Hebel: the word the Berean text renders futility

I loathe my life! I would not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

Job uses the word for his own days as he asks God to leave him alone.

Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

David answers his question of the verse before, what is man, with this word.

They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.

Paul quotes the second half of this verse in Romans 10:19, so the verse that calls idols hebel stands behind his argument about Israel.

They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and themselves became worthless, going after the surrounding nations that the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.

This verse gives the word as a reason for the exile of the northern kingdom.

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.

The word is applied here to the first trial the Teacher makes of a good life.

Yet when I considered all the works that my hands had accomplished and what I had toiled to achieve, I found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind; there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

The word judges the building and planting the Teacher has just listed.

So I said to myself, “The fate of the fool will also befall me. What then have I gained by being wise?” And I said to myself that this too is futile.

Wisdom itself falls under the word, since it cannot spare the wise from death.

So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

The verdict drives the Teacher to despair of his own days.

And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile.

The word covers an heir whose wisdom no one can know in advance.

When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil.

The word falls on an inheritance that passes to someone who never earned it.

Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

Toil that steals sleep is the next thing the word covers.

To the man who is pleasing in His sight, He gives wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner He assigns the task of gathering and accumulating that which he will hand over to one who pleases God. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

The word covers even a store laid up by one man and handed to another.

For the fates of both men and beasts are the same: As one dies, so dies the other—they all have the same breath. Man has no advantage over the animals, since everything is futile.

The word is set over a death that comes alike to people and cattle.

I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

The word is applied to success itself, because rivalry drives it.

Again, I saw futility under the sun.

It shows the Teacher gathering cases of the word one after another.

There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile—a miserable task.

The word covers labor that leaves no heir to receive it.

There is no limit to all the people who were before them. Yet the successor will not be celebrated by those who come even later. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

The word falls on fame, since a king's following forgets him.

For as many dreams bring futility, so do many words. Therefore, fear God.

Here the word is turned on worship, against vows made rashly before God.

He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.

Greed falls under the word, because it grows with every gain.

God gives a man riches, wealth, and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires; but God does not allow him to enjoy them. Instead, a stranger will enjoy them. This is futile and a grievous affliction.

The word covers possessions whose owner never tastes them.

For a stillborn child enters in futility and departs in darkness, and his name is shrouded in obscurity.

The word is applied to a birth that ends before life begins.

Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

Restless wanting falls under the word, against contentment with what is at hand.

For the more words, the more futility—and how does that profit anyone?

The Teacher weighs talk here and finds that more of it gains nothing.

For like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of the fool. This too is futile.

The word is applied to a fool's mirth, loud and quickly gone.

In my futile life I have seen both of these: A righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.

Here the Teacher calls his own life hebel as he watches justice fail.

Then too, I saw the burial of the wicked who used to go in and out of the holy place, and they were praised in the city where they had done so. This too is futile.

The word covers the honor paid to evil men at their burial.

So if a man lives many years, let him rejoice in them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is futile.

The future itself falls under the word, which is why the Teacher bids a long life rejoice now.