Book of Ecclesiastes
From Wikible
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The key word in Ecclesiastes is vanity, "the futile emptiness of trying to be happy apart from God." The Preacher 1 or Teacher 2 (traditionally Solomon 3) looks at life "under the sun" 4 and, from the human perspective, declares it all to be empty. Power, popularity, prestige, pleasure--nothing can fill the God-shaped void in man's life but God Himself! But once seen from God's perspective, life takes on meaning and purpose, causing the Author to exclaim, "Eat...drink...rejoice...do good...live joyfully...fear God...keep His commandments!" Skepticism and despair melt away when life is viewed as a daily gift from God.
The Hebrew title Qoheleth is a rare term, found only in Ecclesiastes 5. It comes from the word qahal, "to convoke an assembly, to assemble." Thus, it means "One Who Addresses an Assembly," "A Preacher." The Septuagint used the Greek word Ekklesiastes as its title for this book. Derived from the word ekklesia 6, it simply means "Preacher." The Latin Ecclesiastes means "Speaker Before an Assembly."
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References
- ↑ Preacher: ESV, KJV, NKJV, NASB
- ↑ Teacher: NIV
- ↑ Ecclesiastes 1:1;12:12
- ↑ Ecclesiastes [[Ecclesiastes {{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]]
- ↑ Ecclesiastes 1:1-1:2, 12; 7:27; 12:8, 9, 10
- ↑ ekklesia: assembly, congregation, church
