Eclesiastes 1

Eclesiastes 1

Morris - King Solomon, the Preacher, had the greatest wealth, the greatest wisdom, the greatest power, the greatest sensual pleasures and comforts, of just about any man who ever lived. Yet when these works were done only "under the sun" (and this is the recurring theme of Ecclesiastes) it was soon found by him all to be done in vain, and merely vexed his spirit, rather than satisfying it. Under the sun is life viewed from an earthly perspective, without reference to eternity or God, but life as it appears in this world alone, temporal, repetitive, and often futile. And behold, all is vanity (hebel; Lxx - mataiotes) and striving after wind (ruah/ruach; Lxx - pneuma) - All refers to all the works he had seen and his conclusion after searching diligently is the works are like a vapor, a mist, a breath, pointing the transitory nature and lack of permanence. Try to grasp the wind with your hand. It is impossible. Watch a child try to grab dust highlight by a ray of sun through a window! Striving after wind is a vivid image of futility, chasing what cannot be caught. This is not nihilism — it’s realism! Life without God is like grasping smoke: impressive at first glance, but vanishing on contact. It's like trying to catch bubble which burst the moment they are touched! STRIVING AFTER WIND - 9X/9V- Eccl. 1:14,17; 2:11,17,26; 4:4,6,16; 6:9 NET NOTE on all - As mentioned in the note on “everything” in Ec 1:2, the term הַכֹּל (hakkol, “everything”) is often limited in reference to the specific topic at hand in the context (e.g., BDB 482 s.v. כֹּל 2). The argument of Ec 1:12–15, like Ec 1:3–11, focuses on secular human achievement. This is clear from the repetition of the root עָשַׂה (’asah, “do, work, accomplish, achieve”) in Ec 1:12–13. Despite everything that man has accomplished in history, it is ultimately futile because nothing on earth really changes. NET NOTE on vanity - This usage of הֶבֶל (hebel; Lxx - mataiotes) denotes “futile, profitless, fruitless” (e.g., 2 Kgs 17:15; Ps 78:33; Prov 13:11; 21:6; Eccl 1:2, 14; 2:1, 14–15; 4:8; Jer 2:5; 10:3; Lam 4:17; see HALOT 236–37 s.v. I הֶבֶל; BDB 210–11 s.v. I הֶבֶל). The term is used with the simile “like striving after the wind” (רְעוּת רוּחַ, ré’ut ruakh)—a graphic picture of an expenditure of effort in vain because no one can catch the wind by chasing it (e.g., Eccl 1:14, 17; 2:11, 17, 26; 4:4, 6, 16; 6:9; 7:14). When used in this sense, the term is often used with the following synonyms: לְתֹהוּ (létohu, “for nothing, in vain, for no reason”; Isa 49:4); רִיק (riq, “profitless; useless”; Isa 30:7; Eccl 6:11); לֹא הוֹעִיל (“worthless, profitless”; Is 30:6; 57:12; Jer 16:19); “what profit?” (מַה־יִּתְרוֹןֹ, mah-yyitron); and “no profit” (אֵין יִּתְרוֹן, en yyitron; e.g.,Eccl 2:11; 3:19; 6:9). It is also used in antithesis to terms connoting value: טוֹב (tov, “good, benefit, advantage”) and יֹתְרוֹן (yotéron, “profit, advantage, gain”). Despite everything that man has accomplished in history, it is ultimately futile because nothing on earth really changes. Richard