Ecclesiastes

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Ecclesiastes

1. Title and Canonicity . The title has come to us through Jerome from the LXX [Note: Septuagint.] , in which it was an attempt to express the Heb. nom de plume ‘ Kôheleth ,’ i.e. ‘one who speaks in an assembly’ ( kâhâl ) the assembly being all who give their hearts to the acquisition of wisdom. The book is one of the third group in the Heb. Bible the Kethûbhîm or’ Writings’ which were the latest to receive recognition as canonical Scripture. It appears to have been accepted as Scripture by c [Note: circa, about.] . b.c. 100. At the synod of Jamnia ( c [Note: circa, about.] . a.d. 100) the canonicity of Ec., the Song of Songs, and Esther was brought up for discussion, and was confirmed.

2. Author and Date . The book contains the outpourings of the mind of a rich Jew, at the beginning of the 2nd cent. b.c. We may perhaps gather that he was in a high station of life, for otherwise his very unorthodox reflexions could hardly have escaped oblivion. He could provide himself with every luxury (  Ecclesiastes 2:4-10 ). But he had private sorrows and disappointments;   Ecclesiastes 7:26-28 seems to imply that his life had been saddened by a woman who was unworthy of him. He was apparently an old man, because his attempts to find the summum bonum of life in pleasure and in wisdom, which could hardly have been abandoned in a few years, were now bygone memories (  Ecclesiastes 1:12 to   Ecclesiastes 2:11 ). And he lived in or near Jerusalem, for he was an eye-witness of events which occurred at the ‘holy place’ (  Ecclesiastes 8:10 ). That is all that he reveals about himself. But he paints a lurid picture of the state of his country. The king was ‘a child’ much too young for his responsible position; and his courtiers spent their days in drunken revelry (  Ecclesiastes 10:16 ); he was capricious in his favouritism (  Ecclesiastes 10:5-7 ), violent in temper (  Ecclesiastes 10:4 ), and despotic (  Ecclesiastes 8:2 a,   Ecclesiastes 8:4 ). The result was that wickedness usurped the place of justice (  Ecclesiastes 3:16 ), and the upper classes crushed the poor with an oppression from which there was no escape (  Ecclesiastes 4:1 ); the country groaned under an irresponsible officialism, each official being unable to move a finger in the cause of justice. because he was under the thumb of a higher one, and the highest was a creature of the tyrannous king (  Ecclesiastes 5:7 ): and in such a state of social rottenness espionage was rife (  Ecclesiastes 10:20 ). The only passage which distinctly alludes to contemporary history is   Ecclesiastes 4:13-16 , but no period has been found which suits all the facts. In   Ecclesiastes 8:10 an historical allusion is improbable, and   Ecclesiastes 9:13-15 is too vague to afford any indication of date.

The book or, more probably,  Ecclesiastes 1:1 to   Ecclesiastes 2:11 only, is written under the guise of Solomon. In   Ecclesiastes 2:12 (according to the most probable interpretation of the verse) the writer appears to throw off the impersonation. But the language and grammatical peculiarities of the writing make it impossible to ascribe it to Solomon. The Heb. language which had been pure enough for some time after the return from Babylon, began to decay from the time of Nehemiah. There are signs of the change in Ezr., Neh., and Mal., and it is still more evident in Chron., Est., and Eccl., the latter having the most striking Mishnic Idioms. It must therefore be later (probably much later) than Esther ( c [Note: circa, about.] . b.c. 300), but before ben-Sira, who alludes to several passages in it ( c [Note: circa, about.] . b.c. 180). It may thus be dated c [Note: circa, about.] . b.c. 200.

