teaches the public; see Comment to 1:1. Recently scholars have been making a useful distinction between “Ecclesiastes” (the book) and “Koheleth” (the speaker), which will be elaborated below. Koheleth was traditionally identified with Solomon on the basis of 1:1 and 1:12, though in the book he is not given that name. Solomon was the epitome of the wise and wealthy king (1 Kings 3:12, 5:9–14; 1 Chron. 29:25; 2 Chron. 1:12; etc.). Further, Solomon was the only “son of David” to have ruled over all