Ecclesiastes 1:1 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:1-3

Here is, I. An account of the penman of this book; it was Solomon, for no other son of David was king of Jerusalem; but he conceals his name Solomon, peaceable, because by his sin he had brought trouble upon himself and his kingdom, had broken his peace with God and lost the peace of his conscience, and therefore was no more worthy of that name. Call me not Solomon, call me Marah, for, behold, for peace I had great bitterness. But he calls himself, 1. The preacher, which intimates his present... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:1

The words of the preacher ,.... Or the preacher's sermon. The whole book is one continued discourse, and an excellent one it is; consisting not of mere words, but of solid matter; of things of the greatest importance, clothed with words apt and acceptable, which the preacher sought out, Ecclesiastes 12:10 . The Targum is, "the words of the prophecy, which the preacher, who is Solomon, prophesied.' According to which this book is prophetic; and so it interprets it, and owns it to be... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:1

The words of the Preacher - Literally, "The words of Choheleth, son of David, king of Jerusalem." But the Targum explains it thus: "The words of the prophecy, which Choheleth prophesied; the same is Solomon, son of David the king, who was in Jerusalem. For when Solomon, king of Israel, saw by the spirit of prophecy that the kingdom of Rehoboam his son was about to be divided with Jeroboam, the son of Nebat; and the house of the sanctuary was about to be destroyed, and the people of Israel... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:1

THE TITLE . The words of the Preacher, the son of David, King in Jerusalem ; Septuagint, "King of Israel in Jerusalem" (comp. Ecclesiastes 1:12 ). The word rendered "Preacher" is Koheleth , a feminine noun formed from a verb kalal , "to call" (see Introduction, § 1), and perhaps better rendered" Convener" or "Debater." It is found nowhere else but in this book, where it occurs three times in this chapter ( Ecclesiastes 1:1 , Ecclesiastes 1:2 , Ecclesiastes 1:12 ),... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:1

Preacher - literally, Convener. No one English word represents the Hebrew קהלת qôheleth adequately. Though capable, according to Hebrew usage, of being applied to men in office, it is strictly a feminine participle, and describes a person in the act of calling together an assembly of people as if with the intention of addressing them. The word thus understood refers us to the action of Wisdom personified Proverbs 1:20; Proverbs 8:8. In Proverbs and here, Solomon seems to support two... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ecclesiastes 1:1

Ecclesiastes 1:1. The words of the Preacher Or, discourses. The Hebrew word קהלת , here used, may either signify the person who assembles the people, or the person that addresses them when assembled. “We must not suppose that Solomon was like the common or ordinary preachers among the Hebrews; yet it is certain he spake much in public for the instruction of the people; for there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon: All the earth sought to Solomon to hear his wisdom, which... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

1:1-4:16 ACCEPT THE LIFE GOD GIVES AND ENJOY ITIs there a purpose to life? (1:1-11)At times life does not appear to have much meaning. People have to work to keep themselves alive, but in the end they lose everything they have worked for. Generation after generation passes, but the same things still happen (1:1-4). The sun rises and sets, then the next day the cycle is repeated. The wind blows and circles around, coming back to begin its course all over again. Rivers flow unceasingly into the... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Ecclesiastes 1:1

The words. Rashi says that, when this expression occurs at the beginning of a book, it shows that the book is meant for reproof, and he gives evidence from Deuteronomy 1:1 (Compare Ecc 32:15 ). Amos 1:1 (Compare Ecclesiastes 4:1 ). Jeremiah 1:1 (Compare Ecc 30:6 ). David, 2 Samuel 23:1 (Compare Ecclesiastes 1:6 ). the Preacher. This comes from Luther's version "Prediger"; but "Koheleth" does not include the idea of preaching. Some of its teaching is individual (Ecclesiastes 3:17 ); and... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:1

"The words of the Preacher the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What profit hath man in all his labor wherein he laboreth under the sun? One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to its place where it ariseth. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its course, and... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Ecclesiastes 1:1

Ecclesiastes 1:1. The words of the Preacher— Or, orator. Mr. Desvoeux has shewn with great learning, that Solomon in this book appears nearly in the character of an eminent sophist among the Greeks, according to the primitive signification of that word, which implied philosophy and rhetoric joined together. The method of these ancient sages, as far as we can judge of it from what remained among their degenerate successors, was, to treat any subject which was reckoned worthy their learned... read more