Ecc 1:1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
1 The preacher showed that all human courses are vain: 4 because the
creatures are restless in their courses, 9 they bring forth nothing new,
and all old things are forgotten, 12 and because he hath found it so in
the studies of wisdom.
1. The words of. Thus begins the title verse of the book. Three other
Bible books begin in a similar way: Nehemiah, Jeremiah, and Amos. The
Hebrew term translated “words” also means “tidings,” “report,”
“message,” “story,” “charge.” The Preacher. Heb. Qoheleth, from the verb
qahal, “to assemble,” “to come together.”
For examples of the use of qahal see 2 Chron. 20:26; Esther 9:2, 16, 18;
etc. The cognate noun, translated “assembly,” “congregation,” “company,”
appears 122 times in the OT. Jewish writers have explained Qoheleth as
meaning “one who assembles a congregation and expounds teaching.”
Others render it “Preacher” because, it is said, Solomon delivered these
discourses before a congregation. It is similar to an Arabic root
variously translated as “great collector,” “deep investigator” (see PK
85; also the Introduction to Ecclesiastes).
The son of David. That is, Solomon. Who better than he, whom God had
endowed with the capacity of a genius (1 Kings 3:9-13) but who wasted
his heritage in the wild pursuit of happiness, was qualified to set
forth the profound truths here recorded?
King in Jerusalem. This phrase has reference to the Preacher, not to
King David. At the time of speaking the “Preacher” rules as “king.”
Undoubtedly this expression is a direct reference to King Solomon,
despite the fact that his name does not appear in the book.
Other expressions that point to Solomon are the references to his
wisdom and to him as author of various proverbs (see Eccl. 1:12, 13, 16;
2:15; 12:9; cf. 1 Kings 3:12; 4:32). The city of Jerusalem, the capital
of the nation, gloriously situated, was not only the place of the royal
residence, but above all, the chosen seat of God among His people.
Here religion and divine wisdom should have been at their purest and
highest degree of excellence. The ruler on his throne in such a city
should have been the ideal agent, amenable to God’s guidance and subject
to His will, to radiate divine wisdom to a waiting and receptive people.
Ecc 1:2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly
meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
Vanity of vanities. Heb. habel habalim. These words state the subject of
the entire book and constitute the theme of the preface. Hebel,
“vanity,” occurs 37 times in Ecclesiastes and but 33 times elsewhere in
the OT.
Its primary meaning is “breath,” or “vapor.” It is used of “idols” as
things vain and worthless, and also of their worship (2 Kings 17:15;
Jer. 2:5; 10:8). Some say that in Ecclesiastes there is not a word
against idolatry, yet this very key word of the book is one often used
of idols and their worship.
The Preacher says that anything man may seek in place of God and
obedience to Him is “vanity.” Habel habalim is a superlative comparable
to such emphatic expressions as “heaven of heavens” (1 Kings 8:27) and
“song of songs” (S. of Sol. 1:1). By this emphatic form, literally,
“breath of breaths,” Solomon stresses the futility and unsatisfactory
end of all human effort and life unless it be oriented toward God.
Says the teacher.
Literally, “said.” The Hebrew constantly employs the past tense where
English usage requires the present or present perfect. The expression
“says the Preacher” is a reminder that Solomon is the speaker, and thus
the author.
All is vanity. This could well be translated, “the sum total is
meaningless,” meaning that the world in its totality, including all
life, is as it were but a breath and offers no promise of hope.
Ecc 1:3 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil
under the sun?
Gain. Heb. yithron. This word occurs nine other times in this book (chs.
2:11, 13; 3:9; 5:9, 16; 7:12; 10:10, 11), and is variously translated
“excelleth,” “excellency,” “profitable,” and “better.” Yithron is from a
verb meaning “to remain over,” and the noun derived from it therefore
carries the idea of “remainder,” and then “excess,” “abundance,” and in
Hebrew, “superiority,” “advantage.”
Man is perpetually toiling, yet for all his toil there is no abiding
result. It is possible that the metaphor Solomon here used is one of the
business world with its ceaseless activities, whose objective is the
attainment of a worth-while material goal (see on ch. 2:11). But often a
man’s life is spent in building up something his successor tears down.
Futility and insecurity characterize all human endeavor.
The interrogative “what?” calls for an emphatic negative answer. It may
be compared with the words of Matt. 16:26, where the Master asks,
literally, “What shall a man be profited, if he should gain the whole
world, and should lose his soul?” The reply anticipated by the Preacher
is, “Nothing.”
People. The Hebrew word is the generic term for “man,” or as we would
say, “mankind.” The cycle of human life is repeated over and over again
with each new generation.
Labour. From a Hebrew word that means, “toil,” “trouble,” or “mischief.”
Here the term is applied to the sum total of a man’s efforts during his
lifetime.
Which they toil. This expression refers to every form of activity that
takes place under the light of the sun.
Under the sun. Equivalent to such a phrase as “under heaven” (chs. 1:13;
2:3; 3:1). It appears in Ecclesiastes about 30 times.
Ecc 1:4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains
forever.
Come and go. Are simple participles stressing continuous and endless
change (see Job 10:20-22; Ps. 39:13).
Ecc 1:5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it
rises.
