Regarding Bobby Smith's letter criticizing my May letter to the Times Record News. He said; "Since the left/right political metaphor began in the French revolution and experts suggest Ecclesiastes was written as early as 400 B.C., Mr. Glenn's assertion is about 2,000 years off."

Wrong! I was about 2,000  years ahead of Bobby. Also, the right/left metaphor was used about 200 years before the French revolution. The 1611 version of the King James Bible says in Ecclesiastes 10:2: "A wise man's heart is at his right hand: but a fool's heart at his left."

The French could have gotten the right/left metaphor from the 1611 version. Wikipedia says the French revolution began in 1789. And, most definitely, Ecclesiastes 10:2 can include foolish political groups of people.

I realize some other versions of the Bible present the right/left metaphor in different ways, but they are teaching the same thing, and this means the New International Version (NIV) is correct. I looked at about 25 commentaries and they all use the right/left metaphor.

Metaphorically, the NIV says in Ecclesiastes 10:2: "The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left."

- Billy Glenn, Lubbock

Read or Share this story: