• Hebrew text – It is the Hebrew word that is translated “preacher”. The Hebrew word means “one that assembles”.
• Greek text – Ecclesiastes. This comes from the N.T. word for an assembly of a Church.

There are three reasons for suggesting that the author is Solomon.

• This seems to be indirectly claimed in 1:1 & 12:1.
• There are some references that describe a man like Solomon. (See 1:16; 2:3 – 8).
• Jewish tradition.

It fits into the reign of Solomon around 971 – 931 B.C. It probably fits into the latter part of his life. (See 12:1 – This man is looking back on his life)

It is ironic that Solomon would be the man looking for the chief good. Solomon certainly had the means to find out the chief good. Materially Solomon was extremely wealthy. The word “vanity” means “emptiness” or “meaningless” and occurs 37 times in the book. The phrase “under the sun” occurs 25 times in the book and indicates that here is a man who is looking at life from the human point of view. There are two main purposes of the book.

• To show that all earthly goals, when pursued as ends, result in dissatisfaction and emptiness. Solomon has pursued this. In Chapter 3:19-22 the man is not regarding God but looking only on the human level. So he concludes that man dies as a dog.
• The chief good in life lies in revering and respecting God. This is how Solomon ends the book. You will have meaning to live if you fit God into the picture.

There are five sections within the book.

• The problem is stated – Everything earthly and human is meaningless and there is no satisfaction. (Chapter 1:2-11)
• The problem is studied (Chapters 1:12 – 12:7).

1. His inductions (1:12 – 6:12) He looks at his experiences and reaches the conclusion that all things are empty. He then observes things he has not experiences and concludes that all things are empty.
2. His deductions (7:1 – 12:7) Some of his deductions are in relation to wisdom and practical things in life. They are all empty.

• The problem is solved (Chapter 12:8 – 14)