Hurries. Hasteth. Heb. sha’aph, “to pant after,” “to grasp for eagerly,”
“to be eager for.” The figure is of a spirited horse snuffing up the air
in his eagerness to burst into speed in a race. See Jer. 2:24 as an
example of the figure, and Ps. 119:131 for its application to spiritual
life. Arose. Heb. zarach, in the participial form, which emphasizes
continuous or repeated activity.
Ecc 1:6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and
round it goes, ever returning on its course.
The wind. Heb. ruach, “wind,” a word that always implies activity. It is
used many times in connection with God’s various activities in the
economy of the plan of salvation.
Turns. A picture of ceaseless activity and repetition. The “north” and
“south” are mentioned in contrast with the “east” and “west” of v. 5,
the places of the rising and the setting of the sun.
Ever returning on its course
Four times in the Hebrew of this verse word forms derived from the root
“to turn,” “to circle about,” are used, by way of stressing ceaseless
activity and repetition. The word is also used of Joshua’s army marching
around Jericho (Joshua 6:3, 15), and of the Israelites’ having
“compassed mount Seir many days” (Deut. 2:1, 3).
Solomon was not complaining of the ceaseless cycles of nature, but saw
in them a parallel to the cycles of human life (Eccl. 1:4). Is man’s
life, from generation to generation, a mere matter of repetition, with
no more sublime object in view?
Will there not be a climax to the life of the human race? Does not God
have an eternal purpose that will eventually supersede this seemingly
endless repetition of human activity from generation to generation?
The scientific accuracy of the description here given of the motion of
air masses about the surface of the earth is unparalleled in ancient
literature and reveals an insight into the laws of nature greatly
superior to that of most men in ancient times.
Ecc 1:7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To
the place the streams come from, there they return again.
All the streams flow.
As a third example of the ceaseless round of nature Solomon presents the
moisture cycle. Though the forces of nature provide a picture of endless
repetition, their activity was nevertheless designed by God and
functions in harmony with His will.
But man’s activities, in most cases, were not designed by God and do not
tend to the satisfactory end God had in mind when He created man.
Mankind continually seeks new paths to happiness and satisfaction,
whereas he can attain to his true end in only one way–by being at peace
with his Maker (see Matt. 11:28-30).
Ecc 1:8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never
has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.
Things. Heb. debarim, translated “words” in v. 1, but no doubt meaning
“things” here. In the NT the Gr. rhema, “word,” or “thing,” bears the
same twofold meaning as the Hebrew word here used.
Wearisome. The Hebrew word thus translated is an adjective from the verb
“to toil,” and is related to an Arabic root meaning “to have pain,” “to
suffer.” The apparent fruitlessness of human activity and the
disappointments that accompany it are the points emphasized here.
More than one can say.
The word translated “man” is not the generic term of v. 3, but one that
refers to “man” as distinct from woman. The verb translated “utter” is
the root form of “words” in v. 1 and of “things” in v. 8.
Outward experience cannot satisfy the inner cravings of the heart.
Things, that is, material blessings, do not satisfy the thoughtful
person. A true approach to God is not made through the outward senses,
but through an inner experience. God is spirit (John 4:24), and must,
accordingly, be approached by man’s spirit.
Similarly, the things that fall on the outer ear cannot make for lasting
good unless relayed to the inner ear of man’s spiritual nature, by which
he hears the voice of God.
Ecc 1:9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done
again; there is nothing new under the sun.” This is a reference to the
changeless cycles of nature, repeated in obedience to the laws ordained
of God.
Ecc 1:11 No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to
come will not be remembered by those who follow them.
The celebrity of this generation is forgotten by the coming generation.
Solomon concludes the prologue to his book with a comment on the
transitory quality of fame.
The Vanity of Wisdom
Ecc 1:12 I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. More
correctly, “have been king” (see on v. 1). The Hebrew does not
necessarily imply that the speaker is no longer king. The simple past of
the Hebrew verb is often best translated into English as a present or
present perfect (see on v. 2). The “Preacher” was Solomon, for only
under David and Solomon was Jerusalem the capital from which a king
ruled “over Israel,” and the speaker is “the son of David” (v. 1).
Ecc 1:13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that
is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind!
The two words “applied” and “explore” together suggest going to the
root of a matter and exploring it in all its aspects.
Ecc 1:14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of
them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Ecc 1:15 What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot
be counted.
The emphasis is on man’s inability, in his own strength, to cope with
the situations that continually confront him.
Ecc 1:16 I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than
anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much
of wisdom and knowledge.”
This refers to wise men and rulers before Solomon’s day.
Ecc 1:17 Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also
of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after
the wind.
Ecc 1:18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge,
the more grief.
Overstudy brings on sleeplessness, frayed nerves, and sometimes
ill-health. However, it must not be concluded that Solomon endorses the
idea that ignorance is bliss (see Prov. 4:7). Sorrow. Literally, “pain,”
both mental and physical. If one desires wisdom, he must dig deeply (see
Prov. 2:4); and constant digging and research take their toll of health
and strength. It is also true that even great knowledge is not an index
to character. The righteousness of Jesus Christ received by faith opens
the door to the heavenly kingdom, and knowledge alone cannot accomplish
this.