Part Two: we do an in depth study of the book itself. Chapters 1 and 2.
Part One: About the Book and Study Index.
Part Three: A bit of Review.
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We're going to do chapter one in depth, word by word, to set the tone. After that, we'll hit the high (or low) points, and cover most of the rest with summaries and commentary, and some 'verse by verse'. It'll be OK, you'll see- "...meaningless, meaningless......"
Chapter One
verse 1
"the words of Qoheleth, the son of David, king in Jerusalem."
Some have taken this verse to give us the name of the author, who they will say is a son, or perhaps grandson of King David.
The short answer there is "no". That's not what the text says. "qoheleth" is a title. It means 'teacher' or 'preacher' or something rather odd- 'assembler / collector'. So what we have is a collection of the sayings of the son of King David, which are then used to teach others. Which, to some degree, makes sense as being from Solomon. And as we'll see in the text, at least some of what is discussed points directly at him.
2
"hebel / habel" (vanity / vapor / futility / empty / ect) of "hebel" (vapor (term is repeated)) says "qoheleth" (teacher / preacher) "hebel" of "hebel" (still being repeated) "kol" (entire / whole / all) is "hebel".
"Pointless! Pointless! - says Kohelet -Utterly meaningless! Nothing matters!" (CJB - see link below)
The 1560 Geneva Bible translated that first word as 'Vanity' (which means a lot of other translators, like the KJV, went with it), and, to a degree, the 1611 committee was right to just accept it and move on, but there is more to it than that. However, since you want a translation to be readable, unless you are doing the Amplified Bible (see link below), you have to pick A word. And 'vanity' is a perfectly good word for it, although the NIV goes with 'meaningless'. Or you could try to get in all the shades of meaning like the Complete Jewish Bible (the CJB above) did, which makes the point, but it is a tough slog.
What the verse comes down to is what the teacher's source spends the next 4,500 words (in English) explaining. That, in the end, nothing on this planet matters.
This statement also becomes the theme song for the famous Stoic Philosophers, such as Marcus Aurelius:
"Everything is ephemeral - not just the rememberer but the remembered as well."
see his Book 4. 35 (link below),
.... who we mentioned in our introduction, and, who may have read this passage in his schooling, although he never attributes a passage to it. The Stoics will cross paths with the 'teacher' several times before the end of our study. We'll make an attempt to highlight some of these as we go.
3 - 4
what "yithron" (advantage / profit / gain / 'how better' (this word is used ten times in Ecclesiastes, nowhere else in all the OT!)) to a "adam" (man / human) from all "amal" (labor / sorrow / worry / trouble) "amal (different form of same word)" (work / anguish / etc) under "shemesh" (the sun / daylight). A "dor" (generation / age / time period) is "halak" (moving / proceeding / going / etc) and a "dor" (generation / age...) "bo" (coming...) and "erets" (earth as a planet / ground / country) "olam" (eternity / everlasting / perpetual / etc) is "amad" (standing / stays).
And here we go....
Whoever the Teacher is quoting, and they said they are quoting 'the son of the king', and if so, the 'prince' seems to be fighting a serious bout of clinical depression.
Whoever is speaking, and being recorded by the teacher, however it is being done, begins with statements dealing the extreme long term of a life's worth of working in the sun, and generational change in contrast to the age of the Earth. Implying that a human lifetime is essentially pointless in the eternal scheme.
5 - 7
Has "zarach" (risen / shone / appeared) "shemesh" (sun / daylight), "bo" (come / go / enter) to its "shemesh" (sun...) into / unto "maqom" (place / site) "sha'aph" (pant / gasp / 'in haste') is "zarach" (to rise / shine / appear) "sham" (there). "halak" (to go / walk / proceed) "el" (into / unto) the "darom" (south) "sabab" (to turn 'around' / to encircle) to the "tsaphon" (north / northward) "sabab" (to turn 'around'...) "sabab" (to turn 'around' (word is repeated, some translations ignore the repetition, others make it 'twisting back and forth', which fits)) is "halak" (going / proceeding) on the "ruach" (wind / breath / spirit) and on its "sabib / sebibah" (around / circuit / vicinity) "shub" (return / turn back) the "ruach" (wind / breath...).
