Ecclesiastes is another example of wisdom literature along with Job and Proverbs. The name comes from a Greek word meaning someone who addresses an assembly, much like a preacher.

Credited to Solomon, Ecclesiastes examines the important question of whether life is worth living. It echoes other pessimistic literature of the ancient world, especially in Egypt and Mesopotamia, by suggesting life is cyclical (“nothing new under the sun”). This book has been often used by modern authors who appreciate its dark perspective. Think of the song “Turn, Turn, Turn,” a book by Hemingway (The Sun Also Rises),  and a science fiction book Earth Abides. All these and many more works of literature have been inspired by Ecclesiastes.

Despite its negative initial impression, it distinguishes between life “under the sun” (earthly perspective) with a heavenly perspective. Another way of expressing this theme is to say that Ecclesiastes distinguishes between observation and faith.

The book is difficult to outline because the author chose not to use a logical argument to build his case; instead, he depended on feelings to sway the reader. Like other wisdom literature it uses proverbs. Like other poetic portions of the Old Testament Ecclesiastes depends on parallelism, imagery, and figurative language.