3. Composition . One of the most striking features of the book is the frequency with which a despairing sadness alternates with a calm pious assurance. Many have seen in this the struggles of a religiously minded man halting between doubt and faith; e.g. Plumptre compares this mental conflict with Tennyson’s ‘Two Voices.’ But the more the book is read, the more the reader feels that this is not so. The contrasts are so sudden; the scepticism is so despairing, and the piety so calm and assured, that they can be explained only on the assumption of interpolations by other hands. Moreover, in the midst of the despair and the faith there are scattered proverbs, somewhat frigid and didactic, often with no relevance to the context. The literary history of the writing appears to be as follows: ( a ) The gnomic character of some of Koheleth’s remarks, and the ascription to Solomon, attracted one of the thinkers of the day whose minds were dominated by the idea of ‘Wisdom’ such a writer as those whose observations are collected in the Book of Proverbs. He enriched the original writing with proverbs culled from various sources. ( b ) But that which attracts also repels. The impression which the book made upon the orthodox Jew may be seen in the Book of Wisdom, in which (  Ecclesiastes 2:1-9 ) the writer collects some of Koheleth’s despairing reflexions; and, placing them in the mouth of the ungodly, raises his protest against them. There were living at the time not only gnomic moralizers, but also men of intense, if narrow, piety men of the temper afterwards seen in the Maccabees. One of these interpolated observations on (i.) the fear of God. (ii.) the judgment of God. In every case except   Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 [Heb. 4:17 5:6] his remarks explicitly correct some complaint of Koheleth to which he objected.   Ecclesiastes 12:11-12 is a postscript by the ‘wise man,’ and   Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 by the pious man. The additions which appear to be due to the former are   Ecclesiastes 4:5;   Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 ,   Ecclesiastes 6:7;   Ecclesiastes 6:9 ,   Ecclesiastes 7:1 a,   Ecclesiastes 7:19  Ecclesiastes 7:19 ,   Ecclesiastes 8:1 ,   Ecclesiastes 9:17 f.,   Ecclesiastes 10:1-3;   Ecclesiastes 10:8-14 a,   Ecclesiastes 10:18  Ecclesiastes 10:18 f.,   Ecclesiastes 12:11 f., and to the latter   Ecclesiastes 2:26 ,   Ecclesiastes 3:14 b,   Ecclesiastes 3:17 ,   Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 ,   Ecclesiastes 7:18 b,   Ecclesiastes 7:26 b,   Ecclesiastes 7:29 ,   Ecclesiastes 8:2 b,   Ecclesiastes 8:3 a,   Ecclesiastes 8:5-6 a,   Ecclesiastes 8:11-13 ,   Ecclesiastes 11:9 b,   Ecclesiastes 12:1 a,   Ecclesiastes 12:13 f.

4. Koheleth’s reflexions

( a ) His view of life . After the exordium (  Ecclesiastes 1:1 to   Ecclesiastes 2:11 ), in which, under the guise of Solomon, he explains that he made every possible attempt to discover the meaning and aim of life, the rest of his writing consists of a miscellaneous series of pictures, illustrating his recurrent thought that ‘all is a vapour, and a striving after wind.’ And the conclusion at which he arrives is that man can aim at nothing, guide himself by nothing. His only course is to fall back upon present enjoyment and industry. It is far from being a summum bonum  ; it is not an Epicurean theory of life; it is a mere modus vivendi , ‘whereby he shall not take much account of the days of his life’ (  Ecclesiastes 5:19 ). And to this conclusion he incessantly returns, whenever he finds life’s mysteries insoluble:   Ecclesiastes 2:24 f.,   Ecclesiastes 3:12 f.,   Ecclesiastes 3:22 ,   Ecclesiastes 5:17-19 ,   Ecclesiastes 8:15 ,   Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 ,   Ecclesiastes 11:1-10 (exc. 9b)   Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 .

