One of the Books of the Bible in the Old Testament.
Basics
- Author: Anonymous. Traditional Jewish and Christian scholarship attribute the book to Solomon, since Ecclesiastes 1:1,1:16,2:1-9 describes the Preacher as "son of David, king in Jerusalem," as someone surpassingly wise, and as someone with a very prosperous reign.
- Length: 12 chapters
- Order: Proverbs > Ecclesiastes > Song of Solomon
(The ESV Study BibleTM, English Standard Version (ESV) by Crossway Bibles, 2007. Page 1193)
Etymology
Ecclesiastes comes from the book's header in the Latin Vulgate Liber Ecclesiastes, an anglicized version of the Greek and Latin renderings of the speaker's designation in Ecclesiastes 1:1: Greek Ἐκκλησιαστής ekklesiastes / Hebrew קֹהֶלֶת Qoheleth. The Hebrew word is related to the term for "assembly" קהל qahal and may be a title for someone who addresses an assembly. It is often translated "Preacher."
(The ESV Study BibleTM, English Standard Version (ESV) by Crossway Bibles, 2007. Page 1193)
Literary Quality
Old Testament Wisdom Literature is written in a predominantly poetic form. Even the prose is poetic in effect.
(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. The Bible as Literature by Leland Ryken, Page 143)