Who Wrote Ecclesiastes?

We don’t know for sure who wrote the book of Ecclesiastes.

The author never outright names himself.

We do know he called himself the Qoheleth, a Hebrew word that translates into Teacher or Preacher.

Most scholars agree it was King Solomon and that he wrote it toward the end of his life.

There are a few clues in the book that point toward this being true.

 

In verse 1 : 1 the author calls himself the “son of David, king of Jerusalem”. (NIV)

We know that Solomon was David’s son by Bathsheba. 2 Samuel 12:24

We also know that David appointed Solomon as his successor to his throne. 1 Kings 1:23-37

Sometimes, though, the phrase, “son of” is used to mean a descendant of and not necessarily a literal child of. We see this when Jesus is called the son of David in Matthew 1:1, Matthew 21:9, and Mark 12:35.

Keeping this in mind we can assume the person writing Ecclesiastes was one of King David’s descendants, but it doesn’t confirm it was Solomon.

 

We can look to another clue.

When you compare Qoheleth’s life described in Ecclesiastes with that of Solomon’s, described in 1 Kings 2 – 1 Kings 11, there are many similarities.

Both men sought to use their wisdom to better understand and judge the world around them.

Both men experimented with living lives of excess, indulging in the many temptations of the flesh.

Both men lived lives of great riches, collecting large fortunes of gold, silver, crops, livestock, and property.

Both men lived lives in which they were aware of God but did not always keep Him first.

These similarities make it seem more likely Solomon was the author but, once again, it doesn’t prove it.

 

So, we turn to one last clue.

Ecclesiastes 1:16 says, ¹⁶ I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” (NIV)

Compare this verse to a story in 1 Kings 3 when Solomon went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices.

There God appeared to him in a dream and asked him what he wanted.

Solomon replied he wanted, “a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” 1 Kings 3:7-9 (NIV)

This pleased God so He granted it to him, saying, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, 12 I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. 13 Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. 14 And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.” (NIV)

These two verses seem to be speaking about the same wise person and hint that the Teacher was, in fact, Solomon.

 

When you look at these clues together, you can narrow the list of possible authors down to one of King David’s descendants, who sat on the throne of Jerusalem, who lived a life of excess, who didn’t stay true to their faith in God, and who had more wisdom than anyone who had ruled before them.

Looking at all of this together it seems unlikely it could have been anyone but Solomon.

It is clear the scholars were right in believing King Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes..

 

One thing is for sure – the Teacher who wrote Ecclesiastes was definitely more interested in sharing his wisdom concerning the futility of this life than in identifying himself.

I look forward to sharing more about the book of Ecclesiastes over the next few weeks. I hope you will join me as we learn more about all the Teacher had to say.

 

 

*There are at least 2 other schools of thought on who might have written Ecclesiastes if it wasn’t Solomon, however most conservative scholars have disputed and disproven them.

I won’t link to them because I don’t agree with their thinking, but you can easily find them by using a Search Engine. I would caution you to pray before reading them. I would also encourage you to ask the Father to help you carefully discern the truth.

 

To learn even more about Solomon, you can read 2 Chronicles 1 – 9.

 

(This is part 2 in a series on the book of Ecclesiastes. The series is a brief overview designed to give you a gentle introduction to the book. You can find all the posts here.)