Ecclesiastes - Vanity

Vanity

Qoheleth's stated aim is to find out how to ensure one's benefits in life, an aim in accord with the general purposes of wisdom literature. For Qoheleth, however, any possible advantage in life is destroyed by the inevitability of death. As such, Qoheleth concludes that life (and everything) is senseless. In light of this conclusion, Qoheleth advises his audience to make the most of life, to seize the day, for there is no way to secure favorable outcomes in the future. Although this latter conclusion has sometimes been compared to Epicureanism, for Qoheleth it comes about as the inevitable result of his failure to make sense of existence.

This conclusion is reflected in the refrain which both opens (1:2) and closes (12:8) Qoheleth's words:

"Utterly senseless" says Qoheleth, "Utterly senseless, everything is senseless"

The word translated senseless, הבל (hebel, the very same word is also the name of the Genesis 4 character Abel, brother of Cain), literally means vapor, breath, but it could also mean "absurd". Qoheleth uses it metaphorically, and its precise meaning is extensively debated. Older English translations often render it vanity. Because in modern usage this word has often come to mean "self-pride," losing its Latinate connotation of emptiness, some translators have abandoned it. Other translations include empty, futile, meaningless, absurd, fleeting, evanescent, or senseless. Some translations use the literal rendering vapor of vapors and so claim to leave the interpretation to the reader.

Ultimately, the author of Ecclesiates comes to this conclusion in the second to last verse of the last chapter:

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone.

"Vanity of vanities" is a Hebrew grammatical construction (idiom) denoting the superlative; that is, it attests to an extreme degree of the quality, similar to "the lord of lords", "the king of kings" or "holy of holies" (used of the inner sanctuary of the Jerusalem temple).

Other translations of Ecclesiastes 1:2 include:

• "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."
• "Futility of futilities, all is futile."
• "Absolutely pointless! Everything is pointless." An American Translation
• "Merest breath, said Qoheleth, merest breath. All is mere breath."
• "Meaningless! meaningless!" says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." New International Version
• Sheer futility, Qoheleth says. Sheer futility: Everything is futile! New Jerusalem

Classic English translation (King James Version) of the last two verses (12:13–14):

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."