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Bible expressions we still use
Nothing new under the sun
Ecclesiastes 1 · the words of the Teacher
The saying comes from the first chapter of Ecclesiastes. Its Hebrew title is “The Words of Koheleth”, a word for one who speaks to an assembly; the BSB translates it “the Teacher”. He calls himself the son of David, king in Jerusalem. By long tradition he is Solomon; by another view a later writer spoke in Solomon’s voice, and the dates proposed run from about 940 BC to the 200s BC. Pieces of the book found at Qumran by the Dead Sea were copied in the 100s BC. The chapter looks at the world: generations come and go, the sun rises and sets, the wind turns round and round, all the rivers flow into the sea, “yet the sea is never full”. Then comes the line: “What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9).
Today people say “there is nothing new under the sun” when a fashion, an invention or a quarrel turns out to be an old one in new dress — a “new” diet that was popular a century ago, for example. It is often said with a shrug.
Key verses
These are the words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem:Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows southward, then turns northward; round and round it swirls, ever returning on its course. All the rivers flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full; to the place from which the streams come, there again they flow.What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.Sources
Adapted and shortened from the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0
Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers · CC BY-SA 4.0 — Ecclesiastes, Book of; Sun
Adapted from Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary: articles chosen, shortened and retold in our own words (history, nature and daily life only) and, in languages other than English, machine-translated. The original work by Tyndale House Publishers is available for free at tyndaleopenresources.com.
