Ecclesiastes 1: 2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
Absurdity, Frustration, Futility, Nonsense. One can understand “vanity” as encompassing any of these terms – maybe all of them. Meaninglessness. That’s how I might summarize it. All is meaningless.
At least that’s how “the Preacher” sees it. The Preacher identifies himself in the opening verse as the son of David, king in Jerusalem. He finds his life meaningless; everything he chased, all that he did, was in vain.
Ecclesiastes 1: 3 What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?
The life he considers meaningless is the life lived “under the sun.” it is an empty life if this is the entirety of man’s gaze, if this is the aim of man’s labors. No matter man’s wisdom or effort, there is no lasting meaning or satisfaction in such a life.
The opening verses demonstrate this meaninglessness: one generation passes to the next; the sun rises, sets, then returns again; the wind blows, first south, then north; the reivers run to the sea, yet the sea never fills – returning the water to the rivers. Meaningless.
Ecclesiastes 1: 9 That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
Even great wisdom brings only grief:
Ecclesiastes 1: 13 And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.
Consider this: more wisdom always brings more questions. The more we learn about a topic, the more question we raise – the more we understand how little we know. For the proud, this is punishment, and this is what the Preacher is suffering – punishment for pride in his wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 1 :18 For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
For those proud in their wisdom, there is no meaning to be found under the sun. increased wisdom only brings more sorrow.
Conclusion
The Preacher doesn’t say this, but for the humble, increased wisdom leads to wonder in God and His creation. Our wisdom can never exhaust God; this is what the humble find. And in this, the first clues of what makes for a meaningful life come into view.
Epilogue
Ecclesiastes 1: 12 I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
There was never a time that Solomon was not king over Israel while he was alive. So, what gives?
I think the answer is in 1 Kings 11. Solomon loved many foreign women, from nations of whom the LORD had said not to marry. He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, and these turned his heart from God. So, the LORD became angry with Solomon.
1 Kings 11: 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”
Solomon dies shortly thereafter. He lived for a short time knowing that he was no longer king of Israel. Yes, he had the title until he died, but in God’s eyes (and in Solomon’s eyes), he was no longer king.
And I believe it was during this short window that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes.
This is why he would write: “I…was king over Israel….” And this is what brought on his realization and lament: all he has done is vanity – meaningless.
I have read your writings for years now, as well as the comments. Your readers are very well versed and knowledgeable as are you. As such, I typically learn quite a bit but feel I have little to share. On rare occasions, something is written that compels me to write.
Ecclesiastes is one book that speaks to me so deeply that I reread it somewhat frequently, in the scheme of a long life. I have never found Ecclesiastes to be depressing (all is vanity). Instead, Ecclesiastes is a deep reminder to me to keep things in their right place. It reminds me that the things we may value of this world, internal attributes or gifts such as great intelligence or beauty, as well as external accomplishments or acquisition of material wealth that may lead to pride – all these things are really empty and unfulfilling (vanity). It reminds me that placing oneself above another due to perceived advantages or talent is also vanity. Ecclesiastes reminds me (and this is where words start to fail me) that it is God, or seeking God, the journey to God, holding God as the highest (see how words fail me here?) is that which is not vanity, that which leads to fulfillment.
Reading Ecclesiastes, for me, puts me back in my place.
I look forward to your future posts on Ecclesiastes.
Just a bit of Hebrew to help think through the passage. The verb which is translated "was" in 1:12 is in the Qal Perfect tense. This is a difficult verbal tense to interpret, because it is much different than any English verb tense. In English, tense usually equates to time. Whereas in Hebrew and Greek tense is defined more by aspect than time. That means verbs don't always tell you when the action is happening but more refer to the type of action that is happening.
Taking that in mind Qal Perfect means that Solomon "has been" king over Israel, but it doesn't mean his kingship is over. It simply means that he has accomplished the act of becoming a king. If you look at the verbs following in verses 13 and 14, they are also Qal Perfect. I think that reflects that all these actions are occurring as he is writing. Nothing is 100% certain of course.
That doesn't contradict what you are saying about Solomon feeling a sense of meaninglessness due to his drift away from the LORD and pursuing the foreign women and their idols.
I liken the sense of vanity or meaninglessness to how I feel any time I think about eternity or infinity. Everything seems meaningless to me. I can't endure long thinking about it. But I also think that feeling everything is vanity doesn't mean everything is truly vain.
https://thecrosssectionrmb.blogspot.com/2025/09/epilogue-jesus-on-money-and-usury.html