BookOfEcclesiastes
Ecclesiastes: | AUTHOR: Solomon - 900 B.C. - OLD TESTAMENT - Books of Poetry |
easton@Ecclesiastes:1 | ECCLESIASTES - In English, the title means "Preacher". Traditionally held to have been written by Solomon, this book is now almost universally recognized as about him rather than by him. The author’s purpose is to prove the vanity of everything "under the sun". This truth is first announced a fact, then proved from the "Preacher’s" experience and observations. Finally, the author shows that the fullness of life is found only in the recognition of things "above the sun", things spiritual as well as material. |
Quoted resource:
easton 'Ecclesiastes'
Ecclesiastes @ the Greek rendering of the Hebrew _Koheleth_, which means "Preacher." The old and traditional view of the authorship of this book attributes it to Solomon. This view can be satisfactorily maintained, though others date it from the Captivity. The writer represents himself implicitly as Solomon (1:12). It has been appropriately styled The Confession of King Solomon. "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." "The writer concludes by pointing out that the secret of a true life is that a man should consecrate the vigour of his youth to God." The key-note of the book is sounded in ch. 1:2, "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.
Comment Board:BookOfEcclesiastes