( b ) His religious ideas . It is improbable that he came into immediate contact with any of the Greek schools of thought. It has often been maintained that he shows distinct signs of having been influenced by both Stoic and Epicurean philosophy. Of the latter it is difficult to discern the slightest trace; but for the former there is more to be said. But there is nothing at which a thinking Jew, of a philosophical temper of mind, could not have arrived independently. And it must not be forgotten that even Stoicism was not a purely Greek product; its founder Zeno was of PhÅ“nician descent, and his followers came from Syria, Cilicia Carthage, and other Hellenistic (as distinct from Hellenic) quarters. Koheleth occupies (what may be called) debatable ground between Semitic and Greek thought. He has lost the vitality of belief in a personal God, which inspired the earlier prophets, and takes his stand upon a somewhat colourless monotheism. He never uses the personal name ‘Jahweh.’ but always the descriptive title ‘Elohim’ (4 times) or ‘the Elohim’ (16 times), ‘the deity’ who manifests Himself in the inscrutable and irresistible forces of Nature. At the same time he never commits himself to any definitely pantheistic statements. He has not quite lost his Semitic belief that God is more than Nature, for His action shows evidence of design (  Ecclesiastes 3:11;   Ecclesiastes 3:18;   Ecclesiastes 3:22 ,   Ecclesiastes 6:12 b,   Ecclesiastes 7:14 ,   Ecclesiastes 8:17 ,   Ecclesiastes 11:5 ). Moreover, God’s work the course of Nature appears in the form of an endless cycle. Events and phenomena are brought upon the stage of life, and banished into the past, only to be recalled and banished again (  Ecclesiastes 1:4-11 ,   Ecclesiastes 3:15 ). And this, for Koheleth, paralyzes all real effort; for no amount of labour can produce anything new or of real profit no one can add to, or subtract from, the unswerving chain of facts (  Ecclesiastes 1:15 ,   Ecclesiastes 3:1-9;   Ecclesiastes 3:14 a,   Ecclesiastes 7:13 ); no one can contend with Him that is mightier than he (  Ecclesiastes 6:10 ). And he gains no relief from the expectation of Messianic peace and perfection, which animated the orthodox Jew. There are left him only the shreds of the religious convictions of his fathers, with a species of ‘natural religion’ which has fatalism and altruism among is ingredients.

5. The value of the book for us lies largely in its very deficiencies. The untroubled orthodoxy of the pious man who corrected what he thought was wrong, the moral aphorisms of the ‘wise man,’ and the Weltschmerz of Koheleth with his longing for light, were each examples of the state of thought of the time. They corresponded to the three classes of men in   1 Corinthians 1:20 the ‘scribe’ (who clung faithfully to his accepted traditions), the ‘wise man,’ and the ‘searcher of this world.’ Each possessed elements of lasting truth, but each needed to be answered, and raised to a higher plane of thought, by the revelation of God in the incarnation.

A. H. M‘Neile.

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

The title ‘Ecclesiastes’ has been taken from the Septuagint, the first Greek translation of the Old Testament. The Hebrew word from which the translators took the title is qohelet. This is the name the writer of the book uses for himself, and it has been translated as preacher (RSV), teacher (NIV) and philosopher (GNB). The writer does not tell us his name, but he was no doubt a well known wisdom teacher of his time ( Ecclesiastes 12:9).

Teaching style

In keeping with a common practice of the time, the author writes as if he were some well known person whose life would form a background for his own teaching. He takes as his starting point a saying that probably came from King Solomon, ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity’. He then puts himself in Solomon’s position and proceeds to show that all the wealth, pleasure, wisdom and power that people may gain will, in the end, benefit them nothing if they have wrong attitudes to life and to God.

Ecclesiastes is not a story or argument that begins in the opening verse and moves through in an unbroken development to the last verse. Rather it is a collection of some of the writer’s thoughts and ideas, probably written down later in life. Each section, however, is related to the central theme of the book. That theme is presented fairly clearly in the opening two chapters, then is restated and discussed, in part or in whole, in the following sections.

Being a wisdom teacher, the writer is concerned with some of the apparent contradictions of life (see Wisdom Literature ). He does not rely upon comfortable orthodox theories, but examines the frustrations and injustices that sometimes make life seem useless and without meaning. However, he is not a pessimist. He has a strong faith in God, and that faith gives him his interpretation of life.

Meaning of the book

The writer’s interpretation of life is built around two main observations: first, that God is sovereign; second, that God is the Creator. His main ideas may be summarized as follows.

