Ecc 1:2 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Eccl 1:2-11: 1:2-11 The Teacher begins by observing that each natural and historical activity is accentuated by its circular repetitive rhythm of coming and going, being and not being. This can lead to the despairing cry that everything is meaningless . The Teacher moves rapidly from subject to subject and finishes this section with the topic he started with, using a literary pattern that mirrors the circularity he describes in nature and in human history. 1:2 Everything is meaningless ... completely meaningless (literally vapor of vapors, everything is vapor ): Wherever “meaningless” occurs in this book, the Hebrew word hebel (“breath, vapor”) is behind it. The Teacher’s conclusion is that everything is a transitory and meaningless vapor.

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‏ Ecclesiastes 1:2

Summary for Eccl 1:2-11: 1:2-11 ^a The Teacher begins by observing that each natural and historical activity is accentuated by its circular repetitive rhythm of coming and going, being and not being. This can lead to the despairing cry that everything is meaningless. The Teacher moves rapidly from subject to subject and finishes this section with the topic he started with, using a literary pattern that mirrors the circularity he describes in nature and in human history. 1:2 ^b Everything is meaningless ... completely meaningless (literally vapor of vapors, everything is vapor): Wherever “meaningless” occurs in this book, the Hebrew word hebel (“breath, vapor”) is behind it. The Teacher’s conclusion is that everything is a transitory and meaningless vapor.