Ecclesiastes - Introduction

Ecclesiastes is an odd book, indeed we may sometimes even wonder why it is in the Bible. For it seems rather negative at times. One approach is to try and treat it as  entirely positive, another is the opposite of this, i.e. to treat it as entirely negative. Neither of these seems right. Perhaps it is better to treat it as how to live in a fallen world, or a warning against finding perfect contentment purely within this world. This world is fallen and things will never be perfect here. The book is sometimes attributed to Solomon,  and there are verses that suggest this is the case, however, we have the character of “the teacher2, Qoheleth in Hebrew who is introduced in the text as the writer. A couple of phrases that recur in the text are “under the sun” and “meaningless” or “vanity”. Perhaps the book warns against making an idol out of things that are good, but become pointless or even dangerous if we make them the ultimate things, e.g. wisdom, pleasure etc. The NIV translates the Hebrew word Hebel as “meaningless”, older translations translate it as “vanity”, the commentary I am using (see below) reckons that the NIV has got it wrong here. The word elsewhere in the OT means “fleeting” or “breath”, implying a fleeting nature.

I am greatly indebted to the following commentary:

The Hodder Bible Commentary: Ecclesiastes - Eric Ortlund (2024).