Charles Ellicott Commentary Ecclesiastes 1:12

"I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem." — Ecclesiastes 1:12 (ASV)

KOHELETH RELATES HIS OWN EXPERIENCE.

Having stated the argument of the treatise in the introductory verses, the writer proceeds to prove what he has asserted about the vanity of earthly pursuits. He does this by recounting the failures of one who, if anyone could, might have been expected to bring such pursuits to a satisfactory result. Solomon, in this book called Kohéleth, pre-eminent among Jewish sovereigns for both his wisdom and his temporal prosperity, speaking in the first person, tells how, with all his advantages, he could secure no lasting or satisfying happiness in this life.

First, he relates how he found no satisfaction from an enlightened survey of human life. He found (Ecclesiastes 1:14) that it presented a scene of laborious exertion empty of profitable results. His research (Ecclesiastes 1:15) only brought to light errors and defects that were impossible to remedy; so that (Ecclesiastes 1:18), the more a person bestowed thought on the subject, the greater their grief. For more on the name Kohéleth and the phrase “was king,” see the Introduction.

Over Israel. — King of Israel is the usual phrase in the earlier books, but there are examples of the phrasing employed here (1 Samuel 15:26; 2 Samuel 19:23; 1 Kings 11:37).