No matter what benefits people may gain for themselves in life, they lose them at death. Life seems useless (2:14,18; 6:1-6). Yet through it all God is in control, directing events according to his purposes (3:11a,14; 8:15b). The writer is frustrated that he cannot know God’s purposes, but he never doubts that those purposes exist (3:11; 8:16-17; 9:1a). People should not therefore waste time searching after what God has kept for himself, but instead enjoy what God has given to them, namely, life (3:12-13; 5:18-19).

Not only does God control affairs in people’s lives; he is the Creator who has given them his world. Therefore, they should accept whatever God determines for them and find enjoyment in God’s world and in all their activities in that world (2:24; 9:7-10). That is not to say that they may be selfish and ill-disciplined. On the contrary, they will only enjoy life properly as they act with wisdom rather than folly, and as they do good rather than evil (7:5,7-9,19).

Summary of contents

Life seems at times to have no purpose (1:1-11). The search for a meaning to life through selfish ambition will lead to frustration. A person should accept what God gives and enjoy it (1:12-2:26). Having set out the central message of his book, the writer turns to consider some related matters: the control of God over life’s affairs (3:1-15), the widespread injustice in the world (3:16-4:3), and the uselessness of self-centred achievement (4:4-16).

A collection of short messages encourages people to make the most of life’s frustrations. The writer gives advice about religion, money and other matters (5:1-7:14), and suggests that the way to contentment is to practise moderation (7:15-8:17). Life presents people with great opportunities for true contentment (9:1-12), but they will have no contentment without wisdom (9:13-10:20). The final section therefore encourages people to have a positive attitude to life (11:1-8); for the Creator holds them accountable for the way they handle the gifts of creation (11:9-12:14).

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The preacher, the name of a book of the Old Testament, usually ascribed to Solomon. Compare  1 Kings 3:12 and   Ecclesiastes 1:16   1 Kings 10:21,27 and   Ecclesiastes 2:4-9   1 Kings 11:3,4 and   Exodus 7:25,25 . It appears to have been written by Solomon in his old age, when freed from the entanglements of idolatry, luxury, and lust, B. C. 977. It is a discourse upon the true wisdom; with many isolated precepts, illustrated from his own unexampled experience and from the most sagacious observation of the course of life; the whole demonstrating the vanity of all earthly good, and showing that there is a better life to come, and that the only true wisdom is to "fear God and keep his commandments." This, he says, is the conclusion of the whole matter,  Ecclesiastes 12:13 . In reading this book, care should be taken not to deduce opinions from detached sentiments, but from the general scope and combined force of the whole.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Ecclesiastes ( Ek-Klç'Si- Ăs-T Çs ), The Preacher. It is the seventh book after the Psalms in the Hebrew Scriptures (but the second after the Psalms in the A. V.), and its title in Hebrew is Koheleth, signifying one who convenes a public assembly. Koheleth, the name assumed by the author, claims to be "son of David, King in Jerusalem." The book teaches that to obey God is the highest good. It is the confession of a man of wide experience, looking back upon his past life and looking out upon the disorders and calamities which surround him. The writer is a man who has sinned in giving way to selfishness and sensuality, who has suffered for his sin in satiety and weariness of life, but who has through all this been under the discipline of a divine education, and has learned from it the lesson which God meant to teach him.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Ecclesias'tes. (The Preacher). The title of this book is in Hebrew, Koheleth , signifying One Who Speaks Publicly In An Assembly. Koheleth is the name by which Solomon, probably the author, speaks of himself throughout the book. The book is that which it professes to be, - the confession of a man of wide experience looking back upon his past life and looking out upon the disorders and calamities which surround him.

