Ecclesiastes 1:1 - 2:23

You can sponsor this page of The Text This Week

• Reading the Text:
  • NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
  • The Bible Gateway: NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
  • The Blue Letter Bible. KJV, alternate versions, Hebrew text with concordance, commentaries.
  • The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary, exposition and sermons.
• Historical References, Commentary and Comparative Texts:
  • Comparative World Scriptures from United Communities of Spirit:
    • "Ignorance"
    • "Selfish Desire, Lust and Greed" 
    • "The Search for Knowledge" 
  • Chapter XV, On Baptism,  Tertullian (c. 198)
  • I.13, Stromata, Clement of Alexandria (c 200)
  • I.VII.5, III.V.3, First Principles (De Principiis), Origen. (c.225)
  • IV.XII, VI.XXXV, VII.L, Against Celsus, Origen (c. 246)
  • Rashi's Commentary, c. 1075. chabad.org. Chapter 2.
  • From the Geneva Notes.
    • "Solomon is here called a preacher, or one who assembles the people, because he teaches the true knowledge of God, and how men ought to pass their life in this transitory world."
  • From Matthew Henry's Commentary. Chapter 2.
    • "We here behold Solomon returning from the broken and empty cisterns of the world, to the Fountain of living water; recording his own folly and shame, the bitterness of his disappointment, and the lessons he had learned."
  • From Wesley's Notes. Chapter 2.
    • "Not only vain, but vanity in the abstract, which denotes extreme vanity."
  • From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871). Chapter 2.
    • "The only fruit he has is, not only sorrows in his days, but all his days are sorrows, and his travail (not only has griefs connected with it, but is itself), grief."
• Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
  • Commentary, Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23, Shauna Hannan, Pentecost 10C Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2010.
    • "Allowing this text to speak through your sermon might create a space for your hearers to face their own skepticism and/or cynicism. But first, it will likely have to create space for you to do the same. Perhaps such honesty may lead you and/or your hearers to affirm faith in God as it did for Qoheleth."
  • Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23, Studies on Old Testament texts from Series C, Ralph W. Klein, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.
  • "The Vanity of It All," Expository Essay, Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23, Dr. William R. Long.
    • "This is a week in which the readings denounce things. Greed is denounced in Luke 12; we are urged to "put to death" a lot of things in our lives in Col. 3; this passage shows that various human quests are worthless."
  • "Vanity and Faith," Larry Broding's Word-Sunday.Com: A Lectionary Resource for Catholics.
    • "In the temptation to give up, we are faced with another choice, a radical choice for real meaning, for ultimate purpose, for God. That choice is truly the important one."
  • "Human Ineffectiveness," "Death Makes Work Meaningless," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources.
• Articles & Background:
  • "Rivalry and Resignation: Girard and Qoheleth on the Divine-Human Relationship," Thomas Bolin, Biblica, 2005.
    • "...Girard helps to understand more deeply how and why Qoheleth views human proximity with the divine as the cause of conflict and pain in human life."
  • "A Specific Application of the Proverb in Ecclesiastes 1:15," by Bernon Lee, University of Calgary. Journal of Hebrew Scriptures Volume 1 (1997).
    • "The article seeks to apply the interpretative content of Ecclesiastes 1:15 within a specific situation."
• Recommended articles from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are linked below. ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices.
  • Fox, Michael V., "Qohelet 1.4," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1988.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Janzen, J. Gerald, "Qohelet on Life 'Under the Sun'," Christian Theological Seminary, 2008.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Marrs, Rick, "Homiletical Helps on the LW Series C - Old Testament," Concordia Journal, 2007.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Ogden, Graham S., "The Interpretation of DWR in Ecclesiastes 1.4," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1986.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Ogden, Graham S., "Qoheleth's Use of the 'Nothing Is Better' Form," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1979.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Verheij, Arian, "Paradise Retried: On Qohelet 2.4-6," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1991.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
  • Whybray, R.N., "Ecclesiastes 1:5-7 and the Wonders of Nature," Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 1988.
      EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
      EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
• Reviews:
• Sermons:
  • "Behold, I am Doing a New Thing," Paul Tillich, from The Shaking of the Foundations, 1955. At Religion Online.
• With Children:
• Drama:
  • "The Ladder," John McNeil, dramatix.
  • "The Circus of Life," John McNeil, dramatix.
  • "Recharge Those Batteries!!" John McNeil, dramatix.
  • "Shrinking Your Schedule," Sherm S. Nichols, dramatix.
  • "That 70's Skit," Christin Kuck, dramatix.
  • "Fun and Games," Fred Lane, dramatix.
  • "The Solomon Interviews, Part II," Michael English, Milton Parish Church Drama Resources.
• Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
  • Clip Art, Ecclesiastes 1:2, Fr. Richard Lonsdale, Resources for Catholic Educators.
  • Something New, Reverend Fun Cartoon, gospelcom.net. Check for printing permissions at right-hand side of destination page.
• Hymns and Music:
  • Hymns with Scripture Allusions: Ecclesiastes 1:7. The Cyber Hymnal.
• Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
• Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
• Study Links and Resources for the Book of Ecclesiastes