The Meaning of Ecclesiastes 1:2 Explained

Ecclesiastes 1:2

KJV: Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

YLT: Vanity of vanities, said the Preacher, Vanity of vanities: the whole is vanity.

Darby: Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities! all is vanity.

ASV: Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Vanity  of vanities,  saith  the Preacher,  vanity  of vanities;  all [is] vanity. 

What does Ecclesiastes 1:2 Mean?

Study Notes

Vanity
"Vanity," in Ecclesiastes, and usually in Scripture, means, not foolish pride, but the emptiness in final result of all life apart from God. It is to be born, to toil, to suffer, to experience some transitory joy, which is as nothing in view of eternity, to leave it all, and to die. See Romans 8:20-22 .

Verse Meaning

"Solomon has put the key to Ecclesiastes right at the front door: "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun?" ( Ecclesiastes 1:2-3). Just in case we missed it, he put the same key at the back door ( Ecclesiastes 12:8)." [1]
"Vanity" (Heb. hebel) probably does not mean "meaningless." As Solomon used this word in Ecclesiastes he meant lacking real substance, value, permanence, or significance. [2] "Vapor," "breath-like," or "ephemeral" captures the idea (cf. Ecclesiastes 4:7-83; Isaiah 57:13). [3] One writer favored the words "absurd" or "absurdity." [4]
"It appears to imply here both (1) that which is transitory, and (2) that which is futile. It emphasizes how swiftly earthly things pass away, and how little they offer while one has them (cf. James 4:14)." [5]
"You think you have all the dishes washed and from a bedroom or a bathroom there appears, as from a ghost, another dirty glass. And even when all the dishes are washed, it is only a few hours until they demand washing again. So much of our work is cyclical, and so much of it futile." [6]
"All" in the context of what he proceeded to describe refers to all human endeavors (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:3). David Hubbard understood it in a slightly different way.
"Hebel stands more for human inability to grasp the meaning of God"s way than for an ultimate emptiness in life. It speaks of human limitation and frustration caused by the vast gap between God"s knowledge and power and our relative ignorance and impotence. The deepest issues of lasting profit, of enlightening Wisdom of Solomon , of ability to change life"s workings, of confidence that we have grasped the highest happiness-all these are beyond our reach in Koheleth"s view." [7]
The phrase "is vanity" is the most popular one in Ecclesiastes (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:14; Ecclesiastes 2:1; Ecclesiastes 2:11; Ecclesiastes 2:15; Ecclesiastes 2:17; Ecclesiastes 2:19; Ecclesiastes 2:21; Ecclesiastes 2:23; Ecclesiastes 2:26; Ecclesiastes 3:19; Ecclesiastes 4:4; 1711646184_46; Ecclesiastes 4:16; Ecclesiastes 5:7; Ecclesiastes 5:10; Ecclesiastes 6:2; Ecclesiastes 6:4; Ecclesiastes 6:9; Ecclesiastes 6:11-12; Ecclesiastes 7:6; Ecclesiastes 7:15; Ecclesiastes 8:10; Ecclesiastes 8:14; Ecclesiastes 9:9; Ecclesiastes 11:8; Ecclesiastes 11:10; Ecclesiastes 12:8. [8] It forms an inclusio with Ecclesiastes 12:8 surrounding the evidence that Solomon offered to prove that all is vanity.
This verse contains Solomon"s "big idea" or proposition. It is the point he proceeded to support, prove, and apply in the chapters that follow. Some writers, however, believed there is no logical development in the writer"s thought. [9] Proverbs 1:7 is such a statement in that book. This is the first hint that Solomon"s viewpoint includes "exclusively the world we can observe, and that our observation point is at ground level." [10]
"Because it apparently contradicts other portions of Scripture and presents a pessimistic outlook on life, in a mood of existential despair, many have viewed Ecclesiastes as running counter to the rest of Scripture or have concluded that is [11] presents only man"s reasoning apart from divine revelation." [12]
". . . it is no exaggeration to say that there may be less agreement about the interpretation of Koheleth than there is about any other biblical book, even the Revelation of John!" [13]

Context Summary

Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 - The Testimony Of An Unsatisfied Soul
All is vanity! This cry finds an echo in human hearts of every age and clime. Clod meant man to be happy. "These things," said our Lord, "I have spoken to you, that your joy may be full." "The fruit of the Spirit is joy." Yet the air is laden with complaint and bitterness. Men are asking constantly, "Is life worth living?" The present age is full of unrest and weariness, of war and strife, of unsatisfied yearnings and desires. The mistake is that men seek to solve the mystery of life and to find their happiness apart from God, who has made us for Himself.
This book was written and incorporated in the Bible to show that man's quest for happiness is vain, so long as it is apart from God. Solomon had unbounded opportunities for pursuing his quest. Youth, wealth, wisdom, royalty, human love were his, but when all were mixed in the golden cup of his life, he turned from the draught unsatisfied and sad. Listen to the sigh of the sated voluptuary: Vanity of vanities! Let us turn from these bitter experiences to 1 John 2:15-17. [source]

Chapter Summary: Ecclesiastes 1

1  the preacher shows that all human courses are vain
4  because the creatures are restless in their courses
9  they bring forth nothing new, and all old things are forgotten
12  and because he has found it so in the studies of wisdom

What do the individual words in Ecclesiastes 1:2 mean?

Vanity of vanities says the Teacher of vanities all [is] vanity
הֲבֵ֤ל הֲבָלִים֙ אָמַ֣ר קֹהֶ֔לֶת הֲבָלִ֖ים הַכֹּ֥ל הָֽבֶל

הֲבֵ֤ל  Vanity 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הֶבֶל  
Sense: vapour, breath.
הֲבָלִים֙  of  vanities 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: הֶבֶל  
Sense: vapour, breath.
אָמַ֣ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
קֹהֶ֔לֶת  the  Teacher 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֹהֶלֶת  
Sense: collector (of sentences), preacher, public speaker, speaker in an assembly, Qoheleth.
הֲבָלִ֖ים  of  vanities 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: הֶבֶל  
Sense: vapour, breath.
הָֽבֶל  [is]  vanity 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: הֶבֶל  
Sense: vapour, breath.