Old Testament Bible Links

Poetry:
Song of Solomon

The Bare Facts -- Overviews and Outlines --
Bible Studies: Whole Book -- Part of Book --
Sermons -- Bibliographies

  

Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.  That is how the Preacher or Koheleth is best remembered from the book of Ecclesiastes.  As one of the five megillot, this book is associated with the Jewish festival of Sukkot or booths.  To understand why this association exists assists us in understanding this work and prevents us from going to the extreme of referring to the book as "Inspired Error" as does the normally dependable Ray Stedman.  Just as Jewish families today abandon their comfortable homes and live in "booths" during this festival, the wise follower of Solomon's advice will let go of "all the vain things that charm me most" and cling only to God and God's law.  Beyond that, all is vanity.

Left: A 1476 woodcut of "King Solomon" from a German book.

 

The Bare Facts

Who: Did he or didn't he?  Solomon's name is not overtly invoked in the text, yet tradition and implication have held that he is the author.  Not having a better candidate, and faced with several positive arguments for Solomonic authorship, we'll go with him.

Where: Solomon ruled from Jerusalem.  The capital therefore provides as good a place as any.

When:  Solomon ruled from 970 to 931 B.C.  The text indicates that the author is advanced in years, therefore a date of 940-931 B.C. is most reasonable.

What:  The message of Ecclesiastes is relatively simple.  Life on earth is vanity.  The only thing that truly matters is our relationship with God.

Also Known As: Koheleth or Keholet (Jewish); The Preacher

Memorable Passages

1:2-11 Vanity of vanities; all is vanity
3:1-8 A time for everything.
12:11-14 The whole duty of man.

Overviews and Outlines

The Book of Ecclesiastes
An outlined overview by David Malick
An Argument to the Book of Ecclesiastes
A rhetorical outline by David Malick
Ecclesiastes or The Preacher
A brief introduction by Arend Remmers.
Book of Ecclesiastes
A short overview of each chapter from the Concise Bible Dictionary.
Bible Basics
A very brief list of facts, but it includes a wav file pronouncing the book's title.
Easton Bible Dictionary: Ecclesiastes
The article from M.G. Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.
Catholic Encyclopedia: Ecclesiastes
The appropriate entry from the public domain edition of this venerable reference work.
Columbia Encyclopedia: Ecclesiastes
A brief article from the 2001 edition of this reference work.
Bible Explained
This is a commentary by an energetic fellow named Ted Wade.  He provides brief notes on each chapter and most verses for the entire Bible.
Luther Productions
A very brief overview including key verses.
The Blue Letter Bible
An excellent source for text, cross-references, concordance, language helps, commentaries, and more.
JPS Bible
The JPS 1917 Bible text and another Jewish version.  There are links that supposedly go to two Hebrew and one Aramaic text but they don't seem to work.
Jewish Encyclopedia: Ecclesiastes
An article from the 1901-06 reference work.  Generally liberal in its critical presuppositions.
Jewish Encyclopedia: Kohelet Rabbah
An article from the 1901-06 reference work.  Generally liberal in its critical presuppositions.  This article focuses on a Midrashic commentary on Ecclesiastes.
The Book of Koheleth
This introduction by a liberal writer--not exactly a Biblical scholar--comes from an Episcopal church newsletter.

Bible Studies: Whole Book

This Meaningless Life
A thirteen-week study of Ecclesiastes by Bill Baldwin.
Barry Bandstra: Ecclesiastes
A chapter from Bandstra's book Reading the Old Testament.
The Theology of Ecclesiastes
A study by M. James Sawyer.
On Wings of Eternity
A brief study by Bob Deffinbaugh from his 28-part series, From Creation to the Cross.
Vanity of Vanities: Thoughts on Ecclesiastes
A study by C.E. Stuart.
Love the Lord Bible Studies: Ecclesiastes
A 14-lesson study with questions from an Arkansas-based ministry.  They seem orthodox enough, although the statement of faith makes me wonder if they're not into prosperity gospel teachings.
A Metaphrase of the Book of Ecclesiastes
What's a metaphrase?  It's a literal, word-for-word translation.  This one is by the 3rd century Gregory Thaumaturgus and presumably translated the Hebrew into either Greek or Latin.  Regardless, that would make this file a translation of a metaphrase.
Gregory of Nyssa
A commentary on Ecclesiastes by this champion of the orthodoxy.
Geneva Notes
In 1599, English Puritans, working in Geneva, published the first study Bible.  These are the notes from that edition.
Coffman's Commentary
A verse-by-verse commentary by Dr. James Burton Coffman, a leading Church of Christ scholar.
Matthew Henry's Commentary
The chapter-by-chapter 1712 commentary by the great English Puritan writer..
John Wesley Notes
Over his career, the founder of Methodism maintained notes on the entire Bible.
JFB Commentary
The comments of Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown from Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871).
Clarke's Commentary
The first chapter for this book from Adam Clarke's nineteenth-century commentary.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
The commentary of the 17th century Baptist theologian and preacher.
Scofield Reference Notes
The notes from the 1917 edition of the great study Bible.  From a dispensationalist viewpoint.
Old Testament Life and Literature
Gerald Larue's 1968 overview of the Old Testament is, oddly enough, hosted at an atheist website.  Larue's outlook is decidedly liberal
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
A combination brief commentary and thorough cross-reference.  Developed by R.A. Torrey.
The Jerome Bible Commentary
A commentary by a Catholic doctor, Jerome Dominguez, M.D.  Is English isn't perfect, but you have to admire his energy.  Although Catholic in orientation, this source has some good material for study.
The Grace Institute: Micah
A well-rounded overview from a Eugene Oregon church.
Exploring the Word of God
A 9-part study from the Worldwide Church of God, a denomination with a checkered past but an exciting present.

