Ecclesiastes 1 Study Notes

1:9-10 When Ecclesiastes says that there is nothing new under the sun, it means that there is nothing that changes the fundamental facts of the human condition. This does not deny that there are technological innovations or new works of art, literature, and architecture, but these things are all variations on what had already existed; they do not deliver humanity from its bondage to death. The “new thing” that really changes life can only come from God (Jr 31:31-34; Lk 22:20; Heb 9:15).

1:11 This verse does not claim that no human is ever remembered in history. The point is that people move on and that fame and glory have no lasting significance.

1:12-18 These verses describe the futility of the quest for knowledge. The claim is not that intellectual pursuits are evil; they are vain and frustrating because no person finds the answers to his fundamental questions by learning.

1:12 A king does not stop serving as king until he dies. The phrase have been king does not mean that the Teacher had stopped being king. Rather, the point is that he had, in his lifetime, been in a position to have the wealth and freedom to carry out the investigations described in this book.

1:13 The quest for wisdom is usually thought of as noble and fulfilling, but it is here called this miserable task, meaning that it is just a hard job.

1:15 This verse is a proverb. What is crooked cannot be straightened refers to a problem that cannot be solved. What is lacking cannot be counted refers to working with insufficient information. The problem of understanding life is beyond mere humans.

1:18 Instead of answering all our questions and bringing happiness, great learning or wisdom only leads to less certainty and more pain.