The Teacher, in Hebrew Qoheleth, son of David, king in Jerusalem, 1:1. Tradition says King Solomon. Many scholars think a later writer spoke in his voice. See Who Wrote Ecclesiastes?
DATE
If Solomon wrote it, about 950 to 930 BC, late in his life. Many scholars date it about 450 to 250 BC. Either way, it was being copied by about 175 to 150 BC.
WRITTEN TO
Anyone who has ever asked, What is the point? The book talks to my son, 12:12, and the Teacher talks to young people, 11:9.
KEY VERSE
Ecclesiastes 12:13. Fear God and keep His commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.
The Oldest Copy of Ecclesiastes
4QQoh a, from Qumran Cave 4, one of the older Bible scrolls found there. It was copied about 175 to 150 BC, and it has parts of Ecclesiastes 5, 6 and 7. A second copy, 4QQoh b, has bits of chapter 1. 4QQoh a is in the Jordan Museum in Amman.
An ancient copy this old means the book was already being copied and read about 150 years before Jesus. Photo Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, CC BY SA 4.0.
The Setting
A king with more money, wisdom and fun than anyone looks back on his life and asks what it was all for. He tries pleasure, work, wisdom, building and money, and finds it all like smoke. Ecclesiastes is honest about the hard questions: death, unfairness and why good people suffer. In the end it points to God.
What the Teacher Tried
Pleasure. Laughter, wine, parties and singers, 2:1 to 3 and 2:8. It did not last.
Big Projects. Houses, vineyards, gardens and pools, 2:4 to 6. Someone else gets them when he dies, 2:18.
Money. Silver, gold and herds, 2:7 to 8. Whoever loves money never has enough, 5:10.
Wisdom. He got wiser than anyone, 1:16. The wise man still dies like the fool, 2:16.
Where to Find Jesus
Ecclesiastes 1:2. All is futile. Paul says creation was made subject to futility, but it will be set free, Romans 8:20 to 21. Jesus came to give life to the full, John 10:10.
Ecclesiastes 2:24. Eat and drink as a gift from God. Jesus told of a rich fool who said, Eat, drink and be merry, and God said his life would be taken that very night, Luke 12:19 to 20.
Ecclesiastes 12:11. The words of the wise come from one Shepherd. Jesus said, I am the good Shepherd, John 10:11.
Ecclesiastes 1:1. The son of David, king in Jerusalem, could not find the answer under the sun. Jesus said, One greater than Solomon is here, Matthew 12:42.
Cool Stuff Most People Miss
38 Times. The Hebrew word hevel, breath or vapor, shows up 38 times. It is the same word as the name Abel, the brother whose life was short.
Turn! Turn! Turn!. Pete Seeger turned 3:1 to 8 into a song, and the Byrds took it to number one in 1965. It is one of the few hit songs with words almost all from the Bible.
Read At A Feast. Many Jews read Ecclesiastes every year at Sukkot, the Feast of Booths, the happiest feast of the year. Joy and honesty go together.
No Red Letters. God does not speak in Ecclesiastes, so there are no red letters. The book names God 40 times, and never by the name Yahweh.
How Does It End?
With the bottom line. After all the smoke, the Teacher lands on solid ground: fear God and keep His commandments, because God will bring every deed into judgment, 12:13 to 14.
Chapter 1 in 30 seconds
A king with everything sighs: Smoke, smoke, it is all smoke. The sun comes up, goes down, comes up again. The rivers run to the sea and the sea never fills. There is nothing new under the sun, and getting smarter just gives you a headache.
1These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:
ECC 1:1[NOTE]THE TEACHER. The Hebrew name is Qoheleth, one who gathers people together, like a preacher at an assembly. The Greek name Ecclesiastes comes from ekklesia, assembly, the word the New Testament uses for church.
ECC 1:1[NOTE]SON OF DAVID. The Teacher never says his name. Jewish and Christian tradition says it is Solomon, David's son. See the Big Question Who Wrote Ecclesiastes? and Solomon's Wisdom and 700 Wives in 1 Kings.
2“Futility of futilities,”
says the Teacher,
“futility of futilities!
Everything is futile!”
ECC 1:2[NOTE]FUTILITY. The Hebrew word is hevel, breath or vapor, the same word as the name Abel, Genesis 4:2. It shows up 38 times in this book. The KJV says vanity. See the Big Question Is Life Meaningless?
3What does a man gain from all his labor,
at which he toils under the sun?
ECC 1:3[NOTE]UNDER THE SUN. The Teacher's catchphrase, 29 times. It means life on earth as we see it, looked at from down here.
4Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5The sun rises and the sun sets;
it hurries back to where it rises.
6The wind blows southward,
then turns northward;
round and round it swirls,
ever returning on its course.
7All the rivers flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full;
to the place from which the streams come,
there again they flow.
8All things are wearisome,
more than one can describe;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear content with hearing.
9What has been will be again,
and what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
ECC 1:9[NOTE]NOTHING NEW. The saying is famous today because of this verse. Inventions change, but people and their problems stay the same.
10Is there a case where one can say,
“Look, this is new”?
It has already existed
in the ages before us.
11There is no remembrance
of those who came before,
and those yet to come will not be remembered
by those who follow after.
With Wisdom Comes Sorrow
12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13And I set my heart to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a miserable task God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them!
ECC 1:12[NOTE]I WAS KING. Some read the past tense as an old king looking back. Others see a hint that someone is speaking in the king's voice. See Who Wrote Ecclesiastes?
ECC 1:13[TEXT]SET MY HEART. The Hebrew says libbi, my heart, so this Bible says heart here and in 1:17, 7:25, 8:9 and 8:16, like the KJV I gave my heart. Many Bibles say mind. In Hebrew thinking the heart is where you think and decide, so the meaning is the same.
14I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.
15What is crooked cannot be straightened,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
17So I set my heart to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind.
18For with much wisdom comes much sorrow,
and as knowledge grows, grief increases.
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