# hevel (הֶבֶל)

pronounced: HEH-vel


**Breath, vapor — the “vanity” of Ecclesiastes: what cannot be held; also the Hebrew name of Abel**

## In Scripture

> “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
> — Ecclesiastes 1:2 (The keynote of the book: hevel of hevels, the superlative of a breath.)

> “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher. “All is vanity!”
> — Ecclesiastes 12:8 (The same words close the Preacher’s speech before the epilogue.)


## How to read this entry

The definition comes from the IsraelForYou lexicon. Scripture quotations and their translation are named below; later tradition or modern usage is identified when it appears.


https://israelforyou.com/hebrew/hevel/