The writer is a man who has sinned in giving way to selfishness and sensuality, who has paid the penalty of that sin in satiety and weariness of life, but who has, through all this, been under the discipline of a divine education, and has learned from it the lesson which God meant to teach him.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

a canonical book of the Old Testament, of which Solomon was the author, as appears from the first sentence. The design of this book is to show the vanity of all sublunary things; and from a review of the whole, the author draws this pertinent conclusion, "Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole of man;"—his whole wisdom, interest, and happiness, as well as his whole duty. Ecclesiastes, according to a modern author, is a dialogue, in which a man of piety disputes with a libertine who favoured the opinion of the Sadducees. His reason is, that there are passages in it which seem to contradict each other, and could not, he thinks, proceed from the same person. But this may be accounted for by supposing that it was Solomon's method to propose the objections of infidels and sensualists, and then to reply to them.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

One of the books of Solomon, and so called by the Septuagint. But it is worthy remark, that the first verse runs in this form, "The Words of Coheleth the son of David;" though the word is feminine, and is as if it is said, she who speaks. But that it is Solomon who is the writer, and who is describing in many parts of it himself, there can be no question, since we have in it so ample an account of his riches and treasure, and at the same time, of his discovery of the vanity of all.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Koheleth   Song of Solomon 1:12

"Vanity of vanities! saith the Preacher, Vanity of vanities! all is vanity!"

i.e., all man's efforts to find happiness apart from God are without result.

Webster's Dictionary

(a.) One of the canonical books of the Old Testament.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

This book has obtained its Hebrew name Kohelethfrom the designation of the principal person mentioned in it, who is thus styled in several passages. Some have supposed that Koheleth means a body or academy of sages, whose dicta are contained in this book; but this opinion is contradicted by the heading of the book itself, which thus commences: Words of Koheleth, the son of David, the king in Jerusalem. Hence it appears that Koheleth is intended for an epithet of Solomon. Various interpretations have been given of its meaning, but in all probability it means assembler, preacher, or teacher.

The circumstance that Solomon is introduced as the speaker in this book has induced most of the ancient interpreters to consider him as its author. Others, however, are of opinion that words are used in it which show that it must have been written at a later period than the time of Solomon.

The diversity of sentiment as to the authorship has of course led also to a difference of opinion as to the date of the book. But one thing is clear—that whoever may have been the author, the book cannot have been written after the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, under whom the canon was completed.

Those who maintain that Ecclesiastes was not written by Solomon are of opinion that it was not composed during the latter period of the first, but rather during the time of the second temple, since idolatry does not occur among the deviations combated by the author. The whole book seems to presuppose that the people were externally devoted to the Lord. The admonitions of the author to a serene enjoyment of life, and against murmuring; exhortations to be contented with Divine Providence, and the attacks upon a selfish righteousness of works, may best be explained by supposing the author to have lived in a period like that of Malachi, in which there prevailed a Pharisaical self-righteousness, and melancholy murmurings because God would not recognize the alleged rights which they produced before him, and refused to acknowledge the claims they made upon him.

The author places the fundamental idea of the nothingness of all earthly things both at the beginning and at the end of his book, and during its course repeatedly returns to the same. This has induced many interpreters to suppose that the purpose of the author was to demonstrate this one idea; an opinion which, down to the most recent times, has been unfavorable to the true interpretation of the book, because everything, however reluctant, has been forced into an imaginary connection. The following is the correct view. The object of the author is not to teach an especial tendency of wisdom, but wisdom in general. Consequently it is not at all surprising if the connection suddenly ceases, and a new subject commences. That the idea of the nothingness of earthly matters should strongly predominate may easily be explained, since according to our author it forms a very important part of wisdom. He never, however, intended to confine himself to this one idea, although he likes frequently to point it out in passing, even when he is considering a matter from another point of view. 'The plan of this book,' says Herder, 'has been the subject of much investigation. It is best to consider this plan as free as possible, and to employ its separate parts for its support. The commencement and the conclusion show the unity of the whole. The greater part consists of isolated observations concerning the course of the world, and the experience of his life. These are connected with general sentences; and, finally, a very simple conclusion is deduced from the whole. It seems to me that a more artificial texture ought not to be sought for.'

