Who Wrote Ecclesiastes?

Introduction

Ecclesiastes is part of the Old Testament’s wisdom literature. It’s a record of the author’s investigation to “see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life.” (2:3) He wanted to figure out, for himself and others, the best way to live life. 

Before we review his findings, let’s decide if he’s worth listening to. Has someone given you advice and you thought who is this guy, why should I listen to him? Fair question. Before we take the author’s advice, let’s figure out who he is and consider his qualifications.

Authorship Clues

Ecclesiastes doesn’t name its author, but gives us enough clues to identify him. The first verse gives us a lot to go on:

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. (1:1)

The author calls himself the Preacher. The book name, Ecclesiastes, comes from the Greek word for church-ecclesia. It’s a gathering of people; people assembly to hear. The Greek edition of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint, calls this book Ecclesiastes. It refers to the Preacher, the caller of assemblies.

The author also tells us he’s the son of David. That limits the pool of possible authors dramatically. David personally had quite a few sons. The Bible names thirteen sons David fathered, and mentions other unnamed sons (1Ch 3:1-6). 

The phrase Son of David also applied to David’s offspring in future generations. God promised David’s house (his future family) an enduring kingdom with his offspring reigning. 

But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. (2Sa 7:15-16)

So, being called son of David was a way to say rightful heir to the throne. The New Testament often uses this phrase about the Lord Jesus, God’s ultimate fulfillment of His promise to David.

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Mat 1:1)

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. (Mat 22:41-42)

And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. (Mat 21:9)

So, the Preacher, the son of David, could refer to any of David’s future male offspring. But the author also tells us he was king. David had many male descendants, but most didn't reign. That makes the pool of author candidates even smaller.

Later, He tells us he was king over Israel in Jerusalem (1:12). That nails it down. How many sons of David ruled over Israel in Jerusalem? One. After King Solomon's reign, his son Rehoboam was about to become king. Before his coronation, the people said, “Your father taxed us to death. Give us a tax break and we'll vote for you.” Rehoboam took the advice of the guys he grew up with and answered, “You ain’t see nothing yet.” To which ten of Israel’s twelve tribes replied, “We’re out!” (1Ki 12:1-24)

The ten breakaway Northern tribes were known as Israel. The Southern tribes of Judah and (tiny) Benjamin, were called Judah. Samaria became Israel’s capital, and Judah kept Jerusalem as its capital. After Solomon, no other Old Testament ruler was a son of David who reigned as king over Israel in Jerusalem.

The author’s comments in verse sixteen confirm his identity. He describes himself as someone who had come to great estate and gotten more wisdom than all who came before him in Jerusalem. Any later king would be declaring himself wiser than Solomon. Seems unlikely.

Author Insights from Other Bible Passages

You might ask, “Why not just say Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes?” Fair question. First, it’s not true because I say so. I showed the work so you’d see how I got to the answer. Second, because Ecclesiastes doesn’t name Solomon as its author, some commentators think he didn’t write it. MacDonald mentions this in his Believer’s Bible Commentary:

“The main argument for rejecting the traditional authorship by King Solomon is linguistic. That is, many experts say the book contains words and grammatical constructions that did not exist till the Babylonian Captivity or later.”-- Believer’s Bible Commentary, William MacDonald, p. 876, (1989, Thomas Nelson Publishers)]

Finally, settling the question of Solomon’s authorship of Ecclesiastes makes supporting Scriptures available. 1 Kings 1-11 and 2 Chronicles 1-9 offer background information on Solomon’s life and reign. Solomon contributed three books to the Old Testament’s wisdom literature. We can look to Song of Solomon and Proverbs for his perspective at different times in his life. Most believe he wrote his books in this order:

• Song of Solomon as a young man
• Proverbs in middle age
• Ecclesiastes as an old man

“According to Jewish tradition, Solomon wrote the Song of Songs in his youth, Proverbs in his middle years, and Ecclesiastes in his old age. Thus, he would have written this book about 935 BC.”--Biblestudytools.com, Who wrote Ecclesiastes? Bible Book Author and Meaning, available at: https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/who-wrote-ecclesiastes-bible-book.html?formCode=MG0AV3]

The content of each book supports this timeline. Song of Solomon is a one man, one woman love story. The book doesn’t mention the couple having any children. The bride isn’t vying with 999 other women for her husband’s attention. 

Proverbs is a father’s advice to a son navigating toward adulthood. These are the writings of a man in middle age.

And Ecclesiastes speaks of “an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished” (4:13). In this book, Solomon records experiences that normally take years to live through. The wealth he accumulated and the projects he accomplished also make this the story of an older man. His description of the declines of old age (12:1-5) have the ring of first hand experience. That adds weight to his findings. He had a lifetime to reach these conclusions. We can see what came before and how it played out in his life.

Keith Gardner, author of Biblical Bible Study