Ecclesiastes
The Teacher examines life “under the sun” and concludes that meaning is found in fearing God.
What the sources say, and how sure we are
- The text says
The book calls its speaker Qoheleth, “the Teacher,” “son of David, king in Jerusalem.” It never uses the name Solomon.Eccl 1:1; Eccl 1:12
- Outside evidence
The Hebrew of Ecclesiastes has a number of late features, including a word for “garden” (pardes) that came into Hebrew from Persian. Defenders of Solomonic authorship answer that language dating is uncertain, and pardes also appears in the Song of Songs.Eccl 2:5; Song 4:13
- Debated
Tradition ascribes the book to Solomon, and the speaker’s claims to wealth and wisdom match the Solomon portrayed in 1 Kings. Many scholars hold that the book was written later, perhaps in the Persian or early Greek period, with Solomon as a literary figure.1 Kgs 3–4; 1 Kgs 10
- Christian conclusion
The book’s final advice, to fear God and keep his commandments, is read by Christians as the answer to the emptiness the Teacher finds without God.Eccl 12:13–14