With regard to the contents and objects of the book, we have to consider only the fundamental idea, omitting isolated sentences of wisdom, and rules for the conduct of life. Nobody can entertain any doubt concerning this fundamental idea. It is contained in the sentence: 'Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.' It is, however, very important that this should be rightly understood. The question is, What is that all which is vanity? The author does not mean all in general, but only all of a certain genus. He himself explains this, by defining this all in numerous passages; as, 'all that is under the sun;' that is, earthly things in their separation from the heavenly. To this leads also the enumeration of the all, in which occur only those things which belong to the earth—riches, sensual pleasure, honor, sphere of activity, human wisdom apart from God, self-righteousness. From many passages it appears that the author was far from comprehending the fear of God and active obedience to his laws among that all which was vanity. This appears most strikingly from the conclusion, which, as such, is of the highest importance, and furnishes the undoubted measure for the correctness of the whole interpretation. 'Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man [i.e. in this consists all that is incumbent upon him; and his whole salvation depends upon it]. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good, or whether evil.' (Compare : 'Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth;' . 'Fear thou God;' , and many other passages). A deep religious sense pervades the whole book. In reference to the prevailing idea, Ewald strikingly remarks, p. 182, 'There blows throughout this book a piercing chill against every earthly aim, and every vain endeavor; a contempt which changes into a bitter sneer against everything which in the usual proceedings of men is one-sided and perverse; an indefatigable penetration in the discovery of all human vanities and fooleries. In no earlier writing has all cause of pride and vain imagination so decidedly and so comprehensively been taken from man; and no book is pervaded by such an outcry of noble indignation against all that is vain in this world.'

From the contents of the book results its object. The author had received the mission to treat professedly and in a concentrated manner the highly important sentence, 'Vanity of vanities; all is vanity,' which pervades the whole of Holy Writ; but he is not content with the mere theoretical demonstration, so as to leave to another teacher its practical application, but places before us these practical results themselves: What is incumbent upon man, since everything else is nought? What real good remains for us, after the appearance in every seeming good has been destroyed? The answer is, Man shall not gain by cunning and grasping; shall not consume himself in vain meditations, nor in a hurried activity; he shall not murmur about the loss of that which is naught; he shall not by means of a self-made righteousness constrain God to grant him salvation; but he shall instead fear God , and be mindful of his Creator he shall do good as much as he is able and in other passages. And all this, as it is constantly inculcated by the author, with a contented and grateful heart, freed from care and avarice; living for the present moment, joyfully taking from the hand of the Lord what he offers in a friendly manner. Man shall not be of a sorrowful countenance, but in quiet serenity enjoy the gifts of God. What would avail him all his cares and all his avarice? By them he cannot turn anything aside from him, or obtain anything, since everything happens as it shall happen.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

1.  Ecclesiastes 1:1-18;  Ecclesiastes 2:1-26. This portion of the book, more than any other, has the character of a personal confession; The Preacher starts with reproducing the phase of despair and weariness into which his experience had led him ( Ecclesiastes 1:2-3). To the man who is thus satiated with life, the order and regularity of nature are oppressive ( Ecclesiastes 1:4-7); nor is he led, as in the 90th Psalm, from the things that are transitory to the thought of One whose years are from eternity. In the midst of the ever- recurring changes he finds no progress. That which seems to be new is but the repetition of the old ( Ecclesiastes 1:8-11). Then, having laid bare the depth to which he had fallen, he retraces the path by which he had traveled thitherward. First he had sought after wisdom as that to which God seemed to call him ( Ecclesiastes 1:13) but the pursuit of it was a sore travail, and there was no satisfaction in its possession. It could not remedy the least real evil, nor make the crooked straight (

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Bibliography Information McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Ecclesiastes'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/e/ecclesiastes.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

E . the Preacher), a book of the Old Testament, questionably ascribed to Solomon, and now deemed of more recent date as belonging to a period when the reflective spirit prevailed; and it is written apparently in depreciation of mere reflection as a stepping-stone to wisdom. The standpoint of the author is a religious one; the data on which he rests is given in experience, and his object is to expose the vanity of every source of satisfaction which is not founded on the fear, and has not supreme regard for the commandments, of God, a doctrine which is the very ground-principle of the Jewish faith; but if vanity is written over the whole field of human experience, he argues, this is not the fault of the system of things, but due, according to the author, to the folly of man (chap. vii. 29).