Ecclesiastes 1
Pastor Mark Hudson
Ecclesiastes can certainly be a challenge to understand. Wisdom literature is a distinct genre that differs from the law and the prophets. In order to understand the book there are several Hebrew phrases or words that everyone focuses on as they try to interpret and teach this canonical book. Remember, this book is in our canon so Ecclesiastes is the very Word of God. So, I will provide thoughts on a few key subjects.
Who is Qohelet
Qoheleth comes from the verb to assemble. So some prefer to keep the word untranslated. Others use the words “preacher” (KJV, NASB, ESV) or “teacher” (NIV).
If one looks at the teacher or preacher as one who assembles students, either word will work. Both have connotations in English that may or may not be helpful.
What is the structure of the book?
Prologue 1:1-11 written in the 3rd person
Body 1:12-12:7
Epilogue 12:8-14 written in 3rd person
Is the author of the prologue and epilogue the same as Qoheleth? Does the epilogue correct the body of the book? If the epilogue 12:8-14 corrects the rest of the book, that is your most, or at least a very, important interpretative grid. If you think the epilogue is correcting the entire book, your message will be simple. Don’t listen to the body of this book which is ungodly, listen to the few verses in chapter 12:8-14. That is not an uncommon way to look at this book. For me, it strikes me as unlikely.
If, on the other hand, you see the entire book as consistent with other Biblical revelation, that means you, the reader, need to look for clues that Qoheleth agrees with Jesus, Paul, Moses, Isaiah, and Peter. While it may be challenging to see the book’s message in this way, the extra effort may yield a better reward.
One of the reasons some think the entire message of the book is consistent internally and with other Biblical books is there are both positive sections that appear alongside the negative (2:24-26; 3:12-14, 22; 5:18-20; 8:15; 9:7-10). There are more reasons to see this book, the entire book, as God’s instruction. It may take a bit of work. This is one of the many times, when we remind you that you do not have to agree with me. In fact, the three pastors may have a different grid they look at when examining this book. So let us pause to reflect on the best way to translate hebel or hevel which is translated as vanity in the ESV.
What does hebel mean?
Hebel (or hevel) is translated as vanity, frustration, meaningless, breath, mist, vapor. There is no consensus as you may already now. One author, Ian Provan, prefers breath, breeze, mist, vapor or things that are insubstantial and fleeting. This is what we read in Ps 144:3-4 “Man is a like a breath (hebel); his days area like a passing shadow.” Ecclesiastes is “pointing to how life comes and goes in the blink of an eye, and his is exploring what that feels like when one considers both all the beauty and all the brokenness of the world. He is musing, deeply and disturbingly, on life’s repetitiveness, life’s brevity, life’s elusiveness, the quickness of things to slip through our fingers, and all in the light of an eternity belonging to a God who will judge the living and the dead.” (https://document.desiringgod.org/is-all-really-vanity-en.pdf?ts=1564429331). This is from David Gibson who also authored Living Life Backward: How Ecclesiastes Teaches Us to Live in the Light of the End. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2017).
If you read hebel as breath or vapor, this makes sense with other Biblical books. If an author says all things are vain or vanity or worthless, it is hard to match that sentiment with the rest of the Bible. But if we claim that life is fleeting, like a vapor that is what Moses to Paul teaches us. So every time you see vanity (ESV, NASB, KJV) or meaningless (NIV), reading fleeting or insubstantial and see if that changes the way you look at the message of Qohelet.
Here are several verses that translate Hebel (underlined) in the following verses:
Is. 30:7 Egypt’s help is worthless and empty. . . .”
Is. 49:4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity. . . .”
Is. 57:13 When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!
The wind will carry them all off,
a breath will take them away.
Jer. 2:5 Thus says the LORD:
“What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?
Zech. 10:2 For the household gods utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
they tell false dreams
and give empty consolation.
Breath, vain or vanity, worthless, idols, empty are words that ESV uses to translate hebel. It is also helpful to look at the colocation – or what words are associated with hebel. But there is no clear one-word answer when it comes to how we should translate hebel.
What does ‘under the sun’ mean?
For many, that phrase, “under the sun” and we think spatially. “We take the meaning to be that under the sun everything is a certain way, but above the sun it’s different; below is the world lived without God and without the Lord Jesus, above the sun is life lived with him. But does ‘under the sun’ refer to life lived apart from God?” (Gibson)
Maybe Peter Leithart is correct when he says the this phrase points to these days. So ‘under the sun’ points to these days now rather than a there (Solomon among the Postmoderns (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2008), p. 69).
Remember we have three large categories in the Old Testament:
Law,
Prophets, and
Writings.
We don’t expect the prophets to sound like Moses or vice versa. The Psalmist cannot be a substitute teacher for the prophet on his day off. So, we should expect a different genre, a different way of writing. Even some phrases that shock us.
What of some of the shocking phrases Qoheleth says? What about some of the things our Lord said? He said some shocking things to his followers. Such as:
1. From the days of John the Baptist, until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11.12)
2. Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (John 12.25)
3. But I tell you, do not resist evil. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. (Matthew 5.39)
4. And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is bet-ter for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.” (Matthew 18:8-9)
5. Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. (Luke 6.20)
6. I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. (John 6.53)
7. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh. (John 6.51)
8. If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and chil-dren, brothers, and sisters – yes, even their own life – such a person cannot be by dis-ciple. (Luke 14.16)
9. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. (Matthew 5.11).
We have a way that we understand Jesus’ shocking statement but Qoheleth’s are no more or no less shocking. So maybe we are over reacting to Qoheleth’s statements. Let’s put them in context. One of the ways we do this is by looking at the entire book. Another way is to reflect on a few key words and phrases to see how these phrases change the meaning of the entire book.
Life is fleeting. If you are young, that may be hard to understand. If you are past 60, your perspective might be similar to Qoheleth’s. If you are a believer and have lived 5 to 7 decades, your view of pleasure, pain, and work, while distinctly Christian, is shaped, tempered, and molded by your own experience, observations, and reflections. Read this book looking for themes you are familiar with in the rest of the Bible. Is it that unusual? Well, yes. But can you try to make sense of the entirety of the book?
Dear heavenly Father, You love creativity, variety and probing questions. You have a deep understanding of this life as well as eternity. How can you understand our emotions and weaknesses is beyond us. Guide us as we read a book that is difficult to understand. Prod us to read, reflect, pray, and think deeply about this unique section of Your Word. As we read, help us to think Biblically about all of life. Open our eyes and our heart to the beauty and the pain of this world. Train us to lift both up to You asking for the mind of Christ. We pray this for the glory of the Risen Lord. Amen.