"kol" (all / every) "nachal" (stream / wadi / implies 'flow of water') "halak" (proceed / go) to the "yam" (sea / ocean) "ayin" (without / not / etc) "male" (filled / full / complete) to "maqom" (place / area) from "nachal" (stream...) "halak" (comes / proceeds) there they are "shub" (return / turn back) "halak" (come...).
Here the speaker states a couple of things that are obvious to anybody paying attention to the natural world. Every day, the sun comes and goes. As the seasons progress, the sun moves higher and lower in the sky, North to South. What came to be called the Trade Winds blow, and the rivers are still flowing, yet the ocean isn't full making the rivers back up on themselves.
One may wonder what that has to do with the condition of man. Well, Nothing, is the answer. Humans have nothing to do whatsoever with the parade of seasons, the blowing of the wind, or the eventual flow of the river. Even if you put a dam across a river, it doesn't take long for Nature to remind you who is actually in charge. Remember: water always wins, that's why we have a Grand Canyon.
8 - 9
"kol" (all / every) "dabar" (words / matters / things) "yagea" (weary / exhausted (as in: 'from hard labor')) "lo" (not) "yakol" (able / can / endure) a man to "dabar" (speak / converse (includes 'to think about what to say'), "lo" (not) "saba / sabea" (satisfied / 'full' / 'have plenty') the eye in "raah" (seeing) and "lo" (not) "male / mala" (filled / complete) the ear from "shama" (listening / hearing).
"mah" (what) "hayah" (has - been / existed / happened) "hu" (is / same) "hayah" (will - come to pass / exist / happen (different form of same word)), and what "asah" (has been - accomplished / made / performed) will be "asah" (will be - done / made / performed (different form of same word)), and "ayin" (not / nothing / none) "kol" (all / every) is "chadash" (new / fresh) "tachath" (under / beneath) the "shemesh" (sun / daylight).
The message here is very simple, and very profound.
You are exhausted and can't think straight or even speak, it has happened before, it will happen again, and there is nothing new.......
Yes, that was written between 800 to 600 BC. But we're not done with that idea just yet.
10 - 11
"yesh" (there is / there are / exists) "dabar" (matter / thing (includes 'idea' and 'word')) "amar" (say / said), "raah" (see / look upon / etc) "zeh" (this / these) "chadash" (new / fresh), "hu / hi" (this / same) "kebar" (long ago / already / etc) "hayah" (exists / happens / 'came to pass') "olam" (ancient / forever / ages / etc) "asher" (which / that / when) "hayah" (exists ...) "panim / paneh" (presence / face / 'before our eyes').
"ayin" (there is not / nothing / none) "zikkaron" (memorial / remembrance) with those who "hayah" (exists ...) "acharon" (latter / future).
Again, the speaker confirms that everything that is around, in his day, has been around since Creation. And, in our own world, that is more true than not. While the way information is relayed from here to there may be reasonably new, the underlying aspects of the natural world, and human nature, represented in that information is as old as creation. Then he goes on to say that nothing will be remembered for long.
The former was also mentioned by Marcus Aurelius (Roman Emperor 161 - 180) as:
"Anyone who has seen the present has seen everything that has been from eternity and everything that will be for time without end." (Meditations: 6.37, link below)
The Emperor also spends considerable ink throughout his "Mediations" going into detail about how everybody, from common slaves to Emperors will, eventually, be forgotten.
12 - 14
I "qoheleth" (teacher / preacher / 'collector of sayings') was "melek" (king) of "Yisrael" (Israel) in "Yerushalaim" (Jerusalem).
