Ecclesiastes Chapter 1

“The words of the preacher, etc.] Or the preacher’s sermon. The whole book is one continued discourse, and an excellent one it is; consisting not of mere words, but of solid matter; of things of the greatest importance, clothed with words apt and acceptable, which the preacher sought out, (<211210>Ecclesiastes 12:10). The Targum is, “the words of the prophecy, which the preacher, who is Solomon, prophesied.” According to which this book is prophetic; and so it interprets it, and owns it to be Solomon’s. The word “Koheleth”, rendered “preacher”, is by some taken to be a proper name of Solomon; who, besides the name…”

“the Preacher--and Convener of assemblies for the purpose. See my Preface. Koheleth in Hebrew, a symbolical name for Solomon, and of Heavenly Wisdom speaking through and identified with him. Ecc 1:12 shows that "king of Jerusalem" is in apposition, not with "David," but "Preacher." of Jerusalem--rather, "in Jerusalem," for it was merely his metropolis, not his whole kingdom.”

“Preacher - literally, Convener. No one English word represents the Hebrew קהלת qôheleth adequately. Though capable, according to Hebrew usage, of being applied to men in office, it is strictly a feminine participle, and describes a person in the act of calling together an assembly of people as if with the intention of addressing them. The word thus understood refers us to the action of Wisdom personified Proverbs 1:20; Proverbs 8:8. In Proverbs and here, Solomon seems to support two characters, speaking sometimes in the third person as Wisdom instructing the assembled people, at other times in the first person.…”

“The preacher - Who was not only a king, but also a teacher of God's people: who having sinned grievously in the eyes of all the world, thought himself obliged to publish his repentance, and to give publick warning to all, to avoid those rocks upon which he had split. Ecclesiastes 1:2”

“1:1 Ecclesiastes never uses the Teacher’s (Hebrew Qoheleth) name, but King David’s son probably refers to Solomon (see also 1:12, 16; 2:4-9).”

“the Preacher: Ecc 1:12, Ecc 7:27, Ecc 12:8-10; Neh 6:7; Psa 40:9; Isa 61:1; Jon 3:2; Pe2 2:5 king: Ecc 1:12; Kg1 11:42, Kg1 11:43; Ch2 9:30, Ch2 10:17-19 Ecclesiastes 1:2”

“The title, Ecc 1:1, The words of Koheleth, son of David, king in Jerusalem, has been already explained in the Introduction. The verse, which does not admit of being properly halved, is rightly divided by "son of David" by the accent Zakef; for the apposition, "king in Jerusalem," does not belong to "David," but to "Koheleth." In several similar cases, such as Eze 1:3, the accentuation leaves the designation of the oppositional genitive undefined; in Gen 10:21 it proceeds on an erroneous supposition; it is rightly defined in Amo 1:1, for example, as in the passage before us. That "king" is without the article, is…”