Whoever Qoheleth was, he must have been a very interesting person to talk with, a bit like the ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, who questioned the validity of what most people accepted as human wisdom.

Though he begins his book with his most quotable and rather pessimistic assertion, "All is vanity", here in chapter three he acknowledges that the world is guided by God, so that there is a proper time for everything - another of his most quotable sayings. One has to read the whole book in order to grasp his point and understand why this book is among the Wisdom books of the Bible.

At the end of the book there is an epilogue, in which some early scholar praises Qoheleth for his manner of teaching. The Epilogue concludes with a summary of the whole book: "To sum up the whole matter: fear God and keep the commandments, since this is the whole duty of humankind. For God will call all hidden deeds, good or bad to judgement" (12:13-14). God's wisdom made flesh in Jesus reveals that all is not quite vanity.