I "nathan" (gave) my "leb" (heart / mind / inner self) to "darash" (inquire / investigate) and "tur" (explore / seek / search for) "chokmah" (wisdom / skill) "al" (concerning / touching) "kol" (all) "asher" (which / that / etc) "asah" (made / accomplish / perform / etc) "tachath" (below / under) the "shamayim" (heavens / sky (same word as Genesis 1:1)), "hu" (that / this) "inyan" (occupation / business / concern / matter / etc) "ra'" (unpleasant / harmful / bad) "nathan" (gave / given) 'Elohim (GOD) to the sons of man to be "anah" (afflicted / oppressed).
I "raah" (see / saw) "kol" (all / every) "maaseh" (work / deeds / labor / etc) "asah" (made / accomplished / etc) "tachath" (below / under) "shemesh" (sun / daylight), "hinneh" (behold / lo) "kol" (all / every) is "hebel" (vapor / vanity / emptiness / futility) "reuth" (striving / grasping after (this word is only used seven times in the OT, all of them in Ecclesiastes!)) the "ruach" (wind / breath).
Whoever the teacher is listening to, and then talks about, tells us that they were the king in Jerusalem. Yes, the statement seems to read that the 'teacher' was the king, but that can also be a play on the words in the Hebrew poetry when you look at the other statements. Either way, 'the king' goes on to say that he spent considerable time and effort pursuing wisdom..... and ended up with what we have here.... grasping at the wind.
And now, perhaps, is the time to say this. It is a miracle that the musings of The Teacher / King survived given how dark they actually are when considered as a whole and stacked up against other books of 'the Writings' and similar works. The Psalms spend a lot of time praising GOD and celebrating Him. The Proverbs are a gentle form of wisdom and correction toward a better life. The Song of Solomon (see link to our examination of that below) revolves around the pleasures of the body when in love. Job focuses maintaining ones faith when everything turns against you. Ruth and Esther remember women of the Faith. The Teacher tells us all of that (while frowning on 'the body'), then reminds us we're going to die and be forgotten anyway. The other one of the Writings: Lamentations, goes into mourning over it.
15 - 17
What is "avath" (bent / distorted / perverted / twisted / etc) "lo" (not) "yakol" (can / able) to be "taqan" ('set in order' / 'made straight') and what "chesron" (lack / deficiency / 'in need') "lo" (not) "yakol" (can / able / etc) to be "manah" (counted / numbered).
"dabar" (speak / converse) with my "leb" (heart / mind) "amar" (saying / said) I "hinneh" (behold / lo) have become "gadal" ('become great' / magnified / grown) and have "yasaph" (more / added / again) "chokmah" (wisdom / skill) "al" (over / against) "kol" (all / every) who were "panim / paneh" (presence / face / 'before') me in Jerusalem, and my "leb" (heart / mind) has "raah" (seen / saw) "rabah" (increased / multiplied / to grow) "chokmah" (wisdom / skill) and "daath" (knowledge / truth). And I "nathan" (gave / given) my "leb" (heart / mind) to "yada" (know / understand) "chokmah" (wisdom / skill) and to "yada" (know / understand) "holelah" (madness / insanity) and "sikluth" (folly / foolishness), I have "yada" (known / understood) "gam" (also / moreover) "zeh" (this / these) same "rayon" (thought / concept / idea) of the "ruach" (wind / 'spirit').
Some translations based their English version of verse 15 on the Latin Vulgate. St Jerome translated the Hebrew "chesron" (deficient / lacking) into Latin as "stultorum" "fool / foolish". While being a fool is a deficiency of sorts, and the statement is manifestly correct, and the Teacher and the King would certainly agree that:
"perversi difficile corriguntur et stultorum infinitus est numerus"
"The perverse are hard to be corrected, and the number of fools is infinite."
- The Vulgate (Latin and English), see link below.
... ... ... That translation, as it stands, is inaccurate. You can compare over thirty translations, at once, for free, at the link below. Which is something Jerome of Stridon (?346 - 420) couldn't do.
