Date and Authorship. Today most scholars agree that Solomon was not the author, but rather that the work is a product of post-Exilic times. They usually assume, however, that the central figure in the book is Solomon, and that the unknown author used him as a literary device to convey his message. Conservative students of the Bible, however, have always maintained the Solomonic authorship of the book. Uncertainty concerning authorship does not destroy canonicity of the book.

Purpose. The author shows from personal experience that all earthly goals and blessings, when pursued as ends in themselves, lead to dissatisfaction and emptiness. The highest good in life lies in reverencing and obeying God. Thus the author was a man of faith; he was skeptical only of human wisdom and endeavor.

For instance, many scholars claim that the author—whoever it was—wasn't King Solomon. Of course, these are often the same scholars who claim that Daniel was written in the second century B.C. or that Moses never wrote Genesis, so we can dismiss them out of hand. We are, instead, proceeding on the assumption that Solomon was the writer, an assumption based on Christian and Jewish tradition, on internal evidence inside the book that points to Solomon as the author, as well as on Ellen White's statements that "the book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon in his old age, after he had fully proved that all the pleasures earth is able to give are empty and unsatisfying.

The book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon in his old age, after he had fully proven that all the pleasures earth is able to give are empty and unsatisfying. He there shows how impossible it is for the vanities of the world to meet the longings of the soul. His conclusion is that it is wisdom to enjoy with gratitude the good gifts of God, and to do right; for all our works will be brought into judgments. {HR, June 1, 1878 par. 1}

Solomon's autobiography is a mournful one. He gives us the history of his search for happiness. He engaged in intellectual pursuits; he gratified his love for pleasure; he carried out his schemes of commercial enterprise. He was surrounded by the fascinating splendor of court life. All that the carnal heart could desire was at his command; yet he sums up his experience in this sad record:-- {HR, June 1, 1878 par. 2}

To begin, Solomon was writing at the end of his life, a life full of bitterness and anger at himself and his apostasy. What's unique about the book is that in some places Solomon is writing from the perspective of someone alienated from God. Like modern authors, he's giving us thoughts that flow directly from his head. We see the world as it appears through his eyes.

In such places it is well to heed the words of The SDA Bible Commentary: "Those portions of Ecclesiastes that relate the experience and reasoning of [Solomon's] years of apostasy are not to be taken as representing the mind and will of the Spirit. Nevertheless, they are an inspired record of what he actually thought and did during that time (see Prophets and Kings, p. 79), and that record constitutes a sober warning against the wrong kind of thought and action. . . . Passages such as these should not be wrested from their context and made to teach some supposed truth that Inspiration never intended them to teach."—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 3, p. 1060.