Charles Ellicott Commentary Ecclesiastes 3:1

"For everything there is a season, and a time for very purpose under heaven:" — Ecclesiastes 3:1 (ASV)

A season. —The word is only found in later Hebrew (Nehemiah 2:6; Esther 9:27; Esther 9:31), and in the Aramaic of Daniel and Ezra.

Purpose. —The use of the word here and in Ecclesiastes 3:17; Ecclesiastes 5:8; Ecclesiastes 8:6, in the general sense of “a matter,” belongs to later Hebrew. The primary meaning of the word is “pleasure” or “desire,” and it is so used in this book (Ecclesiastes 5:4; Ecclesiastes 12:1; Ecclesiastes 12:10).