Original Word: יִתְרוֹן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: yithrown
Pronunciation: yee-throne'
Phonetic Spelling: (yith-rone')
KJV: better, excellency(-leth), profit(-able)
NASB: advantage, profit, excels
Word Origin: [from H3498 (יָתַר - left)]

1. preeminence, gain

better, excellent, profitable

From yathar; preeminence, gain -- better, excellency(-leth), profit(-able).

see HEBREW yathar

Word Origin
from yathar
Definition
advantage, profit
NASB Translation
advantage (5), excels (2), profit (3).

יִתְרוֺן noun [masculine] advantage, profit, only Ecclesiastes; — absolute Ecclesiastes 1:3 4t.; construct Ecclesiastes 2:13 4t.; — advantage to (ל) any one, מַהיִֿתְרוֺן לָאָדָם Ecclesiastes 1:3, i.e. what advantage hath a man ? Ecclesiastes 5:15; Ecclesiastes 10:11; followed by מִן comparative = advantage beyond, more than Ecclesiastes 2:13 (twice in verse); construct יִתְרוֺן הָעוֺשֶׂה Ecclesiastes 3:9 advantage of (for) him that worketh; יִתְרוֺן אֶדֶץ Ecclesiastes 5:8; יִתְרוֺן דַּעַת Ecclesiastes 7:12 advantage of knowledge; וְיִתְרוֺן הַכְשֵׁיר חָכְמָה Ecclesiastes 10:10 an advantage for giving success is wisdom; absolute אֵין יִתְרוֺן תַּחַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ Ecclesiastes 2:11.

Overview of Usage

Yithrón appears exclusively in Ecclesiastes, ten times shaping the book’s central question: What lasting “advantage” or “profit” is obtained from life’s pursuits? The repeated term frames the Preacher’s exploration of work, wisdom, wealth, and pleasure within a fallen world “under the sun.”

Key Texts and Thematic Emphases

• Ecclesiastes 1:3: “What does a man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?” introduces the motif of yithrón as a probing inquiry rather than an assumed benefit.
• Ecclesiastes 2:13: “I saw that wisdom exceeds folly, just as light exceeds darkness,” signals that true advantage is qualitative, not merely quantitative.
• Ecclesiastes 3:9: The question resurfaces after the famous “time” poem, underscoring human limitation despite life’s rhythms.
• Ecclesiastes 5:9: In a difficult verse on royal taxation, the word hints that everyone, from field to throne, seeks some surplus.
• Ecclesiastes 7:12; 10:10–11: The Preacher contrasts wisdom’s protective gain with the ruin caused by dull tools and untamed serpents, illustrating practical and moral dividends.

Work and Labor

Yithrón exposes the tension between diligent work and ultimate impermanence. The Preacher is not anti-work; rather, he dismantles idolatrous trust in toil. “My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my efforts. Yet when I considered all that my hands had done… indeed, all was futile” (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11). The word thus warns against locating identity or security in productivity apart from God.

Wisdom Versus Folly

While wisdom offers relative advantage—safer paths, better outcomes, clearer sight—Ecclesiastes 2:14 reminds that “one fate comes to them both.” Yithrón here presses readers to pursue wisdom as reverent stewardship, not eternal guarantee, anticipating the conclusion that “the fear of God” (Ecclesiastes 12:13) is the ultimate profit.

Economic and Social Insight

Ecclesiastes 5:9 reveals systemic layers of gain: lands produce, officials tax, kings subsist on cultivated fields. The verse acknowledges societal structures while hinting at their vulnerability to greed. Yithrón beckons just governance and warns against oppressive accumulation.

Eschatological Perspective

The consistent failure to locate enduring yithrón “under the sun” propels hope beyond the sun. The Old Testament tension finds resolution in the resurrection promise: “Your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). The temporal vanity highlighted by Ecclesiastes becomes gospel opportunity, redirecting profit calculations toward eternal rewards.

Pastoral Applications

• Encourage believers to evaluate motivations for work, education, and wealth: Is the aim temporal surplus or kingdom investment?
• Offer comfort to the frustrated laborer: the apparent lack of advantage is a divine clue pointing to rest in Christ.
• Foster humility in leadership; earthly offices confer no ultimate yithrón apart from righteous service.

Historical and Jewish Reception

Rabbinic writings note the Preacher’s refrain as irony that prods repentance. Medieval commentators like Rashi link yithrón to tangible surplus, yet all concede its elusiveness without fear of Heaven.

New Testament Resonance

Jesus echoes the term’s thrust: “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Paul speaks of “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:8), presenting Him as the definitive yithrón. Thus the Hebrew word seeds a biblical theology of profit fulfilled in Christ, who offers “an inheritance that is imperishable” (1 Peter 1:4).

וְיִתְר֣וֹן וְיִתְר֥וֹן ויתרון יִּתְר֖וֹן יִּתְר֣וֹן יִּתְרוֹן֙ יִתְר֔וֹן יִתְר֖וֹן יִתְר֛וֹן יתרון כִּֽיתְר֥וֹן כיתרון kî·ṯə·rō·wn kîṯərōwn kitRon veyitRon wə·yiṯ·rō·wn wəyiṯrōwn yiṯ·rō·wn yitRon yiṯrōwnInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts