It is unclear when this book was written or who wrote it. However, there is speculation to conclude that it might have been written by King Solomon or another descendant within the lines of King David or a figure of authority in his times.

There are two distinct voices at play in this book. One belongs to The Teacher, while the other is that of the author of the book. At the beginning of the book, the author begins with repeating the word “hevel,” which roughly translates to mean "meaningless."

Then you have The Teacher appear and say that life is meaningless and fleeting, that no matter what you do or how good you are, everything will just end for you and not necessarily in a good way. He repeats the word "hevel" a total of 38 times throughout the book.

It is then that The Teacher says that it is good to embrace the quest for wisdom and to fear God because, since the world and everything in it will end, why chase after it? You have control over one thing, which is how you react to what happens around you. So, one should rather live in the present moment and learn to cherish what God has given him/her.

Toward the end of the poem, the author appears and reaffirms that the best approach in life is to fear God and follow His commandments.

This book is an exercise in humility and its purpose is to focus positively on life’s metanarrative, which is to embrace both the good and the bad and remain faithful to God.