Then the King tells us about how, as king, he became great and wise, even moreso than the others before him in Jerusalem. And the way it is phrased, he is talking about the previous kings, and everybody else that had been in the city, which would include prophets like Samuel. And he grew in wisdom and understanding more than any others. And, as such, he came to understand wisdom, and folly. (keep that in mind, we'll come back to it.)
And, he says that all of it was like chasing the wind, or a spirit.
18
"ki" (for) with "rob" (great / multitude / abundance / etc) "chokmah" (wisdom / skill) is "rab" (many / much / great) "ka'ac" (anger / provocation / grief / frustration / etc (includes the idea of 'vexation': the active sensation of all of the above, at once, see discussion)) and he who "yasaph" (adds / more) "daath" (knowledge / truth) "yasaph" (adds...) "makob" (sorrow / pain).
The speaker bemoans the fact that because he has wisdom and knowledge beyond the norm, that he also has more anger and sorrow than 'regular people'.
Many of the translations use words like grief, or even heartache, but that misses the active part of the phrase, there's a link below to a page with . The wise with much knowledge, have reason to worry and be sorrowful and even angry, and apparently are. That is the combination that is carried with the word "vexation", which adds the dimension of an intentional act of provocation, which is how "ka'ac" is used in passages like Deuteronomy 32 beginning at verse 15. The vexation of God is in verse 19, which is followed by the reaction.
With humans, the vexation of 'the wise' by everybody else made the king sorry he got the job in the first place.
end chapter 1
Chapter Two
Verse 1 - summary
We're not sure who the primary speaker here is. It could be 'the teacher' saying to the king that the teacher will test the king with "simchah" (joy / mirth / rejoicing / etc) and look on the "towb" (good / sweet / pleasant / etc). Or it could be 'the king' talking to himself.
The idea / speaker changes in the middle of the English verse.
At the "hinneh" (lo / behold) we go back to the words of the king. He continues to say that, that too, is "habel" (vapor / nothingness / vanity).
2 - 3 - summary
He says that "sechoq" (laughter / mockery / jokes) is "halal" (foolish / insanity (the word is also used for 'to praise' / 'to shine' and so on, depending on context)), and "simchah" (joy...) what good is "asah" (accomplished).
I "tur" (searched / explored) "leb" (heart / mind) to "mashak" (pull out / draw out) with "yayin" (wine) - my "basar" (flesh / body / self) and my "leb" (heart / mind) was "nahag" (driving / leading / conducting) me in wisdom, and to "achaz" (seize / grasp) "halal" (foolishness....) 'until I could see where this is good for the sons of man for the period of their lives under the heavens.'
The use of 'adult beverages' in pursuit of 'inner truth' has a long history.
"One open way of speaking introduces another open way of speaking, and draws out discoveries, like wine and love." - Montaigne (stand by for more)
Some of that history is good, such as the items in this study, and some of it is bad, and we can all think of different examples of that.
In doing so, whoever is speaking in Ecclesiastes, recounts pursuing wisdom that devolved into 'silliness', and then wondering what the sort of introspection seen in the opening of Chapter Two can be seen in secular works in philosophy.
"If I speak of myself in different ways, that is because I look at myself in different ways."
- Michel de Montaigne (1533 - 1592, links below)
4 -9 Summary:
We are then told that the speaker made 'great works' for himself, and we are given an extensive list of them. The list includes residences and farms with vineyards and livestock and workers to attend them, gold and silver, and then he specifically mentions music.
Then he states again that 'he became great' and he had more than anybody who had come before him, and, he adds this point, he stayed wise.
... or at least he said he did... Again, we'll come back to that in a moment.
"A man is not hurt so much by what happens, as by his opinion of what happens."
- Michel de Montaigne
10 - 11 Summary:
His statements about what he did for himself continues, and he lapses into poetry to do it.
Everything he saw that he wanted, he got. Which may well include the 'pretty girl' that is the star of the show in the "Song of Solomon" (see link below for our in depth study of that book).
