothes behind, lol. I'm not sure Jesus rose from the Mount of Olives in the nude, lol. Unless that's why the disciples were gasping at the sight and were chastised by the angels for gawking.

The nephesh is the spirit of a man, right?

Isn't the 'soul' the intangible personality (thoughts, motives, feelings, etc.) of a person? While the 'spirit' is another literal aspect of a person? But we tend to sometimes say 'soul' when speaking of the 'spirit' of a man.
 
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lol. that is the accursed pagan influence from greek and later after the first church influence. the Hebrew has five words for soul verse the greek rendering of the words for soul.(4 words)

nephesh= that which breathes, animals and plants have that
nephesh chaya= living soul or rather living flesh
ruach=spirit has a shape to it and flesh but also has emotions, well so animals
the nepshima= that which is eternal and has the mind and the spirit
the yechida= the unity the YHWH.

the earth has a ruach. this is found in the bible.

" for we know the whole creation cries out for the redemption of man"

for the heavens declare the glory of the lord.
 
I was thinking about this...

"May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV)
 
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