Chapter One

1–3. Main thought of the book. 4–11. Circular motion of the world elements. 12–15. The personal experience of the Ecclesiastes. 16–18. The vanity of wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 1:1. The words of the Ecclesiastes, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Comparing the superscriptions of the Book of Proverbs and the Book of Ecclesiastes, some interpreters not without reason find in the latter signs of non-Solomonic origin. It is not entirely clear why Solomon is not named here by his own name, as in the Book of Proverbs, if he actually were the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes. Does not the historical Solomon appear here merely as a symbol, as does the name Koheleth itself? Also unclear is the expression “king in Jerusalem.” In the historical books Solomon is ordinarily called king of Israel (for example, 2 Sam 23:13; 1 Sam 4:1 and others), but never simply king in Jerusalem. This latter expression apparently indicates that time when Israel ceased to be an independent kingdom and had no more a king in Jerusalem.

Ecclesiastes 1:2. Vanity of vanities, said the Ecclesiastes, vanity of vanities – all is vanity! “Vanity of vanities.” The Hebrew word hebel (from the Aramaic habal – to smoke, to evaporate) means: smoke, vapor, breath, and in a figurative sense: insignificance, a useless thing, perishability, vanity. By this name are called pagan gods (Deut 32:21; Jer 14:22), as not bringing any benefit to man (Jer 16:19), any useless thing, a futile, vain act (Isa 30:7), fantastic thoughts (Ps 93:11), a joyless, sorrowful life (Job 7:16). The expression “vanity of vanities” indicates the highest degree of insignificance, uselessness. Everything, according to the Ecclesiastes, is insignificant. But in Eccl 1 and the following verses this “everything” is limited to what exists and occurs “under the sun,” that is, within the bounds of earthly, finite existence. And even in this case the concept of vanity in the Ecclesiastes requires some limitation. All things and phenomena, according to the plans of providence, have their own purposes, and in fulfilling them they cannot be acknowledged as useless, insignificant (cf. Eccl 3:11): He has made everything beautiful in its time). They appear insignificant only in the consciousness of the Ecclesiastes in relation to the goal of human striving which consists in the attainment of perfect, absolute happiness – Ithron. In relation to this goal everything in the world is insignificant, useless, vain. Nothing is able to give man imperishable happiness.

Ecclesiastes 1:3. What profit does a man have from all his labors, by which he labors under the sun? “What profit does a man have.” The Hebrew word Ithron does not occur even once in the Bible. According to the opinion of Hebrew scholars it means: remaining, imperishable. The blessed Jerome renders the question of verse 3 with the words: quid superest, that is, what remains? Gregory of Nyssa expresses it even more clearly: “what of the visible goods remains always the same?” By the word Ithron, thus, is designated happiness that is constant, stable, eternal – in distinction from happiness that is temporary, fleeting, illusory. The Ecclesiastes leaves his question here unanswered – will all human efforts lead to any lasting happiness? But this answer was already given in the most decisive way in the second verse, in the acknowledgment of the vanity of all things.

Ecclesiastes 1:4. One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth remains forever. The impossibility of lasting human happiness is already expressed in the instability and constant change of human generations in the face of the unchangeability and permanence of inanimate nature. “What can be more vain than such vanity,” says the blessed Jerome, “that the earth, created for men, remains, while man himself, the lord of the earth, instantly turns to dust?”

Ecclesiastes 1:5. The sun rises, and the sun sets, and hastens to the place from which it rises. But also in the life of nature, as in the life of mankind, constant change is observed. Everything here moves, everything flows, but not forward, only around; consequently, always in the same path, eternally on the same pattern. This is true first of all of the sun’s motion. “Hastens to the place from which it rises,” more accurately from the Hebrew: “gasping, hastens to the place from which it rises.” The expression indicates weariness from the eternally monotonous motion.

Ecclesiastes 1:6. The wind goes toward the south, and turns toward the north; it whirls around, whirls about on its course, and returns the wind to its circuits. The apparently most free of the elements – air – actually eternally repeats one and the same motion, motion in one and the same orbit. It should be noted that the monotony in the wind’s movement was especially noticeable for a resident of Palestine. There, from the autumn equinox to November reigns the northwest wind; from November to February – western and southwestern winds, from February to June – the east wind, from July – the north wind mixed with others.

Ecclesiastes 1:7. All rivers run into the sea, but the sea is not full: to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again. Constant and monotonous motion is also subject to rivers, and this motion produces no extraordinary changes in the world. No matter how long rivers flow into the sea, the sea will never overflow and flood the land. “To the place from which the rivers come, there they return again.” This translation is imprecise, although it expresses the idea of circulation well. “Where” means “to where,” not “from where.” Similarly, “there” means “there,” not “thence.” The correct translation of this place should be: “to the place to which the rivers flow, there they always flow again.” The writer speaks only of the flow of rivers always in the same direction, not of the circular motion of the water element, although by that time they already knew that water, evaporating and forming clouds, falls again to earth (Job 36:27 and following).

Ecclesiastes 1:8. All things are full of weariness: man is not able to speak of them; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. “All things are full of weariness.” The Hebrew word dabar has two meanings: thing and word. Both meanings occur in the Book of Ecclesiastes as well. This gives reason for many translators and interpreters to translate the beginning of verse 8 as: all words are weak, powerless (to express the monotonous movement of things). So the Greek and Slavic translations render it: “All words are weary, man is not able to speak: and the eye is not satisfied to see, and the ear is not filled with hearing.” It is difficult to choose between these two understandings, since both fit the context well. The constant, monotonous motion of things is so great that it could provide endless material for human ability to speak, see and hear.

