Writings
קֹהֶלֶת
Ecclesiastes
A book that keeps concluding, and then reopening the question.
Hebrew nameKohelet, meaning the assemblerChapters12Position7 of 11 in Writings
What is in it
Everything is hevel, a word meaning vapour or breath, usually translated vanity. The speaker tries pleasure, work, wisdom and wealth, and reports that none of them holds.
What it arrives at is smaller and more durable than what it set out for: eat your bread, do your work, and accept that you do not get to see the whole.
If you read one chapter
Ecclesiastes 3:1 to 8
A time to every purpose. Read it as description, not consolation.
Passages worth knowing
- Ecclesiastes 1:2 to 11Vanity of vanities, and nothing new under the sun.
- Ecclesiastes 3:1 to 8To every thing there is a season.
- Ecclesiastes 4:9 to 12Two are better than one.
- Ecclesiastes 9:7 to 10Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy.
Questions to sit with
- 01
Hevel is vapour rather than meaninglessness. How does that change the book?
- 02
It is read during Tabernacles, the most joyful week. Why pair them?