The Meaning of Ecclesiastes 1:12 Explained

Ecclesiastes 1:12

KJV: I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

YLT: I, a preacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

Darby: I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

ASV: I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I the Preacher  was king  over Israel  in Jerusalem. 

What does Ecclesiastes 1:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The writer proceeded to elaborate on his thesis that all human endeavor lacks permanent value-by citing evidence that he had observed personally, and then evidence that everyone has observed.

Context Summary

Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 - The Testimony Of An Unsatisfied Soul
All is vanity! This cry finds an echo in human hearts of every age and clime. Clod meant man to be happy. "These things," said our Lord, "I have spoken to you, that your joy may be full." "The fruit of the Spirit is joy." Yet the air is laden with complaint and bitterness. Men are asking constantly, "Is life worth living?" The present age is full of unrest and weariness, of war and strife, of unsatisfied yearnings and desires. The mistake is that men seek to solve the mystery of life and to find their happiness apart from God, who has made us for Himself.
This book was written and incorporated in the Bible to show that man's quest for happiness is vain, so long as it is apart from God. Solomon had unbounded opportunities for pursuing his quest. Youth, wealth, wisdom, royalty, human love were his, but when all were mixed in the golden cup of his life, he turned from the draught unsatisfied and sad. Listen to the sigh of the sated voluptuary: Vanity of vanities! Let us turn from these bitter experiences to 1 John 2:15-17. [source]

Chapter Summary: Ecclesiastes 1

1  the preacher shows that all human courses are vain
4  because the creatures are restless in their courses
9  they bring forth nothing new, and all old things are forgotten
12  and because he has found it so in the studies of wisdom

What do the individual words in Ecclesiastes 1:12 mean?

I the Teacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem
אֲנִ֣י קֹהֶ֗לֶת הָיִ֥יתִי מֶ֛לֶךְ עַל־ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם

קֹהֶ֗לֶת  the  Teacher 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֹהֶלֶת  
Sense: collector (of sentences), preacher, public speaker, speaker in an assembly, Qoheleth.
מֶ֛לֶךְ  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
עַל־  over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
בִּירוּשָׁלִָֽם  in  Jerusalem 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.

What are the major concepts related to Ecclesiastes 1:12?

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