Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever... There is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
The most surprising book in the Bible opens with existential despair. 'Vanity of vanities—all is vanity.' The Hebrew word hebel means breath, vapor, mist—something insubstantial, fleeting, absurd.
Qoheleth (the Preacher/Teacher) looks at human striving and sees futility. Generations rise and fall while the earth remains indifferent. There is nothing new under the sun. The endless cycles of nature mock human pretensions to significance.
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