Ecclesiastes 1:9. What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; and there is nothing new under the sun. The constant, monotonous motion of things in one direction, motion in its own orbit, certainly cannot produce anything new. The results are always the same.

Ecclesiastes 1:10. Is there anything of which it can be said, “See, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages that came before us. If sometimes people think that something new has happened, that a step forward has been taken, in reality we are dealing with the repetition of what is old.

Ecclesiastes 1:11. There is no memory of the former things, nor will there be any memory of the things that will come after, among those who will come later. The error in this case arises from lack of historical memory, from the fact that subsequent generations forget about former ones. Instead of “about the former and about what will be,” one should translate: “about the former ones” and “about the later ones,” since the masculine plural in the Hebrew text evidently refers to people. In Slavic – “There is no memory of the first, and the last will not have memory of them with those who will come after.”

Ecclesiastes 1:12. I, the Ecclesiastes, was king over Israel in Jerusalem; The aimless circular motion of the world elements does not in itself prove that it is impossible for man to achieve higher happiness. Human life is more complex than the life of nature, follows its own independent path, and therefore may contain special capacities for satisfying man’s striving for eternal happiness. Therefore the writer considers it necessary to turn from observation of external nature to psychological experience. Solomon, in whom wisdom was united, apparently, with all the gifts of happiness, had more reason than all others to answer the question about the possibility of personal happiness; in his rich life experience there is an evaluation of all goods from the point of view of perfect happiness, there is a factual verification of what the writer of the book decides theoretically. It is understandable how useful it was for him to use Solomon’s experience. However, passing through the divinely illuminated consciousness of the sacred writer, this experience had to acquire certain new traits not characteristic of the historical Solomon; it naturally had to acquire the character of philosophical inquiry, of philosophical experiments: if the historical Solomon in seeking happiness acted by the impulse of the heart, by natural passion, like other men, then the ideal Solomon – the Ecclesiastes – was guided in this by ideal motives, by “wisdom” (Eccl 1:13), by the desire through experience to investigate the greatest question for mankind: what is good for the sons of men and what should they do under heaven in the days of their vain life.

Ecclesiastes 1:13. and I devoted myself to seeking and exploring by wisdom all that is done under heaven: this is a grievous occupation that God has given to the sons of men to be occupied with it. The purpose of the Ecclesiastes’ experience was to investigate all that is done under heaven, from the point of view of the question of happiness. The first result to which the Ecclesiastes came in his investigations was the consciousness that the very striving of men to know and to evaluate human deeds constitutes a grievous, torturous occupation, which, being placed by God Himself in man’s nature, as it were against his will, takes hold of him. Some interpreters relate the expression “grievous occupation” not to the investigation of human deeds, but to the deeds themselves. But it hardly corresponds to the expression: “all that is done under heaven.” Investigation of human deeds appears grievous and torturous as a result of the extremely discouraging nature of its results.

Ecclesiastes 1:14. I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun: and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind! The conclusion to which the Ecclesiastes came in his investigations was that all is vanity and a striving after wind. To his favorite expression hebel the Ecclesiastes adds a new one – reuth ruach. This expression is translated variously. Some (Chaldean translation, Syriac translation, Vulgate), deriving the word reuth, which occurs only in Ecclesiastes, from raah – to rage, to break apart, translate: turmoil, striving after wind (as in Russian). Others (Aquila, Theodotion and Symmachus), deriving from raah – to feed, to pasture, translate: feeding on wind. Still others, deriving from the same verb with the meaning to desire, translate: striving after wind, a windy undertaking (LXX – proairesis pneumatios) or pursuit of wind. The last two understandings correspond better to the context and have a very close parallel passage in the Book of the Prophet Hosea (Hos 12:1), in the words: “Ephraim feeds on wind (raah ruach) and pursues the east wind.” Calling all the deeds of man feeding on wind or pursuit of wind, the Ecclesiastes points to the insignificance, the illusory nature of their results in the sense of the attainment of lasting happiness.

Ecclesiastes 1:15. What is crooked cannot be made straight; and what is lacking cannot be counted. This verse explains the reason for the fruitlessness of human activity. The latter is not able to change the existing order, to correct all the defects and imperfections in external nature and in human nature, to recreate both.

Ecclesiastes 1:16. I said to myself, “I have acquired great wisdom, surpassing all who were before me in Jerusalem; and my mind has observed much wisdom and knowledge. If all the deeds and strivings of man are insignificant and fruitless, like smoke, like pursuit of wind, as a result of the irremovable defects and imperfections of the world, then, naturally, it is understandable that investigation of them by wisdom and wisdom itself cannot give moral satisfaction to man. By the expression “more than all who were before me in Jerusalem” some interpreters understand not kings, since before Solomon there was only one king in Jerusalem – David, but Israelites in general. However, the preposition “over” (al) contains the concept of rule and can therefore point only to the kings of Jerusalem. The Ecclesiastes attributes to himself the possession of wisdom, as both religious and moral-practical knowledge, and in general, knowledge, as theoretical, scientific understanding of things.

Ecclesiastes 1:17. and I devoted myself to knowing wisdom and to knowing madness and folly: I realized that this too is a striving after wind; Ecclesiastes 1:18. for in much wisdom is much grief; and he that increases knowledge increases sorrow. The Ecclesiastes, from his own experience, became convinced that the acquisition of wisdom and knowledge turned out to be as much a vanity, as much a pursuit of wind as everything in human life. It not only did not give him happiness, but on the contrary increased his suffering, showing him the illusory nature of human hopes, the fruitlessness of human strivings, exposing the insignificance of all that is earthly.