Ecclesiastes 1:2

Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher,.... This is the preacher's text; the theme and subject he after enlarges upon, and proves by an induction of particulars; it is the sum of the whole book;…

Vanity - This word הבל hebel, or, when used as a proper name, in Gen 4:2, “Abel”, occurs no less than 37 times in Ecclesiastes, and has been called the key of the book. Primarily it means “breath,”…

Here is, I. An account of the penman of this book; it was Solomon, for no other son of David was king of Jerusalem; but he conceals his name Solomon, peaceable, because by his sin he had brought…

Vanity of vanities The form is the highest type (as in the "servant of servants" of Gen 9:25, the "chief over the chief" of Num 3:32) of the Hebrew superlative. The word translated "vanity," identical…