Ecclesiastes, All is Vanity Under the Sun

Ecclesiastes, All is Vanity Under the Sun

Though technically anonymous Solomon has historically been regarded as the inspired writer of Ecclesiastes. This is taken from the first verse in the text: The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. (ESV) From this, we infer that Solomon is either the writer, the subject matter, or both. The term translated “The Preacher” is one of many possible translations of the word Qoheleth. Other possible translations are the Teacher, the Collector, the Wise Man, or even the Professor (Kidner). Though it is probably prudent to interpret Qoheleth as Solomon, there may be some evidence that a later “collector” i.e. scribe, possibly Ezra, was led by the Spirit to provide some finishing comments. Of course, if so, this too is part of the plenary inspiration by the Holy Spirit. This might reconcile some debate concerning the date the Book was penned. By and large, all evidence points to a date for the writing of the book around the time Solomon reigned as Israel’s king (tenth century B.C.); though some have argued that the style of the writing suggests a much later date. As we stated earlier, this may be explained by the presence of a later editor (Ezra), but Solomon’s intellectual prowess should not be quickly dismissed.