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'''Ecclesiastes''' is the twenty-first book of the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Bible]]. It is classified, with [[Job]], [[Psalms]], [[Proverbs]], and the [[Song of Solomon]], as part of the "wisdom literature." It is particularly admired as a model of clear and eloquent prose.  

'''Ecclesiastes''' is the twenty-first book of the [[Protestantism|Protestant]] [[Bible]]. It is classified, with [[Job]], [[Psalms]], [[Proverbs]], and the [[Song of Solomon]], as part of the "wisdom literature." It comes after the Book of Proverbs and before the [[Book of Isaiah]]. It is particularly admired as a model of clear and eloquent prose.  

Many phrases and passages in it are famous: "to eat, and to drink, and to be merry," "there is no new thing under the sun," "the race is not to the swift." The titles of [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s ''The Sun Also Rises'', [[Edith Wharton]]'s ''The House of Mirth'', and [[George Stewart]]'s ''Earth Abides'' are all phrases from Ecclesiastes. Folksinger [[Pete Seeger]] made a passage from it into the song "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" which, when recorded by The Byrds, was a #1 hit in the United States in 1965.

==Meaning of Name==

The word "Ecclesiastes" is derived from a Greek word meaning "gathering" or "congregation," from which come the words "ecclesiastical" (relating to the Church) and the Spanish word ''iglesia'' (church). It means one who speaks to a congregation, i.e., a preacher, and it opens "The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem"; therefore the book is by tradition ascribed to King Solomon.

The word "Ecclesiastes" is derived from a Greek word meaning "gathering" or "congregation," from which come the words "ecclesiastical" (relating to the Church) and the Spanish word ''iglesia'' (church). It means one who speaks to a congregation, i.e., a preacher, and it opens "The words of the Preacher, the son of [[David]], king in [[Jerusalem]]"; therefore the book is by tradition ascribed to King Solomon.

He denies that there is an afterlife, or even life in the memory of others: "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun."

The book of Ecclesiastes is generally considered to have been written by Solomon as supported by Ecc 1:1, 1:12, 1:16, 2:4-9, 7:26-29, 12:9.  This is especially true when crossreferencing I Kings 2:9, 3:12, 4:29-34, 5:12, 10:1-8.  Others note that Ecc 4:1-2, 5:8-9, 8:2-4, 10:20 where the tone is less that of a monarch could point to another person and a later person.<ref>The NIV Study Bible (1985), Zondervan Press, Pg. 991</ref>  In the traditional view that Solomon wrote it, the original work would have been composed in the 10th century B.C., although later editing may have been possible.

He believes prayer is not answered:

With his life largely behind him, Solomon takes stock of the world as he has experienced it between birth and his inevitable death - the later a horizon beyond which man can not see<ref>The NIV Study Bible (1985), Zondervan Press, Pg. 991</ref>  The world is seen as being full of enigmas, the greatest of which is man himself.  From his perspective of life experiences, he has found that his great wisdom still has limits and he can not know everything on his own.  It is in many ways a brooding book, and only in the end does Solomon turn to God for answers with the admonition to trust in Him.  Due to Solomon's life of sin, he appears to be a man from the outside looking in and trying to see what he missed in life.  Whether or not he truly embraces God with his whole heart or merely responds to what he missed and knows the answer intellectually is unclear.

Many phrases and passages in it are famous: "to eat, and to drink, and to be merry," "there is no new thing under the sun," "the race is not to the swift." The titles of [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s ''The Sun Also Rises'', [[Edith Wharton]]'s ''The House of Mirth'', and [[George Stewart]]'s ''Earth Abides'' are all phrases from Ecclesiastes. Folksinger [[Pete Seeger]] made a passage from it into the song "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" which, when recorded by The Byrds, was a #1 hit in the United States in 1965.

:All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.

The speaker begins "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity." (Ecc 1:2) Here, ''vanity'' means "empty" or "useless" or "in vain." The speaker says that everything that can be accomplished by human effort is empty, fleeting, and repetitious: "Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us." (Ecc 1:10) "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit." (Ecc 1:14)

In a famous verse, he says that human life is governed more by chance than by justice:

Consequently, he advises living in the moment: "Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry." (Ecc 8:15) He praises life, saying "a living dog is better than a dead lion." (Ecc 9:4)

 

:I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour<!--The King James translation uses the British spelling---> to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

[[George Orwell]], in his essay ''Politics and the English Language'', contrasted the beautiful language of the Bible with the way he says the same thing might be expressed today in "modern English":

[[George Orwell]], in his essay ''Politics and the English Language'', contrasted the beautiful language of the Bible with the way he says the same thing might be expressed today in "modern English":

:Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.

:Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.

Six verses before the end the tone shifts abruptly. Beginning with the words "and moreover," a second voice takes over. [[Isaac Asimov]] notes that this second writer is "apparently appalled at the pessimism of the Preacher" and tries to finish up in a way that does not contradict the Preacher or deny his wisdom, yet is less negative in tone. He does seem to suggest that there is a danger in being overly intellectual: "by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh." (Ecc 12:12) In a summary that does not really seem to summarize the Preacher's words, he says: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."  

Six verses before the end the tone shifts abruptly. Beginning with the words "and moreover," a new perspective takes over that ties in the true answer. Solomon does seem to suggest that there is a danger in being overly intellectual: "by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh." (Ecc 12:12) Finally he reaches the conclusion: "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."  

''Ecclesiastes'' should not be confused with ''Ecclesiasticus,'' which a completely different book of the Bible. ''Ecclesiasticus'' is found in the Catholic Douay bible; in Protestant bibles it is either omitted or included as one of the ''apocrypha,'' material considered valuable but not having the full authority of [[Holy Scripture|Scripture]].

''Ecclesiastes'' should not be confused with ''Ecclesiasticus,'' which a completely different book of the Bible. ''Ecclesiasticus'' is found in the Catholic Douay bible; in Protestant bibles it is either omitted or included as one of the ''apocrypha,'' material considered valuable but not having the full authority of [[Holy Scripture|Scripture]].