Ecclesiastes 1:6

The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. ACCORDING TO (HEBREW, UPON) HIS CIRCUITS - i:e., it returns afresh to its former circuits, however many be its previous veerings about. The north and south winds are the two prevailing winds in Palestine and Egypt. The circuits of the winds are here made the symbol of man's existence ever revolving in the circle of vanity, and unable to move forward beyond it. As cast and west are noticed us to the sun (), so north and south as to the wind....

4-8 All things change, and never rest. Man, after all his labour, is no nearer finding rest than the sun, the wind, or the current of the river. His soul will find no rest, if he has it not from God. The senses are soon tired, yet still craving what is untried....

Verse Ecclesiastes 1:6. "The wind is continually whirling about, and the wind returneth upon its whirlings." It is plain, from the clause which I have restored to the _fifth_ verse, that the author refers to the approximations of the sun to the _northern_ and _southern tropics_, viz., of _Cancer_ and _Capricorn_. Ecclesiastes 1:5. All the _versions_ agree in applying the first clause of the _sixth_ verse to the _sun_, and not to the _wind_. Our _version_ alone has mistaken the meaning. My old MS. Bible is quite correct: _The sunne riisith up, and goth doun, and to his place turnith_ _agein; and there agein riising, goth about bi the south, and then_ _agein to the north._...

More literally, Going toward the south and veering toward the north, veering, veering goes the wind; and to its veerings the wind returns....

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 1:1 THE TITLE. THE WORDS OF THE PREACHER, THE SON OF DAVID, KING IN JERUSALEM; Septuagint, "King of Israel in Jerusalem" (comp.Ecclesiastes 1:12). The word rendered "Preacher" is _Koheleth_,_ _a feminine noun formed from a verb _kalal_,_ _"to call" (see Introduction, § 1), and perhaps better rendered" Convener" or "Debater." It is found nowhere else but in this book, where it occurs three times in this chapter (Ecclesiastes 1:1, Ecclesiastes 1:2,...

THE WIND GOETH TOWARD THE SOUTH, AND TURNETH ABOUT UNTO THE NORTH,.... The word "wind" is not in this clause in the original text, but is taken from the next, and so may be rendered, "it goeth towards the south", c. that is, the sun x before mentioned, which as to its diurnal and nocturnal course in the daytime goes towards the south, and in the night towards the north and as to its annual course before the winter solstice it goes to the south, and before the summer solstice to the north, as interpreters observe. And the Targum not only interprets this clause, but even the whole verse, of the sun, paraphrasing the whole thus, "it goes all the side of the south in the daytime, and goes round to the side of the north in the night, by the way of the abyss; it goes its circuit, and comes to the wind of the south corner in the revolution of Nisan and Tammuz; and by its circuit it returns to...

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS PART I. Chapter S 1-6 1. The Prologue and the Search Begun CHAPTER 1 _ 1. The introduction and prologue (Ecclesiastes 1:1)_ 2. The seeker; his method and the results (Ecclesiastes 1:12) Ecclesiastes 1:1. In the general introduction we have already referred to the opening verses as giving the information who the author is and what is the object of his treatise. So sure is the critical school that Solomon is not the king mentioned that one says “the fact that Solomon is not the author, but is introduced in a literary figure, has become such an axiom of the present day interpretation of the book, that no extended argument to prove

ECCLESIASTES 1:2 may be called an introduction to the book; it also presents the writer's conclusions. He has surveyed life from many angles and decided that all human effort is fruitless and unavailing, or as he puts it, vanity. This is his key-word (the Hebrew means vapour, breath, and so nothingness): it occurs forty times. VANITY OF VANITIES is the Heb. way of saying utmost vanity. Man toils under the sun, _i.e._ upon the earth, but reaps no gain; like players on a stage the ever-changing generations come and go, while the earth, man's scene of toil, abides. As with man so with nature; sun, winds (north and south, _cf._ Ca. Ecclesiastes 4:16), streams, all pursue a dreary round of endless repetition and accomplish nothing, _e.g._ the sea is never filled. The whole

WIND. Hebrew. _ruach._ App-9. The first part of Ecclesiastes 1:6 continues the motion of the sun, going to the south (in winter) and turning about to the north (in summer). IT WHIRLETH: i.e. the wind whirleth. This is the subject of Ecclesiastes 1:6....

_The wind goeth toward the south_ This comes after the sun as exhibiting a like, though more irregular, law of mutability. "South and north" only are named, partly, perhaps, because east and west were implied in the sunrise and sunset of the previous verse, more probably because these were the prevailing currents of air in Palestine. Comp. "Awake, O north wind; blow, O south," in Song of Solomon 4:16; Sir 43:20; Luke 12:55. _It whirleth about continually_ The whole verse gains in poetic emphasis by a more literal rendering, IT GOETH TO THE SOUTH, AND IT CIRCLETH TO THE NORTH, CIRCLING, CIRCLING GOETH THE WIND, AND ON ITS CIRCLINGS RETURNETH THE WIND. The iteration and order of the words seem to breathe the languor of one who was weary with watching the endless and yet monotonous c