Then in our verse 11 he uses language that is a bit hard to believe, he calls all this the "maaseh" (work) of his "yad" (hands) and his "amal" (toil / labor) that he had "amal" (toiled / labored) to do. As if the king had been out cutting the timbers for his house.
... and "hinneh" (lo / behold / see here) "kol" (all / everything) was "hebel" (vapor), and "reuth" (striving / grasping) the wind, and there was no "yitron" (advantage / profit) under the sun.
His statements here come down to more boasting about his possessions and indulgences. And then he makes the statement that there was no profit in it.
Something about that begs the question about him being the wisest man the world has ever seen. And runs up hard against a statement in Proverbs, which is labeled as a selection of sayings from Solomon (see 1 : 1):
"Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips."Sidenote, verse one of that chapter fits right in with the tone of Ecclesiastes and could be part of the argument for Solomon as the source for it.
- Proverbs 27 : 2
12 - 16 Summary and comment:
This is still 'the king' speaking. He says he looked at wisdom, and "holelah" (insanity) and "sikluth" (foolishness), for what is the man that follows the king, that which they have done. He sees that there is "yithron" (advantage / profit / gain) to wisdom than "sikluth" (foolishness / folly). Then he compares the advantage of "or" (light) over "choshek" (darkness (also means: ignorance)).
He says the wise have 'eyes in their head', and the fool is walking in the dark / ignorance, and he says he knows one event that happens to all of them. And he knows in his heart that what will happen to the fool, will happen to him, so what advantage is being wise? This too is "habel" (vapor).
He goes on to talk about how nobody remembers forever the wise or the fool after they die, in the future they will all be forgotten.
17 - 19 Summary and comment:
I "sane" (detest / hate / hostile to (includes: 'an enemy of / to)) this "chay" (life / being alive) "ki" (because / for / that / etc) "ra'" (evil / bad / wicked (includes: 'unpleasant')) to me "maaseh" (work / labor / deeds) "asah" (done / accomplished / performed) under the sun. "ki" (for / because) "kol" (all / every) is "hebel" (vapor) and "reuth" (striving / grasping) the "ruach" (wind / spirit).
I hated (the expression from before is repeated) "kol" (all / every) my "amal" (toil / labor / trouble (with sorrow)) that I "amel" (had toiled / labored / troubled) under the sun because I must "nuach" (leave it) to "adam" (man / the man) who comes "achar" (following / after) me. Who knows if "chakam" (wise / skilled) or "sakal" (a fool / silly), and he will "shalat" (have power / govern / rule) over "kol" (all / every) my "amal" (toil / labor...) that I "amal" (toiled / labored ...) and I have "chakam" (acted with wisdom) under the sun, and this is "habel" (vapor).
Yes. The language used in 'the king's' statement that he hates this life is that strong. He resents being alive and having to work for a living, even when that job is being king and, usually, the pay and benefits in that position are pretty good. Because he sees all effort in this world as smoke. And he's worried that the next king will be an idiot, with good reason.
The language here is echoed in certain statements in the NT by Christ in passages like Matthew 16 : 25 and John 12: 25.
20 - 23
And "sabab" (turned) to "yaash" (despair / to give up / to lose hope) my "leb" (heart / mind) over all the "amal" (toil / labor / sorrow...) "amal (different form of same word) (toil... with weariness)) under the sun. "ki" (for / because) there exists a man whose "amal" (toil / labor / trouble) is with "chokmah" (wisdom / skill) and "daath" (knowledge) and with "kishron" (ability / skill (to success) (only used three times in OT, all in Ecclesiastes)) and to a man "lo" (not / nothing) "amal" (toil / labor - with weariness) for it "nathan" (give / gave) his "cheleq" (inheritance / portion / share), also, "zeh" (this) is "hebel" (vapor) and "ra'" (evil / bad / etc) "rab" (great).