Bible Studies: Part of Book

A Commentary on the Beginning of Ecclesiastes (ch. 1-3)
A 3rd century commentary by St. Dionysius
Lectionary Notes (1:2, 12-14)
A set of notes by Ralph Klein.
Retirement: A Whole New Life (1:2-4,9)
A sermon(?) by Dean William Willimon, Dean of the Chapel at Duke University.  You owe it to yourself to at least read the final anecdote in this file and then wonder what you missed by not going to Duke.
Morning and Evening (1:7)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (1:14)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
A Specific Application of the Proverb in Ecclesiastes 1:15
An article by Bernon Lee.
Vanity and Faith (1:2)
A brief study by Larry Broding, a Catholic writer.
Lectionary Notes (2:18-23)
A set of notes by Ralph Klein.
Vanity and Faith (2:21-23)
A brief study by Larry Broding, a Catholic writer.
Work: A Curse or a Blessing? (2:22-23)
A message/sermon/article by David H.C. Read from The Living Pulpit.
A Sermon on Dancing (3:4)
A sermon by Rev. J.R. Sikes from 1867.  Rev. Sikes, a Lutheran, takes a rather dim view of using this verse as a scriptural warrant for dancing.
Sermon on Ecclesiastes 4:12b
A sermon with a clever title by Adrian Dieleman.
The Necessity and Benefits of Religious Society (4:9-12)
A sermon by George Whitefield.
Morning and Evening (7:8)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Of Former Times (7:10)
A sermon by John Wesley.
A Preservative Against Unsettled Notions (7:16)
A sermon by George Whitefield.
The Folly and Danger of Being Not Righteous Enough (7:16)
A sermon by George Whitefield.
Sermon upon Ecclesiastes 7:29
A lone sermon by Thomas Manton.
Morning and Evening (9:4)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (9:10)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (10:7)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (10:9)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
Morning and Evening (11:6)
One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.
The Benefits of an Early Piety (12:1)
A sermon by George Whitefield.

Sermons

Ecclesiastes: The Inspired Book of Error
The appropriate sermon from Ray C. Stedman's Adventuring through the Bible series.
The Search for Quality Life
An overview sermon by Johnny Felker
The Things that Don't Work
An 11-sermon series by Ray C. Stedman.
Johnny Felker
This Tennessee preacher provides 13 Ecclesiastes sermons from 2004.  You'll have to scroll down a bit to find them.
Mark Copeland
A set of 11 sermon outlines based on Eccesiastes.
David Holwick
An 8-sermon series by a New Jersey Baptist pastor.
Earl Fife
Five sermons from Calvin Christian Reformed Church.
C.H. Spurgeon
A listing of sermons, some of which are available online, by the great British Baptist.
Sermon Outlines
Links to sermon outlines from SermonLinks.

Articles, Books, and Bibliographies

Is Life Really Worth Living?
An article by Chuck Missler.
Qoheleth and Job: Diverse Responses to the Enigma of Evil
An article by Rosemary Dewey from Spirituality Today.
The Sceptics of the Old Testament: Job-Koheleth-Agur
An 1895 book by Emile Jospeh Dillon.  Interesting for its historical context but little more.
Selected Bibliography of the Book of Ecclesiastes
A brief list of sources compiled by David Malick
Two-Age Bibliography
A list of recommended sources, mostly scholarly in nature, provided by a website devoted to the "Redemptive Historical" school of theology.
Oxford Bibliography
A brief list of sources from the Theology School at Oxford University.