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A Judean teacher at dusk on a stone rooftop, a closed scroll on the parapet and a single leaf in the wind, illustrated in parchment and lilac on a deep plum background in a woodcut style

Vanity of Vanities? Four Hebrew Words from Ecclesiastes

Kohelet, hevel, chelek and olam: what the Preacher saw, and what Jesus answered

Hebrew & Bible

Full guide: 7 min · 5 chapters · 8 Hebrew words

One book of the Bible reads as if it were written last week. A man who has tried work, pleasure, money and learning reports what he found: none of it lasts. Many readers feel the chill and close it. Others call it the most honest book in Scripture.

Its Hebrew name is Kohelet. The Greek translation called it Ekklesiastes, Ecclesiastes in our Bibles, and English Bibles call the speaker the Preacher or the Teacher. In many synagogues the whole book is read aloud during Sukkot, the Feast of Booths: on its Sabbath, or on its closing day, Shemini Atzeret.

The chapters

  1. Vanity of Vanities? Four Hebrew Words from Ecclesiastes
  2. 1. Kohelet: the one who gathers
  3. 2. Hevel: a breath
  4. 3. Chelek: a portion
  5. 4. Olam: eternity in the heart

Hebrew in this guide

koheletקֹהֶלֶת hevelהֶבֶל yitronיִתְרוֹן chelekחֵלֶק olamעוֹלָם sukkotסֻכּוֹת simchahשִׂמְחָה yirahיִרְאָה

Scripture it opens

Ecclesiastes 1:1-3 Ecclesiastes 2:11 Ecclesiastes 3:11-13 Ecclesiastes 4:1 Ecclesiastes 5:18-19 Ecclesiastes 9:4-10 Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Genesis 4:2-10 Psalm 144:4 Psalm 73:26 Romans 8:20 Romans 6:9 John 11:35 Hebrews 12:24 1 Corinthians 15:20 1 Corinthians 15:58 Luke 10:41-42 John 17:3

How it reads in the app

The same guide, opened in IsraelForYou: tap any Hebrew word and its meaning rises from below, with the verses it lives in.

A Judean teacher at dusk on a stone rooftop, a closed scroll on the parapet and a single leaf in the wind, illustrated in parchment and lilac on a deep plum background in a woodcut style Vanity of Vanities? Four Hebrew Words from Ecclesiastes

One book of the Bible reads as if it were written last week. A man who has tried work, pleasure, money and learning reports what he found: none of it lasts. Many readers feel the chill and close it. Others call it the most honest book in Scripture.

Its Hebrew name is Kohelet. The Greek translation called it Ekklesiastes, Ecclesiastes in our Bibles, and English Bibles call the speaker the Preacher or the Teacher. In many synagogues the whole book is read aloud during Sukkot, the Feast of Booths: on its Sabbath, or on its closing day, Shemini Atzeret.

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