For what "hava'" (becomes / exists / breathes) "adam" (man / mankind) for all his "amal" (labor / trouble / toil - with sorrow) and the "rayon" (thought / desire / idea) of his "leb" (heart / mind) with which he "amal (another form of word)" (laboring / toiling / workman - with sorrow) under the sun. For all his "yom" (days) are "makob" (pain / sorrow / suffering (implies chronic)) and "ka'ac" (anger / provocation / vexation / grief) his "inyan" (occupation / business / task), "gam" (moreover / indeed / also) in the "layil / layelah" (night) "lo" (not) "shakab" (to sleep / lie down / rest) his "leb" (heart / mind), this is "hebel" (vapor).
The king is depressed because humans work their whole life... for nothing. And even at night, their heart and mind cannot rest.
We've seen him say "under the sun" several times. Besides this being in the Middle East where the sun is bright and hot all day every day, we're back to the imagery of the natural world, down here, on the earth, that never changes.
24 - 26
"ayin" (nothing / there is not / none) "towb" (good / pleasant / agreeable / etc) for the man than to "akal" (eat) and "shathah" (drink) to "raah" (see / saw) and his "nephesh" (soul / inner self / life) "towb" (good / pleasant...) in his "amal" (labor / toil - with sorrow), "gam" (moreover / also ...) this I saw "yad" (hand / hands) of 'Elohim (God) it is.
"ki" (because / for) who can "akal" (eat) and who can "chuwsh" ('to be eager with excitement') "chuts" (outside / away) "min / minne" (from / out of) 'Him' (implied). "ki" (for / because) the man who is "towb" (good / pleasant / agreeable....) in God's "panim" (presence / before) He "nathan" (gives) "chokmah" (wisdom / skill) "daath" (knowledge) and "simchah" (joy / gladness / rejoicing), and to "chata" (to sin / to incur guilt) He "nathan" (gives / gave) "inyan" (occupation / task...) to "asaph" (gather / remove / take away / ) and "kanas" (collect / assemble) to "nathan" (give / gave) "towb" (good / pleasant...) "panim" (before / in presence) 'Elohim (God), "gam" (indeed / also / moreover) this is "hebel" (vapor) and "reuth" (striving) "ruach" (wind).
Apparently the king doesn't see any advantage to 'being good' in the eyes of GOD. The bad people work just like the good ones. And. Everybody dies.
One thing we need to remember is that in the original text, there were no chapter breaks or verses. It was, essentially, one block of text, perhaps formatted as poetry in stanzas and sequences suited to reading out loud. Or, as we'll see in a moment: Sung.
end chapter 2
Outside references linked below:
Interlinear: Hebrew - English https://biblehub.com/interlinear/ecclesiastes/1.htm
The Complete Jewish Bible https://www.biblestudytools.com/cjb/ecclesiastes/1.html
The Amplified Bible https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%201&version=AMP
The Vulgate:
Latin and English https://vulgate.org/ot/ecclesiastes_1.htm
Compare Bible Verses in All Translations: "...When comparing translations for a Bible verse, users can read the well-known translations including New International Version, King James Bible, The Message, Revised Standard Version, and English Standard Version, as well as more than 30 additional translations." https://www.biblestudytools.com/ecclesiastes/1-15-compare.html
A free, downloadable, PDF: "The meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus"
https://www.maximusveritas.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Marcus-Aurelius-Meditations.pdf
"Only the fools are certain and assured.".....
An Encyclopedia article on: "Michel de Montaigne, the sixteenth century French essayist, is one of the most renowned literary and philosophical figures of the late Renaissance." https://iep.utm.edu/montaigne/
Free to download:
"The essays of Michel de Montaigne; translated by Charles Cotton. Edited, with some account of the life of the author, and notes by W. Carew Hazlitt" https://archive.org/details/essaysofmichelde01montuoft
Ecclesiastes: Part One: About the Book and Study Index.
Part Three: A bit of Review.
NOTE: The Bible Study Lesson presented above is posted as a reference document to begin a conversation of the topic. And that's it. Please accept it at such.
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