What then is the real message of Ecclesiastes? To decide this issue we must look to the text itself. Despite the lack of a tightly organized structure or progression of ideas, there is an amazing number of repeated expressions and refrains that characterize this book. Among the most important are:
— the word ''vanity'' (hevel) and the longer ''vanity'' refrain ''vanity of vanities'' (hevel hevalim); this key word occurs 38 times.
— the ''calls to enjoyment'' (2.24; 3.12, 22; 5.18; 8.15; 9.7-10): ''There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat, drink, and find enjoyment in his toil.''
— the thematic question (1.3; 3.9; 5.16): ''What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?'' along with other occurrences of the word ''gain'' (yithron) in 2.11, 13, 15; 3.19; 6.8, 11.
By examining these expressions, their use and occurrence in detail, we can hope to find a unified message.
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