Literary Devices in Ecclesiastes
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Everything comes to an end—sometimes for the best. Disco ended. No one remembers what "Netscape Navigator" was. And Persia's domination of Israel gradually fell apart. That last example happens t...
Genre
People in ancient Israel loved books about how to be wise: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes are usually grouped as the three books that are supposed to really get at wisdom and show what it means. J...
What's Up With the Title?
The title of "Ecclesiastes" is the Greek version of the Hebrew title "Koheleth." People have plenty of different ideas about what the word means, exactly. It's traditional to translate it as "The T...
What's Up With the Ending?
The ending of Ecclesiastes is a little confusing. The voice of an editor cuts in and suddenly says, "Well, you know, that's all well and good. But there's no point getting all caught up in this int...
Trivia
Ecclesiastes is an anagram for "I select cases." Interesting—when you consider that King Solomon was supposed to be a great judge. (Source.)The word "vanity" or hebel is repeated over thirty time...
Sex Drugs And Violence Rating
Aside from mentioning that he partied pretty hard in the past, there's really no sex, drugs, or violence in Ecclesiastes. He does say that there's a "time to kill," but we don't actually see any th...
Allusions
A Time to Kill by John Grisham John Grisham's first legal thriller is the tale of the trial of a man who (understandably and perhaps rightfully) murders the men who sexually assaulted his daug...