ecclesiastes

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

Ecclesiastes
    n 1: an Old Testament book consisting of reflections on the
         vanity of human life; is traditionally attributed to
         Solomon but probably was written about 250 BC [syn:
         {Ecclesiastes}, {Book of Ecclesiastes}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Ecclesiastes \Ec*cle`si*as"tes\, n. [L., fr. Gr. ? a preacher.
   See {Ecclesiastic}, a.]
   One of the canonical books of the Old Testament.
   [1913 Webster]

from Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary

Ecclesiastes
the Greek rendering of the Hebrew _Koheleth_, which means
"Preacher." The old and traditional view of the authorship of
this book attributes it to Solomon. This view can be
satisfactorily maintained, though others date it from the
Captivity. The writer represents himself implicitly as Solomon
(1:12). It has been appropriately styled The Confession of King
Solomon. "The writer is a man who has sinned in giving way to
selfishness and sensuality, who has paid the penalty of that sin
in satiety and weariness of life, but who has through all this
been under the discipline of a divine education, and has learned
from it the lesson which God meant to teach him." "The writer
concludes by pointing out that the secret of a true life is that
a man should consecrate the vigour of his youth to God." The
key-note of the book is sounded in ch. 1:2,

  "Vanity of vanities! saith the Preacher,

  Vanity of vanities! all is vanity!"
i.e., all man's efforts to find happiness apart from God are
without result.